Joachim Held
Historical Lute Instruments

Born in Hamburg in 1963, Joachim Held received his musical training at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis with Eugen Dombois and Hopkinson Smith. In 1988 he completed his studies with a diploma in early music. From 1988 to 1990 he studied with Jürgen Hübscher at the Academy of Music in Karlsruhe and graduated from there with the final artistic examination. In 1990 Joachim Held won second prize at the "Concours Musica Antiqua" at the Flanders Festival in Bruges. Since then, intensive international concert activity as a soloist, chamber musician and continuo player began.

As a continuo player he played under the direction of Ivor Bolton, Alessandro de Marchi, Ottavio Dantone, Alessandro Quarta, Rinaldo Alessandrini, Giovanni Antonini, Rene Jacobs, Sir Simon Rattle, Kent Nagano, Claudio Abbado and Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

Joachim Held has been recording solo CDs for Hänssler Classic since 2005: In 2021 a CD with cantatas and instrumental music by Georg Phillipp Telemann with Bettina Pahn was released. In 2022 a CD with works by Johann Georg Weichenberger was released by Hänssler - Classic. As a soloist, Joachim Held has performed at many festivals in Europe, Africa, Japan and South America.

Joachim Held is Professor of Historical Lute Instruments at the University of the Arts in Bremen and at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague.

www.joachim-held.de

Cornelia Demmer
Lute consort - ensemble direction

Cornelia Demmer was born in Vienna.
She successfully completed her studies in musicology at the University of Vienna and Basel, and historical performance practice, majoring in lute at the Munich University of Music and Performing Arts with Evangelina Mascardi. In 2021 she completed her Master of Arts in a musical performance at the Scola Cantorum Basiliensis with Peter Croton and Julian Behr. This year she will complete her educational studies in Basel.

In addition to her international concert activities as a soloist and continuo player (cooperation with the Academy for Early Music Berlin, Ars Antiqua Austria, among others), she can also be heard on CD recordings for the Naxos and Coviello Classics labels. In addition, since 2013 she has been vice-chairwoman of the Austrian Lute Society for increased awareness of lute instruments.

cornelia.demmer@gmx.at

Bettina Pahn
Vocal training and performance practice

After finishing her violoncello studies with Hans Eisler at the Academy of Music in Berlin, she went on to complete her vocal studies (song, oratory, and music education) at the Academy of Music and Theatre in Frankfurt am Main. A special talent and focus on studying early music, many years of international concert activity, numerous CD-productions, among others under the direction of Ton Koopman, teaching vocals at the Academy of Music and Theatre in Rostock, long-term voice coach of the Saint Michaelis Choir in Hamburg, courses for baroque vocal performance at the Jerusalem Academy of Music, to mention some examples of her distinguishing work. Since 2019 she has been a professor of vocals at the Academy of Arts in Bremen.

Repertoire:
German and Italian baroque songs and cantatas
Songs by John Dowland, Ford, Purcell etc. (also for four voices)

bettinapahn@aol.com

Johanna Carter
Viola da Gamba - Consort

Johanna has loved early music since she was a child. She received her education at the Vienna Academy of Music. She teaches viola da gamba and recorder in Vienna and on numerous courses at home and abroad, where she has inspired many people with her enthusiasm for early music. The wonderful repertoire for „viola da gamba-consort" and lyra viol is particularly close to her heart. She is also a music kinesiologist and with her husband Richard Carter editor at Orianamusic Publishing.

Concerts and recordings have taken her to many parts of the world, where she has performed with Jordi Savall, Hesperion XXI and many others.

johanna.richard@drei.at

Bernhard Ehrenfellner
Korrepetition

The pianist, singer and teacher who can do everything and with everyone. He is at our disposal for the entire duration of the course.
b.ehrenfellner@gmx.at