Artists

Elisabeth Hetherington

Since moving to the Netherlands, award-winning soprano Elisabeth Hetherington has quickly established herself as a stand out up-and-coming performer and interpreter of early, contemporary and modern repertoire throughout Europe. Elisabeth has been praised for her “… fearless and powerful personality, as well as her flawless technology and breathtaking presentation” (NRC, 2020) and “virtuosic grace, sophisticated dynamics and subtle colours… beautifully lyrical, somewhat fragile timbre...” (Place de l’Opera Magazine, 2020). Managing to effortlessly bridge the gap between early and contemporary music, Elisabeth has premiered and recorded numerous works throughout the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, and Estonia. Her ability to combine music old and new continues to garner acclaim; “Paolo Gorini set another Dickinson poem to music: It’s like, and in the Monteverdian vocal decorations you can hear the versatility of Hetherington.” (de Volkskrant, 2019)

Elisabeth is an especially passionate advocate for multidisciplinary performance. With modern dance company Leineroebana, she has developed SOLAS. Drawing on her background as a dancer, SOLAS is a fusion of music and poetry, as well as song and dance in which she demonstrates how well movement and singing live together in her (Theaterkrant, 2019). Elisabeth has created operatic roles with companies such as Holland Opera, Holland Baroque and Opera Zuid - including Senta (De Vliegende Hollander, Holland Opera 2021), The Woman (Bonsai Gardens, Opera Zuid 2020), Belina (Dido & Aeneas, Holland Baroque 2021), Susanna (Divorce of Figaro, Holland Opera 2022) and Cordelia (King Lear, Holland Opera 2019) - for which it was said “…with a silvery, pure soprano voice. She is the star of the evening and rightly receives the most applause afterwards” (Theatrekrant 2019). She founded the ensemble Duo Serenissima for whom she has had the opportunity to create programmes that have been performed in many festivals and concert series around the world. Elisabeth’s ability to programme daring and demanding recitals and concerts for world renowned ensembles and festivals has garnered her the praise of “showing how a great future in music sounds” (NRC, 2021).

In addition to her vibrant performing career, Elisabeth has received a great deal of attention for her research in the field of Original Pronunciation of Elizabethan English. She has become a sought-after clinician on the subject, giving masterclasses in conservatories around the Netherlands, as well as appearing as a lecturer in the Utrecht Festival Oude Muziek.

Elisabeth was awarded the prize of the Dutch Classical Talent Award in 2020 after taking part in the year-long competition and tour. She recorded her debut album through the Dutch Broadcasting agency Avrotros, and continues to make frequent appearances on the television and radio stations of the Netherlands.

Elisabeth completed her Undergraduate Degree in Voice Performance from the University of Toronto, Faculty of Music, and is now a cum laude graduate from the Masters of Historical Performance at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam with whom she regularly works as a guest lecturer.

Wesley Shen

Wesley Shen is a Canadian musician specializing in contemporary music on both harpsichord and piano. He can be heard in a number of solo, chamber and orchestral settings around Toronto, including with Continuum Contemporary Music, New Music Concerts, and Freesound New Music. He collaborates regularly with composers and creators in the development and performance of new works and has commissioned a number of new solo harpsichord pieces by Canadian and international composers.

Pierre Hantaï

Pierre Hantaï was born in 1964 into a family of artists. His first passion was painting which he learnt from his parents. However, it was the encounter with the music of Bach that was to determine his further path.The harpsichord recordings of Gustav Leonhardt played an important role here. Hantaï undertook his initial musical steps at the age of ten. He played a great deal of chamber music with his brothers. He at first taught himself (on a small spinet) the repertoire that interested him, and later took lessons with the American harpsichordist Arthur Haas. Ultimately, he was invited by Gustav Leonhardt to participate in his lessons in Amsterdam for two years. He was still very young when he collaborated with the authoritative personalities of the small world of early music, with the Kuijken brothers, Gustav Leonhardt, Philippe Herreweghe, and Jordi Savall. He became known to a wider audience with his recordings of J.S. Bach, Goldberg Variations, a work that he has since played over a hundred times throughout the world. He has often performed and recorded the Elizabethan repertoire (Bull, Byrd, Farnaby), as well as Bach and Couperin, and has devoted himself profoundly to the works of Domenico Scarlatti, which he has already recorded numerous times and that he wants to make even more familiar to audiences. Today he gladly joins together with his musical friends on the concert stage, with Jordi Savall, his brothers Marc and Jerome Hantaï, flutist Hugo Reyne, violinist Amandine Beyer, harpsichordists Skip Sempé, Olivier Fortin, Aapo Häkkinen, and Maude Gratton. 

Pierre Hantaï’s recordings for various labels (Adds, Astrée-Auvidis, Opus 111, Virgin, Mirare) have been honored with numerous prizes by the critics, including the Gramophone Award, Grand Prix du Disque, Prix de l'Académie Charles Cros, and the Diapason d'Or de l’année. He has given master classes for various academies. He directs his instrumental ensemble Le Concert Français and has likewise been invited to conduct various chamber orchestras. 

Goska Isphording

Harpsichordist Goska Isphording specializes in the performance of contemporary music. She gives solo recitals and performs with chamber music ensembles and orchestras. She is also active in music theatre and multimedia productions and has premiered numerous solo and chamber music works. 

Goska Isphording was born in Poland, where she started her Early Music harpsichord study at the Krakow Academy of Music, and graduated cum laude in 1998. In 2001 she obtained her diploma at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague (The Netherlands) where she studied with Patrick Ayrton.

Her interest in contemporary art led her to follow the Masters program in contemporary harpsichord techniques with Annelie de Man at the Conservatory in Amsterdam. During this period she also worked with Elisabeth Chojnacka at the Mozarteum in Salzburg.

Goska Isphording was awarded prizes at renowned contemporary music competitions. 

She won the first prize as a soloist at the Krzysztof Penderecki International Competition of Contemporary Music 2002 ( Krakow / Poland ). Together with recorder player Karolina Bäter she received the first prize in the duo category at the same competition and in 2003 the 4th place at The International Gaudeamus Interpreters Competition ( Rotterdam / The Netherlands). 

Her performances in the Netherlands and other European countries brought her in contact with young composers resulting in numerous pieces being written for her. 

Goska Isphording has participated in various festivals for contemporary music, among which: Audio-Art Festival, International Festival of Contemporary music - Days of Krakow Composers ( Poland ), De Suite Muziekweek, Cross-Linx Festival (The Netherlands). She performed in the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, France, Estonia and Israel. Her concerts are frequently broadcast. 

Goska Isphording is a founding member of Roentgen Connection - ensemble for the performance of the contemporary chamber music.

David Mackor

Dutch lutenist David Mackor (Amsterdam, 1989) is making a name for himself in the Netherlands as a diverse and passionate soloist and continuo player.  He is a recent graduate of the the Conservatorium van Amsterdam’s Bachelor in Early music where he has studied lute and other historical plucked instruments in the studio of Fred Jacobs and basso continuo with Thérèse de Goede.

Before David started playing the lute, he had obtained a bachelor degree in electric guitar as well as beginning his studies in classical music and composition. It was at this time that he was led to the classical guitar and ultimately, the lute. Throughout his studies as a lute player he has maintained a diverse range of interests, studying baroque guitar with Lex Eisenhardt, declamation with Jed Wentz, gregorian chant with Dr. Richard Bot, and has performed in masterclasses with influential musicians such as Johanette Zomers and Charles Daniels.

In February 2016 he formed Duo Serenissima together with award winning Canadian soprano Elisabeth Hetherington. Since then they have performed in esteemed concert venues such as at the Tivoli Vredenburg, Noordekerk, Stadsgehoorzaal Leiden, Hermitage, performed several times on the Dutch classical radio station Radio 4, and were featured in the main programme of the 2017 Utrecht Early Music Festival. In the summer of 2018, they had the honour of performing in the Ravenna Festival at UNESCO World Heritage site of the Basilica San Vitale, and went on a North American tour where they performed in Pennsylvania, New York and Toronto. In 2019 they were chosen by the Dutch broadcasting agency AvroTros as one of their artists in residence and through their label they recorded their debut album.

David is a frequent guest of the Nederlands Blazers Ensemble, with whom he has gone on tour as a soloist in the Bach & Sufi programme. In addition he was asked to be part of the 2019 New Year’s concert in the Concertgebouw, and is currently on tour with their production of Purcell’s “Sprookjeskonignin”. David has also played with other renowned performers and ensembles such as The Parley of Instruments with Peter Holman, soprano Raquel Andueza and on the Dutch television programme “De Tiende van Tijl”, where he performed with distinguished baritone Maarten Koningsberger.

In addition to early music David is also passionate about contemporary music and he has played in several premiers of new works including the premiere of the opera “<3” in the 2016 Opera Forward Festival in the Dutch National Opera (Amsterdam), the Dutch premiere of “Sky” by Sebastian Fagerlund in the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam) and a premiere of the opera “Four Hills” with the baroque ensemble Il Fondamento under the baton of Paul Dombrecht. In autumn of 2017, David premiered a concert of all new chamber works with the Ny Musikks Komponistgruppe in Bergen, Norway, as well as premiere in the Concertegebouw’s Turning East festival with concert of Bach & Sufi music with the Nederlands Blazers Ensemble.

David is currently completing his Masters in Early Music and continuing his studies with Fred Jacobs, as well as René Genis.

Dalyn Cook

Dalyn Cook completed her master’s degree in fortepiano at the Koninklijk Conservatorium; in her final year there, she discovered the clavichord and was fortunate to begin her exploration of it under the mentorship of Menno van Delft.In August 2014, she was awarded first prize in the First International Clavichord Competition at the Nordic Historical Keyboard Festival in Kuopio, Finland; subsequent recital appearances on clavichord include include the 2018 edition of the Nordic Historical Keyboard Festival, Musica Antica a Magnano Clavichord Symposium XII, Festival OudeMuziek Utrecht Fringe Series, the Geelvinck Fortepiano Festival in Amsterdam, and the “Night of the Clavichord” as part of BachFestival Dordrecht.

She has participated in master classes with Marcia Hadjimarkos, Kristian Bezuidenhout, Malcolm Bilson, and David Breitman, among others, and she remains ever grateful to her first mentor in early music, Andrew Willis.
Ms. Cook was a 2009-2010 Fulbright Scholar.

Menno van Delft

Born in 1963 in Amsterdam, Menno van Delft studied harpsichord, organ and musicology at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam, the Royal Conservatory in The Hague and the University of Utrecht. Amongst his professors were Anneke Uittenbosch, Gustav Leonhardt, Bob van Asperen, Piet Kee, Jacques van Oortmerssen and Willem Elders.

In 1988 Menno van Delft won the clavichord prize at the C.Ph.E. Bach Competition in Hamburg and subsequently made his debut at the Holland Festival Early Music Utrecht. He has given concerts and master classes throughout Europe, Japan and the U.S. and has made numerous recordings for radio and television.
As a continuo player and soloist Menno van Delft has performed with Pieter Wispelwey, Bart Schneemann and Jacques Zoon as well as with the Nederlandse Opera, Al Ayre Español, Nederlands Blazersensemble, Cantus Cölln, Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest, Nederlands Kamerkoor, Nederlandse Bachvereniging, the Orchestra of the 18th Century and the King’s Consort. He has also recorded for labels such as Globe, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, Chandos, Channel Classics, Capriccio, EMI and Decca. 

With Johannes Leertouwer he recorded J.S. Bach’s six violin sonatas and with Ensemble Schönbrunn, including Marten Root and Viola de Hoog, Bach's Musikalisches Opfer. Menno van Delft recorded the Kunst der Fuge and Bach’s toccatas; he also took part in a complete recording of the keyboard works of Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, which received a 2003 Edison and the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik. In 2004, Teknon released the first in a series of recordings on important historical clavichords featuring Van Delft playing sonatas and variations by J.G. Müthel on the 1763 J.A. Hass clavichord from the Russell Collection in Edinburgh. A recording on instruments from the Musical Instrument Museum in Berlin will soon be released. For Resonus Classics, Van Delft has made two recordings of works on two harpsichords in coöperation with Guillermo Brachetta: Divine Noise (with music by Rameau, F. Couperin and Gaspard le Roux) and Concerto (with J.S. Bach’s Concerto in C major for two harpsichords). In May of 2018 the long awaited recording of Bach’s 6 keyboard Partitas on clavichord came out, recorded on the beautiful Hoffmann clavichord from 1784 from the Cobbe collection at Hatchlands near London, England. 

Together with Siebe Henstra he forms the clavichord duo Der Prallende Doppelschlag. 
Menno van Delft teaches harpsichord, clavichord and basso continuo at the Conservatory of Amsterdam (formerly the Sweelinck Conservatorium) and the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg.  

Artem Belogurov

 Known equally for his “verve, wit, and delicatesse” (Boston Musical Intelligencer) and his “infinite tenderness” (Evening Odessa), Artem Belogurov has an extensive repertoire, ranging through three centuries of solo and chamber works. He has a particular affinity for the Viennese classical style, in which he is distinguished by his use of improvisatory ornamentation. His interest in period performance leads him to historical keyboards, including clavichord, harpsichord, and fortepianos spanning the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. His critically acclaimed album of solo piano works by the late nineteenth century American Romantic composers, recorded on a Chickering piano built in 1873, was released by the London-based label Piano Classics in 2015. He is also a discerning advocate of contemporary music, and collaborates with a number of composers. In 2009 he had the honor of performing the Boston premiere of Elliott Carter’s Caténaires for solo piano.

As a soloist and as a member of chamber ensembles Artem has performed at a number of international festivals, among them Festival Montréal Baroque, Festival Passe ton Bach Toulouse, Utrecht Oude Muziek Fabulous Fringe, Fortepiano Festival Zaandijk and Wonderfeel Festival. Artem performed in many European and North American halls, such as Jordan Hall in Boston, Harvard Musical Association, the Universität der Kunste in Berlin, the Musikhochschule in Hanover, St Andrews University in Scotland, the Odessa Philharmonic Hall in Ukraine, the Rachmaninoff Society in Saint Petersburg, Castello di Galeazza in Italy, Tivoli Vredenburg in Utrecht, and Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam, Eindhoven and Leiden.

Artem’s recent projects included performances and a recording of the complete cello and piano works by Beethoven with Octavie Dostaler-Lalonde to be released later this year on the Italian label Gamma Musica. His recording of a new arrangement of Prokofiev’s opera Fiery Angel for cello and piano with the Russian cellist Maya Fridman on the label TRPTK was released in 2018 to critical acclaim. His next recording projects include a 3 CD recording of lesser known 18th century repertoire on a number of original instruments with his former teacher Menno van Delft and a CD of violin and piano music by contemporary American composers with violinist Aleksey Semenenko. 

As a continuo player Artem works as a co-repetitor at the Utrecht Conservatory and regularly performs with AKOR ensemble and Concerto Köln as well as his duo partner, cellist Octavie Dostaler-Lalonde.

Artem won 1st and 2nd prizes at international competitions such as International Competition for Early Music in Yamanashi, Japan, Geelvinck Fortepiano Concours in Amsterdam, Netherlands and Brothers Graun Award in Bad Liebenwerda, Germany.

Artem was born in Riga, Latvia and grew up in Odessa, Ukraine. At the age of 18 he moved to Boston and studied modern piano at the New England Conservatory with Gabriel Chodos, Patricia Zander, and Victor Rosenbaum. In 2014 Artem moved to Amsterdam where he studied fortepiano and clavichord at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam with Richard Egarr and Menno van Delft and graduated receiving cum laude  in 2016.