Monteverdi

Apprentices

The Monteverdi Apprenticeship Scheme was set up in 2007 to address the problems faced by young singers attempting to embark on a professional career. The aim of the programme is to give the most promising young musicians, on the verge of entering the profession, direct experience of the musical tradition of the Monteverdi ensembles and the working practices of John Eliot Gardiner during a year-long apprenticeship scheme.

After an extremely successful first two years, the Apprenticeship Scheme will be opened to instrumentalists for the first time in 2009/10.

About the Scheme

The Monteverdi Apprenticeship Scheme is the only scheme in the UK which offers such opportunities to young singers. The young musicians’ experience of music making at a world-class level within a high-powered and multi-national group of colleagues leaves them exceptionally well-equipped to perform and teach at the highest level and to take up international professional careers.

This year, selected string players will take part in three major projects of The English Baroque Soloists and Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, under the direction of their founding conductor, John Eliot Gardiner. An individual mentor is appointed for each Apprentice and they will receive personal musical tuition from John Eliot Gardiner and from regular professional members of the ensembles, as well as specialised training in historically informed performance practice and guidance in devising educational projects and in working with children.

The musicians selected will:

- Receive an excellent preparation for a performing career, learning at an early stage of development about the exacting demands and working practices of an internationally renowned ensemble

- Receive additional educational benefits ranging from vocal and instrumental coaching to audition technique seminars

- Learn to work in a team within the multi-national environment of the Choir and orchestras

- Learn to relate to children and to communicate their enthusiasm for classical music to those who have had no experience of it, by participating in MCO educational projects

Apprentice Scheme supporters

We are most grateful to the following individuals, companies and charitable foundations for their generous support of the Apprenticeship scheme:

The Kohn Foundation
Reed Elsevier
The ESG Robinson Charitable Trust
Morny and Ian Hay Davison

How to apply to the Scheme

Apprentices for the year 2009/10 have already been selected. Auditions for 2010/11 will be held in the Spring (date to be confirmed) and will be open to singers.

If you are interested in taking part, you can get in touch with us for more information or send us your CV to info@monteverdi.org.uk.

Participants 2009/10

Louella Alatiit, violin, Canada

Louella is currently studying for a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Violin Performance at the Stony Brooks University in New York, where she had previously obtained a Master’s degree. She holds two Bachelor’s degrees, in Violin from McGill University (Montreal) and in Baroque Violin from the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague.

Louella has performed with period orchestras throughout Europe, including the English Concert, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Collegium Musicum Den Haag, New York Collegium and others, Opera Fuoco. She regularly takes part in early music projects and masterclasses, including with Marc Destrubé and Elizabeth Blumenstock.

Karin Björk, violin, Sweden

Karin holds a Bachelor’s of Music degree from the Birmingham Conservatoire, and a Postgraduate Diploma from the Royal Academy of Music where she studied Baroque Violin with Nicolette Moonen. She has performed with conductors John Eliot Gardiner, William Christie and Laurence Cummings, and lead the Royal Academy of Music Baroque Orchestra under Trevor Pinnock.

Karin regularly plays with Ex Cathedra, Gabrieli Consort and Players, the Sixteen, the Early Opera Company, and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (as part of the Jerwood Scheme). She has taken part in several recordings, including live television and radio broadcasts, including with her chamber music ensemble, Triologue.

Edwina Cordingley, cello, Australia
Edwina studied Cello at the Elder Conservatorium in Adelaide before obtaining scholarships for three consecutive years in the Advanced Performance Programme of the Australian National Academy of Music (2006-08). There she studied with Howard Penny (Chamber Orchestra of Europe), Danny Yeadon and Rosy Hunt. She performed regularly with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Victorian Opera along with many small chamber ensembles.
Since 2009, Edwina moved to the UK to further her studies of baroque cello. She is currently studying under David Watkin in Edinburgh.

Geneviève Koerver, cello, Switzerland
Geneviève recently graduated from the Royal College of Music, London, where she studied Cello with Thomas Caroll and Baroque cello with Catherine Rimer. Geneviève’s orchestra experience includes performances with the London European Orchestra, the RCM Symphony Orchestra and the London Metropolitan Orchestra; she has also played in a number of small ensembles, and furthered her studies through a number of masterclasses with Raphael Wallfisch, Bernard Greenhouse and other renowned performers.
In addition, since 2003, she has been involved in teaching children, either privately or as part of outreach and educational projects.

Hilary Michael, violin, Scotland

Hilary studied Violin and Baroque Violin with Pavlo Beznosiuk at the Royal Academy of Music in London. During her studies she won a number of prizes, as well as two Leverhulme Orchestral fellowships.

Hilary has played with various period ensembles orchestras in the UK, including numerous performances with the Royal Academy of Music Baroque Orchestra, and concerts with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the Academy of Ancient Music. She is a member of the Rare Theatrical, a young vocal and instrumental ensemble specialising in the music of Purcell and his contemporaries. Hilary also plays folk fiddle and is a former jazz saxophonist.

Stephen Pedder, violin, England
Stephen read Music at Cambridge University before recently graduating with merit in Baroque Violin at the Royal Academy of Music in 2008, where he studied with Nicolette Moonen and Howard Davies.
Stephen has performed in period instruments ensembles, including the Gabrieli Consort and Players and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, as well as training orchestras (European Union Baroque Orchestra, Britten-Pears Baroque Orchestra).
He also has experience performing with modern instruments orchestra and chamber ensembles. Since 2006 he has worked as a violin teacher in a school.

Lucile Perrin, cello, France
Lucille graduated in Modern and Baroque cello at the Royal College of Music, London before going on to read Historical Performance at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Alison McGillivray.
Lucile has had extensive orchestral experience through participation in various young players programmes: with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment’s Young Players Experience programme (2006-08), the Italian Youth Orchestra. She played continuo with Ensemble Matheus, including in the Messiah, Cosi fan tutte and Alcina. Lucile has also taught in several outreach projects. In 2007she took part in the multi-arts Ceramic Performance project at the V&A in London.

María Ramírez, viola, Spain María studied Viola and Baroque Viola at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, and at the Academy or Orchestral Studies Barenboim-Said in Seville. Since 2006 she has studied with Jane Rogers, Julia Deyneka dn Felix Schwartz.

María became specifically interested in early music following a performance with the Spanish National Youth Orchestra under Fabio Biondi. She has since played in other young players projects with the Britten-Pears Orchesra, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the European Union Baroque Orchestra. She is a co-founder and soloist of the baroque Spanish ensemble Temperamento.

Tomoki Sumiya, double bass, Japan

Tomoki studied at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in Japan. In 2009, he completed a Master’s degree at the Royal Conservatory in the Hague, where he studied with Maggie Urquhart.

Tomoki plays historical bass instruments including 4 strings Contrabass, G violone, and Viennese Bass. He has already participated in early music festivals in Utrecht, Saintes, Ambronay, and performed with ensembles including the New Dutch Academy, Florilegium Musicum, Concerto d'amsterdam, the Northan Consort, Arte dei Suonatori and Van Sweeten Society. He has also performed under the direction of Philippe Herreweghe, Christopher Hogwood, Ton Koopman, Roy Goodman and Hervé Niquet among others.

Emily Thompson, violin, Australia

Emily holds a Violin degree from the University of Western Australia, where she was awarded the Lady Callaway Medal for Music for her achievements. Since 2008, she has been studying with Ryo Terakado at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague.

Emily has had playing experience with various orchestras during her studies, including with the Australian Youth Orchestra and the University of Western Australia Symphony Orchestra. Between 2003-2007, she performed regularly as the first violin of the Sartory String Quartet. She regularly takes part in masterclasses and summer schools to further her studies.

Kinga Ùjszàszi, violin, Hungary

Kinga studied Music teaching and performance at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest, before obtaining a Postgraduate Diploma in Violin at the Royal Academy of Music. Since 2007 she has been studying with Igor Petrushevski and Simon Standage, and attended a number of masterclasses including lately with Marco Rizzi and Rachel Podger.

Kinga has played as 1^st violin with a several European orchestras such as the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Orchestra Europa and the Gustav Mahler Jungenorchester. She is the founder of the Capriccio String Orchestra in Budapest and plays with the Mercato Ensemble, who performs chamber quintet transcriptions of Wagner operas.