Hila Katz - Manager, Teacher of Harpsichord and Early Keyboard Instruments
Hila is the school's founder, manager and artistic director and is responsible for developing the school's concept. She is also a teacher of early keyboard instruments
and various classes at the school.
A professional harpsichordist, Hila completed her Master's Degree in Harpsichord Performance at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, and continued to specialize in the Late Renaissance/Early Baroque period at Trinity College of Music. Besides having performed a wide range of repertoire on the harpsichord both as soloist and within ensembles/orchestras, she also composes original music for the harpsichord.
In addition, Hila holds a Bachelor's Degree from the Scholarship Academic Excellence Program of the University of Haifa, as well as an international diploma in Human Development following completion of seven years of studies in this field.
Antoinette Lohmann – Baroque Violin, Baroque Viola & Viola d'Amore
Antoinette Lohmann's website: www.antoinettelohmann.nl
Jiska ter Bals – Baroque Violin
Jiska ter Bals has always held broad musical interests. She has played violin in a metal band, Dutch orchestras and several combos. Currently she plays in Stracc, a group which performs modern music and includes accordions and strings.
Touched by Jewish music, Jiska traveled halfway around the world to learn as much as possible about it. Her ensemble, Di Fidl-Kapelye was a highly acclaimed string band with cimbalom.
A great love of Jiska's is Baroque Music. She studied Baroque Violin with Antoinette Lohmann in Utrecht, graduating with a Master's Degree in 2007. Nowadays Jiska mostly plays in several Baroque ensembles such as la Sfera Armoniosa, de Nederlandse Bachvereniging and Barok Opera Amsterdam.
Jiska has been teaching with great pleasure for years, privately as well as in different music schools.
Ania Katynska – Baroque Cello
Ania Katynska is a Baroque Cello, Viola da Gamba and Basse de Violon player.
She studied with Jaap ter Linden, Phoebe Carrai, Markus Möllenbeck, Mark Caudle and Kazimierz Pyzik.
Ania has collaborated with Arte dei Suonatori, New Dutch Academy, International Baroque Players, Harmony of Nations, Collegium Musicum Den Haag and Wroclaw Baroque Orchestra. She is currently a member of ensembles Concordi Musici, Ensemble Eloquentia and Parnassos. She gave solo recitals at festivals in Ukraine, Poland and France.
Ania has recorded with Arte dei Suonatori, Parnassos and International Baroque Players. Alongside her career as a performer, she regularly teaches music, and has been a teacher at Les Ateliers de Musique Ancienne in Le Treport summer school for the past five years.
Isabel Favilla - Recorder & Baroque Bassoon
Isabel Favilla obtained her Master's Degree in Recorder at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels in 2007. She later came to Holland to study Baroque Bassoon and Dulcian with Donna Agrell and Wouter Verschuren.
Isabel has been performing in The Netherlands and Belgium as an orchestral musician with ensembles such as Concerto d'Amsterdam, Le concert Bourgeois and Les Muffatti. She regularly performs in her native Brazil and has been invited to play in Chile numerous times. Her duo Schifanoia was among the finalists at the IYAP 2009.
Isabel has participated in recordings with Il Complesso Barocco (Alain Curtis), Collegium Musicum Den Haag (Claudio Ribeiro), Orquestra Barroca de Juiz de Fora (Luis Otavio Santos) and Les Muffatti (Peter van Heyghen).
Kate Clark - Historical Flutes
Born 1962 in Sydney, Kate Clark is a graduate of the universities of Sydney and London, of the Royal Conservatory of The Hague and the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.
She has performed and recorded as a soloist and with chamber ensembles and orchestras throughout Europe including Cantus Collin, Freiburger Baroque Orchestra, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Apollo Ensemble, Orchestra of the 18th century and Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra.
A leading specialist on the renaissance flute, Kate is the artistic director of the Attaignant Consort, soon to release the third in its series of CDs covering the art of this flute as a solo and a consort instrument. She is also co-founder of the romantic chamber ensemble, Osmosis.
Kate has taught flutes to people of all ages since she was 17. Since 1996 she teaches historical flutes at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague.
Ofer Frenkel - Baroque Oboe/ Historical Oboes
Ofer Frenkel completed both orchestral and soloist's Diplomas in Switzerland with Thomas Indermühle and Emanuel Abbühl. Since 1992 he has specialised in baroque music, firstly with Michel Piguet at the "Schola Cantorum Basiliensis" and later with Ku Ebbinge at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague.
Ofer has performed and recorded extensively with renowned ensembles such as Les Musiciens du Louvre, Accademia Daniel, Das Rheinische Kantorei, De Nederlandse Bachvereiniging, Musica Ad Rhenum, Osmosis, Apollo Ensemble, Il Fondamento, B’rock, Anima Eterna, Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and the Jerusalem Baroque Orchestra.
Alongside his career as a performer, Ofer has taught adult amateurs, children and young professional students. As well as giving individual lessons, he has a special interest in coaching chamber music and in collaborating with actors and storytellers to produce lively music/theater performances for young audiences.
Mike Fentross – Lute, Theorbo, Vihuela, Baroque Guitar
Mike Fentross has earned his spurs as an early music specialist. His work as soloist, basso continuo player and conductor takes him all around Europe, and over the years
he has recorded over 75 CDs.
In 1988 Mike graduated from the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, where he studied
with lute pionier Toyohiko Satoh. In 1994 he won the Van Wassenaer Competition in Amsterdam.
Mike has conducted in many festivals and concert halls. His debut as conductor of the Dutch Chamber Choir at the Concertgebouw received the following review: "Conductor Mike Fentross rivalled Caravaggio with the score of the Maria Vespers. His first time conducting the Nederlands Kamerkoor was a resounding success"'.
Mike is currently also the artistic director and conductor of La Sfera Armoniosa, as well as professor of lute and basso continuo at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague.
Cristian Gutiérrez – Lute, Theorbo, Vihuela, Baroque Guitar
Cristian Gutiérrez studied classical guitar at the University of Chile, graduating with the first prize. In 1999 he was the sole recipient of the prize awarded by the "Municipal Theater of Chile" to young national talents. He received a scholarship from his country for advanced studies in Spain, where he completed his studies in lute, baroque guitar and theorbo with the highest academic distinction.
Cristian has made numerous recordings, including the award winning "A tocar, a cantar, a baylar", and his outstanding work led to collaborations with such outstanding personalities as Monica Huggett, Bruce Dickey, Gabriel Garrido, Charles Toet, Manfredo Kraemer, Michael Chance, Rodrigo del Pozo, Pedro Estevan and Ventura Rico. He has performed in Chile, Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Greece, France, Israel, Italy, Korea, the United States, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, and Uruguay.