Our teachers

 Baroque oboe

The oboe course will offer an insight into the secrets of baroque oboe playing.

KATHARINA ARFKEN,born in Northern Germany, has specialized in playing historical double-reed instruments. Her main interest is the oboe of the 18th century. After working as an instrumentmaker she studied baroque/classical oboe and renaissance double-reed instruments at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, Switzerland, with Michel Piguet and at the Royal Conservatory of Music, The Hague, with Ku Ebbinge.

Katharina Arfken has performed and recorded with many leading ensembles, such as The English Baroque Soloists, dir. J. E. Gardiner and The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, dir. Ton Koopman. After 30 years as solooboist of the Freiburger Barockorchester, Germany, she now still plays as a guest with this ensemble, but puts her focus more on soloistic projects and chamber music. Her latest recordings include the Mozart oboe concerto with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra and the concerto for oboe d’amore by J.S.Bach (both recording label harmonia mundi, France).

K. Arfken is a professor for baroque and classical oboe at the music academy Basel, Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, Switzerland and regularly gives summer courses in the whole of Europe.

Baroque violin

The class will offer an insight into the secrets of the baroque violin. You do not necessarily need to have a baroque violin in order to participate the course (but it helps, of course!).

American violinist ANTHONY MARINI has studied on both sides of the Atlantic. During his modern violin studies with Jody Gatwood at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, he also began studying baroque violin with Risa Browder. He moved to Europe in 2010, where he studied at the Sibelius Academy and the Paris Conservatory (CNSMDP) with Minna Kangas, Sirkka-Liisa Kaakinen-Pilch, and François Fernandez. Anthony is often seen leading as a concertmaster or soloist with the Finnish Baroque Orchestra, the King’s Road Musicians, Espoo Baroque, and Ensemble Zaïs. He also plays regularly with the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra and Ensemble Nylandia. He is also a very active chamber musician, and performs regularly with the Rosetta Ensemble, Avanti!, FiBO Players, and Ensemble Stravaganza.

Anthony also has a love for learning new instruments and folk music traditions. In addition to violin and viola, he also plays viola d'amore, viola da gamba, nyckelharpa and various traditions of fiddle music.

ANNA RAINIO studied violin at the Turku Conservatory and at the Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. She studied baroque violin at the Sibelius Academy and the Musikhochschule in Cologne. She graduated from the Sibelius Academy in 2014. Anna considers that the most important teacher is work itself, and she finds it rewarding to work with skilled colleagues, both former role models and new acquaintances.

Pedagogical work is important and exciting for Anna. She works as a regular violin teacher at the Music Institute of Lapland. In addition, she has been teaching baroque violin and coaching both ensemble and orchestra playing for several years at CMAH summer courses. Anna’s artistic work includes projects of her own, various chamber music projects, playing baroque violin among others in Helsinki Baroque Orchestra, Finnish Baroque Orchestra and Ensemble Nylandia. She has regularly visited in the Norwegian Orkester Nord. Anna made her official debut concert in the Sibelius Academy Young Artists series in 2017. She has been the artistic director of the “Barokin labyrinteissa” (“In the Mazes of the Baroque”) festival since 2018.

Harpsichord

The harpsichord class concentrates on stylistic and technical issues of harpsichord playing. Words of wisdom are also offered on continuo playing. The harpsichord players will have numerous possibilities to practice their continuo skills with singers and instrument ensembles.

ELINA MUSTONEN is one of the leading Scandinavian harpsichordists of her generation. She appears regularly as a soloist and chamber musician in Finland and abroad. She has performed with major international artists such as Wieland Kuijken, Ton Koopman, Laurence Dreyfus, Reinhard Goebel and Masaaki Suzuki. She has also made several critically acclaimed solo recordings, e.g. the complete Suites and Partitas by J.S. Bach

 Elina Mustonen began playing the harpsichord at the age of eight. After completing her studies at the Sweelinck Conservatoire in Amsterdam with Ton Koopman, she graduated with a doctoral degree from the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. The subject of her final thesis was J.S. Bach’s harpsichord pedagogy. She enjoys a wide reputation as a respected pedagogue in her field. Several of her students have been prizewinners in international competitions.

 In the field of theatre Elina Mustonen’s major Shakespearean roles have included Prospero in The Tempest and Hippolyta / Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Her harpsichord playing is at the center of the stage production based on José Saramago's Nobel prize winning novel Baltasar and Blimunda. The production has toured widely in Europe at the invitation of Mr. Saramago.

Singing

The singing course will cover early vocal music from the middle ages to the baroque. There will be tuition in both solo and ensemble singing. We welcome ensembles, as well! If you want to participate as an ensemble, please contact the course organizers for practical arrangements and prices..

Tenor VEIKKO KIIVER has degrees in both singing and singing pedagogue from the Stockholm Royal Music School. He has appeared with the Eric Ericson chamber choir and the Swedish Radio Choir, and performed with several choirs in Sweden and abroad. With the Rheinische Kantorei (Köln) he has performed baroque and other early music and appeared as a soloist in, e.g., oratories, and recorded for Emi and Capriccio.

His special interest is early sacred music. He is the director of the Schola Gregoriana Holmiae ensemble and performs with the Vox Tremula ensemble. He also sings in the French Ensemble Gilles Binchois, which is one of the leading medieval sacred music ensembles in the world. Veikko Kiiver often performs in concerts in Sweden, Finland, Germany and Estonia. He teaches singing, e.g., at the Skara Medieval Music Festival and gives private lessons.

 Lute, theorbo

The lute class will concentrate on solo, ensemble, and practical continuo playing of lutes and other plucked instruments. Continuo students will have plenty of opportunities to accompany singers and other instrumentalists.

NIKLAS MELLBERG studied the guitar with Juan Antonio Muro at Helsinki Conservatory, and later historical plucked instruments at Metropolia University of Applied Sciences with Kari Vaattovaara and Eero Palviainen. Niklas teaches the guitar at Borgå Music school, and he is also a part-time lute and guitar pedagogy teacher at Metropolia University. Niklas works as a freelance musician, specializing in early plucked instruments. He is a member of the FiBO Collegium group of the Finnish Baroque Orchestra, working with audience education and projects involving young players and early music.

Recorder

The recorder course will cover music from the middle ages to contemporary music, and there are both private and group lessons. The participants are expected to prepare a programme of 2-3 pieces before the course. The group lessons will concentrate on playing technique and improvisation.

PEKKA SILÉN studied the recorder at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki (graduated 1986) and at the Conservatoire of Utrecht (diploma in performance 1992). He has given concerts in several European countries: recitals, as an orchestral soloist and as a chamber musician (e.g the ensembles Cornucopia, The Elysian Fields and La Compagnie Inégale [(since 1985), Ensemble Arachne (1993-2000) and the recorder group Tuulen Viemää (“Gone with the Wind”, 1991-2001) – throughout Finland as well as in Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Spain and Estonia)]. He has made several radio and television recordings. His creative concert programmes include both less-known baroque and renaissance music, and world and Finnish premieres of contemporary compositions.

Pekka Silén teaches at the West Helsinki Music Institute, providing a diverse programme in both recorder and chamber music, while coordinating the Institute’s lively early music activities. He helped organise the FIBO Collegium’s Concerto Grosso event at the Helsinki Music Centre in 2012.

Öller is also a founding member of the early music ensemble Fioretto, mediaeval music ensemble Oliphant, the recorder ensemble Tuulen Viemää (Gone with the Wind), and the baroque ensemble La Compagnie Inégale.

Early reeds

The course concentrates on renaissance reed playing (shawm, dulcian, crumhorn, etc.). There are both group lessons and individual tuition. Students can participate in a shawm band, Renaissance orchestra and crumhorn groups. Bernhard sells reeds for shamws and dulcians during the course. To ensure the availability please contact Bernhard beforehand.

BERNHARD STILZ studied recorder playing, musicology, history, art history and pedagogy in Saarbrücken and early music in the Schola Cantorumin Basel. He received his diploma in 1992 specialising in ensembles, and having recorder, dulcian, shawm, and crumhorn as his instruments.

Bernhard teaches and gives concerts in several European countries, and his specialities are early music and historical performance practice, especially ensemble music from the 15th to 17th century.

He has performed in the most important early music festivals with many ensembles, e.g. La Fenice, Daedalus, Les Haultz et les Bas, La Caccia, Huelgas Ensemble, and Ricercar Consort and recorded to many record labels (Accent, Ricercar, Vanguard Classics etc.) and European radio broadcasting companies.

He also contributes to several papers and magazines and is the head of the early music department as well as the [early music and] wind instruments department of the Conservatory of Saarbrücken.

Baroque cello, viol (viola da gamba)

Tuition is offered in both solo and ensemble playing of the viol. The viol and cello players have usually been very popular during the course, everyone needs a continuo string player. The course offers a rare opportunity to real viol consort playing!

PIETA MATTILA is specialized in early music both as a soloist and as an ensemble and orchestra player. Her main instrument is baroque cello. She plays both baroque cello and viola da gamba in various ensembles such as Espoon barokki (Espoo Baroque), Ensemble Nylandia, Musicians of the King’s Road, Finnish Baroque Orchestra, Eloisa Consort and Tuohi. She studied early music in Sibelius Academy, CNSMD Paris and University of the Arts Bremen. Pieta’s baroque cello teachers include Lauri Pulakka, Viola de Hoog and Bruno Cocset, and Markku Luolajan-Mikkola taught her viola da gamba as well as baroque cello. Pieta has learned also chamber music under the supervision of e.g. Sirkka-Liisa Kaakinen-Pilch. In addition to her degree from Sibelius Academy, she has graduated from Metropolia University of Applied Sciences with cello as main instrument.

Along with working as a performing musician, Pieta teaches at Töölö Music Institute and produces early music concerts such as Espoon barokkipäivät festival. Early music is the most meaningful genre for Pieta but she also enjoys playing in a band even if it is on hold at the moment. Both in teaching and in playing Pieta wants to maintain the joy of learning and making music.

Photo Gustav Larsson