Julian Behr – Lute

Born in Konstanz, Julian Behr studied classical guitar with Prof. Dr. Mario Sicca and lute with Robert Barto at the University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart. Further studies with Joachim Held at the Hamburg Conservatory led him to the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, where he completed his training in early music and historical plucked instruments under Hopkinson Smith.

An experienced educator, Behr began teaching guitar early in his career and later taught lute and basso continuo at the University of Music Nuremberg (2007–2011). In 2013 he established a lute class at the Bern Conservatory, and in 2020 he was appointed Professor of Lute at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.

Alongside his performing career, he is deeply engaged in research and reconstruction of historical lutes, integrating his insights as a maker into modern performance practice. His concert activity has taken him throughout Europe, South America, and Australia, collaborating with leading baroque orchestras and opera houses in Hamburg, Berlin, Sydney, Lisbon, Bern, Basel, Lucerne, Amsterdam, Ferrara, Munich, and Schwetzingen.

Dedicated to vocal music, he performs regularly with singers Ulrike Hofbauer, Franz Vitzthum, and David Munderloh, and has recorded extensively, including his 2016 solo album With Lance and Lute (Guild), featuring French lute music in accords nouveaux.

Johannes Frisch – Baroque Violin

The baroque violinist Johannes Frisch is widely recognized for his expressive musicianship and deep engagement with historical performance practice. Originally from Bad Wurzach in Upper Swabia, he studied baroque violin with Enrico Gatti, Monica Huggett, and Pavlo Beznosiuk at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, where he developed a profound understanding of period style and interpretation.

Now based in Basel, he performs regularly with leading early music ensembles including the La Cetra Baroque Orchestra Basel, Vox Luminis, Les Cornets Noirs, Il Fuoco Eterno, Abendmusiken Basel, and Concerto Scirocco. His concert activity has taken him across Europe, as well as to South and North America and Asia.

Johannes Frisch’s artistry is documented in numerous CD recordings and international broadcasts. His performances are characterized by stylistic sensitivity, warmth of tone, and an unwavering commitment to the vitality and expressive power of early music.

Silvia Tecardi – Viola da Gamba & Vielle

Silvia Tecardi studied viola da gamba with Paolo Pandolfo and vielle and medieval music with Randall Cook and Crawford Young at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. Since 2000, she has been active as a performer at major European festivals, both as a core member of renowned early music ensembles and as a guest artist with leading groups. She has collaborated with Ensemble Daedalus (Roberto Festa), Tetraktys (Kees Boeke & Jill Feldman), Les Flamboyants (Michael Form), the Capricornus Consort Basel, La Fonte Musica, Les Passions de l’Ame, and B’Rock, among others.

Her numerous recordings have appeared on labels such as Alpha, Zig-Zag Territoires, K617, Raumklang, o-live music/Et’Cetera, Naxos, and Christophorus. Alongside her performing career, she teaches viola da gamba, vielle, and consort playing privately and has led courses in historical performance practice at the Universities of Bogotá, Alicante, and the Free Music School Basel. Since 2023, she has worked with Roberto Festa and María Cristina Kiehr at the Atéliers Monteverdi of the Conservatoire AMAA in Geneva. In 2016 she founded the Dryades Consort, whose 2021 recording Gift und Gegengift (Christophorus/SRF) features music by Caspar Othmayr with countertenor Franz Vitzthum.

David Munderloh – Tenor

American-Swiss tenor David Munderloh performs a wide-ranging repertoire, from Renaissance English lute songs to 19th-century art songs, including collaborations with pianist and conductor Joshua Rifkin. He is regularly invited to sing solo roles in oratorios, with a particular focus on Handel’s tenor parts.

Munderloh has appeared in concerts and recordings with leading ensembles such as Concerto Palatino (B. Dicky), American Bach Soloists (J. Thomas), the J.S. Bach Foundation (R. Lutz), Capriccio Basel, Die Fritags Akademie, and the Ricercar Consort (P. Pierlot). He also performs with Collegium Vocale Gent (P. Herreweghe) and Jordi Savall’s ensembles Hesperion XXI and Le Concert des Nations, and frequently collaborates with Vox Luminis, Solomon’s Knot, Ensemble Gilles Binchois, and La Grande Chapelle.

In 2024 he founded Enso, an ensemble devoted to reviving lesser-known secular music of the 17th and 18th centuries, particularly English repertoire.

Munderloh has recorded extensively, including critically acclaimed solo CDs of lute songs by John Dowland and Henry Lawes, as well as a 2021 album of music by Benjamin Britten. His concert tours have taken him throughout the United States, Europe, and the Far East.