About
BAROQUE
About
BAROQUE MUSIC
About
BAROQUE
From
MEDIA
From
MEDIA
2026/2027
ARTISTS
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Christchurch-born pianist, bassoonist and composer Gabriel Baird is a versatile performer and musical collaborator. A graduate of the University of Canterbury, he has established himself as an accomplished solo pianist, accompanist and chamber musician, praised for his creativity, fresh musical ideas and expressive approach. He performs regularly with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra as Associate Principal Bassoon and works as a musical director and conductor with local choirs and ensembles. Equally at home as a soloist and collaborative performer, Gabriel brings imagination, versatility and musical insight to his performances.
Jonathan Tanner is Associate Principal First Violin of the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra and performs regularly with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. He studied in New Zealand under Helene Pohl and Vesa-Matti Leppänen before completing his Master’s degree with top honours at Bern University of the Arts in Switzerland. His extensive performance experience includes the National Youth Orchestra, the World Youth Orchestra in Italy, and chamber music concerts for Chamber Music New Zealand and the Adam International Chamber Music Festival. An accomplished violinist and violist, Jonathan brings a wealth of orchestral and chamber music experience to his performances, combining technical precision with expressive musicality and a deep appreciation for ensemble playing.
Robert de Bree is a Dutch oboist, recorder player, improviser and teacher with an internationally recognised career in early music. He performs as a soloist and with leading ensembles including the English Baroque Soloists, Academy of Ancient Music and Ensemble Pygmalion, and has performed worldwide under renowned conductors.
Robert is Professor of Recorder at Utrecht Conservatory and teaches historical improvisation at the Royal Conservatoire The Hague. He regularly gives workshops and masterclasses internationally, including at conservatories in Riga, Katowice, Vienna, Brussels, Tel Aviv and Frankfurt.
Research and education are central to Robert’s work. His research focuses on historical improvisation and performance practice, including the 19th-century Potpourri. As co-artistic director of The Scroll Ensemble, he explores ensemble improvisation, combining classical music with storytelling, theatre and audience interaction. His innovative approach brings historical music to life while inspiring musicians and audiences to engage creatively with early music.
Szabolcs Illes studied at Franz Liszt Music Academy in Budapest. He studied baroque violin and early music presentation led by Dario Luisi and Susanne Scholz in Vienna and Graz. On courses he studied with famous baroque violinists as Enrico Gatti, Marinett Troost, Lucy van Dael or Simon Standage. At Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Leipzig studied with Susanne Scholz. In 2009 he gained the Master in Music degree at Royal Conservatory of Brussels in Sigiswald Kuijken’s class. He has been performing as a member of world-famous orchestra, the La Petite Bande. . Since 2008, he has been a concertmaster of the Hof-Musici orchestra which is primarily working on the reconstruction and presentation of baroque operas with authentic instruments, costumes and original settings. He gives concerts with his own ensemble the Accademia Capricciosa and other baroque ensembles (Dolce Risonanza, Cammermusik Potsdam, Concert Royal Köln) in Germany, Austria, Belgium the Czech Republic and other European countries.
Violinist Rakuto Kurano has been reviewed as a musician with “flair and panache” by the Christchurch Mail, Rakuto Kurano has established himself as a versatile Japanese/New Zealand Performer-Composer. As a multi award-winning performer and composer, he has appeared in many concert halls across the country. Overseas appearances include performances in Japan and Vietnam. As an active performer on the violin, viola, and piano, he currently averages 60 performances each year. Repertoire ranges from anything written in the Renaissance period (14th century) to music by young living composers.
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Wil Anton Golja on Baroque Viola is currently studying at the University of Melbourne, Wil began learning violin at the age of four before discovering a passion for historically informed performance. He has spent the past two years specialising in Baroque viola, studying with Donald Nicolson and Rachael Beesley, and has performed in a range of early music and opera projects.
Wil first came to our attention as a talented young musician at one of the Trust’s Baroque workshops, where he received tuition and mentoring. Impressed by his dedication, musical ability and commitment to historical performance, we are delighted to welcome him as an emerging artist on our Baroque Oboe tour, providing an opportunity to develop his skills alongside experienced professional musicians.
Tomas Hurnik has a rich musical career performing with Czech symphonies, recording for radio and television, winning various chamber music competitions and taking part in prestigious chamber groups such as Talich Chamber Orchestra. He has played with various period instrument groups such as Musica Florea, Capella Regia Prague and Solamente Naturali with which he performed and toured around Europe.
He continues to be passionate about period instrument playing and organizes and performs in concerts, workshops and master classes of Baroque music in New Zealand.
Edita Keglerova graduated at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague under Prof. G. Lukšaité Mrázkova. She studied with J. Ogg at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague and then at the Royal Academy of Music in London. In 2007, she defended her doctoral thesis on Interpretation and Theory of Interpretation at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. She is a laureate of several international music competitions. As a soloist or member of chamber ensembles, she has performed in many important concert halls not only in Europe but also overseas (Japan, New Zealand, Africa, USA). She cooperates with many ensembles, including the Prague Baroque Ensemble, Hipocondria, and Barocco Sempre Giovanne.
She is teaching at Jan Neruda Music Grammar School in Prague. In 2011, she became a professor at the Prague Music Conservatory. She has repeatedly led master classes at the Summer School of Early Music in Prachatice.
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Anthony Ritchie is one of New Zealand’s leading composers, with over 200 works spanning symphonies, operas, chamber music, film, and choral music. A graduate of Canterbury University with a Ph.D. on Bartók, he also studied at the Liszt Academy in Hungary before serving as Mozart Fellow in composition at Otago University and Composer-in-Residence with the Dunedin Sinfonia, where he completed his Symphony No. 1 Boum. His works have been commissioned and performed by major ensembles including the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia, BBC Symphony Orchestra, and Ulster Orchestra. Notable large-scale works include his Symphony No. 2, premiered at the International Festival of the Arts, the opera The God Boy, and the oratorio Gallipoli to the Somme, acclaimed in New Zealand and later performed in London. He has also written specifically for the Baroque Music Community and Educational Trust of New Zealand, a harpsichord concerto Four Seasons in One Day for the upcoming 10-city South Island tour 2026. His recordings have received multiple awards, including Best Classical Album at the 2016 NZ Music Awards (Fjarren: In the Distance) and Classical Album of the Year from The Listener (A Bugle Will Do). Currently Associate Professor of Music at Otago University, Ritchie continues to be recognized nationally and internationally as one of the country’s most prolific and accomplished composers.