Our teachers

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!).

ANNA POHJOLA  (Master of Music) is an Espoo-based freelance musician who plays baroque violin and baroque viola in various connections. She also teaches in East Helsinki Music Institute and in the Baroque workshop for seniors (Collegium ry). Anna has performed as a chamber musician in the ensembles of Espoo Baroque and as a member of the Finnish Baroque Orchestra in its various productions both in Finland and abroad. Anna studied baroque violin under the supervision of Minna Kangas in Metropolia University of Applied Sciences and in Sibelius Academy. In addition she has studied early music in exchange programs in the Verona Conservatory with Enrico Parizzi as her violin teacher and Alberto Rasi as her viola da gamba -teacher as well as in the Academy of Music in Krakow under the supervision of Sirkka-Liisa Kaakinen-Pilch.

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.

JANEK ÖLLER has a Master's degree in music. He studied the recorder at the Sibelius Academy (Helsinki, Finland) and on master classes, and specialised in early music. He started studying the bagpipes in Italy with Riccardo Delfino. He is an active performer in Finland and abroad both as a soloist and in various chamber music ensembles, and also works as a recorder teacher.
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.