Sabine Kaipainen: mezzo soprano, traverse flute, recorder
Sabine Kaipainen received diplomas for studies in singing, traverse flute and recorder. She pursued additional studies in Baroque gestures in London and Paris. Her performances as a singer and flautist have been heard in numerous recordings and concerts including festival appearances in Helsinki and Moscow. She has given master classes at venues including the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow. Together with her husband, Tuomas Kaipainen, Sabine Kaipainen is director of the concert series “In the Rathaus at 4” in Thun, Switzerland. In addition to music, which cannot be captured in a “material” way, Sabine Kaipainen practices the art of dressmaking.


Tuomas Kaipainen: Baroque oboe, Baroque bassoon,
recorder, oboe
Born in Helsinki, Tuomas Kaipainen studied recorder and Baroque oboe in Vienna. During his stay in Vienna, he was a member of the well-known ensembles “Les Menestrels” and “Musica Antiqua Wien”. Tuomas Kaipainen studied modern oboe in Bern, Switzerland and in Linz, Austria. He has performed in numerous recordings and in concerts at international venues including the festivals of Salzburg, Moscow and Helsinki. He has given several master classes for institutions such as the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow.


Jan Lehtola
Doctor of Music and organist Jan Lehtola has studied with Professors Olli Porthan and Kari Jussila in Helsinki, Jacques van Oortmerssen and Jean Boyer in Amsterdam, Naji Hakim in Paris, Louis Robilliard in Lyon and Ludger Lohmann in Stuttgart. Lehtola graduated from the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki with a masters degree in 1998, and performed his diploma examination on the organ the same year. From 1998 to 2000 he studied at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam.He performed his debut concert in Helsinki in March 2000 and received laudatory reviews in major newspapers. Jan Lehtola has performed organ recitals in Europe and USA. He has appeared as a soloist with numerous Finnish orchestras and has had many concerts at various festivals in Finland. Many of his concerts and recordings have been broadcasted on the Finnish Radio Network and he has recorded for Ondine, Alba and Jubal in Finland and for IFO in Germany.Lehtola is also a harpsichordist, composer and author of articles for music magazines. Jan Lehtola frequently performs contemporary music and Harri Ahmas, Naji Hakim, Paavo Heininen, Carita Holmström, Olli Kortekangas, Juha T. Koskinen, Paola Livorsi, Riikka Talvitie, Jouko and Jyrki Linjama have composed works for him. In 2003 Lehtola organized the first International Naji Hakim Festival in Helsinki.

Barbara Segal
Barbara Segal is based in London where she works in the field of Early Dance as a performer, teacher and choreographer. She is director of Contretemps, a company she founded in 1985 dedicated to the reconstruction of 18th century dance theatre; also, together with Sara Stowe of Sirinu, she is a director of Chalemie, a group which recreates 18th century pantomime and music theatre. She has performed and taught (both dance and baroque gesture) throughout Europe, the Baltic States and Australia, as well as at many festivals, stately homes and theatres in the UK. She has collaborated with and toured for the Early Music Network and the British Council. She organizes and teaches at the Chalemie Summer School (specialising in early dance, music, singing, commedia and period costume making) held annually at Oxford.


Alexander Varga
Alexander Varga was born in Hungary and visited the musical secondary school in Miskolc. He completed his artistic and pedagogical studies of bassoon at the „Franz List Music Academy“ in Budapest in 1969. Further studies in Paris, Rom, and Vienna followed. Since 1971 he is living in Austria working as a principal bassoonist first in the Kärnter-Symphony Orchestra, then between 1974-1992 in the same position in the Bruckner Orchestra. His artistic career is documented by numerous awards at rnational and international competitions as well as by a lively activity as a soloist and as a chamber and orchestra musician in many famous ensembles and orchestras (i.a. Hungarian Chamber Orchestra, Rossini-Quartet, Concertino Carinthia, Linz Woodwinds; rewarded with the cultural distinction of the city of Linz, Upper Austrian woodwind soloist, Vienna State Opera, Budapest State Opera, Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna, Austrian Johann Strauss Ensemble, Miskolc Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, Festival Orchestra Vienna). Also to list are numerous participations at music festivals (Salzburg, Vienna, Barcelona, Budapest, Tokyo, etc.) as well as at many recordings. He also excelled as a lecturer at master classes and seminaries (Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Hungary), as well as an editor for pedagogical textbooks for bassoon, e.g. the lately published „Tonleiter und Intervallstudien für Fagott“ by Zimmermann or urtext – respectively first print editions by Doblinger and by Editio Musica. Since 1984 Alexander is leading the bassoon class at the Anton Bruckner Private University.