Anders Muskens, Elia Celegato, Florencia Gómez
Biography Anders Muskens, Elia Celegato, Florencia Gómez
Anders Muskens
is a Canadian early keyboard specialist, music scholar, and ensemble director, active as an international artist in North America and Europe. He began piano studies at the age of 4 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and completed an Associate Diploma (ARCT) in modern piano from the Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto (CA) under the tutelage of Dr. Irina Konovalov. With support from the Alberta Arts Graduate Scholarship (CA), the Edmonton Community Foundation (CA) and the Adriana Jacoba Fonds (NL), he completed a Masters in Fortepiano at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague under Dr. Bart van Oort and Petra Somlai, with Fabio Bonizzoni and Patrick Ayrton for harpsichord. He is currently completing a doctorate in musicology at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Matthew Gardner, Prof. Dr. Thomas Schipperges, and Dr. Jed Wentz (Leiden University), where he researches rhetorical acting and early modern theatre practices in relation to musical performance. For this research, he has received Landesgraduiertenförderung (State Graduate Promotion) from the state of Baden-Württemberg (DE), the Sir James Lougheed Award of Distinction from the Province of Alberta (CA), as well as a Doctoral Fellowship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
From November 2023, he is represented by the Sonus artist agency run by Andrea Braun.
As the founder and director of the period orchestra Das Neue Mannheimer Orchester, he has distinguished himself as a specialist in reviving the forgotten music of the Mannheim Court Orchestra (die Mannheimer Hofkapelle) which originally existed during 1742–78 in Mannheim and later moved to Munich after 1778. The ensemble received the „Hofkapelle Elbe-Elster“ für das Jahr 2019 prize at the „Gebrüder Graun Preis“ 2018 in Bad Liebenwerda, (DE), and has been supported in concertizing and recording by numerous grants from the Adriana Jacoba Fonds (NL), the Canada Council for the Arts (CA), the Alberta Foundation for the Arts (CA), Sena (NL), the Canada Council for the Arts (CA), the Norma Fonds (NL), the Fonds Podiumkunsten (NL), and various municipal funds in the Netherlands and Germany. In April 2022, the ensemble performed at the Schwetzinger SWR Festspiele in Schwetzingen (DE) in collaboration with soprano, Elisabeth Hetherington, performing symphonies, concerti, and opera arias from Mannheim c. 1750–80. The concert was later broadcast on the German radio station SWR2, and Dutch NPO4. The ensemble has produced numerous recordings, which are released under the labels Etcetera Records and Naxos via Leaf Music Distribution.
He received numerous awards and scholarships, including first place at the Early Music Young Ensemble Competition at the London Exhibition of Early Music 2018 (UK) followed by several broadcasts on the BBC Radio 3 Early Music Show. He is a previous recipient of an instrument on loan from the Nationaal Muziekinstrumenten Fonds (NL); namely, a c. 1815 Dulcken replica fortepiano. He was chosen for the Kunststiftung Baden-Württemberg (DE) artist stipend in 2024, awarded an Artist in Residence at the National Music Centre in Calgary (CA), was selected as an artist for Alberta Spotlight in 2020 (CA) and did an ensemble residency at Schloss Weißenbrunn (DE). He has played solo programs at Het Concertgebouw in Amsterdam (NL), the Utrecht Early Music Festival (NL), the TonArt festival in Wolfenbüttel (DE), “I Concerti di Campagna” series in Monte Compatri (IT), the 2022 Canadian Society for Eighteenth Century Studies Conference at the University of Ottawa (CA), the Tartini Symposium at the University of Alberta in Edmonton (CA), the Bach Network Dialogue Meeting in Cambridge (UK), and will play concerts at the Salle bourgie in Montreal (CA), Bloomington Early Music Festival (USA), and Early Music Vancouver (CA). With various ensembles, he has performed at the Schwetzinger SWR Festspiele (DE), the MouseEar concert series (NL), the Kasteelconcerten series (NL), the London International Exhibition of Early Music (UK), the MAfestival Brugge (BE), the Laus Polyphoniae Festival Antwerp (BE), the Grachtenfestival in Amsterdam (NL), Barbara Maria Willi’s early music concert series in Brno (CZ), the Woelfl-Haus Bonn (DE), the Geelvinck Fortepiano Museum (NL), and the Wahrenbrücker Graun-Festtage (DE).
Elia Celegato
born in Padova, Italy, embarked on his clarinet journey under the guidance of Stefano Righetto at the Conservatorio of Padova “Cesare Pollini.” He completed his studies under the mentorship of Luca Lucchetta in 2017. In 2018, he pursued his Masters in Historical Clarinet at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague, studying with Eric Hoeprich. Elia successfully graduated in 2020, showcasing his talent through performances of Schubert’s renowned “Great” and “Unfinished” symphonies with the Orchestra of the Eighteenth-Century under the baton of Sir Roger Norrington. In 2020, Elia was selected to join the Accademy of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in London, led by Margaret Faultless. His musical journey also led him to become the principal clarinetist and deputy of the Hamroniemusik of Das Neue Mannheimer Orchester in 2019.
Notably, Elia made a mark in the recording industry, contributing to the premiere recording of the aria “Queste selve già d’amore” from J.C. Bach's opera Amor Vincitore, released by Etcetera Records in the album Army of General vol.1 in 2020. His talent continued to shine, leading to his official membership in the esteemed Orchestra of the Eighteenth-Century in 2022.
In 2023, Elia furthered his academic pursuits, completing his master's degree in "Musicologie: Recherche et Pratiques d'Ensemble" at the University of Poitiers/Tours in collaboration with the orchestra of the Abbaye aux Dames in Saintes, France. Under the guidance of Francesco Spendolini and Nicola Boud, he delved into classical and romantic repertoire, interpreting works by Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Arriaga, Offenbach, Verdi, Rossini, and Brahms among others. Elia had the unique opportunity to explore these pieces using original historical instruments, working alongside renowned directors such as Hervé Niquet, Alexis Kossenko, Julien Chauvin, Amandine Beyer, David Stern, Stéphanie-Marie Degand, and Leo Warynski.
In 2018 Elia got a bachelor’s degree in economics and Marketing in the Agro-Industrial System at the Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna.
Florencia Gómez
is a flute player specialized in the performance on historical instruments. She has collaborated with Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Apollo ensemble, Holland Baroque Society, Dutch Baroque, Wrocławska Orkiestra Barokowa, Musica Amphion, La Folia Barockorchester, Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, and many more.
In the Royal Conservatoire The Hague she teaches courses and clinics about performance, methodology and didactics of early flutes in education, historical development of the traverso and flute, as well as the courses Yoga for musicians and the Open Yoga class for both The Royal Conservatoire and The Royal Academy for the Arts The Hague.
She has taught masterclasses and lectures at the Royal Music Association in London, the National University for the Arts of Argentina, the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts Brno, the Fontys Hogeschool voor de Kunsten in Tilburg, the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, and others.
