Pluto-Ensemble, Marnix De Cat, Hathor Consort, Romina Lischka
Biography Pluto-Ensemble, Marnix De Cat, Hathor Consort, Romina Lischka
Romina Lischka
studies viola da gamba at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel, Switzerland with Paolo Pandolfo, Soloist Diploma 2006 with distinction and subsequently with Philippe Pierlot at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, Belgium, Master 2008 with distinction.
Since 2008 she has performed as a soloist with ensembles such as Collegium Vocale Gent (Philippe Herreweghe), her concert activity takes her to renowned festivals and concert halls in Europe, Russia, Asia, Canada, North and South America.
In 2012 Romina performed in the premiere of George Benjamin's opera Written on Skin at the Festival Aix -en-Provence. Since then she has followed the production to the Opéra Comique in Paris, the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, several tours with the Mahler Camper Orchestra in Europe (Royal Opera Madrid, Barbican London, etc). and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra in China.
For the 2012/13 season, BOZAR and Concertgebouw Amsterdam select her as an ECHO Rising Star for the Early Music category. Within this framework, she performs as a soloist in a large number of European concert halls. Her first CD Pièces de viole de Sieur de Machy receives a Diapason 5. En Suite - Marin Marais & Ste. Colombe, receives the Klara Prize 'best classical CD of 2015'.
Romina can be heard on numerous CD recordings on the Coro, Flora, Ricercar, Christophorus, Musica Ficta, Fuga Libera, Paraty, Phi and Ramée labels.
Besides being a gambist, she studied North Indian classical singing, style Dhrupad, from 2006 to 2010 (Bachelor) at the Conservatory in Rotterdam, Holland (World Music Department), and in Delhi and Pune, India with Ustad Fariduddin Dagar and Uday Bhawalkar.
In 2012 she founded her Hathor Consort, dedicated to Renaissance and Baroque consort repertoire, as well as world music and contemporary music.
In 2018, she received the VRT Klara Award Soloist of the Year. In the 2019-20 season, she was Bozar's Portrayed Artist. In 2020 she receives de Ultimas award for music from the Flemish government.
Thomas Baeté
Born in Ostend, Belgium, Thomas Baeté studied his instrument, the viola da gamba, in Brussels and Barcelona with Wieland Kuijken and Sophie Watillon and took masterclasses with Jordi Savall and Paolo Pandolfo. He performs regularly on both the viola da gamba and medieval fiddles in concerts with ensembles such as Mala Punica (Pedro Memelsdorff), the Capilla Flamenca (Dirk Snellings) and Graindelavoix (Björn Schmelzer). He has also received invitations from the baroque orchestras La Petite Bande (Sigiswald Kuijken), Collegium Vocale (Philippe Herreweghe) et Les Agrémens. He is also a member of two viol ensembles: the Dutch quartet The Spirit of Gambo and Romina Lischka's Hathor Ensemble.
In 2010, he founded his own vocal and instrumental ensemble ClubMediéval, which specialises in repertoire from the late Middle Ages. With his second ensemble, Transports Publics, he pursues his passion for 17th century chamber music. His concert activity has taken him to more than 20 different European countries as well as Morocco, Peru, Colombia, USA, Canada, Georgia and Japan. In addition to concerts, he has also appeared as a musician in the dance theatre pieces "Foi" by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and "En atendant" by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker.
He teaches viola da gamba and medieval repertoire in Leuven, Brussels and abroad. At the Conservatoire royal in Brussels he is a lecturer for improvisation in early music.
Marnix De Cat
The Belgian counter-tenor, conductor, organist and percussion player, Marnix De Cat, studied at Sint-Jan Berchmanscollege Brussel (1979-1985). He graduated from the Lemmens Institute in Leuven (Hogeschool voor Wetenschap & Kunst, 1985-1992), earning a First Prize in organ (under Reitze Smits), harmony and counterpoint. He also studied singing, percussion and fugue, and received a First Prize in choral conducting. (under Erik Van Nevel)
Marnix De Cat sings and plays music from 14th to 21st centuries, specializing in Ars Nova, Renaissance, Baroque, Early Romantism and Contemporary.
He grounded his own vocal Pluto-ensemble to work out his ideas on different music-scenes.
Marnix is a permanent member of the Gesualdo Consort Amsterdam (alto, since 2002). From 1996 till 2013 he has been one of the four permanent core members of the Capilla Flamenca, participating in its worldwide tours. In addition, he regularly collaborates with the Collegium Vocale Gent, Currende ensemble, Weser Renaissance, Huelgas Ensemble,..
He also has been raising his visibility as a soloist as well performing with conductors such as Gustav Leonhardt, Philippe Herreweghe, Jos van Immerseel, Manfred Cordes...
Several modern dance performances co-opted him as a singer for their tours, among others: Iets op Bach (A.Platel), Foi (S.L.Cherkaoui), and Bâche (K. Augustijnen).
You can hear Marnix De Cat on about 90 CD-recordings.
Marnix was replacing organist at St-Michielscathedral Brussels (1988-1993), and was organist for several years at the Church of St-Geertrui in Leuven. He taught at Hogeschool WENK, Campus Lemmensinstituut, Leuven, Belgium (1992-1996) and in the Aquariusproject for kids (Antwerp), and had his own keyboardschool (1992-1998). Marnix De Cat was the singer-coach of the BL!NDMAN saxophone quartet.
Together with jazz saxophonist Hugo Boogaerts, he formed the duo OrgaX, a unique combination of organ and saxophones, with an accent on improvisation and a mix of styles. To cap it all, he is also active as a composer and regularly collaborates on music projects for young people, and as a vocal ensemble coach.
