The Marais Project
Australian viola da gambist, Jenny Eriksson – whose grandfather was Swedish – and Swedish-born lutenist/guitarist Tommie Andersson, have been bringing Scandinavian music to Australian audiences for more than a decade. They are joined by singer/violinist, Susie Bishop, who speaks (and sings!) Swedish. The Marais Project’s 2015 popular album of Swedish classical, baroque, and folk music, Smörgåsbord, spent three months in the Australian Top 20 Classical Music Charts.

The upcoming project titled Nordic moods and baroque echoes combines Swedish folk music, works from the baroque and several original compositions/arrangements by group members.

“This will be our first visit to Australia,” said Langborn on behalf of the Duo. “We are excited to be working with Tommie, Susie, and Jenny. They have such a spirit of adventure and collaboration; we already feel welcome! We are also thrilled to be able to visit in the Australian summer – our winter – and see some of the countryside.” The Nordic moods, baroque echoes collaboration is literally a ‘one-off’ – and not to be missed!

Catalina Langborn
is the special guest of Paradiso Musicale for the concert taking place at Les Musicales de Baabdath. A very active baroque violinist, Catalina graduated with a Master Degree in baroque violin at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and she has received a number of scholarships from, amongst others, the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, Vadstena Academy Friend’s Scholarship as well as Irma Bartholdsson’s Fund.

Catalina freelances regularly as concertmaster, orchestral musician and chamber musician together with many prestigious Swedish baroque orchestras and ensembles, such as: Drottningholms Barockensemble, Rebaroque, Göteborg Baroque, The Theatre Orchestra of Drottningholm, Vadstena Academy Orchestra, etc. Festivals that Catalina has performed at include: Early Music Festival in Stockholm, Rhein Vokal in Bingen, Germany, Händelfestival in Berlin as well as Festival di Musica Antica del Mediterraneo and Barocco Festival Leonardo Leo in southern Italy.

Together with the baroque soprano Christina Larsson Malmberg, Catalina has founded the non-profit association Operabyrån, with which she has produced, managed and performed, as chamber musician and as soloist, an acclaimed series of opera-productions in which baroque music is combined to the commission of new music and the composition of new librettos. The main focus of Operabyrån is on reevaluating the role of almost-forgotten female composers in the baroque period. The operas have been performed in prestigious venues in Sweden, as well as in Copenhagen and at the International Art Music Festival in Berlin. Operabyrån has just started a long-time cooperation with Stockholm Concert Hall, for which several performances have been planned. The newest production of Operabyrån will focus on music by 17th century Italian nuns, and will include, among other eminent musicians from the Swedish baroque scene, also Anna Paradiso at the harpsichord and Jonas Nordberg at the lute and theorbo.

Besides her passion for classical music, Catalina has also developed a great interest in writing and performing Swedish folk music.

Olof Wendel
is one of thoose musicians that want to be free in the choise of what music he plays. Even in the beginning of his professional career when he studied (dipl. perc) at the University of Gothenburg he wanted to choose music -not after what percussion instrument but after the repertoire. And in that manner he has continued.

For about ten years he was into the classical orchestra music and therefore playing timpany. During this period he played with most of Swedens leading symphony orchestras such as the Royal Opera, GSO, NO, GO and FolkOperan

Since he started to study music, baroque music has been the centre of gravity for Olof and playing JS Bach on marimba has been an everyday thing. However -the percussion instrument that mainly is used in baroque is of course the timpany.. so… there has been a lot of baroque timpany playing, especially with Drottningholms Barock Orchestra and the upcommers Rebaroque here in Stockholm.

However -the small chamber groups or the jazz/pop/world-music band has allways been the main focus. Constellations such as Stig, Katzen Kapell, Cecilia Perssons nonett, Chiaro Scuro, Annas Combo, Kroumata, KammarensembleN and the Gothenburg Chamber Soloists.

Growing up in the super-small-town Eksjö in the south of Sweden was in a musical perspective limited. No record store, no live music (except from the church organ player), no internet (this was back in the eithies). The thing that worked in Eksjö was the local kids playing rockn´roll. And having a band in this very isolated surroundings was great. No distractions. Unlimited practise time. If you got hold of a cool LP you listend to it until it was broken. Since excperienced that period, making music with no compromises is number one priorety.

In a way you can say that Olof is trying to combine the life as a professional musician with the band experience from the past.