Sophie Negoïta

Swiss-Romanian soprano Sophie Negoïta studied at HEMU Lausanne and graduated from the Mozarteum Salzburg, where she studied under the tutelage of Barbara Bonney. She perfected her technique and musicianship in masterclasses with Cecilia Bartoli, Silvana Bazzoni Bartoli, Barbara Hannigan, Patricia Petibon, and others.

She recently debuted at the Salzburger Festspiele in the role of Esra, the heroine of the world premiere of Ping Pong, an opera composed by Mischa Tangian. Her operatic roles include Pamina, Papagena, Barbarina, Sophie (The Little Sweep), Mrs. Coyle (Owen Wingrave), Solveig, and roles in King Arthur, Dido & Aeneas, Venus & Adonis, and The Indian Queen, in houses such as the Opéra de Lausanne, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Mozarteum, Opéra de Reims, etc.

Known for her versatility, she works across a wide range of musical styles. She collaborates with the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Mozarteum Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Enescu Philharmonic, Moldovan Philharmonic, Craiova Philharmonic, Pulcinella Orchestra... She also performs with the Vereinigung Wiener Staatsopernballett, exploring interdisciplinary performances.

In concert, she has performed the passions and cantatas of Bach, Messiah (Haendel), Requiem (Mozart), Nelson Mass and Missa in Angustiis (Haydn), Gloria (Poulenc), Cris du Monde (Honegger), and Der Rose Pilgerfahrt (Schumann).

In 2024/25, she begins a collaboration with Íliber Ensemble and Darío Tamayo for recordings and international tours with historically informed repertoire. Sophie is an established recitalist, performing regularly with her Liedduo partner, pianist Jansen Ryser.

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Anthea Pichanick

The French contralto Anthea Pichanick burst onto the international music scene after winning both the First Prize and the Special Prize at the Innsbruck International Baroque Opera Competition “Antonio Cesti” in 2015. Since then, she has been acclaimed for the depth of her vocal timbre and her intense yet refined musicality.

She has performed in renowned venues such as the Konzerthaus and Theater an der Wien in Vienna, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, the Chapelle Royale in Versailles, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, the Arsenal in Metz, the Auditorio Príncipe Felipe in Oviedo, and the Théâtre de Caen, as well as at the opera houses of Lyon, Nancy, Montpellier, Lille, Rouen, Limoges, and the Opéra Comique.

Her collaborations include leading ensembles such as Les Siècles, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Les Accents, Cappella Mediterranea, Le Poème Harmonique, Le Concert Spirituel, Ensemble Matheus, I Gemelli, La Chimera, and Les Argonautes, working under the direction of Marc Minkowski, Lorenzo Viotti, Leonardo García Alarcón, Vincent Dumestre, Hervé Niquet, Thibault Noally, Emiliano González Toro, and Jean-Christophe Spinosi. She has also recorded for prestigious labels including Alpha Classics, Naïve, and Aparté.

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Jakob Pilgram

The Swiss tenor Jakob Pilgram studied with Hans-Jürg Rickenbacher at the Musik-Akademie der Stadt Basel and with Werner Güra at the Hochschule der Künste Zürich, graduating with distinction.

A sought-after soloist in Switzerland and abroad, he has sung under renowned conductors such as Thomas Hengelbrock, Ton Koopman, Andrea Marcon, Hans-Christoph Rademann, Pablo Heras-Casado, Andreas Spering, Alessandro de Marchi, Olof Boman, Rudolf Lutz, and Clau Scherrer, gaining deep expertise in historically informed performance practice. He has appeared as a guest artist at the theatres of Basel, Bern, and Lucerne, and since 2005 has been a member of the Ensemble Vocal Origen, with which he has taken part in numerous premieres. In the same year he founded the Vokalensemble larynx, which he directs. He is also a member of the Balthasar-Neumann Chor and the Amsterdam Baroque Choir, and as a soloist he has performed with ensembles such as La Cetra, Orchestra Frau Musika, the J. S. Bach-Stiftung, and the Bach-Akademie Stuttgart.

Since 2004 he has formed a lied duo with Mischa Sutter, winning third prize at the Franz Schubert International Lied Competition in Graz in 2012 and the Basler Orchester Gesellschaft’s (BOG) Lied Performance Award in 2008. He also serves on the board of the association Besuch der Lieder. Since 2024, he has been Artistic Director of the Collegium Musicum Luzern and teaches vocal ensemble at the Hochschule Luzern Musik.

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Christian Wagner

The German baritone Christian Wagner studied Voice, Cello, and Modern Languages in Mainz, Potsdam, and Paris. He received important artistic guidance from figures such as Andreas Scholl, Rudolf Piernay, Cheryl Studer, Thomas Quasthoff, Charlotte Lehmann, Janet Williams, and Sami Kustaloglu.

He has worked with conductors including Ton Koopman, Andrea Marcon, Masaaki Suzuki, Marcus Creed, Konrad Junghänel, and Michael Hofstetter. After performing with renowned choirs and ensembles such as the Berlin Radio Choir, Amsterdam Baroque, and Vocalconsort Berlin, and distinguishing himself as a finalist or prizewinner at international competitions such as the ARD Competition, Wigmore Hall Song Competition, Helmut Deutsch Competition, and Kammeroper Rheinsberg, he now appears regularly across Europe, North America, and Asia. He has also collaborated with acclaimed pianists including Eric Schneider, Jonathan Ware, and Schaghajegh Nosrati.

His extensive concert activity has taken him to venues such as the Berlin Philharmonie, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Frankfurt Cathedral, the Maison Symphonique in Montreal, Tokyo Concert Hall, and the Cairo Opera House. He has been awarded scholarships by the Richard-Wagner-Stiftung and the Deutscher Musikrat, and has participated in numerous recordings for labels including NAXOS, Accent, and Rondeau.​

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Coro del Friuli Venezia Giulia

Il Coro del Friuli Venezia Giulia was founded in 2001 and has since performed nearly 500 concerts, including world premieres and appearances throughout Italy and Europe. Known for its modular structure, the choir can adapt from a small ensemble, ideal for Renaissance and Baroque repertoire, to a large symphonic choir.

It has collaborated with renowned performers of early, classical, contemporary, jazz, and pop music, as well as with numerous European orchestras, including: Cappella Savaria (Hungary), Solamente Naturali (Bratislava), Venice Baroque Orchestra, Orchestra San Marco (early music); and for symphonic repertoire: FVG Orchestra, Serbian Radio and Television Orchestra, Ljubljana Philharmonic and RTV Orchestra, Junge Philharmonie Wien, Toscanini Orchestra of Parma, Orchestra of Padua and Veneto, Luigi Cherubini Youth Orchestra, among many others.

In addition to its extensive activity in Friuli Venezia Giulia, the choir has been invited to perform at some of the most prestigious festivals and concert seasons, including the Monteverdi Festival in Cremona, Società del Quartetto and I Pomeriggi Musicali in Milan, Emilia Romagna Festival, Musikverein Klagenfurt, Stadttheater Klagenfurt, Wien Musikwoche, Ljubljana Festival, Mittelfest, Ravenna Festival, MI.TO Festival, Stresa Festival, and the Elba International Festival, among others.

Concerts conducted by Riccardo Muti have been broadcast several times on Rai 1 via Eurovision, and performances with Gustav Leonhardt have aired on Rai 2 and Rai 3.

In 2016, the choir began a successful collaboration with celebrated cellist Mario Brunello, which has brought the ensemble to major European festivals and venues.

In November 2022, the choir was invited to perform Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna, becoming the first and only choir from Friuli Venezia Giulia to do so — a sold-out performance.

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Íliber Ensemble

Since its founding in 2013 under the direction of harpsichordist Darío Tamayo, Íliber Ensemble has focused on reviving forgotten musical repertoires, with a special emphasis on the Spanish Baroque.

The ensemble has performed extensively across Spain, Europe, and China, appearing at renowned festivals such as the Meet in Beijing Arts Festival, Festival Internacional de Santander, Festival de Granada, National Heritage Concert Series, and various early music festivals including Granada, Seville, Córdoba, Úbeda & Baeza, and Vélez Blanco. They have also been featured by major institutions like the Valencia and Burgos Philharmonic Societies and the Spanish Ministry of Culture’s MusaE Project. Their performances have taken place in distinguished venues such as the Auditorio Manuel de Falla (Granada), Palau de la Música (València), Daning Theatre (Shanghai), Gran Teatro de Córdoba, Ateneo de Madrid, Royal Palace of Aranjuez, Spain’s Constitutional Court, and the cathedrals of Granada and Baeza, consistently earning praise from critics. The group has received notable recognition, including the 2016 HEBE Award and the 2026 FestClásica Award, awarded by the Spanish Association of Classical Music Festivals.

Íliber Ensemble has recorded several albums with IBS Classical, and made recordings for RTVE and China Central Television. Additionally, they participated in the original soundtracks for the films La primera globalización (2021) and Hispanoamérica (2024), both directed by José Luis López Linares. Since 2024, Íliber Ensemble has been the resident ensemble of the MUSAG Festival.

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Darío Tamayo

Born in Granada, he began his musical training at an early age. After studying piano in his hometown, he moved to Barcelona, where he completed his advanced studies in harpsichord with Luca Guglielmi at the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya (ESMUC). He is currently based in Geneva, Switzerland, where he is pursuing a Master's degree in Baroque Ensemble Conducting (Maestro al cembalo) at the Haute École de Musique de Genève, under the guidance of Leonardo García Alarcón.

As a conductor, he has led ensembles such as the Berlin Sinfonietta, London Classical Soloists, Moravian Philharmonic, Orchestra Frau Musika, Orquestra Barroca de Barcelona, Orquesta Filarmonía Granada, and the Orchestra da Camera di Pordenone. He has also directed vocal ensembles including the Coro del Friuli Venezia Giulia, Vokalsystem Berlin, and the Tomás Luis de Victoria Choir.

As a harpsichordist, he has collaborated with groups such as Cantoría, Serendipia Ensemble, Orquesta Barroca de Granada, and the Akademie Versailles of the Collegium Marianum (Prague). In 2013, he founded the early music ensemble Íliber Ensemble, which he has directed ever since. Since 2020, he has also been the harpsichordist of Continuum XXI, a Spanish-German ensemble dedicated to contemporary music performed on period instruments. In 2022, he served as assistant conductor of the Orchestra Frau Musika in Vicenza (Italy), under Andrea Marcon.

His career has led him to perform across much of Spain, Europe, and China, in venues such as the Daning Theatre (Shanghai), Festspielhaus Hellerau (Dresden), L’Auditori and the Palau de la Música Catalana (Barcelona), Palau de la Música (Valencia), Teatros del Canal (Madrid), Guggenheim Museum (Bilbao), Auditorio Ciudad de León, and the Auditorio Manuel de Falla (Granada), among others. He has also made recordings for RTVE and the labels IBS Classical, Patrimonio Sonoro, and NEOS Music.