Biography

Ann Allen
Historical reed instruments, recorders, voice

Bitten by the early music bug at an early age, Ann Allen, has never quite recovered and now is a leading specialist in early wind instruments.

 

Born in the UK, she has lived in Manchester, London, Basel, Berlin and Paris - studying at Royal Academy of Music, Schola Cantorum Basiliensis and Sorbonne & Manchester Universities along the way.

Now based permanently in Basel she divides her time between performing and teaching ... with a smattering of opera staging to spice things up.

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She has performed with many of the leading wind ensembles including Alta Bellezza, Les Haulz et Les Bas, Capella Helvetica and I Fedeli and has been directing her own medieval ensemble, Mediva, for over two decades.

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As a freelance oboist she has performed with many baroque orchestras including Capriccio Basel, Ad Fontes, L'Arpa Festante, La Cetra, and Academy of Ancient Music. For several years she ran the baroque chamber group Il Bacio and was co-founder of the UK based oboe band Syrinx.

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Between 2006-2012 she established her own festival NOX ILLUMINATA presenting concerts in scenic and atmospheric settings, challenging standard concert tropes and  mixing Early Music with other music genres and art forms. She has also created alternative staged performances of Dido and Aeneas, Weihnachtsoratorium and La Voix Humaine.

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