About us

Rachael Beesley is a renowned Australian-British violinist, conductor, concertmaster and music educator, specialising in historically informed performance. She brings a wealth of knowledge to animating historical performance practices in sound, enriching today’s musical landscape. She has appeared as concertmaster with leading European HIP ensembles, including Anima Eterna Brugge, La Petite Bande, Postscript Ensemble, Das Neue Mannheimer Orchester and New Dutch Academy, and as guest director of Les Muffatti (Brussels) and NZBarok (Auckland), performing at major festivals and venues worldwide. Rachael is co-artistic director, conductor and concertmaster of the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra, and has also appeared as concertmaster with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Adelaide Baroque Orchestra, Pinchgut Opera, Opera Australia and Victorian Opera. Drawing on her distinctive experience in HIP, Rachael is regularly invited to direct modern orchestras from the violin, including the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Chamber Orchestra and Adelaide Chamber Players. An active chamber musician and soloist, Rachael performs with Ironwood, EON and Horizon Ensemble, collaborates with living composers, and explores repertoire from the 17th to the 21st centuries on period instruments. She has appeared on radio and television and on more than 50 CDs for Ramée, Harmonia Mundi, SONY, BIS, Accent, Pentatone, Et’Cetera, Centaur and ABC Classics, recordings that collectively recalibrate the historical narrative. Rachael’s commitment to education includes teaching and lecturing at the Melbourne and Sydney Conservatoriums, Monash University and guest teaching and directing at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague (Netherlands) and the Early Music Department of the Royal Conservatory of Brussels (Belgium).

Kathryn Cok pursues a varied career as a harpsichordist, fortepianist, and academic on both sides of the Atlantic. Born in New York, Kathryn now lives in the Netherlands, where she completed a master’s degree at the Royal Conservatoire and was awarded her PhD from Leiden University on the subject Basso Continuo sources from the Dutch Republic 1620-1790.

A member of the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra since 2001, Kathryn also works with top symphonic orchestras, including Het Concertgebouw Orkest and The Berliner Philharmoniker. Kathryn performs regularly as a soloist in many of the world’s most renowned concert series and Early Music Festivals, including Oude Muziek Utrecht, the Amherst Early Music Festival, and the Bodensee Festival. Kathryn teaches at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague where she is also Head of Master Research. An active researcher, she regularly lectures and contributes to music-related magazines and journals.  An ambassador for historical keyboard performance and research in Europe and North America, Kathryn serves on the board of The Dutch Harpsichord Society and is Vice President of the Historical Keyboard Society of North America.

Since winning the Prize for Most Promising Individual Musician at the International Van Wassenaer Competition, Cassandra Luckhardt has built an international reputation as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician, and teacher of cello and viola da gamba. She has performed, toured and recorded with The Academy of Ancient Music, the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, The King's Consort and Concerto Copenhagen. Her recording of Couperin's viola da gamba suites has been praised as "magnificent and indispensable" while her recording of the Bach sonatas for viola da gamba displays "playfulness, sensitivity, musicality, and collegiality" and a "magnificent performance that leaves nothing to be desired." Her reputation as a sensitive and passionate interpreter of the Passions by Bach is verified by her solo performances with orchestras such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Antwerp Symphony and the Residentie Orchestra.