About us

Marianne Leemann founded Ensemble Barock Nord West in 2014. The orchestra has performed in various formations, depending on the theme of the concert series. The focus has primarily been on early Irish, Scottish and Nordic music, and the arrangements for the relevant instruments are penned by her.  Since 2017, an increasing number of young professional musicians from the Schola Cantorum in Basel have joined the ensemble. In the same period, the repertoire has expanded to include music from across the Atlantic, while Spanish, Italian and Greek music has also found its way into the programmes.

Marianne studied piano at the conservatoire in Zurich (now Zurich University of Arts) and trained in classical guitar. Holding a doctorate in history* she has also extensively studied music history and the role of music in Ireland and the other countries, something she oftens incorporates into the introductions to pieces at concerts to draw the audience into the music. She is always keen to break new ground and seek out musical collaborations with musicians from other genres. Such was the case in 2018 and 2020. The folk and bluegrass groups "The Lonely Hearstring Band" from the USA and "The Original Five" from Sweden joined forces with the ensemble to create the programme "Classic Meets Folk" which resulted in their first CD.

* For her other activities as an historian, see her website http://www.geschichte-leemann.ch

The Ukrainian violinist and singer Mariia Perekrestenko was born into a family of musicians in Kyiv in 1998. She started singing at a very early age. At five, she received her first violin and piano lessons at the Viktor Kosenko Music School in the city of Kyiv.  At the age of 8 she celebrated her first success, winnig the first price in the singing category at the international "Arena Pont" competition in Crimea.  A year later, she also made her debut on the violin and won 3rd prize at a city music competition in Kyiv. During her studies at the music school, and at the Reinhold Glière "Kyiv Institute of Music" under Andrii Fesiuk, Mariia won przes at national and international music competitions in the violin («Classical Meridian» in Kyiv, «I.C.M.U.» in Odesa), singing («Art Premier» in Kyiv) and music theory categories. She has also performed at piano festivals. At the same time, she took private jazz singing lessons with the star coach Irma Gviniaschvili, who is well-known in Eastern Europe. Life subsequently led her to Switzerland, where she completed her bachelor (2020) and Master's in Performance (2022). She is now studying for her Master's in Music Education under Igor Karsko at the Lucerne School of Music. In addition of her studies, Mariia is an active member of various orchestras and chamber music groups in Switzerland («Ars Excelsis Ensemble», «Jugendsinfonieorchester Thurgau», «Junge Philharmonie Zentralschweiz»). In 2019, Mariia played a series of concerts in China with the "Lucerne Chamber Philharmony". She is also working intensively on her solo repertoire, taking part in masterclasses with renowed musicians such as Paul Cortese (viola), Valeriy Sokolov and Tamas Vascharcheli (violin). Mariia is as passionate about teaching as she is about performing. From 2018 to the end of 2019, she taught violin, piano and singing at the «Skazka - Zug» school in Baar, Switzerland. She currently teaches privately and regularly organises concerts with her students. As a singer, Mariia has been a member of the "Melos Vocal Quintet" since December 2020.

Adrián Blanco Peñaranda was born in Burgos (Spain), where he began his studies in classical guitar. He completed these studies in Salamanca (Spain) with professor Hugo Geller, where he also discovered early music and learnt the Renaissance lute, Baroque guitar and theorbo.

He then moved to Basel, where he continued his training as a lutenist at the renowed Schola Cantorum Basilensis with Hopkinson Smith, Julian Behr and Peter Croton.
As a soloist and ensemble member, he has performed in Switzerland, Germany, Portugal, France and Spain, sharing the stage with Oliver Baumont and Javier Artigas (XL International Early Music Festival Daroca, 2018); with the Orquestra Barroca de Salamanca and Julian Doyle in the national concert cycle of the CFNM - National Centre for Musical Diffusion (2019), with the Baroque group Aula Salinas as part of the V Music Festival Antonio de Cabezón (2019), with the Ensemble Avventura (2020), Ensemble Barock Nord West (2019 - ...), with the Balthasar-Neumann-Chor & Ensemble (2021), Le Concert Idéal (2020-), Concierto Ibérico (2022), Ensemble Mozaïque (2023) and others.

Ruth Frei played in various folk and old-time groups before joining the ensemble. Having trained for many years in classical guitar (specialising in Spanish and South American guitar music), she now combines elements of various genres in her guitar playing.

Johannes Christopher Staak, born in Tallinn, Estonia - is a singer and multi-instrumentalist mainly focused on Medieval and Renaissance music. With deep vocal roots in Gregorian chant, and following instrumental studies (saxophone) in both classical music and jazz, he started his career in 2011 as a vocalist with Estonian ensembles Rondellus and Heinavanker. Christopher has studied with renowned singers and artistic directors, such as Uku Joller, Kaia Urb, Marcel Perès, Baptiste Romain and Dominique Vellard. Christopher has completed his Master’s degree under Katarina Livljanic at the Schola Cantorum of Basel (2021).

He explores the extensive possibilities of drone-singing and drone instruments, as well as the importance of social criticism in early music. In his performances and recordings, Christopher has also embraced different traditions, including Estonian runic songs and Corsican chant, as well as contemporary music and electronic music. He has been the music director at St. Peter and St. Paul's Cathedral in Tallinn, as well as a regular collaborator with the Art Museum of Estonia. With vocal group Heinavanker, he has toured three continents, especially Germany, the Nordic countries and the United States.

Priscila Gabrielle Rodrigues is a Brazilian violinist and has been playing in the Youth Orchestras of Bahia (NEOJIBA) since 2010. With this orchestra, she has participated as first violin in concerts, tours and festivals in major concert halls in Brazil, Europe and the USA, accompanying renowned soloists. She played as a soloist under the direction of Chiara Banchini and won the prize for outstanding instrumentalist at the first festival of the Music University of Salvador. Together with the Carybé Quartet, she has performed at festivals and concert halls throughout Brazil since 2015. She also participated as a performer and composer in an Afro-American production in Brazil.

Priscila has been studying baroque violin at the Schola Cantorum Basilensis with Amandine Beyer for four years and will soon complete her studies with a master's degree. 

She has also taken part in concerts and festivals in Europe with important musicians such as Martha Argerich, Leila Schayegh, Jörg Andreas Bötticher, Pablo Valetti, Rachel Podger and Václav Luks.