NEWS: Agnieszka Budzinska-Bennett and the ensemble Peregrina are the winner of prestigious Echo-Klassik Award 2009 for the a capella recording of the year!
Agnieszka Budzinska-Bennett, was born in 1973 in Szczecin (Poland) and graduated from the Piano Department of Szczecin Conservatory in 1992, whilst at the Consevatory she also attended singing lessons and performed as a choir member and soloist with many choirs throughout Poland and Northern Europe (Germany, The Netherlands, Danemark, Sweden, Norway).
In 1992 she began musicological studies at Poznan University from where she graduated in 1999 (Masters Degree in Musicology), writing a thesis on late medieval German music with Prof. Ryszard Wieczorek.
Her love for medieval times began with her early passion for Old Norse and Anglo-Saxon literature and culture (followed by the French roman and the poetry in langue d’oc). Being already a trained musician and musicologist, she got inspired by Sequentia’s performances in Stary Sacz (Poland) and deeply influenced by their serious and creative approach to medieval song.
In 1994 and 1996 she was awarded a scholarship to attend vocal masterclasses with Evelyn Tubb, Emma Kirkby and Nigel Rogers during the Dartington International Summer School in England. In 1996, for one year, she took private singing lessons with Ansy Boothroyd in London.
Her profound interest in medieval music brought her to Cologne where she attended courses with the late Barbara Thornton (Ensemble Sequentia, Köln 1997). During 1997 - 2001 she continued her studies in Medieval/Renaissance voice (Richard Levitt, Kathleen Dineen, Evelyn Tubb and Dominique Vellard) and the medieval harp (Heidrun Rosenzweig) at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Switzerland, taking part in various medieval, renaissance and baroque projects. During that time, together with Jane Achtman (fiddle), she was also having intensiv sessions on the performance of the songs of Oswald von Wolkenstein with Benjamin Bagby in Cologne. At present she studies voice privately with Stefan Haselhoff in Basle and continues her post-graduate education in a new innovatory Master-Programme for young professional singers in Advanced Vocal Studies (AVES) with Tony Rooley and Evelyn Tubb at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (2009-2011).
During her voice studies she attended various lectures at the Musicological Institute of Basel University. After finishing her vocal education at the Schola Cantorum in 2001, she took postgraduate studies in Musicology working on early medieval notation, style and performance practice with the respectable Prof. Wulf Arlt who remains for her the greatest authority in modern musicology. Apart from her musicological studies, she was able to develop her early interest in Germanic languages by attending the Norse Philology faculty (Prof. Jörg Glauser), taking courses in Old Norse language and literature as well as modern Norwegian and Icelandic. From 2001-2004 she was employed as an Assistant at the Microfilm Archive of the Musicological Institute of Basel University, using its rich working facilities for her practical work as a medieval music performer.
Agnieszka Budzinska-Bennett is the co-founder and the spiritus movens of Basel-based ensemble Peregrina, specializing in early medieval vocal music. This young dynamic ensemble has already been invited to many important festivals in Switzerland, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Spain and Estonia. The ensemble’s continuing partnership with the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, where its members met and studied, led to CDs recordings “Mel et lac” (SCB Edition/Raumklang/DRS2 2005) and "Filia praeclara" (SCB/Divox 2008) which have received critical acclaim in the press including ECHO-KLASSIK 2009, twice Goldberg 5 (Spain), 4 Diapason (France), Selection Musicora (Apr 2006),CD of the month (Muzyka 21, Poland), Supersonic Pizzicato (Luxembourg).
She also sings in Germany, France, England, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Iceland and China with diverse groups such as the Ferrara Ensemble, ensemble Slowo (Basel), ensemble Perlaro (Lugano) and Arte dei Suonatori (Poland).
Agnieszka
Budzinska-Bennett made her succesful theater debut as Amor and Valletto in the
production of Claudio Monteverdi's "L'incoronazione di
Poppea" (with Barockorchester La Cetra; mus. dir. Konrad
Junghänel; dir. Nigel Lowery) in the 2003/2004 season at Theater Basel. Recently she sung in the world premiere of contemporary Basle composer Andreas Pflüger "Mord in St. Johann" (Imprimerie 2009).
Her pedagogical activities include an introduction to the 12th-century Aquitanian music at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis ("Einführung in die aquitanische Musik des 12. Jahrhunderts - Notation - Sprache - Stil", 2002/2003) und an der Felix-Mendelssohn Hochschule für Musik und Theater Leipzig (2010), lectures at the Tartu University in Estonia ("Polyphonic singing in the 12th century", 2004) and various other courses on early music performance practice in Switzerland, France and Poland. 2008 she was invited for a guest-lecture on the parody and allegory in the 13th century motets at the University of Poznan (PL).
Her passion for languages allowes her to speak fluently English, Italian and German (Diplomas: Certificate of Proficiency in English, University of Cambridge 1996 and Certificazione di Italiano come Lingua Straniera CILS 3, Universita di Siena 2005); she's also able to communicate sufficiently in Russian (thanks to her beloved Russian grandmother, Nina) and has a good orientation in Middle Latin, langue d'oc, Old French and various ancient Germanic languages.
Agnieszka Budzinska-Bennett has been constantly praised for her passionate performances (including a recent two solo recitals with medieval laments and medieval Icelandic music) and the careful and creative way of preparing Peregrina’s programmes which has secured her the respectable place among the musicologists and early music performers alike.
At present Agnieszka Budzinska-Bennett is busy with her Ph. D. thesis on the 13th-century French motets.
Radio broadcasting:Deutschlandfunk (D), WDR (D), SWR 2 (D), Radio Klara (BE), Schweizer Radio DRS 2 (CH), Klaasika Radio (EE), Polskie Radio 2 (PL), Radio Merkury (PL), BBC 3 (GB)
"Muzyka w raju" (Music in the Paradise) - a documentary film about III Festiwal "Muzyka w Raju" Paradyż, Poland (19-28.08.2005), screenplay and direction: Monika Górska (TVP 2, 2007)
Most important appeareances:
- Starosadecki Festiwal Muzyki Dawnej Stary Sacz 2010 (PL)
- Festival
„Muzyka w raju“
Paradyż 2010 & 2005 (PL)
- Mazovia Goes Baroque Warszawa 2010 (PL)
- Internationale
Orgelwochen ION Nürnberg 2009 (D)
- York Early Music Festival 2009 (GB)
- Forum
Alter Musik Zürich – Festival „Extase und Anbetung“ 2009 (CH)
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INNOVANTIQUA
Winterthur 2008 (CH)
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Ceresio
Estate 2008 (CH)
- Festival
Portico di Zamora 2007 (ES)
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Nox
illuminata Basel 2007, 2006, 2005 (CH)
- Mariasteiner
Konzerte 2007, 2004 (CH)
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Freunde
Alter Musik in Basel 2006, 2004, 2002 (CH)
- Festival
Euphonia Orlean 2000 (F)
-
Musik
und Kirche Bressanone/Bolzano/Trento 1998 (I)
- Festiwal Muzyki Dawnej w Krakowie 1997 (PL)
On 30th march 2006 tokafi.com has published an interview with Agnieszka. Click here to read the inteview
Last updated: Mar 06th, 2010