Sophie Dury was born on April 30 1986 and started studying music at the age of six in her native town Namur. She played the transverse flute and sang in the Walloon Children’s Choir. She began her singing studies with Brigitte Chevigné and continued with Laure Delcampe and Benoît Giaux at the IMEP (Institut supérieur de Musique Et Pédagogie) in Namur. During these five years she had the pleasure of collaborating with great names like David Miller, Noëlle Barker, Audrey Hyland, Jean Tubéry, Claire Lefiliâtre, Vincent Dumestre and Daniel Ottevaere. She obtained her Master diploma magna cum laude.

She has already taken part in productions like Haendel’s Dixit Dominus with la Cetra d’Orfeo (2004), several chamber music concerts in the Félicien Rops museum (2007-2008), the festival ‘Arts-Croisés’ in Gembloux and concerts in ‘l’Eglise Saint-Loup’ in Namur during ‘Les Fêtes de la Musique’ in 2008. She also participated in a Bozar production with the European Union Choir and the laureats of the 2008 edition of the Queen Elisabeth contest, with ‘Elias’ of Mendelssohn, conducted by Theodor Guschlbauer. In 2008 and 2009 she performed the part of Liesl in the musical ‘La mélodie du bonheur’ in collaboration with Joël Lauwers and David Miller. She is the co-founder of the Trio Zephyr where she performs with Michel Lambert (piano) and Sophie Braconnier (transverse recorder). In 2009 the trio was invited on the festival ‘Le Juillet Musical de Saint-Hubert’. Apart from that she frequently performs with Julie Bailly and the ‘South Belgian Brass’. At present she teaches singing ad interim at the Music Academies of Saint-Hubert, Bouillon and Anderlecht.

Aline Hopchet obtained her Master diploma in recorder with Bart Spanhove at the Lemmens Institute in Louvain (Belgium). She continued her studies with Marion Verbruggen at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague (Netherlands), where in 2001 she also obtained her first-phase diploma in baroque oboe with Ku Ebbinge. Fascinated by the old reed instruments she discovered the shawn and the dulcian and completed her studies with Paul Dombrecht. In 2009 she obtained her Master diploma in baroque oboe with Marcel Ponseele and Benoît Laurent at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels (Belgium).

She has worked as a guide at the Museum of Musical Instruments (MIM) in Brussels since 2000 and is often in demand as a lecturer. Her work at the MIM has served to deepen her knowledge about historical early instruments, their iconography, repertoire and performance.

After collaborating with the ensemble Zefiro Torna as a musician and active co-founder, she was privileged to be invited as a recorder and oboe player by ensembles such as Le Concert Spirituel (Herve Niquet), Elyma (Gabriel Garrido), Oboefollia (Paul Dombrecht), Clematis and Le Florilège Musical (Guy Lardinois). As a recorder player she added a particular flavour to CD recording of the ensembles Zefiro Torna (Mermaphilia - Eufoda) and Clematis (Symphoniae by Nicolaus à Kempis and Sonates and Cantiones by Carolus Hacquart - Musica Ficta).

In 2004 she founded her own ensemble CANNAMELLA. Cannamella is an Old-Italian word for liquorice as well as for a small reed flute and nicely characterises the ensemble that is based on recorders and double-reed instruments. Cannamella performs the lesser known repertoire of the 16th, 17th and early 18th century, with programmes such as ‘The Vision of Delight’, ‘Blom-Hofken van Cupido’ and ‘La Tortorella’. Her passion for the flageolet (a small 19th- century recorder) resulted in the foundation of the ensemble LES PANTALONS.

Aline Hopchet teaches the recorder, historical double-reed instruments and ancient music at the Music Academies of Lokeren and Woluwe-Saint-Lambert. She is also a member of the educational staff of the Brussels Musical Instruments Museum (MIM).

www.alinehopchet.com

The musicologist Géry Dumoulin works in the Brussels Musical Instruments Museum, where he is responsible for the wind instrument collection. He is specialised in the cornet, an instrument which he plays himself, both in its modern and its historical (19th-century) versions. The 19th-century instruments that he plays all have their own particular sonorities and technical characteristics. He performs in various ensembles, playing the modern cornet in e.g. the Brass Band Buizingen, with whom he has recorded several successful CDs. This brass band has been invited in Belgium, France, Holland, Great-Britain, Italy, Norway and Austria. He is also a regular guest to the Brabants Volksorkest for performances of the bravura dance repertoire, where especially polkas and waltzes require a virtuoso articulation technique. In 2006 he founded the ensemble À râse dè tère, a brass quartet that brings back to life the rural ‘arguèdènes’ tradition, short dance tunes somewhere in between the ball orchestra repertoire and brass bands. As a flugelhorn player, Géry performed with the Flemish Radio Orchestra for the CD recording of the film music of Séraphine (featuring Yolande Moreau in a realisation of Martin Provost). Apart from that, he greatly enjoys playing the didgeridoo. As a musicologist, Géry Dumoulin takes a particular interest in 19th-century brass organology, with a specialisation in the cornet à pistons. He actively takes part in international congresses and publishes articles in The Galpin Society Journal or The Historic Brass Society Journal. At present he is finishing various projects, among which fieldwork on the arguèdènes tradition. Music editions for 19th-century brass ensembles are a work in progress.

Véronique Rubens graduated at the Conservatory of Liege and Brussels with a master degree in piano with André De Groote. In the same period she completed a master in philology French/Italian at the University of Louvain.She perfected her piano playing with Jan Michiels, Josef De Beenhouwer, Sergei Leschenko and chamber music skills with the Alban Berg Quartett. Recently she’s studying harpsichord with Marie-Anne Dachy and discovers baroque organ playing with Guy Van Waas. She played the core of the piano trio repertoire, being part of the Trojka Trio for many years and works in different chamber groups and as an accompanist for singers.The modern piano is the center point of her musical activities, but her curiosity drives her to the historical keyboards. Apart from playing on pianoforte with Les Pantalons, she’s forming a duo with harpsichord and alto baroque violin with Els De Jonghe.At Orfeus Academy Alsemberg she’s teaching piano, chamber music and serves as piano accompanist. Besides teaching she’s an active music journalist for several magazines, Bruzz among others. She makes concert comments on classical radio Klara.

An Van Laethem graduated with a Laureate Diploma (violin) from the Lemmens Institute in Louvain as a student of Bernadette Bracke. After that she studied baroque violin with Ryo Terakado at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, she continued this specialisation with Sigiswald Kuijken at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels, where she obtained a First prize for baroque violin as well as for chamber music on historical instruments.

She participates in concerts and CD-recordings with the Huelgas Ensemble conducted by Paul Van Nevel, La Petite Bande conducted by Sigiswald Kuijken, B'Rock, Il Fondamento conducted by Paul Dombrecht, the Paul Rans Ensemble, Currende conducted by Erik Van Nevel, Zefiro Torna, Cannamella, Dous Mal, the Jean-Pierre Van Hees Quartet and several ancient-music ensembles.

Apart from that, she teaches baroque violin at the MAGO in Antwerp.