The Harmonious Blacksmith

Matthew Truscott 

Matthew Truscott is a versatile violinist who shares his time between period instrument and ‘modern’ performance, appearing with some of the finest musicians in both fields. One of the leaders of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment since 2007, he has recently been appointed concertmaster of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, dual roles which he relishes equally. In demand as a guest leader, engagements in this capacity have included projects with The English Concert, Le Concert d’Astrée, The King’s Consort, Arcangelo, Budapest Festival Orchestra, The Arctic Philharmonic, English National Opera, Dutch National Opera and the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra. He is also leader of St James’ Baroque, Classical Opera and the Magdalena Consort. A keen chamber musician, recent recordings have included a set of Purcell Trio Sonatas with Retrospect Trio, a disc of Bach chamber music with Trevor Pinnock, Emmanuel Pahudand Jonathan Manson, and one of Haydn Piano Trios with Richard Lester and Simon Crawford-Phillips. Matthew teaches baroque violin at the Royal Academy of Music in London.  

Damien Ventula

A sincere and passionate performer, Damien Ventula loves to share the emotion and enthusiasm he feels when playing the cello with other musicians, with his audience, or also with students, as he teaches in France at the Versailles Conservatory, and has taught at the famous MusikHochschule Hanns Eisler Berlin from 2013 to 2017. Acclaimed for his great sensitivity and temperament, French cellist Damien Ventula, is in 2017 « Génération Spedidam », and received the Price « Déodat de Séverac » from the Languedoc Academy. He was nominated in 2005 for the “Victoires de la Musique” as a “Révélation soliste instrumental », in 2003 he was chosen as the “Révélation Classique de l’Adami“ and has been the recipient of many other awards, including the Marcel Bleustein- Blanchet, Piatigorsky and Singer-Polignac prizes. Coming from a family of musicians in the south of France, Damien Ventula studied from an early age with renowned masters: Lluis Claret in his native Toulouse, Bernard Greenhouse and Laurence Lesser in Boston and Boris Pergamenschikow in Berlin. Damien Ventula has collaborated with distinguished artists including Barbara Hendricks, Christian Zacharias, Sam Haywood, Frans Helmerson, Hartmut Rohde, the Talich Quartet, Vladimir Mendelssohn, Denis Pascal, Michel Lethiec, or Wolfgang Güttler. In November 2017, he will premiere in Paris, salle Wagram, Charles Chaynes’ cello Concerto with the Orchestre Colonne, under the direction of Laurent Petitgirard. His first recording, “Arc en Cello”, which was devoted to contemporary compositors from Toulouse, was released in December 2008 with the label « La Nuit Transfigurée » and a new recording was released in April 2016 with Klarthe Label (Harmonia Mundi Distribution) where he recorded with pianist Nicolas Bringuier Gabriel Fauré’s pieces for cello and piano.  

Steven Devine

Steven Devine enjoys a busy career as a music director and keyboard player working with some of the finest musicians. He is the Co-Principal keyboard player with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and also the principal keyboard player for The Gonzaga Band, Apollo and Pan, The Classical Opera Company and performs regularly with many other groups around Europe. He has recorded over thirty discs with other artists and ensembles and made six solo recordings. His recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations (Chandos Records) has been received critical acclaim – including Gramophone magazine describing it as “among the best”. Volumes 1 and 2 of the complete harpsichord works of Rameau (Resonus) have both received five-star reviews from BBC Music Magazine and Steven’s latest recording of Bach’s Italian Concerto has been voted Classic FM’s Connoisseur’s choice. 2018 sees the release of Volume 3 of the Rameau harpsichord works and Book 1 of the Well-Tempered Clavier by Bach. He made his London conducting debut in 2002 at the Royal Albert Hall and is now a regular performer there – including making his Proms directing debut in August 2007 with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. He has conducted the Mozart Festival Orchestra in every major concert hall in the UK and also across Switzerland. Steven is Music Director for New Chamber Opera in Oxford and with them has performed repertoire from Cavalli to Rossini. For the Dartington Festival Opera he has conducted Handel’s Orlando and Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. Steven works regularly with the Norwegian Wind Ensemble, Trondheim Barokk, the Victoria Baroque Players (BC, Canada) and Arion Baroque Ensemble (Montreal). He teaches harpsichord and fortepiano at TrinityLaban Conservatoire in London and is Early Keyboard Consultant to the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and Royal Welsh Colleges.