Fiori Musicali

Biography

Penelope Rapson was born in Derbyshire and read music at Somerville College, Oxford, studying with Jane Glover and David Wulstan. She gained her doctorate there in 1982 and was Tutor in Music at St Hilda''s College, Oxford. Her academic activity and practical involvement in music at the University led to her forming Fiori Musicali in 1983.

From the outset, Fiori Musicali built up a strong regional presence in central England.
Programming familiar repertoire with rarer music has drawn the support of an enthusiastic concert-
going public, while historically aware performances informed by careful re-examination of sources has brought critical respect for the orchestra''s work. The orchestra''s concert season and touring has grown to its present scale of over forty concerts a year, and attracts significant commercial
sponsorship. Fiori Musicali also receive regular support from local and regional arts boards and are frequent winners, of awards from the Arts Council of England.

In 1992 the orchestra gave performances of Purcell''s ode Hail! Bright Cecilia on the exact 300th anniversary of its first
performance in Stationers'' Hall in the City of London. The success of this landmark event led to the revival of the 17th-century tradition of celebrating St Ceciliatide at the Hall, where the orchestra now has an annual platform to present large-scale works in the capital. Penelope Rapson''s
appointment in 1996 as Artistic Director of the St Ceciliatide International Festival of Music promises
major new productions in future years. Forthcoming on Metronome - Haydn''s Nelson Mass

Kerstin Linder-Dewan was born in Germany in 1968 and studied with Prof. von der Goltz and Prof.Kolja Lessing in Wurzburg. She completed her Advanced Solo Studies in Yfrah Neaman''s masterclass
at the Guildhall School of Music, London and pursued baroque and classical studies with Micaela
Comberti. As a soloist she has made broadcasts in various countries and prermered several works, including Encore by Berthold Goldschnildt, which is dedicated to her. She has performed solo concertos in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and at the Royal Festival Hall 3, London and in 1995 was prize winner in the International Locatelli Competition. Her increasingly active solo career led to her being appointed leader of Fiori Musicali in 1996.