About us

Portuguese born violinist, Bárbara, has established herself as a chamber musician, versatile violinist, motivational pedagogue and music therapeutic artist.

She is a member of the Casa da Música Baroque Orchestra / Porto and directs her own ensemble Melopoetica.
Having finished her studies with Distinction and a Fellowship under the tutelage of Diana Cummings and Richard Gwilt, holder of various awards such as Gulbenkian bursary, Trinity College of Music scholarship awards, Leonard Smith & Felicity Chamber Music competition, Radio Head Awards Nominee / SK 2023, Radio Head Awards / SK 2015, Apollo Music Critic Award / CZ 2011, Bárbara played in the European Union Baroque Orchestra, performed with various international ensembles and had the opportunity to work with the greatest of her field such as Fabio Biondi, Rachael Podger, Maasaki Suzuki, Andreas Staier, Rinaldo Alessandrini, Enrico Onofri, Laurence Cummings, Lars Ulrik, Mortensen, Tom Koopman, Christophe Coin, Ashley Solomon, Riccardo Minasi and Alfredo Bernardini amongst many others.

She has been seen with her violin at various international venues such as: Trigonale Festival, AUST, St.Martin in the Fields UK, St.John’s Smith Square UK, Genius of the Violin - International Festival of Violin UK, Halifax Young Musicians Festival, UK, Handel House UK, Ciclo de Conciertos - Pamplona & Tudela ES, Balkan Recital Tour 2006, BBC Broadcast Live July 2005 UK, amongst many others.

As a Rock / Indie / Folk / Metal / Songwriter musician she can be spotted with Slniečko - Folk Rock / SK, FanoSuite as Performer & Songwriter / SK, Grabriel Kain - Indie / UK, Dissonance - Death Metal / SK, Dope Aviators - Alternative Pop / CZ, Bonus (Martin Hula) - Alternative Indie / CZ.

As a recording artist she has had the privilege to record for various labels with renowned artists from baroque to bands: Andreas Staier & Casa da Música Baroque Orchestra - Á Portuguesa (2018) Harmonia Mundi; Solamente Naturali: Música Nitiensis (2023), Música Tyrnaviensis (2022), Música Globus - Live (2019), Thesaurus of Jewish Music 16th - 19th century (2015) Pavian Records; Charles Neidich - Clarimonia / Mozart 1971 Radio Bremen records; Vladimir Godar - Iva Bittova (2006) Querela Pacis ECM Records; Slniečko: Beloit & Bakot (2013); Falošne, Ale s citou (2015); Mate nás rádio (2023) Pavian Records; Gabriel Kain (2019) Deadred Records; FanoSuite (2015) Sonic Cat Studio; Dissonance (2014) The Intricacies of Nothingness, Czech Panorama Records; Dope aviators - Product (2007) 11 Fingers Records; Bonus (8) Náměstí (2011) Deadred Records; Harmony of Nations, ‘Les Caractères de la Danse’ Raumklang Records.

Aside from playing, Bárbara dedicates her time to violin pedagogy and performing therapeutic concerts within her local community such as #Bring Music to Us! bringing music to special needs schools, Alzheimer’s centers and Senior houses.

Studied violin at the Košice and Bratislava Conversatory. After graduation, she continued her studies at Hochschule für Musik “Carl Maria von Weber“ in Dresden, where, apart from studying to play the violin, she devoted her time playing in string quartet and improvisation. She was a scholarship student of Most - Brücke Stiftung and DAAD foundation.

After her studies in Dresden, she broadened her musical engagement with improvisation at Hochschule für Musik “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy“ in Leipzig. Here, after finishing her studies on improvisation, she studied historically interpretation on baroque violin.

She attended several international interpretational courses led by John Holloway, Amandine Beyer, Peter Zajíček and others.

Blanka is an active member of baroque ensembles such as Solamente naturali (Slovakia), Capella Fidicina (Germany), Damian ensemble (the Czech republic), Le Jardin des Artes (Germany, Hungary).

Blanka Pavlovičová plays on a baroque violin copy, made by a violin-maker Juraj Vančík in 2008. She plays as well on a baroque bass-viol copy made by the Polish violin-maker Jan Pawlikovsky,2004.

In 2003 Erik Dippenaar obtained the degree BMus (cum laude) from Stellenbosch University and was awarded a MMus (with distinction) by the Royal College of Music (RCM) in London in 2007. The following year he completed an Artist Diploma in Performance at the RCM. His teachers included Margaret Phillips (organ), Robert Woolley, Terence Charlston and Jane Chapman (harpsichord) and Geoffrey Govier (fortepiano).
From 2005 to 2011 Erik was based in London, where he worked on a regular basis with Florilegium, The London Handel Players, English Touring Opera, the Little Baroque Company and Ensemble Serse. Erik was one of the official accompanists for the annual London Handel Singing Competition and during 2008/2009 he was appointed as Mills/Williams Junior Fellow at the RCM.

Erik is currently Artistic Director of the Cape Town Baroque Orchestra, Artistic Director of the annual Cape Town Baroque Festival, and an adjunct lecturer in organ and harpsichord performance, as well as Western music history and historical performance practice, at the University of Cape Town (UCT). His conducting highlights include the first South African period performance of Handel’s Messiah in 2013, as well as Cape Town Opera’s first production to use a period instrument orchestra: Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo in 2016.

Erik has recently been awarded a PhD in music by UCT, with a dissertation focussing on the role historical domestic keyboard instruments played in the colonisation process in Southern Africa.

Iason Ioannou was born in Drama, a small town in northern Greece. In Greece he completed his cello studies with A. Filippou and his higher theoretical studies with P. Bekiarides, graduating with distinction and an honorary artistic award.

Iason was awarded a scholarship to continue his research with Susan Sheppard, as a MMus and PGAdip student, on the baroque cello at Trinity College of Music in London. He graduated with distinction and was awarded the ‘City Livery Prize 2004’, the ‘Edgar Comley Certificate of Excellence’ and the ‘Wilfred Stiff Prize 2004’ for his final recital and Master in Music respectively.

As a dedicated continuo player he frequently performs with orchestras and ensembles including the Latinitas Nostra, Armonia Atenea, Ex Silentio, the ‘State Orchestra of Thessaloniki’, the OAE, the Maresienne Consort, the Lira d’Orfeo, the Suffolk Players and Melopoetica among others. He is frequently invited to participate in orchestras as a continuo performer all around Europe (Reisoper, Musica Viva, Lira d’Orfeo and others).

Iason has recorded music for the theatre, television and cinema . He has recorded for MDG, Decca and Deutche Grammophon with Armonia Atenea (directed by George Petrou) and Aparte with Latinitas Nostra (directed by Markellos Chrysicos). Iason is based in Athens and teaches masterclasses at Philippos Nakas conservatory in Athens and at the Music-Village summer course in St. Laurentios in mount Pelion Greece.