Australia’s “Heaven sent” viol consort. 

“As vital and vibrant a concert of Renaissance music as I’ve heard for some years”... “Compelling”

(Clive O’Connell, The Age, Melbourne)

Consort Eclectus brings the rich repertoire of the viol consort to Australian audiences. Described as ‘heaven sent’ in their debut concert at the Melbourne Autumn Music Festival in 2001, Consort Eclectus has since developed to play an integral role in Early Music performance in Australia. Resident in Melbourne, the group performs regularly in their own subscription series in which they continue to delight with their imaginative programming and fine ensemble work. This is a flexible group specialising in English and Italian renaissance music, often joining forces with solo voices and vocal ensembles.

Guest artists have included recorder virtuoso Genevieve Lacey, international baroque violinist Cynthia O’Brien, eminent Australian organist and composer Calvin Bowman and Sydney-based gamba player Daniel Yeadon. The consort has performed in Arts Festivals such as the Canberra Chamber Music Festival, The Organs of the Ballarat Goldfields Festival and the Spring Early Music Festival under the auspices of the Faculty of Music, Melbourne University and performed regularly in the Melbourne Autumn Music Festival. Consort Eclectus have been recorded for broadcast by the ABC.

Miriam Morris and Ruth Wilkinson bring a wealth of tradition to this outstanding ensemble through their respective teachers, Wieland Kuijken and Jordi Savall, two of the great viol players of our time. Victoria Watts is a graduate of The University of Melbourne having studied viol with Ruth Wilkinson. Laura Vaughan, an ex–student of Miriam Morris, has returned from studies at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague where she studied with Wieland Kuijken and Philippe Pierlot.

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