AUGUST UPDATE

Continuo Foundation
Sep 6
6 min read

IN THIS UPDATE:

3. PAUL JAMES JOINS ADVISORY PANEL

IMPACT - FEEDBACK AND FIGURES

In August, four of our grantee ensembles gave a total of nine concerts in eight locations across the UK. Lowe Ensemble also released their debut video-recording of Antonio Soler's Fandango (see below), which has already attracted nearly 27,000 views on Instagram and 2,000 on YouTube.

We were delighted to receive the following feedback from the Musical & Amicable Society (Fiddler's Three concerts and recording) highlighting the value of our grants in enabling a more in-depth understanding of a programme, yielding higher-quality results and artistic growth:

The project was a great success. The main benefit of the funding from Continuo Foundation was the ability to give two performances in the week before recording our programme. These days it is rare to be able to perform a programme and let it develop naturally in live performance prior to 'putting it down' on a recording. This allowed us to try out new approaches in our rehearsals, take risks where we would normally 'play it safe' and let our ensemble grow organically.

And feedback on a similar theme from Apollo's Cabinet (The Comic Muse concert tour):

We went to fascinating places with this project. It was wonderful to reach new audiences, who responded with intrigue and delight. Continuo funding made a huge difference, enabling us to be more ambitious and to take more time to hone the programme through multiple performances.

Continuo Foundation's impact since inception:

£950,000 awarded to 110 ensembles

1,282 freelance musician beneficiaries

338,450 audience beneficiaries

32 new albums released

GRANT ROUND 10 - EVALUATION UNDERWAY

A message from Tina Vadaneaux, Founder and CEO:

We were thrilled to receive 58 applications in our tenth funding round, with requests totalling over £300,000. The strong demand reflects both the limitless creativity of the musicians in this sector and the growing interest in Early Music from concert promoters across the UK.

We were pleased to see that the quality and innovation of the projects being proposed continue to rise. According to Continuo's expert Advisory Panel, who have assessed well over 500 applications since 2021, 'this is the strongest group of projects we have seen so far.'

Of the 58 applicants, 21 are emerging ensembles, founded since 2020. Since Continuo introduced this category in 2022, applications from new groups playing at a high level have been steadily increasing. This very healthy pipeline of emerging talent bodes well for the future of the sector!

To discuss how you can help us to keep investing in and promoting Baroque and Early Music, please contact me at tina@continuofoundation.co.uk or visit our Support Us page.

PAUL JAMES JOINS CONTINUO ADVISORY PANEL

We are thrilled to welcome Paul James, founder of the European Union Baroque Orchestra and experienced arts administrator, to Continuo Foundation's expert Advisory Panel. A former Choral Scholar at Clare College and St. John’s College, Cambridge, where he read architecture, he co-founded an artists’ agency representing many pioneering early musicians in the 1980s, and set up Music in Oxford, a concert series with a significant early music strand still going to this day.

In 1985, Paul created the European Union Baroque Orchestra (EUBO), which occupied him fully for the next 35 years! EUBO gave pre-professional performing and touring experience to young baroque musicians from all over Europe in an annual programme, working with distinguished directors and touring throughout Europe and beyond. Paul is delighted to contribute his time and experience to support Continuo's mission and we feel fortunate to have him on board.

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT

with Yu-Wei Hu

As both a recitalist and orchestral musician, Yu-Wei Hu has performed on Baroque and classical flutes throughout the UK and Europe. She is the Principal Flute of the Oxford Bach Soloists and Opera Warberg (Sweden), and has performed with many other renowned period chamber ensembles and orchestras, including Arcangelo, Florilegium, Gabrieli Consort & Players, London Handel Orchestra, The Mozartists and The Hanover Band. Yu-Wei has been a Professor of Modern and Historical Flute at London Performing Academy of Music since 2021. In 2008, she founded Flauguissimo with guitarist and theorbo player Johan Löfving. She has performed at prestigious venues and festivals across the UK and abroad with this group.

How has Continuo Foundation impacted your day-to-day life?

Continuo has created a genuine sense of community among early musicians. We feel so supported! After all, Continuo doesn't just help financially but also with publicity and marketing. I am so happy reading all the social media posts about my friends' latest exciting concerts on a daily basis.

What new doors have opened for you since becoming a grantee?

Continuo Foundation has supported many projects and ensembles I've played in, such as The Mozartists, London Obbligato Collective and of course Flauguissimo. With Continuo grants, Flauguissimo had a wonderful launch tour of our latest album 'To the Northern Star' around the UK (and in Sweden) in 2023, and there are also some bigger ensemble concerts coming up later this year!

What do you love about being a musician?

I always like to express myself through drawing, writing, dancing and playing music. Being a musician is the best way to unite all art forms, while experiencing, expressing and sharing all the thoughts and human emotions at the same time!

Where did you encounter the most receptive audience?

The most receptive audience I have encountered was in the New College Chapel in Oxford, especially during a performance of Bach's 'Easter Oratorio'. I could literally feel them breathing with me every second!

No.1 listening recommendation?

Ensemble Pygmalion - Stravaganza D'amore!: The Birth Of Opera At The Medici Court

L’arpeggiata - Music for a While - Improvisations on Purcell

More about Yu-Wei Hu is available in her Continuo Connect Interview .

AUGUST PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

Lowe Ensemble - Fandango

In August, the Lowe Ensemble, an emerging group comprising five siblings, released their debut video-recording project, performing Antonio Soler's Fandango in an arrangement for strings, harpsichord, baroque guitar and percussion. The recording was made in London in May 2025 with Chiaro Audio, and the video was shot in Spain in July 2025. Originally composed for solo harpsichord by the Spanish priest and composer Antonio Soler (1729–1783), Fandango is a captivating work that bridges the late Baroque and early Classical styles. Soler’s masterful fusion of folkloric elements with episodic passages and a recurring bass ritornello makes it a standout piece in the keyboard repertoire. The ensemble commented: 'This project means a lot to us, since it captures San Lorenzo de El Escorial near Madrid, where we grew up and began making music together. Padre Antonio Soler lived and composed this piece here, a small town by the Guadarrama mountains, northwest of Madrid.' Click above to watch the video, or listen on Spotify.

Queen Victoria's Consort - Brass in Motion

Queen Victoria’s Consort performed at historical railway venues in Shildon and Darlington over three days at the end of August, to celebrate 200 years since the first passenger railway. They performed bespoke arrangements by Steve Robson of music known to have been played at railway events from 1825 and 1840. The music was brought to life on stunning original instruments which were demonstrated to venue visitors and local brass players in open rehearsals.

Click below to see a short video clip from an audience member at the Locomotion Railway Museum Shildon. To hear more from the Queen Victoria's Consort programme celebrating the 200th anniversary of the first passenger railway, between Stockton and Darlington, there is a longer video filmed in 2024.

Consone Quartet - Brahms & Schoenberg Sextets

The Consone Quartet were joined by their long-standing chamber music partners, Francesca Gilbert (viola) and Alexander Rolton (cello), for three sold-out concerts, in Syde (Gloucestershire), in Wallingford and in Oxford. They performed a programme pairing Brahms String Sextet No. 1 and Schoenberg Verklärte Nacht - two early works by innovative and influential composers, performed on gut strings. The tour of this programme continues to Norwich (12 Sep) and Thornham Magna (Suffolk, 13 Sep).