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FEBRUARY UPDATE
- Continuo Foundation
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
IN THIS UPDATE:
2. 2026 GRANTS & FUNDRAISING
IMPACT - FEEDBACK AND FIGURES
In February, five grantee ensembles presented a total of ten concerts supported by Continuo in eight locations across the UK. In addition, Passacaglia Trio released two new videos from their 'La Parisienne' filming project (see Project Highlights below).
The following feedback from His Majestys Cornetts and Sagbutts highlights the important role Continuo grants play in enabling ensembles to develop and perform new programmes, enhancing their success with concert promoters and enriching the offering at venues and festivals:
This grant has not only enabled the two performances in Birmingham and Coventry, which otherwise would not have been feasible, it has allowed us to develop and road-test two new concert programmes which we can now propose to major international festivals (Echoes) and smaller-scale music clubs and community music venues (Waits). This will hopefully open up new opportunities for our ensemble into the future.
Continuo Foundation's impact since inception:
£1,070,000 awarded to 114 ensembles
of which 34 emerging ensembles supported
1,360 freelance musician beneficiaries
353,000 audience beneficiaries
34 new albums released
2026 GRANTS & FUNDRASING
A message from Tina Vadaneaux, Founder and CEO:
In our eleventh funding round, which closed on 12 February, we received 75 grant applications - a record number. Over one-third of these were submitted by emerging ensembles and groups new to Continuo. Our expert Advisory Panel identified a high number of excellent projects and we could easily have doubled our funding to £200,000 without compromising on quality.
The Trustees are in the final stages of the evaluation process, and we are collaborating with The Purcell Society to select the project(s) that will receive the additional £6,000 in funding they have provided. The awards will be announced 19 March and a new wave of concerts will begin in May.
We are grateful for a number of wonderful donations which we received in February from new and existing donors. Thanks to their generosity, we are making good progress toward our £100,000 target for the next grant round opening in July.
The campaign continues to try and identify a third Principal Supporter, able to commit £80,000 per year for three years, to join the two we have secured. Finding this key donor will enable us to shift resources from fundraising activities to initiatives that help musicians and grow audiences.
To discuss how you can help us to keep supporting the future of Baroque and Early Music, please contact me at tina@continuofoundation.co.uk or visit our Support Us page.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT
with Teresa Wrann
Teresa Wrann grew up in the idyllic village of Thüringen, nestled in the Austrian Alps. At the age of 8, she became a junior student at the Vorarlberger Landeskonservatorium, where she later completed her bachelor’s degree with distinction. After graduating Teresa moved to London in 2017 to complete a Master’s Degree (MPerf/MMus) and a 2-year Artist Diploma degree at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. She has enjoyed various competition successes and once had the honour of performing to the princess of Liechtenstein.
Concerts have taken her across Europe and she has performed as a soloist and chamber musician with English National Opera, Early Opera Company, the OAE and Sinfonisches Blasorchester Vorarlberg. Live recordings and interviews have been broadcast on WDR, France Musique, NDR Kultur, ORF, BBC Radio 3, and the Dutch station NPO Klassiek. As well as performing, Teresa has a passion for education, teaching in London and in Switzerland, and regularly leads workshops and educational concerts. Teresa is a founding member and director of the internationally-acclaimed ensemble Apollo’s Cabinet and enjoys recorder-shenanigans with her duo TnT.
How has Continuo Foundation impacted your day-to-day life?
Continuo Foundation has allowed us to expand our touring activities across the UK and to connect with many new communities. It’s incredible to have such a dedicated funding body that specialises in supporting early music - particularly projects that bring performances to places with lower cultural engagement and smaller potential audiences than in major cities like London.
What new doors have opened for you since becoming a grantee?
We’ve been able to add some self-organised UK tours to our schedule each year, experiment with new programmes, and build connections with new audiences, promoters and collaborators. Continuo support has also given us the confidence to develop more ambitious projects and to present our ideas with greater belief and clarity in funding applications.
What do you love about being a musician?
I feel incredibly privileged to be able to do what I love for a living. You don’t get many jobs where you get to travel, connect with new audiences and bring joy, comfort and a moment of respite to their daily lives. Seeing their reaction to our music making is one of the greatest rewards of this career. Being part of a chamber group makes it even more special, as I get to experience this together with my colleagues on stage. We love playing with each other and have so many amazing little moments during a concert together, making each other smile or creating little pockets of stillness and awe.
Where did you encounter the most receptive audience?
It’s always striking how much the energy of the audience shapes a performance. When listeners allow themselves to be carried away rather than staying polite and reserved, magic really happens. We try to always create a buzzing welcoming atmosphere among us on stage and let it wash over the audience. We also make an effort to connect with our audience through something they already know: in December, while touring in Estonia, we played and sang the folk song Tuljak. It’s fast-paced and full of tricky Estonian lyrics, and hearing the audience gasp and cheer in surprise was unforgettable!
No.1 listening recommendation?
This is a really hard one - I listen to so much early music when researching our programmes and have a few Bach tracks that I adore and could listen to on repeat (and often do!). As an ensemble, we love listening to 'Bäckafall', a Swedish folk album which has become our go-to track for car journeys. Outside of Early music I also love 1950s classics and really anything by Billy Joel, especially 'Vienna'.
For more about Teresa Wrann check out her Continuo Connect Interview.
FEBRUARY PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
Ex Cathedra - The Sun King's Favourite
Ex Cathedra performed 'The Sun King's Favourite' in Birmingham, the second in a series of three concerts. Jeffrey Skidmore directed the Ex Cathedra Choir and Orchestra in a programme marking 300 years since the death of Michel-Richard de Lalande which featured his heart-stopping De profundis and music ‘frequently demanded’ for royal suppers, plus Corelli's Concerto Grosso, Op.6 No.8. Hear more from Jeffrey Skidmore in the video below - and don't miss the final concert - Bach St John Passion on 3 April.
Música D'Outrora - Still Life
Música D'Outrora continued touring their debut album Still Life, also supported by a Continuo grant, released in September 2025. Following a first outing in Edinburgh in December, the programme was performed twice in February, in York and in Birmingham. The programme traces early Baroque stylus phantasticus across Europe through five regional masters: Dario Castello (Venice), Gregorio Strozzi (Naples), Ignazio Albertini (Vienna), Dieterich Buxtehude (northern Germany), and Alfonso Ferrabosco (England). You can read more about the album in this feature written by their director Pablo Devigo. The album is available to stream on all major platforms, and purchased here. Click below to hear a piece by Stradella from one of the group's recording sessions.
Musica Antica Rotherhithe - La Decima Musa, or the Tenth Muse
Celebrating their 10th anniversary, Musica Antica Rotherhithe toured their programme 'La Decima Musa: Or The Tenth Muse' to Oxford, Sheffield, Durham and Rotherhithe in February. The programme, which was drawn from their upcoming album, featured music composed during the golden age of Venetian opera (c.1650-1660) by Francesco Lucio, Giovanni Legrenzi, Pietro Andrea Ziani, Francesco Cavalli and Barbara Strozzi. Using surviving payment records from Venetian theatres of the time, mezzo Camilla Seale and countertenor Tristram Cooke were accompanied by an ensemble matching a Venetian pit band, comprising two violins, bass viol, three theorbos, harpsichord and a pentagonal virginal. The programme will also tour to St Cecilia's Hall on 31 August as part of the Edinburgh Fringe. Click on the video above to hear a piece by Legrenzi.
Passacaglia - La Parisienne
Passacaglia Trio, joined by guest artist Eligio Quinteiro, has been releasing beautiful videos of selected works from their forthcoming album La Parisienne, due for release in April 2026. The repertoire includes music by cousins Anne and Pierre Danican-Philidor, alongside works by Duval, Blavet, and Marais. A series of ten videos were made to assist with publicity ahead of the album’s release and to expand the group's follower base. Click below to watch the video of Anne Danican-Philidor's Le Tombeau, and read more about it in this Continuo Connect feature.
