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JANUARY UPDATE
- Continuo Foundation
- Feb 10
- 7 min read
Updated: Feb 11
IN THIS UPDATE:
2. 2026 GRANTS & FUNDRAISING
IMPACT - FEEDBACK AND FIGURES
Since our last update, seven of our grantee ensembles have presented a total of ten concerts supported by Continuo in nine locations across the country. These programmes have featured an incredible variety of repertoire from medieval to baroque to classical. Spinacino Consort also recorded their debut album, with vocal group Siglo de Oro, of their tour programme.
Feedback in the post-project report from Lowe Ensemble highlights the importance of Continuo grants in helping ensembles to build audiences across the country, and to grow in confidence to enhance their future success:
The grant had a significant impact on the ensemble’s development and enabled us to reach audiences across England. We were able to introduce the ensemble and present a vibrant programme of Spanish Baroque music, allowing us to share our music heritage with appreciative UK audiences. This increased our visibility, strengthened our audience base beyond London, and created opportunities for future concerts and projects.
And similar feedback in the post-project report from Flauguissimo:
We would not have been able to complete this project without Continuo's support. This programme had been in development for several years, and it meant so much to be selected for a grant award. All the positive feedback from audiences and colleagues has given us confidence to keep exploring lesser-known Scandinavian baroque repertoire and to continue sharing it with UK audiences.
Continuo Foundation's impact since inception:
£1,070,000 awarded to 114 ensembles
of which 34 emerging ensembles supported
1,350 freelance musician beneficiaries
352,000 audience beneficiaries
34 new albums released
2026 GRANTS & FUNDRASING
A message from Tina Vadaneaux, Founder and CEO:
Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we opened a new £100,000 funding round on 8 January, and inspiring applications are streaming in ahead of Thursday’s deadline. Every six months, the imagination and ambition behind these projects reminds us how modest sized grants can spark creativity and reshape the early music landscape for audiences across the UK.
Over the coming month, our expert Advisory Panel and Trustees will be evaluating these grant applications, and a new wave of concerts, tours and recordings will be bursting onto the scene later this year. The grant awards will be announced on 19 March 2026.
On the fundraising front, we are making good progress toward our £100,000 target for the next grant round in July. In parallel, we are seeking one more Principal Supporter, able to commit £80,000 per year for three years, to join the two existing ones. We are a lean team, so securing this very important donor would mean that the significant time currently spent fundraising could be used to pursue new initiatives and more effectively help musicians and grow audiences.
To discuss how you can help us to keep investing in the future of Baroque and Early Music, please contact me at tina@continuofoundation.co.uk or visit our Support Us page.
PARTNERSHIP WITH THE PURCELL SOCIETY
Grant Round 11 includes an additional £6,000 offered by The Purcell Society in celebration of its 150th anniversary. Supported by the Purcell Society Trust, the grant will fund one or more performance or recording projects featuring the music of Henry Purcell. Applications will be assessed through Continuo Foundation’s two-stage evaluation process, with final decisions made by the Foundation’s Trustees in consultation with The Purcell Society. More details are available here.
Dr Alan Howard, Chair of The Purcell Society, comments:
‘This collaboration offers a wonderful opportunity to celebrate Purcell’s legacy by supporting today’s performers as they bring his music to life for modern audiences. We are grateful to be able to benefit from Continuo Foundation’s expertise in selecting an outstanding project that combines scholarship, creativity and performance.’
Tina Vadaneaux, Founder and CEO of Continuo Foundation, adds:
‘Over the past five years, Continuo Foundation Awards have become a vital source of support for early music performers at all stages of their careers... We are excited to be partnering with The Purcell Society in its landmark anniversary year to support imaginative new projects focusing on Henry Purcell’s music.’
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT
with Eva Caballero
Originally from Barcelona, Eva Caballero was awarded a scholarship to study flute at Trinity College of Music, London, with Daniel Pailthorpe. Towards the end of her BMus (Hons) degree, she discovered the baroque flute with Stephen Preston and continued her studies on historical flutes with Lisa Beznosiuk at the Royal Academy of Music. She performs in a variety of ensembles and orchestras including Solomon’s Knot, The Mozartists, The Sixteen, Gabrieli, Istante Collective and Armonico Consort. Eva has given recitals at venues including Handel Hendrix House, Raynham Hall, the Wallace Collection and St Martin-in-the-Fields. She has won numerous awards and is an enthusiastic educator.
How has Continuo Foundation impacted your day-to-day life?
Continuo Foundation has been a great help in many of the projects I’ve been taking part in over the last few years, both in well-established and smaller groups and projects. Especially for the smaller groups, Continuo Foundation has been crucial in enabling projects which might otherwise not be able to happen to go ahead.
What new doors have opened for you since becoming a grantee?
Being a grantee has definitely opened many doors for me, since many groups I play with as a freelancer have received Continuo Foundation grants. Recently I took part in a project in Hampstead, performing Salieri's 'Falstaff' with Istante Collective as part of their Baroquestock Festival. It was so nice to discover this fairly unknown opera, which isn't performed often. I've also loved having the chance to discover works which have been overlooked historically with Ian Page and The Mozartists.
What do you love about being a musician?
Being a musician is a vital part of my life. I love being able to express myself through music, discover new repertoire, play with, share and learn from other musicians and to overcome my own challenges. I also love to work with children, introducing and teaching classical music and historical performance - either one-to-one or in bigger groups.
Where did you encounter the most receptive audience?
Playing at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms was an incredible experience!
No.1 listening recommendation?
That's a difficult question as there are so many amazing pieces of music in so many different styles, for such a huge variety of ensembles and orchestrations etc.! Out of everything, I would say Bach's Motets are a must for me.
For more about Eva Caballero check out her Continuo Connect Interview.
JANUARY PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
Spinacino Consort | Siglo de Oro - Hey! For Christmas
The Spinacino Consort joined forces with vocal ensemble Siglo de Oro to tour their 'Hey! for Christmas' programme to Esher, Amersham, Oxford and London - and to record it for their debut album on Delphian Records. The programme brings to life the traditional twelve days of Christmas through a lively combination of 17th century ballads, broadsides, dances and carols. Traditional melodies from Britain and Ireland feature alongside music by leading composers of the day such as William Byrd. Click on the video below to hear 'Wassail Tune' which will feature on the album.
His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts | The Binchois Consort - Echoes of Medieval Coventry
HMSC performed a family concert titled ‘Meet the Coventry Waits’ in January as part of their larger Echoes of Medieval Coventry project in collaboration with the Binchois Consort. The concert took place in St Mary's Guildhall in Coventry, and introduced the audience to a variety of instruments and music that would have been heard in this venue and others across the city over two centuries. Alongside these concerts, the musicians have been involved in a digital project in which they developed an app enabling audiences to listen to music in the recreated acoustics of the historical buildings where it was originally heard. Read more about Aural Histories: Coventry in this article for Continuo Connect by Helen Roberts, Postdoctoral Research Associate at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, and a member of His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts. Download the app for free on Google Play and Apple App Store.
English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble | The Marian Consort - Looking Bach to Palestrina
ECSE and The Marian Consort performed to a sold-out audience at the York Early Music Christmas Festival. To celebrate the 500th anniversary of the birth of Palestrina, the ensembles explored the influence of Palestrina's music on subsequent generations of composers. For example, there is a handwritten edition made by Bach of his 6-voice Missa sine nomine, to which Bach added 2 cornetts, 4 sackbuts and continuo. Click on the video below to hear more about this fascinating programme which tours to Cambridge on 16 April.
Lowe Ensemble - Echoes of the Spanish Baroque
Lowe Ensemble performed their programme Echoes of the Spanish Baroque in Birmingham and at the York Early Music Christmas Festival in December. The programme featured works by Spanish composers, as well as French, Italian, and English composers influenced by Spanish culture and language. A highlight of the programme was the ensemble's own arrangement of Fandango, R. 146 by Antonio Soler, which they recorded and released in August last year to great acclaim.
Bellot Ensemble - Cupid's Ground Bass
In January, Bellot Ensemble released the second in a series of new videos from their acclaimed debut album, Cupid's Ground Bass in January. Barbara Strozzi’s Amor dormiglione from the Op. 2 set of Cantate, ariette, e duetti (1651) is one of her most beguiling and subtly witty arias, a gently teasing address to Cupid himself, coaxing the god of love to wake and resume his work. Beneath its apparent simplicity lies Strozzi’s extraordinary sensitivity to text, where small shifts of harmony and gesture illuminate the poetry’s irony, tenderness, and quiet urgency. Read more about the recording and about Bellot Ensemble in this Continuo Connect feature.
