ABOUT US

Born and raised in Morioka, Japan, Soko Yoshida is a Japanese violinist specializing in historically informed performance. During her studies at Tokyo University of the Arts, where she earned Bachelor's and Master's degrees in modern and baroque violin with honors, she was introduced to baroque violin by Natsumi Wakamatsu. This encounter sparked a deep interest in early music and led her to devote herself to historical performance. After graduation, she became active in Tokyo's early music scene, collaborating with ensembles such as Bach Collegium Japan, Orchestra Libera Classica, and Les Boréades.

In 2018, she moved to Switzerland to study baroque violin with Leila Schayegh at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, where she completed two further Master's degrees. Additionally, she studied medieval fiddle with Baptiste Romain and historical improvisation with Nicola Cumer and Dirk Börner. From 2019 to 2021, she was a scholarship recipient of the Japan Agency for Cultural Affairs.
In 2022, she won the International Competition for Baroque Violin “José Herrando” (Spain). She is co-founder of the Basel-based early music ensemble El Gabinete de Música, which presents the concert series Das Musikzimmer in Basel and performs throughout Europe. She has also collaborated as a violinist and violist with ensembles such as Il Pomo d'Oro, Ensemble Locatelli, Barokkbandið Brák, Cardinal Complex, La Cetra Barockorchester, Capriccio Barockorchester, and La Centifolia.
Her performances have been featured in prestigious concert series and festivals, including Abendmusiken Basel, Freunde Alter Musik Basel, Festtage Alte Musik (CH), Clásicos en Verano, Festival Música Barroca (ES), Schleswig-Holstein Festival, Kulturfreunde Bayreuth (DE), Festival de Saintes (FR), Palazzo Marino in Musica, Monteverdi Festival Cremona (IT), and Festival Internacional de Música Renacentista y Barroca Americana “Misiones de Chiquitos” (BO).

Born in Madrid (Spain), Carlos Leal Cardín began his musical studies in Guadalajara with professors Ángel Luis Quintana and Suzana Stefanovic, continuing his training at the Conservatorio Superior de Salamanca with Aldo Mata. Fascinated by Early Music, he obtained Master's degrees from the Royal Conservatory of The Hague (Netherlands) and the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (Switzerland) under Lucia Swarts and Christophe Coin, respectively. Additionally, he has received classes with other distinguished musicians such as Anner Bylsma, for whom he played on the occasion of his 80th birthday.
In recent years, Carlos has collaborated with the Freiburger Barockorchester, Nederlandse Bachvereniging, Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, B’rock Orchestra, Vox Luminis, and Capriccio Barockorchester, working with musicians such as Kristian Bezuidenhout, Jos van Veldhoven, René Jacobs, Iván Fischer, and Shunske Sato. Previously, he was an academist and collaborator with the National Orchestra of Spain (ONE) and the Residentie Orkest of The Hague and a member of the Spanish National Youth Orchestra (JONDE). Carlos has performed in some of the most important venues and festivals in a dozen European and American countries: the international festivals of Granada and Santander, FeMAS, Quincena musical donostiarra, Festival Cervantino in Guanajuato (Mexico), Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, National Music Auditorium in Madrid, Alte Oper in Frankfurt, Tonhalle in Zurich, Berlin’s Philharmonie, etc. He has recorded works by Schubert, Bach, and Purcell on CD, and several productions for allofbach.com.
Active in various musical fields, Carlos is a founding member of El Gabinete de Música and other chamber music groups, was a professor at the Young Talent School of the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, and between 2018 and 2023 directed the Academia de polifonía española, a summer course at the University of Alcalá. He is the president and founder of the Asociación Alonso Mudarra of Guadalajara.
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