Carolyn Sampson comes from Bedford and read music at the University of Birmingham. She currently studies with Richard Smart and Jonathan Papp.

She has sung the title role of Semele and Pamina The Magic Flute with English National Opera as well as roles in The Coronation of Poppea and The Fairy Queen with the company, First Niece in Peter Grimes for Opéra de Paris, Euridice and La Musica in L’Orfeo with Le Concert d’Astrée, at The Barbican, Asteria Tamerlano for Opéra de Lille and Antonia The Tales of Hoffmann in concert with Richard Hickox at the St Endellion Festival

Carolyn’s concert engagements have included Messiah with The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment a US tour with The King’s Consort as featured soloist, Bach St Matthew Passion with The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/Philippe Herreweghe, St John Passion with The Freiburg Baroque Orchestra/Gustav Leonhardt, Monteverdi Vespers with The Washington Bach Consort/Harry Christophers, St Matthew Passion at the BBC Proms with The English Concert / Pinnock, Esther in New York with The Gabrieli Consort / Paul McCreesh, Les Illuminations with the Manchester Camerata/Nicholas Kraemer, Stravinsky and Bach with La Chapelle Royale, Mendelssohn and Schubert with Orchestre des Champs Elysées / Herreweghe and Mozart and Gluck with Music of the Baroque, Chicago / Harry Bicket. Together with Robin Blaze she has given a joint recital at the Wigmore Hall. She has also performed with Hallé Orchestra / Mark Elder, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Scottish Chamber Orchestra/Stephen Layton, Ensemble Baroque de Limoges / Christophe Coin, Il Giardino Armonico/Giovanni Antonini, RIAS Kammerchor, Holland Sinfonia, the City of London Sinfonia and Sonnerie and has toured Belgium, Germany and France with Collegium Vocale Gent.

She has appeared in The Proms Chamber Music Series and given recitals for BBC Radio 3, at the Saintes Festival with Jonathan Papp and a programme of lute songs at the Wigmore Hall with Matthew Wadsworth. She has recorded 15 discs as soloist with The King’s Consort for Hyperion of Kuhnau, Knüpfer, Vivaldi, Zelenka, Monteverdi and Handel. Also she has recorded Bach for Harmonia Mundi and Bis, Orfeo for Virgin Classics, Amor in Gluck’s Elena e Paride for DG Archiv, Buxtehude for Linn Records and lute songs for Avie. Her disc of Rameau Opera Arias Règne Amour, with Ex Cathedra and Jeffrey Skidmore, has received great critical acclaim.

Carolyn’s future opera engagements include Susanna Le Nozze di Figaro for Opéra de Montpellier.  In coming seasons she will make début appearances with the San Francisco Symphony, Detroit Symphony, NDR Symphony Orchestra and Wiener Akademie. Her recording plans include Bach with The Gabrieli Consort / McCreesh for DG Archiv and with Bach Collegium Japan/Suzuki for BIS; Mozart sacred work with The King’s Consort / King for Hyperion and Stravinsky and Handel with the RIAS Kammerchor / Reuss for Harmonia Mundi.

Joanne Lunn studied at the Royal College of Music in London and, on leaving, was awarded the prestigious Tagore Gold Medal.

She sang solos for Sir John Eliot Gardiner many times throughout the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage in the year 2000 and is featured on a Deutsche Grammophon recording.  She has also recently performed Handel’s Israel in Egypt in Vienna and at the Salzburg Festival, and Handel’s Messiah in the Halle Handel Festival and St Mark’s Venice with Sir John Eliot Gardiner.

She has sung regularly with both the New London Consort and Musicians of the Globe appearing in concert, on radio and recordings.  Joanne Lunn also performs internationally as a soloist with many other leading groups such as Collegium Vocale, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Academy of Ancient Music and The Gabrieli Consort. She has also formed a relationship with The Hilliard Ensemble singing Arvo Pärt’s Miserere.

Joanne Lunn made her English National Opera debut in Steven Pimlott’s new production of Monteverdi’s The Coronation of Poppea, conducted by Harry Christophers.  Other engagements include Euridice in a new production of Graun’s Orfeo at the Musikfestpiele Potsdam, performances of the St Matthew Passion with Phillipe Herreweghe and Collegium Vocale and with Paul McCreesh and The Gabrieli Consort, Handel’s Il trionfo del tempo e il disinganno with Rinaldo Alessandrini and the OAE, Mozart Requiem, and performances and a recording of Haydn Heiligmesse, Harmoniemesse and Paukenmesse with Sir John Eliot Gardiner.

Recent engagements have included further performances of Graun’s Orfeo in Potsdam and Bayreuth, Michal in Handel’s Saul with Frieder Bernius at the Ruhr Festival, a recording of Vivaldi Sacred Music with The King’s Consort, Messiah with the RLPO, Messiah and Vivaldi sacred music with Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk Leipzig, the UK premiere of John Rutter Mass of the Children (also recorded) with the Guildford Philharmonic, Sieben letzten Worte with the OAE/Daniel Harding, Haydn Theresienmesse and St John Passion with Sir John Eliot Gardiner, and with the City of London Sinfonia/Richard Hickox for the 2003 Mostly Mozart Festival at the Barbican, Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Teatro La Fenice, Monteverdi Orfeo with Philip Pickett and Jonathan Miller at the South Bank Centre, Christmas Oratorio with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Haydn Nelsonmesse with MDR in Leipzig, Bach Cantatas at the Moscow Easter Festival, Bach programme and recording with Musik Podium Stuttgart, various concerts and a recording with the Hilliard Ensemble.

Engagements this season and future commitments include St Matthew Passion with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, Musik Podium Stuttgart and with Roger Norrington and the OAE, Bach Magnificat and Biber Missa Bruxellensis at the BBC Proms, concerts in the UK and USA with the Hilliard Ensemble, Messiah in Belfast and with the Academy of Ancient Music, concerts in Montreal, Rutter Requiem and Nelson Mass with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Fauré Requiem in Toulouse.

She was born in Prague. In 2002 she graduated from the Prague Conservatory in the class of Jiří Kotouč.

She undertook further study with Poppy Holden, Peter Kooij, Monika Mauch and Howard Crook.

She specializes in the interpretation of baroque, rennaisance and medieval music, performing with ensembles and orchestras around the world, including Collegium Vocale Gent, Bach Collegium Japan, Sette Voci, Gli Angeli Genève, La Fenice, Tafelmusik, Collegium 1704, Collegium Marianum, Musica Florea, among others.

Hana Blažíková has performed at many European festivals, including Prague Spring, Oude Muziek Utrecht, Resonanzen (Vienna), Tage Alter Musik (Regensburg), Festival de Sablé, Festival de La Chaise – Dieu, Festival de Saintes.

Hana also plays gothic harp and presents concerts in which she accompanies herself on the harp.