Matthew Truscott studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague and in Bloomington, Indiana where his teachers were Erich Gruenberg, Simon Standage, Vera Beths and Mauricio Fucs. He now shares his time between period instrument performance and 'modern' chamber music, appearing with some of the finest musicians in both fields.

As a soloist and director Matthew has appeared with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Konzerthaus Vienna and London's Queen Elizabeth Hall, as well as with the King’s Consort at the Wigmore Hall on numerous occasions.

Recently appointed as one of the leaders of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, other engagements as concertmaster have included projects with English National Opera, The English Concert, The King's Consort, Dutch National Opera and the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra. He is leader of St James' Baroque, the Classical Opera Company and the Magdalena Consort. Matthew is professor of baroque violin at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Sophie Gent was born in Perth, Western Australia. After completing a Bachelors degree she pursued further studies at the Royal Conservatorium in The Hague with Ryo Terakado, completing her Masters degree with distinction in 2005. In 2002 she was awarded first prizes in two chamber music competitions, the International Van Wassenaer Competition (The Netherlands) and the International Premio Bonporti Concours (Italy), with the ensemble Opera Quarta. Their first recording, a disc of trio sonatas by J.M Leclair (ORF SACD 491), was awarded a Diapason d'Or in July 2007.

Sophie is active as a soloist and chamber musician, performing and recording frequently as concertmater with the Ricercar Consort, Il Gardellino, Capriccio Stravagante, Les Muffatti, Ensemble Masques and as also member of the period instrument string quartet 'Mito Dell'arco', based in Japan. She was invited to teach at the Jerusalem Early Music Workshop in 2007, and regularly coaches chamber music at the Early Music Department Conservatorium in Antwerp. Recent recordings include Harp Consorts by William Lawes (FLORA 1206), and Concerti Grossi by J.C Pez (RAM 0705) with Les Muffatti.

Sophie Gent plays on a violin by Januarius Gagliano from 1732, kindly on loan from The Jumpstart Jr. Foundation.

Image by Peter Adamik

Jonathan Manson pursues a varied international career as a performer on both cello and viola da gamba. He was born in Edinburgh and received his formative training at the International Cello Centre in Scotland under the direction of Jane Cowan, later going on to study with Steven Doane at the Eastman School of Music in New York. A growing fascination for early music led him to Holland, where he studied viola da gamba with Wieland Kuijken.

While still a student, he became a founding member of the viol quartet Phantasm, which has since toured worldwide and earned several record prizes, including Gramophone Awards in both 1997 and 2004. In 1999, he was appointed principal cellist of the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, with whom he has since performed and recorded more than 150 Bach cantatas. He has also appeared as guest principal with many of Europe’s leading early music ensembles, as a chamber music partner in repertoire ranging from the Renaissance to the Romantic, and as viola da gamba soloist with the Vienna Philharmonic.

Jonathan Manson may be heard on over 60 recordings, including a critically acclaimed disk of Rameau's Pièces de clavecin en concert with Trevor Pinnock and Rachel Podger, and Vivaldi's Concerto for two cellos with Yo-Yo Ma. His recording of the Bach sonatas for viola da gamba and harpsichord, together with Trevor Pinnock, has recently been released on the Avie label, and was hailed by Classic FM magazine as 'superb'. He is also active as a teacher, and has taught on courses in Hong Kong, Germany, Israel, the Czech Republic, America, Portugal and Iceland, as well as closer to home, at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Jonathan lives near London, where he is a professor at the Royal Academy of Music.