Penelope Spencer

Born in New Zealand, Penelope studied violin at Auckland University. She was soon drawn to the seductive sound world of the baroque, and the fervour of the 'early music movement' in which people were performing baroque music on 'authentic instruments' and with 200-year old techniques.

Penelope won a scholarship in 1991 to study baroque violin with world guru Sigiswald Kuijken, at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. Completely renouncing the 'modern technique', she immersed herself in the world of the 17th and 18th century music and during a 6-year 'apprenticeship' learned the ancient art of violin playing as researched and practiced today by the 'Kuijken school'.

Having graduated with the soloists qualification (Uitvoerende Musicus) 'cum laudae', Penelope worked regularly with some of the most exciting figures in the European baroque circuit such as Sigiswald Kuijken, William Christie, and Gustav Leonhardt while still living in The Hague. In 2000 Penelope started a full time engagement with the English Baroque Soloists, directed by Sir John Eliot Gardiner, the first year of which included over 80 concerts and CD recordings in across Europe and in the United States, comprising a landmark project to perform and record all of Bach's 200 cantatas in one year.

Now resident in the UK, Penelope has initiated her own music series, Realm of Music, which was born of a desire to bring her passion for baroque music to more people on a more personal level. Realm of Music events feature beautiful music from the Baroque and Classical periods, played on period instruments in innovative venues (such as Guild Halls in the City), with wine and an innovative and informative listening pack included in the ticket price. Penelope is also launching the Realm of Music record label which aims to include multimedia content that enhances and informs the listening experience.