Scherzi Musicali

Born in Brussels in 1985, Nicolas Achten studied singing, lute, harpsichord and triple harp at the Royal Conservatories of Brussels and The Hague, and completed his training at various masterclasses, including the Academie baroque d'Ambronay and the Centre de la Voix de Royaumont.  Since 2004, Nicolas has performed with some of Europe's most prestigious early music ensembles including l'Arpeggiata, La Fenice, La Petite Bande, Ausonia, Les Agremens, Akademia, Les Talens Lyriques, il Fondamento, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Il Seminario Musicale, Le Poème Harmonique, and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, and for conductors such as Jean Tubery, Sigiswald Kuijken, Marc Minkowski, Christophe Rousset and Ren Jacobs.  He is one of the few classical singers to accompany himself on various instruments, reviving this historical tradition. With the intention of furthering this practice and research, he founded the ensemble Scherzi Musicali, whose concerts and recordings have received unanimous praise from the public and the international press. The ensemble's performances and recordings have been awarded the highest accolades, including the Diapason d'or decouverte, Crescendo magazine's Joker, La cle (ResMusica), Prelude Classics Award, 4-stars (Monde de la musique), Muse d'Or , Golden Ring (Classic Info), and received the International Record Review's "Outstanding" award.  Nicolas Achten teaches singing, lute and historical performance practice at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. He is a regular guest professor at several European institutions (University of East Anglia, Operastudio Vlaanderen, the Yorke Trust (Norfolk), Conservatorio Milano), and he is musical director for Muziektheater Transparant's summer courses.