Royal Wind Music is a classical music ensemble that specializes in performing music from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The ensemble was founded in 1997 by Paul Leenhouts, a renowned recorder player and conductor, and is based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The ensemble's main members include Paul Leenhouts, who serves as the artistic director and plays the recorder, and a group of highly skilled musicians who play a variety of wind instruments, including the cornetto, shawm, sackbut, and dulcian. The ensemble's members are all experts in historical performance practice and use period instruments to recreate the sound and style of music from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Royal Wind Music has performed at numerous prestigious venues and festivals around the world, including the Utrecht Early Music Festival, the Boston Early Music Festival, and the Festival Oude Muziek in Bruges. The ensemble has also collaborated with other renowned musicians and ensembles, such as the Huelgas Ensemble and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra. One of the highlights of Royal Wind Music's career was their performance at the 2006 Festival Oude Muziek in Utrecht, where they presented a program of music by the Italian composer Giovanni Gabrieli. The ensemble's performance was praised for its virtuosity and authenticity, and it was later released as a CD titled "Giovanni Gabrieli: Canzonas and Sonatas." In addition to their live performances, Royal Wind Music has also recorded several albums of music from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Their recordings have received critical acclaim and have won several awards, including the Diapason d'Or and the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik. Another notable achievement of Royal Wind Music was their participation in the 2012 project "The Art of Fugue" by the Dutch composer and conductor Reinbert de Leeuw. The project involved a series of concerts and recordings of Bach's "The Art of Fugue" with different ensembles and soloists. Royal Wind Music was chosen to perform the final fugue of the work, which they did with great skill and sensitivity. Overall, Royal Wind Music is a highly respected ensemble in the world of early music. Their commitment to historical performance practice and their virtuosic playing have earned them a loyal following and numerous accolades. Their performances and recordings are a testament to the enduring beauty and power of music from the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

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