Ensemble Peregrina, founded in 1997 by the Polish singer and musicologist Agnieszka Budzińska-Bennett in Basle, researches and performs sacred and secular music from twelfth to fourteenth century Europe. The ensemble’s main interest lies in the early polyphonies and monophonic repertories of the Notre Dame school and Aquitanian nova cantica; the aim always being to look for a creative “counterpoint” to the mainstream in the less known peripheral sources. The ensemble’s programmes are characterised by a careful choice of themes and pieces, always paying close attention to their textual and musical interrelationships. Peregrina’s interpretation and style is informed by the original source materials and treatises, as well as the latest musicological and historical research. The ensemble strives to approach a performance transmitted in the sources as closely as possible without having to renounce a well-balanced and beautiful vocal performance. The ensemble’s continuing partnership with the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, where its members met and studied, led to CD recordings Mel et lac (Raumklang 2005) with Marian Aquitanian songs of the 12th century and Filia praeclara (Divox 2008) with medieval music from 13th and 14th century Polish Clarisse convents. Both CD have received critical acclaim in the European and American press including a.o.: twice Goldberg 5 (ES), Selection Musicora (CH), CD of the month (Muzyka 21 PL), Supersonic Pizzicato (LUX). Filia praeclara has also won the prestigious ECHO-KLASSIK Award 2009 for the best a capella recording of the year. In 2011-2014 the five new CDs of the group have been released: Crux with Parisian Easter music from 13th & 14th centuries (Glossa 2011), Sacer Nidus with oldest extant music from medieval Poland (Raumklang 2011), Veiled Desires – Lives and Loves of Nuns in the Middle Ages (Raumklang 2012, International Classical Music Awards 2013 nomination), Cantrix, presenting the musical past of the Maltese Order form the Royal Convents of Sigena (Hospitallers) and Las Huelgas (Cistercians) and Miracula with medieval music for St. Nicholas (Tacet 2014). Peregrina has performed at numerous festivals in Switzerland (such as Lucerne Festival), Belgium (Bozar), Poland, Germany, Spain, France, Austria, Great Britain, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Iceland, Italy, Czech Republic and the USA. The concerts of the ensemble have been regularly broadcasted on Schweizer Radio DRS 2, Deutschlandfunk, Südwestfunk, SWR2, BR, Klaasika Radio Estonia, Polskie Radio 2 und BBC 3. 2003/2004 the ensemble has also been invited to lecture on the music of 12thcentury Aquitaine at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. In 2011-2013 Agnieszka Budzińska-Bennett and Kelly Landerkin belonged to the research department of this institution. At present Kelly Landerkin teaches Gregorian chant at the SCB, Agnieszka Budzińska-Bennett teaches early music history and Gregorian chant at the Musikhochschule Trossingen in Germany. The name peregrina, the wanderer, alludes to the transmission of music and ideas throughout Europe in the Middle Ages, but also reflects the personal journeys of the singers themselves. The ensemble members (coming from Poland, Switzerland, France, Finland, Germany and the USA) together achieve a dynamic balance through their differing origins, and they unite to emulate the interaction and convergence of the cultures and histories of the music they perform.