Marie talks about her experience being a historical performer in Europe, what her life is like, and also about what it means to be a performer today.

She explains how she got into the early music world from being a modern clarinetist in the United States, what motivated her, the process of learning a historical instrument, and how this made her a more complete musician. The lifestyle of an early music wind player is discussed - everything from travel, playing with musicians from other cultures, and the vast collection of instruments that are used regularly!

Take a look at what's inside this one early musician's backpack!

Michael Willens, conductor and founder of period-instrument orchestra, Die Kölner Akademie, talks about his experiences as a musician of many different genres, and explains his reasons for performing 20th century music with historical instruments. He also shares some samples of various recordings he's made with Die Kölner Akademie.

Michael is the definition of a well-rounded musician, from an early focus on jazz and rock, to studying the classical bass at Juilliard, and eventually moving to Europe to found and conduct his own period-instrument orchestra. He discusses his past and how it has effected him as a historical musician and conductor today in the early music scene.