It began in the early 1980’s as a courageous display of musical sovereignty against the East German socialist regime, and now The Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin (aka “Akamus”) enjoys recognition as one of Europe's, if not the world's, greatest musical success stories and leading ensembles specializing in early music.  Brought to the limelight after the re-unification of East and West Germany in 1990, the ensemble has received numerous awards including the Cannes Festival Award, the French Diapason d'or, the Dutch Edison Award, the British Gramophone Award, the Telemann Prize, as well as a Grammy Award nomination in the US.

The ensemble records exclusively for Harmonia Mundi, and, in addition to their sold-out series at the Berlin Konzerthaus, they appear regularly in the great concert houses of Europe, Asia, and North America. In May 2005, the Akademie made its US debut tour to exuberant critical acclaim and completely sold-out audiences at Carnegie's Zankel Hall in NYC, in Chicago, Boston, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Berkeley, CA, among others, which resulted in immediate re-engagements. Their April 2008 return tour was done in conjunction with the release of an award-winning all-Vivaldi recording.  In February and March 2011 they will tour North America again with a program of Händel, Telemann, and Bach.