Workshops & Festivals in 2025
The following organizations are Advertisers or Partner Members of ARS, and we are delighted to spread the word about their workshops and events of interest to recorder players. Spring Break Workshop, March 15-16, 2025
Memorial Day Workshop, May 23-26, 2025
Main Festival:
June 29-July 6 and
July 6-13, 2025
Music of the German Lands
Muhlenberg College
Allentown, PA
Director: Frances Blaker
Classes are on a wide range -- Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, and Traditional music topics. You can take an easy ride, just for the fun of it, or you can improve your playing, singing, or dancing; expand your knowledge; and enjoy being part of the friendly and stimulating Festival community. Classes run Monday thru Friday each week. Tuition: $730 per week for all programs. See website for room & board options, and complete list of faculty.
Contact: Sally Merriman
781-488-3337
info@amherstearlymusic.org
amherstearlymusic.org
June 8-15, 2025
Boston Early Music Festival
Boston, MA
Paul O'Dette & Stephen Stubbs, Artistic Directors
Love & Power
The 23rd biennial Boston Early Music Festival offers 8 days of opera, concerts, the world-famous Exhibition, and so much more. The Centerpiece of this weeklong celebration of Early Music will be a fully staged production of Reinhard Keiser's 1705 opera, Octavia. The Empress Octavia is betrayed by her increasingly erratic husband, Nero, putting all of Rome on the brink of rebellion in an all-new production featuring gorgeous, period-inspired costumes, brilliant sets, and truly extraordinary music. Visit BEMF.org to review the schedule of events—including the BEMF Chamber Opera Series production of Telemann's Pimpinone & Ino; a line-up of 18 Festival Concerts by luminaries such as Boreas Quartett Bremen, The English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble, The Tallis Scholars, The Boston Camerata, and the all-star BEMF Orchestra; Organ and Keyboard Mini-Festivals; the BEMF Beyond Borders Concert co-sponsored by the American Recorder Society; The ARS Great Recorder Relay Concert; and so much more.
BEMF.org
Aug. 29-Aug. 31, 2025
St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, Bloomsburg, PA.
Administrative Director: Susan Schwartz
Musical Director: Lawrence Lipnik
Spend a weekend playing, singing and learning with old and new friends. We’ll be meeting in St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, nestled in the heart of the beautiful and historic town of Bloomsburg, PA. Classes for recorders, viols, mixed ensembles of early instruments and voices, with plenty of time for spontaneous break-out groups. All participants will join together nightly for faculty directed playing and singing en masse. We welcome all early singers and musicians, of all levels. Work study scholarships available.
Susan Schwartz
570-441-2774
director@bloomearlymusic.orgbloomearlymusic.org Week #1: Sunday October 26, 2025 – Saturday November 1, 2025
Week #2 : Sunday November 2, 2025 – Saturday November 8, 2025
Hidden Valley Music Seminars, Carmel Valley, CA 93924
Director: Letitia Berlin and Lawrence Lipnik
Week #1 Faculty: Letitia Berlin (recorder), Lawrence Lipnik (recorder, viola da gamba), Frances Blaker (recorder, all-workshop orchestra), David Morris (viola da gamba), and Shira Kammen (early strings)
Week #2 Faculty: Letitia Berlin (recorder), Lawrence Lipnik (recorder), Frances Blaker (recorder, all-workshop orchestra), Mary Springfels (viola da gamba), and Wouter Verschuren (dulcian/shawm)
Revel in the lyrical sounds of early music instruments as you share your musical gifts during a week-long intensive early music workshop. Enhance your skills in small classes taught by expert instructors with emphasis on improving technique and playing with ensembles. At Hidden Valley Music Seminars, An Institute of the Arts, nestled amongst oaks, buckeyes, and majestic hillsides, enjoy a serene and inspiring place for playing music. This program is for intermediate to advanced recorder and viola da gamba players. Recorder players must be able to play at least two sizes (at least one F instrument and one C instrument). The November 2, 2025 programs include dulcian and shawm. The dulcian and shawm programs are open by audition. Please contact the workshop director, Letitia Berlin, at tishberlin@sbcglobal.net to arrange an online audition. Workshop registration must be done through Road Scholar. Workshop registration closes 35 days before the program begins.
(831) 659-3115
info@hiddenvalleymusic.org
https://www.roadscholar.org/find-an-adventure/6254/national-road-scholar-recorder-early-music-workshop/dates/
https://tibiaduo.com/
July 20-26, 2025
Mideast Early Music Workshop (ARS)
LaRoche University, Pittsburgh, PA
Faculty: Stew Carter, Eric Haas, Patty Halverson, Christine Rua, Alastair Thompson, Gwyn Roberts and more!
Early Music from the Medieval to the Early Baroque -- Revel in the joy of playing early music!
Friendly, welcoming staff and students will make you feel right at home.
Whether you are already an Early Music enthusiast or still exploring, you will encounter a week filled with inspiration and great music
Recorder, flute and Viol are welcome as primary instruments. Secondary instruments include crumhorns, harps, sackbuts, percussion and more.
Karen Parsons
724 444 4784
EarlyMusicWeekMideast@gmail.com
www.EarlyMusicWeekMideast.org
June 29-July 5, 2025
Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC
Director: Jody Miller
Faculty: Gwyn Roberts, Anne Timberlake, Annette Bauer, Jody Miller, Phil Hollar, Joan Kimball, Will Peebles, Barbara Weiss
The backdrop of the Smoky Mountains provides an idyllic setting for a workshop that is both intensive and fun. With classes in Renaissance, Baroque, and contemporary music for recorder players, there are offerings to suit musicians of all levels and interests. In addition to four classes each day, there are nightly large-group playing sessions, concerts, evening dancing sessions, and so much more! Work-study awards are available.
This diverse workshop also offers classes in capped reeds, early brass, viola da gamba, folk music, early harp, and more! Come for the recorder experience, but leave with so much more!
Registration opens March 2025. Visit www.mountaincollegium.org to join our mailing list.
Mountain Collegium encourages you to apply for workstudy or for a scholarship through the American Recorder Society.
Contact: Jody Miller, 404-314-1891
info@mountaincollegium.org
www.mountaincollegium.org
June 15–29, 2025
Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH
Director: Kenneth Slowik
Recorder faculty: Michael Lynn and Anne Timberlake
Music in England from Purcell to Handel
BPI, the premiere summer workshop focusing on Baroque instruments and voice, marks its 52nd year of preparing musicians of ages 15 and up to perform some of the great works on period instruments. Learn Baroque techniques from faculty and resident artists and participate in masterclasses, recitals, and student concerts to gain a fuller appreciation of this musical genre.
For the first time, a dedicated Recorder Program offers exciting new possibilities. Led by Anne Timberlake, it will feature daily masterclass and technique sessions for all recorder students. During the afternoon, students will be able to select from two possible paths: Baroque Ensemble or Consort. The first is recommended only for advanced students. Consort program students will participate in daily, coached consort sessions and will also perform on the Saturday Student Recital. Oberlin owns a fine collection of Renaissance and Baroque recorders that may be used by some ensembles.
Contact: Anna Hoffmann
440-775-8044
summer@oberlin.edu
https://www.oberlin.edu/summer-programs/bpi
July 6-12. 2025
Jo Baim, Administrative Director
(206) 932-4623
University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
Offers an exciting week-long opportunity for players of recorders, viols, and percussion as well as singers, to immerse themselves in music of the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque periods, music from Brazil, and more. Most classes are geared towards players with reliable technique and reading skills, but there is always a place for those who are less experienced, rusty or coming back to music after a break. Many of our participants agree that our workshop is one of the most friendly and inclusive of any they have attended.
Total immersion in a week-long residential workshop is the most beneficial for learning and shared camaraderie, but the workshop also offers new commuter options.
(206) 932-4623
jobaim@msn.com
workshop@seattle-recorder.org
https://www.seattle-recorder.org/port-townsend-early-music-workshop-2025/
seattle-recorder.org/workshops-more/
San Francisco Early Music Society
Baroque Workshop: June 16–22, 2025
Medieval/Renaissance Workshop: July 13–19, 2025
Recorder Workshop: July 20–26, 2025
Fill your days with recorder ensembles, technique classes, Renaissance consorts, recorder orchestra, masterclasses, concerts, lectures and more. Explore Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, contemporary and world music in an intimate setting with world-class faculty.
The above workshops are all 1-week workshops with day classes and evening presentations, held in Berkeley, CA. Room and Board info posted on sfems.org.
510-683-1674
workshops@sfems.org
https://www.sfems.org/workshops
May 25–31, 2025
Schreiner University, Kerrville, TX
Director: Danny Johnson
Administrator: Susan Richter
Faculty: Jody Miller, Jennifer Carpenter, Joan Kimball (recorders and winds); Mary Springfels, Sydney ZumMallen, Carol Deihl (viols); Therese Honey, Héctor Alfonso Torres González, Danny Johnson (harp, lute, voice)
A one-week program of classes at all levels, focusing on Renaissance and Baroque music, but also ranging from Medieval to Celtic to 21st century. Expert instructors in recorder, viol, lute, harp, reeds and voice teach technique classes, coach one-on-a-part groups, and lead larger ensembles, both mixed and whole.
info@toot.org
toot.org/nwp/summer-toot-2025/
(512) 578-8040
www.toot.org
May 30–June 1
University of Wisconsin, Whitewater, WI
Directors: Laura Kuhlman, Pamela Wiese
Recorder Faculty: Miyo Aoki, James Chaudoir, David Lee Echelard, Cléa Galhano, Lisette Kielson, Laura Kuhlman, Mona Mann, Patrick O’Malley; Viol da Gamba: Charles Rasmussen, Gail Schroeder, Katherine Shuldiner
A weekend workshop for vocal, recorders and viols with fantastic presenters. Offers classes on a variety of subjects ranging from Advanced Beginner to Advanced levels. Ice cream social and large group playing on Saturday evening.
Pamela Wiese
(708) 860-0451
oprecorder@gmail.com
www.whitewaterearlymusic.org
SFEMS Workshops
Whitewater Early Music Festival