The San Francisco

Early Music Society

Your portal to early music in the bay area

Who are we? The San Francisco Early Music Society is the Bay Area’s portal for early music, promoting engagement with historically informed performance spanning centuries and cultures, and creating a community reflective of our region’s diversity.

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The Berkeley Festival & Exhibition has become a remarkable institution on the American musical scene.” —The New York Times

Join us for eight days of fantastic music this summer!

Savor the best of the best in early music—period. Join us for a plethora of main stage concerts, various special events, our international exhibition, and dozens of self-produced Fringe concerts!

SUBSCRIPTION PACKAGES & TICKETS NOW AVAIALABLE!!!

Dancing From Burgundy to Bergamo

Ciaramella | Mar 22⁠–24

Trip the light fantastic with Ciaramella, in a program exploring dance music from the courts of Savoy and Burgundy to the streets of Bergamo! Featuring polyphonic arrangements of stately dances from the priceless basse danse manuscript of Marguerite of Austria, copied in silver and gold on black parchment, to virtuosic variations on ground basses like the bergamasca, romanesca, and ciaccona, you'll enjoy music meant to get your toes tapping!

Adam Gilbert, recorder, shawm, bagpipes; Rotem Gilbert, recorder, shawm, bagpipes; Aki Nishiguchi, recorder, shawm; Adam Bregman, sackbut; Malachai Komanoff Bandy, viola da gamba, shawm; Mary Vanhoozer, hurdy gurdy; Jason Yoshida, guitars, percussion

FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 7:30 PM

First Presbyterian Church

1140 Cowper Street at Lincoln, Palo Alto

SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 7:30 PM

First Church Berkeley UCC (First Congregational)

2345 Channing Way

SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 4:00 PM

St. Mark’s Lutheran Church

1111 O’Farrell Street, San Francisco

2024 Summer Workshops!

Registration for our four summer workshops is now open!

Baroque Workshop: June 24–30
Medieval/Renaissance Workshop: July 14–20
Recorder Workshop: July 21–27
Classical Workshop: July 28–August 3

Our 2023–24 Concert Season

Enjoy the very best in early music from around the world with seven stellar programs from the San Francisco Early Music Society (SFEMS)! From the glories of the Italian renaissance to sumptuous Bach, SFEMS’ 47th season—”Treasures New and Old”—promises to be a sonic smorgasbord for all audiences.

Season subscriptions and Pay-What-You-Can tickets now available!

SFEMS is now requesting local concert proposals for our 48th season in 2024–25. We are seeking Bay Area-based artists and ensembles that perform with historical performance considerations in mind, focusing on music from c. 1000–1850 CE.

This year, we are offering additional opportunities for our beloved Bay Area artists. In addition to accepting proposals for our main stage concert season, SFEMS is offering five grants of up to $2,000 to support self-produced projects!

Support SFEMS!

Become a member of your favorite portal to early music in the Bay Area and beyond!

Your tax-deductible donation is a vote for the future of early music.

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