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.
Approaching a half century as the Bay Area’s portal for early music, The San Francisco Early Music Society’s 49th concert season, “Fertile Gardens,” showcases vibrant styles and traditions spanning nearly a millennium, celebrating the beauty and variety of historical musical styles in blossom and in full bloom. From the earliest written Medieval polyphonic music to the refined splendor of the high Renaissance—
and as well as virtuosic Baroque masterworks, the Classical period in Vienna, and living traditions with ancient roots beyond Europe—curious listeners and early music aficionados alike can experience the dazzling world of early music in ”Fertile Gardens.”
Tafelmusik | Nov 6
Brillant Baroque with Principal Guest Director Rachel Podger
In the 1730s, Johann Sebastian Bach gathered with friends at Leipzig’s bustling Zimmerman’s coffeehouse for weekly concerts of brilliant music, carrying on a tradition of weekly meetings by the Collegium Musicum originally founded by his friend, Georg Philip Telemann. With Principal Guest Director Rachel Podger, “the unsurpassed British glory of the Baroque violin” (The Times), Canada's premier Baroque orchestra Tafelmusik recaptures the quintessential spirit of the Baroque, exploring the rich and varied repertoire of the 18th century coffeehouse culture—featuring invigorating music by Bach, Handel, Telemann, and others—for one night only with SFEMS.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 7:30 PM
First Church Berkeley UCC (First Congregational)
2345 Channing Way
Stile Antico | Nov 13
The Prince of Music—Palestrina in the Eternal City
In a special one-night event, GRAMMY-nominated British vocal ensemble Stile Antico celebrates the 500th anniversary of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, the master of high Renaissance harmony. The program features music Palestrina would have sung at the Sistine Chapel, highlights his compositional evolution during the Counter-Reformation, and touches on his personal struggles and influence on future composers. It includes beloved motets by Palestrina, works by other prominent Roman composers, and a new piece by British composer Cheryl Frances-Hoad. This performance follows the release of Stile Antico's third album, The Golden Renaissance: Palestrina.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 7:30 PM
First United Methodist Church, Palo Alto
625 Hamilton Ave.
Help Celebrate Our 50th Anniversary!
Since 1976, we’ve been the Bay Area’s portal for early music. Our Pay-It-Forward campaign will underwrite SFEMS’ expansive programming: sustaining pay-what-you-can ticketing, supporting our main stage concert series, sustaining the Berkeley Festival & Exhibition, and bolstering our summer educational workshops—the largest such program for amateurs in the United States.
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