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Medieval/Renaissance Workshop, June 28-July 4, 2009

Med/Ren Home | Meet the Faculty | Class List | Class Descriptions | Schedule

The Workshop

This year's SFEMS Med/Ren Workshop, Stories and Legends, will take place once again on the idyllic campus of Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park in the heart of Sonoma County from June 28th through July 4th. This will mark our third year at this location, and previous participants have been very enthusiastic about both the class and the residential facilities. The new workshop director, Tom Zajac, has chosen Stories and Legends as the theme for the workshop, in order to explore the many possible interactions between early music and popular and classical literature.

Special Events

Many of the class offerings as well as the special events will focus on this theme. Master storyteller Patrick Ball and his ensemble Theater of Legend, featuring musicians Shira Kammen and Tim Rayborn, will perform their retelling of the Arthurian legend, Tristan and Isolde, on June 30th. Those who were among the lucky ones to hear them at the last Berkeley Festival can attest to the beauty and power of Patrick's art. As an offering new and unique to this or any early music workshop, Patrick will teach a class in storytelling and Shira and Tim will teach a class in how to accompany storytelling. Students from these two classes will be combined, and some of them will be chosen to perform in the final student concert. Another event in which students are encouraged to participate, will be the theater project Wolkenstein! to be presented on the evening of July 3rd. It will be based on the life, poetry and music of the colorful character Oswald von Wolkenstein, whose life spanned the 14th and 15th centuries. This project was conceived and will be directed by the workshop's resident wordsmith Larry Rosenwald and by vocalist and opera director Drew Minter. In conjunction with this project, Professor Rosenwald will give a lecture on "Wolkenstein, the man" on June 29th.

Class Offerings

No participant, whether they be new to the workshop or regulars, will be disappointed by this year's class offerings — ensemble and technique classes in voice, viol, recorder, alta capella (shawms and sackbuts), and medieval instruments, as well as a vocal masterclass in solo literature. Our classes welcome advanced participants alongside those of intermediate level, professionals and amateurs, soloists and ensemble performers, conductors and music teachers. And, as always, we welcome existing groups to sign up for ensemble coaching. Other events will include faculty, student and all-workshop performances, drop-in sessions, daily sherry hour and a condensed Wednesday afternoon class schedule that will allow participants to get off campus to experience the beauty of the local countryside, sample local wines or have dinner at one of the many world class restaurants in the area.

Please mark your calendars now and plan to join us at the 2009 Med/Ren Workshop.

Enroll online via our secure form!

Presenting our esteemed faculty for Med/Ren 2009:

Patrick Ball, storytelling, Celtic harp (Sebastopol, CA)
Annette Bauer, recorder, early notation (Oakland, CA)
Frances Blaker, recorder (Albany, CA)
Karen Clark, voice, movement for musicians (Petaluma, CA)
Julie Jeffrey, viola da gamba (Richmond, CA)
Shira Kammen, medieval strings (Berkeley, CA)
Drew Minter, voice, theater project (Stone Ridge, NY)
Tim Rayborn, medieval strings, percussion (Berkeley, CA)
Larry Rosenwald, theater project, rhetorician in residence (Wellesley, MA)
Mary Springfels, viola da gamba, theater project (Cerrillos, NM)
Dan Stillman, reeds, recorder, alta capella (Somerville, MA)
Tom Zajac, recorder, sackbut, Renaissance choir (Boston, MA)

and staff members:

Dominic Schaner, accompanist (San Francisco, CA)
Amy White, theater project assistant (San Francisco, CA)

Have a look at the faculty biographies.

Enroll online via our secure form!

After enrolling, please come back to here to download your Registration Packet:

Welcome letter -- read me first!
Personal info/music placement form (please print, fill in, and return.)
Class choice form (please print, fill in, and return.)
Daily schedule (calendar)
Daily schedule (list)
Class list (curriculum guide)
Detailed class descriptions
Storytelling sources (for participants in the storytelling class)

Helpful links:

Sonoma State University
Scholarships are available from
Med/Ren Workshop Financial Aid Program
Med/Ren Workshop Artist in Residence Program
Early Music America
American Recorder Society

Workshop Fees

The fee for the Med/Ren workshop is $470 for enrollment by May 1, and $520 for enrollment received after May 1. Discounts are available for SFEMS members and for enrollment in more than one workshop. Room and board at Sonoma State University is $480, single occupancy only. All details are on the online enrollment form.

The Small Print

SFEMS reserves the right to modify programs and faculty, without notice, as needed to match enrollment and student preferences. Participants enrolling before May 1 pay a lower tuition rate. A non-refundable minimum deposit of $100 per week is required. IF YOU CANCEL WITHIN TWO WEEKS OF A WORKSHOP, PAYMENT OF FULL TUITION IS REQUIRED. A full room & board payment is required to reserve your room. This payment is fully refundable until 5 weeks before your workshop. All fees must be paid in full by the first day of the event. Room and board at Sonoma State University and St. Albert’s Priory are optional, and single meals, including a vegetarian menu, are available. Smoking is not permitted in campus buildings.

For further information about the 2009 SFEMS Medieval/Renaissance Workshop

Contact Tom Zajac. Phone: (617) 323-0617 Email: medrenmail@gmail.com

Last updated 06/07/2009.