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.
Our 2024-25 Season
We welcome you to embark with The San Francisco Early Music Society for Voyages—An Odyssey in Sound, our organization’s 48th concert season. First, Les Talens Lyriques, directed by internationally-renowned harpsichordist & conductor Christophe Rousset, will transport you to the heart of Versailles in the Baroque period. Our voyage continues with The Boston Camerata (We’ll be There!...) in a trailblazing exploration of the American spiritual tradition. We’ll also encounter an uncanny, upside-down world with Shira Kammen and the musicians of In Bocca al Lupo (Mundus Inversus).
Next, we spend a dramatic evening exploring the "stile moderno" of the early modern period with Quicksilver (Early Moderns: Extravagant New Music from the Seventeenth Century). We reflect on the legacy of migration with Ensemble Affect (Home Away from Home), delving into the works of composers who traveled from their home countries and settled abroad during the Baroque era. Closing the concert season is Ensemble Constantinople (Traversées) whose performance takes us on journey from from Asia, Africa, and the Americas in an intimate musical dialogue between Persian setar master Kiya Tabassian, and Senegalese kora master Ablaye Cissoko.
Next up
Internationally renowned harpsichordist & conductor Christophe Rousset leads Les Talens Lyriques in “The Sound of Music in Versailles,” presenting works by Lambert, de Montéclair, Couperin, and Lully. Featuring the remarkable young French mezzo-soprano Ambroisine Bré the Paris-based musicians of Les Talens, performing in an intimate chamber ensemble, will transport you to the heart of Versailles in the baroque period. Join SFEMS in a special one-night-only performance opening the concert season.
Les Talens Lyriques
Special Event:
"The Sound of Music in Versailles."
TUESDAY, NOV 12, 7:30 PM
First Church Berkeley UCC
2345 Channing Way, Berkeley
We suggest a ticket price between $35 and $45 per ticket. Anything is appreciated, and if you can pay more, please do!
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