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.
The Qadim Ensemble | April 16, 18 & 19
In our season finale, San Francisco’s The Qadim Ensemble unites musicians versed in deeply-rooted musical traditions throughout the Middle East and Mediterranean basin, celebrating the common musical and spiritual heritage of the region’s cultures while honoring the great diversity found within them. Wandering Dove—An Offering of Hebrew and Arabic Song, presents liturgical and secular songs both in Hebrew and Arabic, in which the dove is the unifying motif—a personal musical prayer for peace in the Middle East and all over the world.
The Qadim Ensemble includes Eliyahu Sills on the ney (the reed flute of the Middle East), Rachel Valfer Sills on oud and vocals, Faisal Zedan on Arabic percussion (such as darbukkah, riqq & daf). The ensemble is joined by world-renowned Palestinian Qanun master and vocalist, Ali Paris, as well as Amir Etemadzadeh, Persian percussion, and Miriam Peretz, percussion and dance.
THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 7:30 PM
First Presbyterian Church
1140 Cowper Street at Lincoln, Palo Alto
SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 7:30 PM
First Church Berkeley UCC (First Congregational)
2345 Channing Way
SUNDAY, APRIL 19, 4:00 PM
St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church
500 De Haro St, San Francisco
SFEMS Summer Workshops
SFEMS Summer Workshops return to downtown Berkeley in Summer 2026, offering immersive, week-long opportunities to explore early music with internationally renowned faculty. All levels are welcome.
SCHEDULE:
Produced by the San Francisco Early Music Society, BFX is one of the world’s leading early music gatherings. BFX is live, with ticket packages on sale now! Individual Pay-It-Forward tickets go on sale February 18.
