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October 4 is the feast day for St Francis of Assisi, the famous founder of the Franciscan order. In the medieval and early modern periods, a significant amount of music was written for celebrations of his feast day. This class will focus on works dedicated to or referring to him, ranging from thirteenth-century lauda to motets written by composers as far-ranging as Du Fay, Willaert, Palestrina, Porta, and Tollius. Other works reflecting his love of the environment and in particular animals will also be included. All instruments/voices welcome; intermediate and up. Facsimiles available for those wishing to read from original notation. Pitch: A=440 Hz.

Beginning with the teacher modeling a variety of bowing shapes, we will move on to listening to and imitating each other's bowing, experimenting with repeated notes, adjacent notes, and string changes. As a group we will explore the shapes of a variety of texted and non-texted phrases, ending with a group madrigal play-along with the teacher's recording. Open to: viol players, all levels. Pitch: A= 415 Hz.

Composers have always enjoyed musical jokes and rhythmic games - writing compositions back to front and upside down, until your brain is inside out! We will get to understand pieces by composers including Guillame de Machaut, Johannes Ciconia, Josquin Deprez, and more. A fun intellectual exercise, but most importantly, beautiful music. Open to all recorders, or any instrument reading in C. Parts will be a mixture of treble and bass clef. Pitch: A=440Hz.

Agnes Coakley Cox and Nathaniel Cox have been directing their ensemble for 17th-century music, In Stile Moderno, since 2012. In this lecture-demonstration, they will share solo song repertoire from Italy and England, and discuss the most significant elements of performance practice and rehearsal technique that they have discovered and refined as a duo over the years. Topics will include: tactus as a practical tool for setting a tempo, staying together, and finding rhythmic freedom; working with foreign languages and historical pronunciation of English; ornamentation; using facsimiles; considerations for lutenists; and tips for how to communicate to your duo partner. There will also be time for a Q&A.

This is a lecture demo style class, open to all but aimed specifically towards singers and plucked instrumentalists/continuo players. Pitch: A=440.

In this series of classes we'll learn how to play percussion instruments commonly used in medieval, renaissance, and baroque music. We will explore how to create ‘percussion parts’ for early music, the different approaches and styles in playing monophonic vs. polyphonic music, and how even a simple percussion part can enliven a performance. The series of classes enable us to delve deeper into playing techniques on hand drums (frame drums, tambourines, goblet drums) as well as drums played with sticks (tabor and side drums).

Participants may play percussion, a melody instrument, switch from one to the other or just listen! Those who don't own a drum can use any handy percussion instrument you have at home, such as a pot, pan, cardboard box or wastebasket (preferably empty), Tuning for this class is A=440. All levels welcome.

Music at the Court of Maximilian I: When we read today about Emperor Maximilian I in history books, we mostly learn of his military conquests and political negotiations, but he was also a great patron of the arts. He employed skilled composers such as Heinrich Isaac and also commissioned works by composers who were not specifically employed. In turn, Isaac shared his skills with his own pupils, among them Ludwig Senfl. We’ll explore music by Isaac, Senfl, Paul Hofhaimer and others. Open to recorders, other early winds, viols, intermediate level, and up. Pitch A=440.

Picture this: ornately dressed noble people seated at long tables full of food and drink in a fire-lit hall. In a corner sits someone playing harp and singing. The medieval costumes we can imagine, the taste of the roasted pig, the spiced wine even harder to conjure is the sound of the troubadour’s song. Luckily, many of these songs were notated in manuscripts that survived to this day. So we can do better than imagine the songs of the troubadours, we can sing them!

And they are beautiful, tragic and sometimes playful. While the troubadours most often sang of the same heartache we hear when we turn on the radio, the repertoire seems otherwise to have little in common with most post-medieval Western music. It can indeed be challenging for the novice interpreter, but understanding and learning to sing troubadour songs can be extremely rewarding. All levels of musicians, in particular singers, can develop their technique and overall musicality and gain valuable insight into the medieval world and its legacy. This workshop will introduce participants to the troubadours and their exceptional contribution to the musical (and literary) history of Europe. Together we will explore the components of troubadour song, namely lyrics, melody and “rhythm”, and their interaction. Participants will be led step-by-step from manuscript to performance. As the troubadour repertoire is centered around lyrics, this workshop is mostly geared towards singers. Instrumentalists are however welcome; troubadour song accompaniment will be covered. Pitch: A=440.

Practical Musicianship and Music Theory for Early Musicians, with Shira Kammen 
This class is designed as a musical workout, using the music of the Medieval & Renaissance periods, as well as varied modal music such as Celtic, Eastern European and other traditional and high art styles to exercise and strengthen our musical language and experience. We'll have adventures with pitch and rhythm, modes, improvisation, intervals, ensemble techniques, music theory, arranging and more. 
Open to all voices and instruments. Pitch=A440.

Bring your viol to a virtual consort with Larry Lipnik and Ros Morley exploring a century of trios for viols; from Henry VIII’s Songbook to the music that might have been played by the Princes Charles and Henry, sons of James I, and other royal patrons. The session will be suitable for all sizes of viol; in “Round Robin” style, like "Music Minus One," each piece will be played three times, each time with a different part left out, so that everyone can enjoy playing a trio with us. The other times you may just listen or double one of us playing your part. The repertoire will include music by William Byrd, Edward and Orlando Gibbons, Elway Bevan, Anthony Holborne, Thomas Lupo, Giovanni Coprario and the Anonymous composer who wrote for Henry VIII’s first viol consort. Geared to intermediate - advanced viol players, bu all are welcome. Pitch: A= 415.

Musicians are rarely accused of being single-minded! We are often asked to create differing yet compelling imagery or affects through performance. Rooted in ancient Greek philosophy the four temperaments - sanguine, melancholic, choleric, and phlegmatic - are associated with a distinct set of characteristics that we still recognize as a mixture of our own personality traits. Join Jennifer Carpenter as we bring to life music that represents each of the four temperaments. Open to recorder players, upper intermediate and above, other melody players welcome! Pitch: A=440.

Join Anna O’Connell to learn the difference between a romanesque and a gothic harp, or an arpa doppia and a Spanish double. This presentation covers a wide scope of historical harps before the mid-18th century, and the way in which theory and technology communicate to match the musical zeitgeist. This session will be a lecture and play along—as we learn about different harps, we’ll play through examples of different repertoires and notations for these harps, so come prepared with any harp or your instrument of choice! 
Open to instrumentalists and singers of all levels. Pitch: A=440.

As the days grow darker, come sing songs to warm the spirit! We'll look at a wide range of medieval, renaissance, and early baroque songs that evoke the sacred and secular celebrations of the season and capture the beauty and mystery of wintertime. Repertoire will be drawn from medieval English carols, broadside ballads, Spanish villancicos, French and German carols, and more! With an emphasis on repertoire that you can get up and running right away, we'll fold in vocal technique tips to help you make the songs really sing, and discuss ideas for how to perform these songs both as solo and ensemble music. These are wonderful melodies to play as well as sing, and all singers and instrumentalists are welcome! Pitch: A=440.