The Guild for Early Music was founded in 2004 as a consortium of early music ensembles and musicians. The mission of the Guild is to
Promote music of the Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, and Early American eras by fostering in the community knowledge and appreciation of music of these historical periods and facilitating cooperation and providing resources for professional and amateur performing ensembles and musicians.
The Guild for Early Music became a 501(3)(c) corporation in July 2009.
Guild members comprise professional musicians, semi-professionals students, amateurs, and early-music community members who are interested in fostering early music activities in the Central New Jersey and Eastern Central Pennsylvania areas, especially Princeton, Lawrenceville, and Trenton, NJ, and Lambertville, New Hope, Yardley, and Philadelphia, PA. But we welcome visitors, members, and enthusiasts from all over.
Our member ensembles include the
Dryden Ensemble,
La Fiocco,
Le Triomphe de l'Amour,
Practitionners of Musick,
La Spirita,
Mostly Motets,
Delaware River Consort, and other groups based in the Princeton/Delaware Valley/Philadelphia area. The Guild also is comprised of individual members of all levels. View our
Members page.
Visit this this section for new about individual and ensemble members. Also make sure you check our calendar frequently for updates on events in the Delaware Valley area and member events throughout the country.
La Spirita, a founding Guild ensemble member, is pleased to announce its new website, created by Guild member and viola da gambist Lynn Fergusson. Please
click here to visit their beautiful new site to learn more about La Spirita and upcoming events, and also visit their site here under
Membership --> View the Guilds Ensemble Members.
Guild members Michelle Cosgrove, flutist, and harpsichordist Lewis R. Baratz will be performing with Ensemble Impromptu in Doylestown, on April 17. They will be joined by violist Michael Strauss and cellist Charles Forbes in a program and late-baroque and early classical music. Details will be posted to the calendar shortly.
Lewis R. Baratz will be making a New York City debut as recorder soloist with
La Fiocco on Wednesday, May 5th at 6:15 PM as part of the St. Agnes one-hour "rush hour" concert series. In addition to La Fiocco artist Rachel Evans (baroque violin). period instrument luminaries Marc Levine (baroque violin), Walter Hansen (baroque viola), Benjamin Wolff (baroque cello), Hank Heijink (theorbo and baroque guitar), B. Andrew Mills (chamber organ and harpsichord), and Ronald Evans (dulcian and baroque bassoon) will be featured guest artists. The program will comprise a concerto for alto recorder, strings, and continuo by Francesco Mancini, concertos for sixth flute (soprano recorder in d'') by William Babell and John Baston, a triosonata by Isabella Leonarda (played on voice flute, violin, and continuo), and early Italian solo pieces by Fontana, Riccio, and Frescobaldi.
Please send your Member News to the webmaster using the Contact Us form.
For the past four years, the Guild's ensemble members have been privileged to perform at the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey, under the auspices of WWFM. Hundreds of visitors come for this annual event, usually held in October, to hear music of the Middle Ages through the classic era performed informatively - and informally - in an exquisitely beautiful and peaceful setting. The Guild's most recent event was held on October 25, 2009, starting at 12:00 Noon. For general information about the Grounds for Sculpture, directions, and admission, visit
www.groundsforsculpture.org .
Participating Ensembles for 2009:
| 12:00 Noon |
Master of Ceremonies, Bliss Michelson, Morning host of WWFM - Welcome. |
| 12:05 PM |
John Burkhalter, soloist for the Princeton Recorder Society. |
| 12:30 PM |
Delaware River Consort (vocal quartet). |
| 1:00 PM |
Practitioners of Musick (17th-century English & Dutch music for recorder, bass viol, harpsichord) |
| 1:30 PM |
Mostly Motets (vocal ensemble). |
| 2:00 PM |
La Fiocco (Loeillet, Telemann, and Williams - recorders, baroque oboe, harpsichord, bass viola da gamba). |
| 2:30 PM |
Engelchor Consort (medieval instrumental ensemble with voice). |
| 3:00 PM |
Princeton Pro Musica (vocal ensemble). |
| 3:30 PM |
Gloria Consort (baroque trio sonata ensemble). |
| 4:00 PM |
La Spirita (viola da gamba consort with voice, late renaissance music). |
| 4:30 PM |
Musica Dolce (baroque instrumental ensemble). |
| 5:00 PM |
"Petting Zoo" - your chance to play a hurdy-gurdy. |
In the Park:
- Sculpture tours on the Festival Theme, In Love and War
- Strolling singers from the Rutgers University Collegium Musicum: (renaissance vocal ensemble).
We are once again grateful to WWFM to be our media sponsor.
An enchanted audience at the October 2008 event. Visit our Photo Gallery for more pictures of this and other Guild events and members.
In March 2009,
Early Music America kindly published an article about the Guild's October 2008 early music day at the Grounds for Sculpture, shown above.
Click here to read the article (courtesy of Early Music America, all rights reserved).
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS FOR 2009 and 2010: Timothy Urban (recorders, early winds, baritone), Jessica Chisholm (recorder and voice), and Michelle Cosgrove (baroque flute), and ensemble members Princeton Pro Musica, Vox Fidelis, and Alchemy Baroque.
Visit our sponsor at
http://wwfm.org/ 