PRESS RELEASE: Guild Showcase 2026

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Step Into the Past at Princeton Public Library’s Free Early Music Showcase

PRINCETON, N.J. — What would it sound like to step inside a medieval court, a Renaissance salon or a Baroque concert hall? Visitors to the Princeton Public Library can find out Oct. 18 when the Guild for Early Music presents its annual free showcase, “Sounds Literary.”

From 12:30 to 4:30 p.m., seven Guild member ensembles will perform free, 30-minute mini-concerts in the library’s Community Room. Audiences can drop in for one performance or stay for the entire afternoon as musicians bring the sounds of the Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque and Early American eras to life.

This year’s showcase marks the Guild’s new partnership with Princeton Public Library and features a special connection between music and literature.

Author Colby Cedar Smith, whose book The “Siren and the Star” explores the life and music of Venetian composer Barbara Strozzi through poetry, will read an excerpt from her work. The a cappella ensemble Mostly Motets will complement the reading with music by Strozzi, a prolific female composer whose work has gained increased recognition in recent years.

The afternoon’s performers also include Baroque’n Promises, Highland Park Recorder Society, La Fiocco, New Jersey Early Music, The Practitioners of Musick and Riverview Early Music.

The showcase will conclude with one of the Guild’s most popular features: an instrumental “Petting Zoo” at 4 p.m. Music lovers of all ages will have the opportunity to see, touch and, in some cases, try unusual historical instruments, including the lute, viola da gamba,

rebec, gemshorn and hurdy-gurdy.

The event is not specifically designed for children, but families are welcome to attend for as little or as much of the afternoon as they wish.

Princeton Public Library is located at 65 Witherspoon St. in downtown Princeton. Parking is available in the municipal garage on Spring Street and on many neighboring streets.

The Guild for Early Music’s showcase offers audiences a chance to discover the wide-ranging sounds of early music and experience history not just as something to read about, but as something to hear.

Event: Guild for Early Music Annual Showcase: “Sounds Literary”

Date: Sunday, Oct. 18

Time: 12:30–4:30 p.m.

Location: Princeton Public Library Community Room, 65 Witherspoon St.,

Princeton, New Jersey

Admission: Free