International Pipe and Tabor Festival
The 2026 International Pipe and Tabor Festival will be in beautiful York, and will include playing in costume for the York Mystery Plays on Sun 28th June.
The 2026 International Pipe and Tabor Festival will be in beautiful York, and will include playing in costume for the York Mystery Plays on Sun 28th June.
Join internationally acclaimed baroque violinist Rachel Podger for a joyful, hands-on exploration of ensemble playing and expressive musicianship. This short course will cover gut-string playing, connecting the breath and the bow, and also body awareness and body resonance. Rachel will introduce BOGA (a unique form of “bow-yoga”) as well as Alexander Techniques, chamber music making...
Join David Skinner in Venice for a splendid programme of music by Adrianus Willaert.
The York Early Music Festival 2026.
Meditations on suffering set to music by Josquin, Byrd, Lassus, Willaert. Texts written from prison by Girolamo Savonarola. Workshop for singers and instrumentalists with David Hatcher, also includes BMEMF AGM.
The workshop is led by Keith Orrell, its focus is on Spanish polyphony. We will look at three Spanish works, Tomas Luis de Victoria's Missa Gaudeamus and O Magnum Mysterium followed by Alonso Lobo's Versa Est In Luctum. Price £25. Refreshments will be provided.
Treasures of the Spanish Renaissance ~ the music of the golden century: Cristóbal de Morales, Tomás Luis de Victoria, Philippe Rogier, Juan de Esquivel and Alonso Lobo. Directed by Bill Carslake.
Chalemie Summer School in Early Music, Dance, Period Costume Making and Commedia. Leading performers from the group will direct a series of workshops on 17th/18th century music, song, dance, commedia and costume making, with a particular emphasis on the English repertoire of this period.
Music for the death of Prince Henry in 1612 - a workshop for voices led by Patrick Craig.
This mixed-voice early music workshop marks 400 years since John Dowland with an in-depth exploration of his complete published lute-song output. Working in small mixed-voice ensembles, the weekend will focus on Dowland’s music as shared ensemble repertoire, with attention to text, rhetoric, tuning, contrapuntal clarity and ensemble contact. *More tenors and basses needed!*
Summer Meeting with optional lunch. A London-based music club who meet once a month to sing repertoire from the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras from Britain and Europe.
Workshop for voices and instruments on Secular music by Tudor composers, with Clare Griffel.
Dowland 400 workshop for voices, lutes, viols, recorders and other appropriate softer instruments with Lynda Sayce. Details TBC.
Praise and Prayer - a day for voices and instruments exploring texts on the theme of praise and entreaty, led by Ali Kinder.
15th century popular songs - a workshop for voices and plucked strings (A=440) with Leah Stuttard.
Summer School for Enthusiasts of Early Music, both instrumentalists and singers, offering full board or daily attendance. Spread over 6 days the course is ably led by David Hatcher and David Allinson, allowing participants to enjoy a high standard of music making.
The Song of Songs: sacred love songs by Palestrina, Lassus, L’Héritier, Gombert and others. For Voices and Viols. Spend time with like-minded musicians, and develop your skills under the guidance of a world-class team of tutors: course director and vocal tutor Clare Wilkinson, vocal tutors Carys Lane, Giles Underwood and Nicholas Hurndall Smith, and viol...
Step up to the jukebox and explore the music of Josquin des Prez. He was a central figure of the Franco-Flemish school and arguably the most influential composer of his generation. His works, which were circulated widely across Europe in the early age of music printing, were admired for their expressive text-setting and clarity of...
Workshop for Voices with Patrick Allies - details TBC.
The Baroque course will focus on Purcell’s semi-opera Dioclesian. Applications are invited from dancers, proficient singers and confident players of gut-strung Baroque instruments, with Baroque bows, bass viol, violone, recorder, baroque flute, oboe, bassoon, lute family and harpsichord/organ. Pitch: A=415.
John Blow (1649-1708) Venus and Adonis "A Masque for the Entertainment of the King", directed by Scott Inglis-Kidger Desire, pursuit, and a fatal misjudgement: when Venus urges her lover to prove himself in the hunt, a fleeting moment of bravado sets in motion one of mythology’s most devastating endings. In this compact but beautifully crafted...
Polyphonica are delighted to be returning to Northampton to deliver the annual Polyphonica workshop day again in August 2026. Suitable for mixed ability players but not complete beginners.
NORVIS is the full week-long early music summer school in County Durham which they are proud to describe as one of the UK’s longest-established and friendliest. They teach recorders, Baroque flutes, viols, lutes and early guitars, harpsichords and voices. Repertoire from early Renaissance to late Baroque.
Courses available in choral singing, vocal ensembles, solo singing, baroque orchestra, baroque chamber music, renaissance ensembles and singing, harpsichord and organ. Course tutors include Robert Hollingworth and I Fagiolini, The Lyons Mouth, James Gilchrist, Steven Devine, Gail Hennessy, Gavin Kibble, The Brook Street Band, The City Musick, Jane Chapman & David Titterington.
Patrick Craig, taking over the Assisi residency, has put together a wonderful programme of music for the saints including - of course - St Francis.
For competent singers, viol and recorder players, covering music c1450-c1650. Instruction in choral/solo singing, viol and recorder playing, lute, plus vocal technique and various consorts. Tutors: Deborah Catterall, Elizabeth Dodd, Philip Gruar, Richard MacKenzie, Michael Piraner.
Pater peccavi - exquisite choral music from the birth of the Italian Baroque. This course will be directed by early music specialist and award-winning director of the Marian Consort, Rory McCleery.
A course designed for players of recorders, viols and other early instruments, covering a wide repertoire from ancient to modern. Sessions include one-to-a-part groups, workshops, consort songs, trio sonatas, choir, large and small ensembles. Tutors: Ibi Aziz, Caoimhe de Paor, Pamela Flanagan, Peter Wendland, Philip Thorby.
The course offers inspiration and guidance to both singers and players of baroque music from an expert team of leading specialists in historical performance.
Now in its 16th year, this international summer school explores common grounds between early, folk and traditional music. All singers and instrumentalists welcome. Classes for lute/theorbo, viols, recorders, renaissance wind, early brass, Baroque strings & continuo. Especially welcoming strong singers (potential soloists). Rich programme of music marking anniversaries of de Lalande, Cavalli, Weelkes and Dowland,...
Discover the beauty and genius of Bach’s Cello Suites and improve your cello playing in this relaxed course with tutor Jenny Curtis.
This non-residential course is designed for all levels from the absolute beginner to the professional dancer and concentrates on the technique & presentation of Baroque dance.
Experience the uplifting power of chamber and consort singing, as tutors James Oldfield and Simon Gregory guide you through a range of beautiful madrigals and partsongs from the 16th century to today.
This mixed-voice workshop centres on a varied programme of choral music connected by texts reflecting different aspects of love — playful, devotional, reflective, and lyrical — set across a wide stylistic range. Working in small to medium mixed-voice groups, singers will explore how different composers treat similar themes in very different musical ways.
A glorious three-day extravaganza dedicated solely to enjoying medieval music. This year’s Medieval Music in the Dales explores repertoires from the medieval Margins - geographically, culturally and socially.
Renaissance ‘Back-to-School’ – Music for Learning & Scholarship, a workshop for voices and instruments with Stephanie Dyer. Chester.
Music for the Feast of the Holy Cross - a workshop for voices only with Patrick Craig.
Workshop for voices and instruments at A440 with Mark Wilson. Details to follow. Venue Stafford.
Feast of Fools - a workshop for singers and all instrumentalists, led by Dr Leah Stuttard.
Intermediate and Upper Intermediate. Run by Jacqui Robertson-Wade and Alison Kinder.
Five-day Come & Sing event culminating in a full-scale, baroque-pitch performance including Bach's Cantata 140 ("Wachet auf"), Cantata 147, and the Magnificat in D major, led by Ben England BEM.
Music of the Netherlands - directed by Patrick Allies The library of the Marian Brotherhood in ’s-Hertogenbosch is an extraordinarily rich source of music of Josquin’s successors including Pierre de Manchicourt, Thomas Crecqillon, Antoine Brumel and Pierre de La Rue.
Simon Harper tutors a workshop for singers on the theme of Saints and Angels, to include pieces by composers such as Victoria, Sweelinck, Weelkes and Philips. Further details to be confirmed.
Polychoral Pentecost, for voices and instruments, directed by Mark Wilson.
Banbury Early Music Festival is for early music fans and newcomers alike, to come and participate in inspiring workshops, listen to world class concerts, leaf through a myriad of music and try out early instruments until their heart's content!
The Linarol Consort's Renaissance Viol and Recorder course is for experienced viol and recorder players with an interest in improving their technique on Renaissance instruments and in reading from facsimile. Tutors: David Hatcher and Alison Kinder, assisted by Claire Horácek and Timothy Lin.
John Hancorn will conduct choruses from Samson and Saul for singers and instrumentalists at A440. Further details later.
This course will provide a rare opportunity to play in a pure cornett & sackbutt ensemble; famous for its noble sound and rich sonorities and an endangered species in need of protection! This course offers a fabulous opportunity to indulge yourself in a soundworld where blend, balance and tuning will be the prime objectives.
Discover the exquisite world of early music in Singing Baroque: From Monteverdi to Bach, with Jonathan Peter Kenny.
Non-residential study weekend directed by Philip Walsh. BWV 131: Aus der Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir BWV 140: Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme
Music from the Odhecaton workshop for voices and instruments with Lizzie Gutteridge. Bolton.
Large-scale music by Hassler for voices and instruments, with Gawain Glenton. Details TBC.
Hans Leo Hassler - Large scale music for voices and instruments with Gawain Glenton, Waltham Abbey.
Open to all singers, an opportunity to explore the fabulous Christmas Oratorio by Bach, led by Harry Bradford.
German double-choir music of the late Renaissance and Early Baroque time A workshop for singers, recorders (4 and 8 foot) viols, sackbut, cornett, curtal, baroque violin / cello, led by Peter Wendland.
Petros Singers join forces with Toby Ward (co-founder and artistic director of Ensemble Pro Victoria) for a come-and-sing workshop exploring the rich world of William Byrd’s Great Service for ten-part double choir.
Discover the joy of playing Baroque trio sonatas from across Europe in this insightful new course led by experienced musicians from ZAREKTrio, and enjoy a concert from the trio as part of your course fee.
Workshop for voices and instruments with Andrea Brown - details TBC.
Five-day Come & Sing event culminating in a full-scale, baroque-pitch performance including Bach’s Cantata 140 (“Wachet auf”), Cantata 147, and the Magnificat in D major, led by Ben England BEM.
This course, taught in informal masterclass style, provides an opportunity to try some Baroque repertoire on the harpsichord, as a way of gaining more insight into historical style.
Explore some of the most intriguing string music of the baroque era in this course focusing on the 17th century - the age of ‘wonder and delight’ in the arts, in which the ability to astonish was the hallmark of every great musician - guided by baroque violinist and director of the highly acclaimed Monteverdi...
The London International Festival of Early Music 2026.
Dive into the rich and transportative sound of the viol and improve your ensemble’s playing in this inspiring course with expert coaching from Alison Crum and members of the renowned Rose Consort of Viols.
1535 – a year in the life of Pierre Attaingnant - a workshop for voices and instruments with Peter Syrus. Bramhall, Stockport.
Workshop for voices and instruments - Tomás Luis de Victoria with Huw Morgan, further details TBC.
Workshop for voices and instruments directed by Alison Kinder. Full details will be posted at a later date.
The Annual Nidderdale "Come & Sing Messiah".
Come and discover Medieval music with Mary Mohan, Jude Rees and Leah Stuttard. Delve into the world of Medieval manuscripts, dance tunes, beautiful sacred music and more.
TVEMF Renaissance Day - details TBC.
Advent Music with David Allinson. Details TBC.
Come & Sing Messiah with Basingstoke Choral Society. Details TBC.
William Lyons and Richard Thomas from The City Musick will be heading back to Halsway Manor this Christmastide, bringing with them all the joys of the festive season during the Renaissance. Intended for players of renaissance wind, brass and strings, this course will celebrate the huge variety of sounds and styles of Christmas music heard...
Christmas Workshop for voices and instruments with Philip Thorby.
Explore the rich and varied repertoire of musicians from court and city in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, for wind and brass instruments: cornett, sackbut, shawm, dulcian, recorder (at 440) and crumhorn.
This is the 11th PIVA Real Roots! course at Halsway, where you will be exploring the world of late 16th-century popular music - this year concentrating on music from Germany.
Renaissance workshop for voices and instruments with Bill Lyons. Further details later.
This course offers viol players the chance to explore consort repertoire from the viol’s Golden Age and to improve their technique along the way. Composers studied will include Jenkins, Purcell, Holborne, Lawes and Coperario. There may also be time for a session or two on technical trouble-shooting for those interested.