• Vivaldi on Fire!

    EMSI welcomes back Ensemble Caprice on March 14th

    Concert Details
  • EMSI 2025/26 Concert Season

    From Scandinavia to Persia, and Galicia to Bohemia,
    travel through the Medieval and Baroque eras with EMSI!

    Concert DetailsTickets available now
  • Celebrating Victoria’s own talented artists!

    An initiative from EMSI to support our local amateur and professional musicians.

    more information
  • Read about our audience’s experience in their own words:

    “Great to witness the pure joy and artistry of the performers.”
    – Geoffrey Espin

Upcoming Concerts

  • Mar 14 | Ensemble Caprice (CANADA)
    • Ensemble Caprice (CANADA)
    • Vivaldi on Fire Back by popular demand, Ensemble Caprice, under the direction of dynamic Artistic Director Matthias Maute, returns to Victoria. A whirlwind of fiery passion and dazzling virtuosity, Vivaldi […]

    • Read More
  • Apr 17 | ARTEK Early Music
    • ARTEK Early Music
    • SPECIAL EVENT Artemisia – Light and Shadow Two nights: Friday, April 17, 2026 and Saturday, April 18, 2026 With the success of our opera and dinner production last September, we […]

    • Read More
  • Apr 18 | ARTEK Early Music
    • ARTEK Early Music
    • SPECIAL EVENT Artemisia – Light and Shadow Two nights: Friday, April 17, 2026 and Saturday, April 18, 2026 With the success of our opera and dinner production last September, we […]

    • Read More
Next concert

Ensemble Caprice (CANADA)
March 14

Vivaldi on Fire Back by popular demand, Ensemble Caprice, under the direction of dynamic Artistic Director Matthias Maute, returns to Victoria. A whirlwind of fiery passion and dazzling virtuosity, Vivaldi […]

Read More

Welcome

to The Early Music Society of the Islands!

Founded in 1985 and based in Victoria BC, the Early Music Society is a non-profit, charitable society dedicated to offering accomplished performances of music composed prior to 1800.

EMSI embraces the idea that early music deserves to be heard with close to its original intent. To that end, our concerts feature period instruments, accurate scores, and historical performance practices.

Renowned artists, both international and homegrown, have graced our stage.

We acknowledge and respect the Lǝḱwǝŋǝn peoples on whose traditional unceded territory EMSI presents concerts, and the Songhees, Esquimalt and WSÁNEĆ peoples whose deep relationships with the land continue to this day.

Sponsors

EMSI News

Interview with Matthias Maute of Ensemble Caprice on “Vivaldi on Fire”

Here's an interview with Bill Jamieson, Executive and Artistic Director of EMSI and Matthias Maute, Musical Director of Ensemble Caprice. Learn about out upcoming concert "Vivaldi on Fire" on March 14, 2026. INFORMATION AND TICKETS

The Life, Correspondence and Music of Ignatius Sancho

Ignatius Sancho, by Thomas Gainsborough By Bill Jamieson, Executive and Artistic Director of EMSI Appropriately for Black History Month, our upcoming concert features the music of Ignatius Sancho, a Black English composer who was a contemporary…

Interview with Brandon Chui of Tafelmusik (concert Nov 14, 2025)

Here is an interview by EMSI Associate Artistic Director, Farrah O'Shea, with Tafelmusik Artistic Co-Director, Brandon Chui Don't miss the concert. More information . . .

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