Concert Archive

This is our first “real concert” since the month of March! It will be set in the beautiful garden of Dr. Lloyd Howard and organized in accordance with provincial sanitary recommendations. This concert will be on on Sunday, 12 July at 2:30 p.m. The Society is grateful to Dr. Howard for the use of his […]

An online, weekly concert series featuring baroque chamber works on period instruments. In solidarity and support of our Victoria-based musicians during the COVID 19 pandemic, Early Music  Society of the Islands, Victoria Baroque, EMV: Pacific Baroque Series, and Christ Church Cathedral are proud to co-present Music for the Pause, an exciting new online concert series […]

An online, weekly concert series featuring baroque chamber works on period instruments. In solidarity and support of our Victoria-based musicians during the COVID 19 pandemic, Early Music  Society of the Islands, Victoria Baroque, EMV: Pacific Baroque Series, and Christ Church Cathedral are proud to co-present Music for the Pause, an exciting new online concert series […]

Emma Hannan soprano Victoria Baroque (PACIFIC NORTHWEST) Soile Stratkauskas flute and direction A sensual selection of music from the salons of Versailles including music by Boismortier, Hotteterre, and Marais. Victoria Baroque is joined by Emma Hanna, one of the brightest young Canadian Early Music sopranos, and two recent and stellar additions to the West Coast […]

As the B.C. Government has placed a ban on all gatherings of 250 or more, EMSI will be cancelling the Saturday March 14 concert, Vivaldi in Paris. A decision on the final concert of the season on April 18, Plaisirs de la Chambre, will be made at a later date. Holders of pre-sold tickets will […]

Concerto Köln (GERMANY) Shunske Sato violin One of the great Baroque orchestras of Europe presents the first ever Victoria performance on period instruments of all the movements of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. This is a rare chance to hear a world class orchestra perform one of the pinnacles of the Baroque repertoire. Added gems are rarely […]

The Baltimore Consort (USA) One of EMSI’s favourite ensembles performs a brand-new programme of music based on Shakespeare’s plays. Danielle Svonavec sings some of the greatest hits from the Bard’s songbook including It Was a Lover and His Lass, Where the Bee Sucks, and Full Fathom Five. Dances and consort music round out the programme.

Chloe Kim, baroque violin Martin Bonham viola da gamba Michael Jarvis harpsichord A star is born! Victoria native Chloe Kim, a student at the Juilliard School of Music in New York, is already an emerging star in the firmament of early music. She returns home with a programme of masterpieces by J.S. Bach and his […]

El Mundo (CALIFORNIA) Richard Savino guitar and direction Joyous, celebratory, with a distinctive Latin twist. The music abounds with infectious rhythms, sweet melodies, and the lively spirit of the Christmas season in Latin America. In the spotlight are 18thC pieces from the Cathedral of Guatemala City.

Accademia Hermans (ITALY) Fabio Ciofini harpsichord and direction In Arcangelo Corelli, the Baroque style reached its apotheosis. Although his music was revered throughout Europe long after its composition, it was was rooted in a time and place: Rome at the outset of 18thC. Corelli’s original music and several anonymous arrangements of it are combined with […]

Haydn, Beethoven, von Weber Eric Hoeprich classical clarinet London Haydn Quartet (UK) The programme features Franz Joseph Haydn’s beloved “Lark” Quartet, Beethoven’s early Quartet in F Major, Op. 18, No. 1, and Carl Maria von Weber’s Clarinet Quintet in B♭ Major, Op. 34. A rare opportunity to hear the world’s authority on classical clarinet together […]

The Oct 5 Imaginario concert has unfortunately been cancelled due to last minute illness of artist. EMSI apologizes for any inconvenience this has caused to our patrons. Please contact: info@EarlyMusicSocietyoftheIslands.ca for further information   Armonía Concertada (SPAIN) María Cristina Kiehr soprano Ariel Abramovich vihuela de mano Two of Europe’s leading performers of Early Music showcase […]

Constantinople (MONTREAL) Marco Beasley tenor (ITALY) Kiya Tabassian setar and direction Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. Italian, Ottoman, and Persian songs are interwoven in Majmua, an early-17th century manuscript from Constantinople compiled by the Polish musician and orientalist Albert Bobowski (Ali Ufki). Bobowski revels in shifting among languages and styles. […]

Choir of Clare College Cambridge (UK) Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. Thirty-two voices-strong, the fresh young vocalists of the Choir of Clare College give a complete performance of Tomas Luis de Victoria’s 1605 Requiem – widely considered one of the last great masterworks of the Renaissance – interwoven with English […]

Chiaroscuro String Quartet (EUROPE) Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. Chiaroscuro Quartet brings together some of the finest period string players from across Europe: France, Spain, Sweden, and Russia. Savour some of the most revered of all string quartets as you have never heard them before: Haydn’s Op. 33 No. 2, […]

Corina Marti harpsichord (SWITZERLAND) Doors open at 2:30 pm.  Harpsichord virtuoso Corina Marti performs preludes, fantasias, and dances from the manuscripts of Johannes of Lublin and Johannes Fischer Morungensis: fresh, lively music that is still danceable half a millennium after its composition. Don’t miss the once in a lifetime opportunity to hear this repertoire.

Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra (TORONTO) Elisa Citterio violin and direction Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. This all-Bach multimedia creation combines text, music, and stunning projected video and images to explore the world of the artisans—papermakers, violin carvers, string spinners, and performers—who helped J.S. Bach realise his musical genius. In the tradition […]

Victoria Baroque Jeanne Lamon violin and direction (TORONTO) Rebecca Genge soprano (TORONTO) Kris Kwapis trumpet (SEATTLE) Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. Victoria’s own Baroque orchestra, one of Canada’s most brilliant early music sopranos, and trumpet virtuoso Kris Kwapis are led by the legendary Jeanne Lamon in a performance of festive […]

Byron Schenkman and Friends (SEATTLE) Reginald Mobley countertenor (MIAMI) Byron Schenkman harpsichord and direction Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. Byron Schenkman, one of EMSI’s favourite musicians, is joined by flautist Joshua Romatowski, cellist Nathan Whittaker, and countertenor Reginald Mobley in a performance of some of Handel’s most moving cantatas, including […]

London Handel Players (UK) Mary Collins and Steve Players dancers (UK) Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. Explore the origins of ballet in the dances of Baroque opera. Two of the world’s leading authorities on Baroque dance, accompanied by one of Britain’s most distinguished Baroque ensembles, brings to life the elegance, […]

Psallentes (BELGIUM) Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. The angels of the Ghent Altarpiece, one of the apexes of European art, are the inspiration for this concert where the women of Psallentes impersonate these angels and perform the Flemish polyphony that their earlier counterparts would have witnessed.

The Tallis Scholars UK Peter Phillips, music director   Doors open at 1:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 2:10 pm. To commemorate the centenary of the end of World War I, Peter Phillips has put together a stirring program with masses on the theme of the Armed Man (L’homme armé), chansons describing a battle (La Batalla), […]

La Rêveuse FRANCE   Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. A master of instrumental music, Telemann enjoyed more fame and adoration in his time than even the lauded J.S. Bach. Open to French and Italian influences as well as the new galant style that flourished in Germany, he excelled in chamber […]

Elinor Frey, cello Luc Beauséjour, harpsichord MONTREAL   Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. Two of Canada’s leading exponents of historically-informed performance bring to life masterpieces of high Baroque chamber music by Johann Sebastian Bach and his sons Johann Christoph Friedrich and Carl Philipp Emanuel.

Diderot String Quartet NEW YORK Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. When Leipzig composer Felix Mendelssohn revived Bach’s music, it finally received universal admiration. The Diderot String Quartet performs excerpts from The Art of Fugue alongside Mendelssohn’s No.4 Fugue for String Quartet, Op. 81 and his much-loved String Quartet No. 2, […]

Monica Huggett, violin and music direction UK Pacific Baroque Orchestra   Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. Celebrate the holidays with a fresh take on some old favourites. Vivaldi’s Gloria and Magnificat were originally composed for an all-female ensemble. Join beloved violinist Monica Huggett as she leads these joyful works the […]

Asteria NEW YORK Sylvia Rhyne, soprano Eric Redlinger, tenor and lute   Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. Through the tale of Sir Yvain, one of the most beloved of Arthurian stories, Asteria explores how the ideal of courtly love was very much alive and well in the art songs of […]

Diabolus in Musica FRANCE   Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. There was a time when the Christian world bowed to Avignon. The wealth, splendour, and power of the French popes attracted kings, princes, and the greatest Medieval artists. This pilgrimage through beautiful music born in Papal opulence includes many works […]

Boston Early Music Festival Ensemble BOSTON Amanda Forsythe, soprano  Colin Balzer, tenor   Christian Immler, baritone   Emőke Baráth, soprano   Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. Handel openly praised his mentor Stefani and modeled virtuosic Italian chamber duets on the composer’s exquisite work. Stephen Stubbs leads an all-star ensemble of singers and […]

Gli Angeli Genève SWITZERLAND   Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. A century before Bach, northern Germany succumbed to the lush charms of a bold, new music from Italy: the Baroque. Johann Schein, in his position at the Thomas Kirche that would be Bach’s a hundred years later, was one of the […]

Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. Karina Gauvin, soprano Francis Colpron, recorder and direction MONTREAL Les Boréades de Montréal Canada’s own superstar soprano joins forces with the exciting musicians of Les Boréades baroque orchestra to perform Henry Purcell’s sacred and secular songs, some of the very finest in the English language. […]

SPECIAL EVENT Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. Stile Antico UK Torn between conscience and obedience, Philips, Dering, and Dowland, several of England’s greatest composers, chose a life of exile while others, Byrd and Robert White, remained at home in spiritual exile. The result was music of astonishing intensity and emotional […]

Northwest Baroque MASTERWORKS PROJECT NOTE: This is a matinée performance Monica Huggett, violin UK Pacific Baroque Orchestra Alexander Weimann, music director Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, the son of a slave, overcame obstacles of class, race and prejudice to become one of the greatest composers of his time, inspiring Mozart and Haydn. The concert includes […]

Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. Raquel Andueza and La Galanía SPAIN One of Spain’s leading early music ensembles, Raquel Andueza and La Galanía have appeared to great acclaim across Europe. The folk-inspired songs of Spain are contrasted with the emerging Baroque Italian music of Merula, Monteverdi, Barbara Strozzi and others. […]

Northwest Baroque MASTERWORKS PROJECT Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. Alexander Weimann, music director Molly Quinn, Danielle Sampson, Meg Bragle, Aaron Sheehan, Jesse Blumberg VANCOUVER/USA Five internationally renowned soloists, and a Baroque orchestra with three trumpets and timpani perform the Magnificat written for Christmas Vespers in 1723, Telemann’s Concerto for Three […]

Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. Fuoco E Cenere FRANCE A unique staged performance combines music of the French Baroque by Charpentier, Rameau, Marais, and Lully with acting and French cuisine. At the conclusion of the performance, the artists serve canapés prepared exclusively for the audience. Dishing up platters of well […]

Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. musica fantasia Julie Ryning, soprano and percussion Katelyn Clark, clavicimbalum VANCOUVER Courtly love in the 13th and 14th centuries is explored with works by Walther von der Vogelweide, trecento ballate from the Vatican Rossi Codex, virelai from the allegory Le Roman de Fauvel, and culminates […]

Northwest Baroque MASTERWORKS PROJECT Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. Amanda Forsythe, soprano USA Pacific Baroque Orchestra Alexander Weimann, music director Possessed of astounding technique, deep musicality and undeniable charm, the young American lyric soprano Amanda Forsythe has taken the world of early music by storm. Works by Handel and rival […]

Northwest Baroque MASTERWORKS PROJECT Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. Arion Baroque Orchestra MONTREAL Alexander Weimann, music director Yulia Van Doren, Shannon Mercer, sopranos Krisztina Szabo, Laura Pudwell, mezzo-sopranos Charles Daniels, Phillipe Gagné, tenors Christian Immler, Sumner Thompson, baritones Bach spent the last years of his life creating the magnificent Mass […]

SPECIAL EVENT Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. Collegium Vocale Gent (Belgium) Philippe Herreweghe, director Tears of St. Peter: 21 Sacred Madrigals Founded in 1970, Collegium Vocale Gent is one of the most venerable and celebrated ensembles in the world of early music. They have traveled the world to ecstatic acclaim […]

SPECIAL EVENT Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra (Toronto) House of Dreams A magical journey to the meeting places of baroque art and music—five European homes where exquisite works by Bach, Handel, Vivaldi and Marais were played against a backdrop of paintings by Vermeer, Canaletto, and Watteau. Includes […]

Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. Piffaro, The Renaissance Band (Philadelphia) Back Before Bach Music familiar to Bach’s father, Johann Ambrosius Bach, a Stadtpfeifer in the town band of Arnstadt, performed on shawms, recorders, sackbuts and bagpipes by one of today’s most respected Renaissance wind ensembles. Works by Isaac, Luther, Praetorius, […]

Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. Victoria Baroque Players Steven Devine, harpsichord and direction (UK) Dramatic Baroque Suites with Four Horns Spectacular large scale baroque suites by Handel, Telemann and Rameau are performed by one of the largest baroque orchestras ever to appear on a Victoria stage. Directed by Steven Devine, […]

SPECIAL EVENT Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. Early Music Vancouver Vocal and Instrumental Ensemble, La Rose des Vents Cornetto and Sackbut Ensemble (Montreal), St. Christopher Singers (Victoria), David Fallis, music director (Toronto) Soloists: Jolle Greenleaf, soprano, Jane Long, soprano, Emma Hannan, soprano, Danielle Sampson, soprano, Laura Pudwell, alto, Liz Hamel, […]

Doors open at 6:45 pm. Please note: there is no pre-concert talk for this event. Dialogos (France) Swithun! Music from Winchester c.1000 Dialogos explores early polyphony from Winchester (10th–11th centuries) in a semi-staged performance with English subtitles. Through the voice of Wulfstan the Cantor, we follow the path of a penitent man haunted by his […]

Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. Ensemble Caprice (Montreal) Chaconne! Voices of Eternity In the baroque era, chaconnes, with their steady harmonic progressions, were associated with the concept of eternity. Composers from across Europe, including Bach, Falconieri, Merula, Vitali, and Rebel used the chaconne form to transcend the boundaries of time. […]

Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. Byron Schenkman & Friends (Seattle) Handel and Haydn: Harpsichord Concerti Byron Schenkman, one of EMSI’s favourite performers and known for his effervescent virtuosity, returns to Victoria with a programme of keyboard masterpieces by Handel (op. 4, no. 2 and no. 4) and Haydn (H.XVIII:3). “Byron […]

Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. VocaMe Germany Sigrid Hausen, mezzo-soprano Sarah M. Newman, soprano; Petra Noskaiová, mezzo-soprano Gerlinde Sämann, soprano Michael Popp, music direction and instruments (vielle, santur, harp, monochord, oud, dilruba, iklig, bells) Hildegard of Bingen: Songs and Visions Watch VocaMe on YouTube Visit the VocaMe website Learn about […]

Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. Jeffrey Thompson, tenor La Rêveuse (France) Henry Lawes: Songs of an English Cavalier Henry Lawes lived through the troubled times of 17th-century England. He was acknowledged in his day as one of the finest composers for the voice. With his extended vocal ranges, his expressive […]

Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. Kristian Bezuidenhout, fortepiano (South Africa/UK) Mozart Piano Sonatas Bezuidenhout’s interpretation of Mozart has caused a sensation at the world’s major early music festivals. Come and find out why. The reigning superstar of 
the fortepiano brings to the keyboard masterpieces 
of Mozart an unprecedented flair and […]

Doors open at 2:30pm. There is no pre-concert talk for this concert. The Northwest Baroque Masterworks Project Part of an extraordinary week exploring the music of G.F. Handel with Pacific Baroque Festival’s The Justly Celebrated Mr. Handel February 19-22, 2015. Pacific Baroque Orchestra (Vancouver) Vancouver Cantata Singers Alexander Weimann music director Handel: Theodora A collaboration with […]

Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. The Northwest Baroque Masterworks Project An exciting new collaboration with the EMSI, Early Music Vancouver, Pacific Baroque Orchestra and Pacific MusicWorks Stephen Stubbs, music director (Seattle) Teresa Wakim, soprano Krisztina Szabó, mezzo-soprano Zachary Finkelstein, tenor Sumner Thompson, baritone Bach: Christmas Oratorio Celebrate the holiday season with a collection […]

Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. Accademia Hermans (Italy) Vivaldi and his Imitators In the eighteenth century, Antonio’s Vivaldi’s works were consistently fresh, wildly popular—and widely imitated. Sometimes it is unclear when a work is by the Venetian master or one of his admirers. You be the judge. Vivaldi’s followers included […]

Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. Pacific MusicWorks (Seattle) Stephen Stubbs, lute and direction (Seattle) Monteverdi Madrigals: Songs of Love and War Many of America’s leading early music specialists, under the direction of lutenist Stephen Stubbs, join forces for a performance of selections from Book Seven and Eight of Monteverdi’s Madrigals. Vocal soloists include Catherine Webster and Aaron […]

Doors open at 6:45 pm. Pre-concert talk at 7:10 pm. La Nef (Montreal) Michael Slattery, tenor (USA) Dowland in Dublin Could the great John Dowland have been born in Ireland? What if his songs and dances had been performed in a Dublin pub? A speculative premise, perhaps, but the musical results are delightful. This remarkable young […]

EMSI is proud to present the Victoria debut of Harry Van der Kamp, the legendary Dutch bass with more than 120 CDs to his credit. The equally distinguished Monica Huggett leads performances of cantatas and instrumental music by Johann Christoph Bach, Bruhns, Rosemüller, Tunder and Biber. “Huggett’s imaginative approach and lively response to detail are […]

Boston Early Music Festival: Vocal, Chamber and Dance Ensembles (USA) Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs, Musical Directors Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s La Descente d’Orphée aux Enfers and La Couronne de Fleurs For the first time ever, Victoria audiences will have the opportunity to experience a semi-staged baroque opera, performed in a period style by one of the world’s leading […]

Visit the webpage of Jeffrey Cohan 2014 marks the 300th anniversary of the birth of C.P.E. Bach. EMSI celebrates by hosting one of the world’s great keyboardists and some of Seattle’s most distinguished early music specialists in performances of flute and harpsichord concerti by Emanuel Bach, and the Suite in B minor by his father, Johann […]

Il Mantovano Hebreo: Italian madrigals and Hebrew prayers by Salomone Rossi Salomone Rossi, a member of the Jewish community in Mantua, was one of the greatest Italian composers of the seventeenth century. The vocal ensemble Profeti della Quinta was the winner of the prestigious biennial York Early Music International Young Artists Competition in 2011; this […]

EMSI’s Christmas concert is always highly anticipated as the most entertaining of the season. This year, the towering Christmas cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach are performed by some of Canada’s leading baroque music specialists and many of Victoria’s favourite musicians, all under the direction of Jeanne Lamon (Music Director of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra). “A wonderful […]

Esteban La Rotta, one of Canada’s leading players of early plucked instruments, will perform music from the Codex Faenza, the Buxheimer Organ Book and other sources as well as pieces from the newly discovered Wolfenbüttel Manuscript, the earliest known music written specifically for the lute. “a crack continuo squad…excellent.” MONTREAL GAZETTE Esteban La Rotta, lute, […]

In the early seventeenth century, Italians relished adventurous nuance, extreme dynamics and the chance to demonstrate skilful playing. Pallade Musica expresses these qualities passionately  in this programme of Italian chamber music for violin, cello, and basso continuo. Works of Castello, Stradella, Marini, Scarlatti and other composers are featured. GRAND PRIZE WINNER, 2012 EARLY MUSIC AMERICA BAROQUE PERFORMANCE […]

EMSI delights in bringing to its audience neglected masterpieces. On this occasion, the musicians of ¡Sacabuche! (singers, sackbuts, violins and organ) illuminate the works of Jarzębski, Mielczewski, Szarzyński and Zieleński, Polish composers who, in the seventeenth century, adopted the emerging idiom of the Italian baroque with brilliant results. “The ensemble’s intonation was flawless, its balance […]

To the public, Handel was the great man of theatre, the titan who dominated the English music scene for half a century. His friends saw another side; in his rooms at 25 Brook Street (Handel’s home from 1723 until his death in 1759), the finest musicians would collaborate with Handel the chamber musician. The London […]