EMA News Features & Press Releases

Gathering for an English country dance is like taking a walk through the history of social dance and music, much of it based on Playford's 'The English Dancing Master.' Always a popular and fun night out, the art form today attracts a broad range of participants and is sometimes backed by an early-music band.

Norwegian conductor Grete Pedersen is in demand everywhere just now. A finalist for the Bay Area's Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, she'll become principal conductor of the Yale Schola Cantorum starting in 2026 and has been at the helm of the idyllic Carmel Bach Festival for the past three seasons. In a conversation along Carmel Beach, she talked about her organic approaches to early music.

Change ringing started in North America in the 1740s. It's a musical team sport, it's math for musicians, it's an exercise for engineers. The ringing of the bells in an ordered sequence, as a piece of music, is a historical hobby that's been growing in the U.S. in recent decades. We checked in with the MIT Guild of Bell Ringers in Boston to peal a bell ourselves.

Academia de Música Antigua de Medellín is one of a few schools in Latin America that teaches historical performance. But newer students will need instruments. In a brilliant partnership, the inaugural Latin American Congress on Baroque Luthiery will help supply the Academia with a range of stringed instruments.

The Amherst Early Music Festival's Baroque Opera Project this summer focused on a rarity, Georg Reutter’s 'Dafne.' Students and early-career singers and instrumentalists brought this ancient #metoo tale to life.

Blue Hill Bach, a festival in the idyllic harbor town in Maine, celebrates its 15th season this summer, with performances July 15-19. They play each concert in a different often surprising location, like a shipyard. With booming arts tourism and new festival leadership, the Blue Hill Bach is ready for the next step.

At the Boston Early Music Festival's Fringe Concerts, one show in particular caught the ear of Tina Chancey. The bowed-strings player shares her connections with Rumbarrocco's program. The 'intersection of cultures gave the group an excitement and intensity that was refreshing to watch and hear.'

A true contralto voice is rare and thus is often misunderstood or mistreated. In her Canto essay, a notable contralto makes the case for carefully nurturing what's as compelling a voice type as has ever existed on stage.

The eclectic ensemble Magdalena, its members trained in historical performance, explored their broad interests at last year's EMA Emerging Artists' Showcase concert. From Irish sean-nós folk singing to a Renaissance dance suite, their program explored music associated with historical women named Magdalena.

Violinist Amelia Sie and friends gave a sensational performance at the 2024 EMA Emerging Artists Showcase. Their virtuosic program explored scordatura (or cross-tuning), the re-tuning of violin strings for new sonic effects. From Baroque composers to Appalachian fiddlers, it creates sounds at once spectacular and down-home.