Early Music Missouri

Contact Information

1-314-368-0382

earlymusicmo@gmail.com
https://earlymusicmissouri.net/

St. Louis, MO, Missouri

Type of Organization

Education, Performing Ensemble, Presenter

About

Early Music Missouri was created in 2019 by lutenist/musicologist Jeffrey Noonan in an effort to increase the visibility of local and regional Early Music performers and ensembles. Early Music Missouri operates as a resource for musicians and Early Music fans across the central Midwest, presenting regular concerts on its series as well as offering presentations, lecture/demos, master classes and more for the wider community, often in association with other arts organizations.

Initial concerts in the spring of 2019 featured a program of music for solo cello performed by Baroque cellist Stephanie Hunt, a concert of Lenten vocal music featuring soprano Samantha Arten and a program of French works for Baroque flute by the trio La petite brise. The 2019-2020 season was cut short in March 2020, but still offered five concerts including a Medieval holiday legend with period vocal and instrumental music, a program of 19th-century solo music for fortepiano and two concerts featuring 17th- and 18th-century string music.

Early Music Missouri weathered the COVID shutdown, producing one informal outdoor concert as well as a number of videos for its YouTube channel in 2020. Early Music Missouri returned to public performances in October 2021 with six concerts ranging from 17th-century lute music to 18th-century sonatas for viola d'amore. Featured performers include Boston's voice/viol duo Lyracle, Chicago's Bach+Beethoven Experience, the duo Musicke's Cordes and some of the best of St. Louis's local Early Music performers.

In the fall of 2022, Early Music Missouri’s Mainstage Concert Series moved to St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Ladue MO, a St. Louis suburb while its Chamber Recital Series commenced at the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art on the campus of Saint Louis University. Since then, the series at St. Peter's, "Early Music Missouri Presents," has featured six concerts annually, featuring local and regional performers. Programs range widely and have included a concert of 16th-century songs for voice, viol and vihuela; several concerts for recorder soloists and ensembles; large scale programs of sacred music by Monteverdi and Charpentier, choral programs of Renaissance counterpoint by Taverner, and popular favorites including Bach’s Brandenburg Concerti and Coffee Cantata, and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Chamber concerts have included solo lute and early guitar recitals, a lute song program and chamber ensembles featuring Italian, English and German violin music; German devotional song and a program of early Italian cello music. 

Details about the current season, past programs, our performers and links to concert videos may be found at the Early Music Missouri website, earlymusicmissouri.net.

Since its start Early Music Missouri has presented outreach concerts and lecture/demonstrations for a variety of educational and community organizations. These outreach events include classroom presentations at local universities and community colleges, a performance residency with Missouri's Scenic Regional Library system and presentations for regional Suzuki conferences and classes. Early Music Missouri has paired closely with East Central Community College in Union, MO, regularly offering workshops, classes and concerts on the campus for students and the wider community. In 2024, Early Music Missouri began a collaborative partnership with the St. Louis Art Museum, presenting some half dozen recitals, concerts and presentations in the Museum’s galleries and auditorium.

In addition, Early Music Missouri has taken concerts from its Mainstage Series to venues and other concert series across the country. These include four performances of our Vivaldi Four Seasons concert across Missouri and Illinois, regional runout programs of our concerts featuring Bach’s Brandenburg Concerti, sacred music by Monteverdi and Charpentier’s Missa Noël. When the opportunity presents itself, Early Music Missouri supports national touring performances of selected chamber programs. These have included solo lute and early guitar programs as well as chamber duets and trio. Early Music Missouri soloists and ensembles have presented programs on college campuses in Missouri, Illinois, Colorado and North Carolina, and our ensembles have performed on concert series across the country including San Miguel Chapel (Santa Fe), Academy of Early Music (Detroit & Ann Arbor), Rush Hour Concerts (Denver) and Duke University’s Rare Music Series. 

Early Music Missouri is supported by admission at concerts as well as generous donations from friends and patrons. Regional support includes Special Project and Program Support Grants from the St. Louis Regional Arts Commission and Project Express Grants from the Missouri Arts Council. Our educational outreach activities have been supported by funding from Early Music America.

Early Music Missouri was founded by and is directed by Jeffrey Noonan, who has played early plucked instruments for over forty years across the Midwest with a variety of ensembles. In 2023, the musicologist/vocalist Dr. Samantha Arten, a regular performer on Early Music Missouri programs, joined the organization as its Associate Director. Early Music Missouri is a registered 501(c)(3) organization, overseen by a volunteer board that includes professional and amateur musicians from across the St. Louis region.