Philadelphia, PA – Piffaro, Philadelphia’s acclaimed Renaissance Band, opens its 2026-2027 season with an all-instrumental program, “At the Sign of the Crumhorn.” Piffaro will breathe life into the sounds of 16th-century Antwerp with shawms, sackbuts, dulcians, crumhorns, and other remarkable Renaissance instruments. Concerts take place on October 16 at The Church of the Holy Trinity, Rittenhouse Square; October 17 at Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, and on October 18 at Christ Church Christiana Hundred in Wilmington, DE. The concert will be filmed live and streamed online November 2 to 15. Tickets are now on sale at piffaro.org.
Piffaro’s virtuosic musicians will guide listeners to a bustling shop located “at the Sign of the Crumhorn.” Behind the door, Tielman Susato’s printing press was churning out the newest, best, and most exciting music of the day, eagerly anticipated by musicians and dancers. The program explores the multi-faceted life of this fascinating professional: a savvy publisher, working trombonist, and successful composer.
“So many of us were first introduced to early music through Susato’s dances,” notes Piffaro artistic director, Priscilla Herreid. “When we hear one of those dance tunes, we are transported back to the sound of an old recording we had, or to memories of playing orchestral, band, or brass quintet arrangements. I’m elated to have this opportunity to play some of those great tunes and to look at other parts of Susato’s multi-faceted career. He was one of the busiest publishers of his time and churned out dozens of editions – motets, chansons, and masses by Josquin, Lassus, Crecquillon, Clemens non Papa, to name just a handful of composers – published for both professional and amateur use. I’m especially excited for people to hear some of Susato’s own motets and chansons, which are stunning.”
Herreid adds, “My favorite musicians to work with are people who can find both the beauty and the fun in dance music, and who can also break your heart with their playing or singing of complex polyphony. I can imagine that Susato would have been all of those things, and more.”
Ticket Information
Tickets and subscriptions are on sale now. Prices start at $29 for in-person tickets – youth and full-time students attend free of charge.
How to purchase: available online at piffaro.org, by phone at 215-235-8469, or at the venue one hour before concerts.
Complete 2026/2027 Season Schedule
At the Sign of the Crumhorn (All Instrumental)
- October 16 @ 7:30PM – The Church of the Holy Trinity, Rittenhouse Square
- October 17 @ 7:30PM – Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill
- October 18 @ 3PM – Christ Church Christiana Hundred, Wilmington
- November 2–15: Streaming online
In the Midwinter Light (w/ GRAMMY-winning tenor, James Reese)
- December 4 @ 7:30PM – The Church of the Holy Trinity, Rittenhouse Square
- December 5 @ 7:30PM – Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill
- December 6 @ 3PM – Westminster Presbyterian Church, Wilmington
- December 18–31: Streaming online
From the Source: A Mass for Manila (w/ Dutch vocal ensemble Cappella Pratensis)
- February 26 @ 7:30PM – The Church of the Holy Trinity, Rittenhouse Square
- February 27 @ 7:30PM – Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill
- February 28 @ 3PM – Christ Church Christiana Hundred, Wilmington
- March 2 @ 7:30PM – Fairchild Theatre, Michigan State University, East Lansing
- March 4 @ 7:30PM – Miller Theatre, Columbia University, New York
- March 5 @ 7PM – Immaculate Conception, Kansas City, MO
- March 15–28: Streaming online
At the Town Square: Music of Renaissance Germany (All Instrumental)
- May 7 @ 7:30PM – The Church of the Holy Trinity, Rittenhouse Square
- May 8 @ 7:30PM – Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill
- May 9 @ 3PM – Christ Church Christiana Hundred, Wilmington
- May 29 @ 5PM – Zelazao Theatre, Milwaukee, WI
- May 24–June 6: Streaming online
Philadelphia Recorder Fest
Piffaro’s invites the community to celebrate the recorder with a play-in and free performances.
April 3 – Location TBA
About Piffaro
Piffaro, the Renaissance band has delighted audiences around the world for over four decades with highly polished recreations of the rustic music of the peasantry and the elegant sounds of the official wind bands of the late Medieval and Renaissance periods. They breathe life into history with their ever-expanding instrumentarium of shawms, dulcians, sackbuts, recorders, krumhorns, bagpipes, lutes, guitars, harps, and a variety of percussion – all careful reconstructions of instruments from the period and the only professional collection of its kind in North America.
Personnel
- Priscilla Herreid, artistic director
- Héloïse Degrugillier
- Grant Herreid
- Greg Ingles
- Sian Ricketts
- Erik Schmalz
For more information, visit piffaro.org.
