The EMA Summit brings the early-music community of North and South America together for three days of thought-provoking presentations, performances, workshops, and networking, including featured performances by outstanding local partners.
The 2026 EMA Summit will be held at the wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ (Intellectual House) on the University of Washington campus in Seattle, October 22-24. We’ll have a fantastic daily line up of specially curated Summit sessions, with help from partner Early Music Seattle, and livestreaming will be available for all sessions!
Those attending the Summit in person will also be treated to the Young Performers Festival, Emerging Artists Showcase, and performances from Sound Salon, Seattle Bach Festival, and the Byrd Ensemble at nearby Seattle venues.
See you in Seattle or online!
- Registration includes access to all Summit presentations and events plus the Young Performers Festival and Emerging Artists Showcase concerts.
- Registration does not include tickets to concerts by Sound Salon, Seattle Bach Festival, or the Byrd Ensemble. Information about ticketing for these partner performances will be available soon.
- Registration refund requests will be honored if received on or before October 12, 2026 and are subject to a $10 processing fee.
This year’s single-track Summit schedule allows all participants to engage together with important topics in the fields of early music and historical performance practice. Sessions are being planned around community engagement, education, marketing, fundraising & development, global early music, and more.
The 2026 Summit will also include opportunities to connect with others through community music making and dance sessions, daily “breakfast with Early Music Seattle” discussions, and plenty of time to dive deeper into topics with each other between sessions and online through our Summit platform.
Schedule available soon
wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ (Intellectual House) is a longhouse-style facility on the University of Washington Seattle campus. It provides a learning and gathering space for American Indian and Alaska Native students, faculty and staff, as well as others from various cultures and communities to come together in a welcoming environment to share knowledge. When it opened its doors for the first time in 2015, the Intellectual House made history. The building was the culmination of a decades-long dream to create a gathering place in honor of our region’s First Nations. An iconic structure on the University of Washington campus, the Intellectual House has been home to many tribal summits and events, and it has been the site of many other university and community events.
The Summit will open with a special land acknowledgement presentation and performance.
Sponsors
For information becoming an EMA Summit as a Sponsor, please contact David Mozur, EMA Development Director: davidmozur@earlymusicamerica.org
Partners
The Byrd Ensemble
Early Music Seattle
Seattle Bach Festival
Sound Salon
University of Washington School of Music
