Class Schedule

Instructor Miyo Aoki

For players Intermediate and up who are completely new to Renaissance instruments

If you are curious about Renaissance-style recorders, this is your opportunity learn the basics of playing them! When played skillfully in consort, these instruments open new possibilities for musical satisfaction through their rich blend of sound.

Renaissance recorders differ from Baroque recorders primarily in their fingerings and the kind of air they need. A flexible mindset is quite helpful when working with them. In this class, you’ll learn basic Renaissance recorder technique and practice the skills needed to gain proficiency on these rewarding instruments. A limited number of instruments are available to be loaned to participants for this class. Please contact Vicki to arrange to borrow an instrument. Please note that this class is for those who are completely new to Renaissance instruments.

Instructor Hanneke van Proosdij

For Upper intermediate and Advanced players of Renaissance Recorders

In 1501, Ottaviano Petrucci changed the course of music history. Through his pioneering invention of music printing, the masterpieces of Josquin, Isaac, and Marchetto Cara were no longer bound by hand-copied manuscripts. They traveled across Europe, sparking a new era of innovation. In this class, we explore the “greatest hits” of the Renaissance. Please note that this class is for players who are completely comfortable on renaissance consort instruments.

Instructor Vicki Boeckman

For intermediate players on SATB recorders

For the dedicated crooners among us! This class will work on some sweet classics tastefully arranged for either SATB or ATTB. We’ll work on mastering those sultry syncopated figures and croon with the best of ‘em. Set list will include “I don’t know why I love you like I do”,  “To Be or not to Be”, and “They can’t take that away from me” among others.

Instructor Rotem Gilbert

For lower intermediate and intermediate players

In this class we will explore topics of forbidden love, lust, and songs about being too young to date (or too old) and everything in between. We will play music by 15th-century composers Guillaume Dufay, Gilles Binchois, and later 16th-century composers Nicolas Gombert, Luca Marenzio, and Francisco Guerrero.

Instructor Miyo Aoki.

For lower intermediate and intermediate players

This class is targeted for those who want to gently take the plunge into Renaissance polyphony. With its independent lines and rhythms, Renaissance polyphony can feel challenging to the uninitiated. In this class we’ll work on some of the skills that will help you keep calm and steady in a polyphonic situation and practice these skills as we play beautiful music.

Instructor Hanneke van Proosdij

For players at the intermediate level

This class will explore the shifting rhythms and evolving styles of early dance music. We will navigate the transition from the communal, rhythmic drive of the Middle Ages to the refined, polyphonic structures of the Renaissance and Baroque eras.

Instructor Vicki Boeckman

Intermediate and slightly above players on SATB recorders

This class will present works by four female composers from three eras.

Contemporary recorder players and composers, Gertie Johnsson and Frances Blaker, 19^th C pianist, Fanny Hensel (Mendelssohn’s sister), and the Renaissance Italian singer/lutenist Maddalena Casulana. We will work on two movements from Gertie’s “Backwater” (Bagvand) called Night (Nat) and Dance (Dans), “Simple Form” by Frances Blaker, two pieces describing Morning and evening light by Fanny Hensel, and two madrigals from Maddalena’s 1568 publication – notable for being the first printed work by a woman in the history of western music. Some of these pieces will be a great opportunity for those starting to read alto up. Once I see who has signed up I will assess part distribution.

Instructor Rotem Gilbert

For upper intermediate and advanced players

This class will focus on music by composers and their students who honored them in music. Some composers wrote music in honor of their teachers or quoted them. For example, favorite students like Ludwig Senfl paid homage to his teacher Heinrich Isaac through citation and imitation. Master and student Josquin des Prez and Nicola Gombert each wrote their own version of Mille regretz. Music by master Adrian Willaert and his student Giovanni Gabrieli also illustrates these special relationships.

Instructor Miyo Aoki

For Upper Intermediate and Advanced players

Why should the reeds have all the fun?  This class will explore the diverse repertoire for various wind bands, from Adson’s Royal Wind Music to Lully’s music for Les Grand Hautbois, Louis XIV’s oboe band, to music from the Germanic lands by composers such as Pezel.

Instructor Hanneke van Proosdij

All levels welcome from lower intermediate and up

Step into a world where nature and sound intertwine. This class explores the garden as a place of refuge and inspiration in music from the Middle Ages through the Baroque and maybe a contemporary piece too. We will journey from the quiet, sacred cloisters of the medieval era to the elegant, manicured landscapes of the high Baroque.

Instructor Vicki Boeckman

For players at the intermediate and slightly above levels. Mostly on A T B, but some on S

This class will focus on 3 and 4-part canons and grounds spanning the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque eras. The silver lining that connects them all is that they are 1) beautiful, 2) accessible, and 3) some of my favorite pieces! Players will have the option of playing various parts and comparing the subtleties of being “first” or “second” or “last”. Works and composers represented will be Sans Cuer by Guillaume Machaut, O Virgo Splendens from the Llibre Vermell, a Ballo by the infamous Anonymous, Two in one upon a Ground by Henry Purcell and a Chaconne by Matthias Maute.

Instructor Rotem Gilbert

For intermediate to upper intermediate players

This class with explore Renaissance humanism with music about Venus, Mercury, and the planets. Music that explores sweet harmony and demonstrates Renaissance concepts about the Harmony of the Spheres.