American Recorder Society

Event	Date	Time	Contact

Performance of the Week Looking for world class recorder performances online? 'Recorder' is a word that, when entered into a search engine, typically returns a lot of unintended results, such as information about audio recording equipment, or procedure. How frustrating! Struggle no more!! âEach week BCRS features a recorder soloist on ensemble by posting a live performance video to our YouTube channel. We strive to provide an interesting mix of styles from musicians all over the world. A new performance is uploaded every Sunday. And it's FREE! more info...	3/23/2025 -12/28/2025	each Sunday evening	Keren Ferguson

ARS Chapter Rep Roundtable Meeting Gather on Zoom with Phil Hollar and have a chat with your fellow leaders about what's happening in your chapter, brainstorm with other chapter reps, and share ideas. more info...	9/6/2025	2:00pm to 3:30pm	Phil Hollar

NAVRS Medieval Mondays with Annette Bauer We are excited to announce the continuation of Medieval Mondays taught by NAVRS music director Annette Bauer - thank you for your continued interest in medieval music! The Medieval Mondays Fall Edition 2025 runs from September to December in four sessions. Each class will focus on a particular medieval topic, composer, or musical source. A brief overview of the historical context is followed by a selection of music to discover and play together. Scores will be available for registered participants a week ahead of each class. Play-along files will be created on recorders. Medieval Mondays will take place on zoom on the following dates, always from 12:30-2pm Eastern: September 8: Medieval Rounds and Grounds October 27: Medieval Bestiary November 17: La Spagna December 15: Early 15th century English Carols more info...	9/8/2025	12:30pm to 2:00pm	Mike Richart

Medieval Mondays (Fall Edition) Medieval Mondays Fall Edition 2025 NAVRS is excited to announce the continuation of Medieval Mondays taught by NAVRS music director Annette Bauer - thank you for your continued interest in medieval music! The Medieval Mondays Fall Edition 2025 runs from September to December in four sessions. Each class will focus on a particular medieval topic, composer, or musical source. A brief overview of the historical context is followed by a selection of music to discover and play together. Scores will be available for registered participants a week ahead of each class. Play-along files will be created on recorders. Medieval Mondays will take place on zoom on the following dates, always from 12:30-2pm Eastern: --September 8: Medieval rounds and grounds --October 27: Medieval Bestiary --November 17: La Spagna --December 15: Early 15th century English Carols Each Zoom meeting will be recorded and will stay viewable on demand until one full month after the final session of the series. Come join in on this musical time-travel on Mondays from 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm Eastern time. The course fee of $80 includes all 4 live sessions and the recordings. more info...	9/8/2025	12:30pm to 2:00pm

Mid-Peninsula Recorder Orchestra meeting Recorder orchestra meeting open without audition to anyone who knows the basics of the recorder or other early wind or string instrument and is able to read and play the music provided at the meeting. more info...	9/8/2025	7:00pm to 9:00pm	Frederic Palmer

Recorder Foundations and Beyond Class Have you ever wanted to learn recorder but didn’t know where to start? Or maybe you played recorder years ago and are ready to return to it in a friendly, low-pressure environment. Join our brand new Recorder Foundations and Beyond class, taught by experienced instructor Andrea MacDonald. This class is designed specifically for adults with little to no experience — just curiosity, a sense of play, and a love of music. This amazing course is 12 weeks long and registration is now open! more info...	9/11/2025 -11/27/2025	7:00pm to 9:00pm	Keren Ferguson

A Feast of English (1 of 3 in a series of monthly meetings led by Karen Epp) We'd love you to join our monthly playing meeting led by Karen Epp! This meeting is one of three in a series led by Karen held monthly in September, October and November. Some comments from attendees last fall: "Having the same leader over several meeting was great" "Karen was, as usual, well organized and clear with her instructions and is great to work with." "I really like working on pieces over 3 months. As a beginner, this is ideal, because I practice a lot to catch up with the others." "Karen is very encouraging and able to make the meeting interesting and helpful to all the players (even when there is a wide range of playing skills)." With such positive feedback, we know you'll have a wonderful time! more info...	9/11/2025	7:00pm to 9:00pm	Keren Ferguson

Brandywine Chapter Meeting Firstly, I hope you are all doing well and have enjoyed a relaxing summer. As the teachers of the world and I get ready to kick off school again, I'm excited to give you some information regarding the 2025-2026 season of the Brandywine Chapter of the American Recorder Society. The dates and clinicians for our meetings this year will be: September 12, 2025 - TBA November 21, 2025 - Joan Kimball January 16, 2026 - Gwyn Roberts March 13, 2026 - Bob Wiemken May 15, 2026 - TBA Music, when provided by the clinician, will be available digitally before the meetings. If anyone requires or desires a print copy for the meeting, please let me know. I'm more than happy to make as many physical copies as needed, but don't want to waste paper on unneeded copies. Our meetings will be held from 7:30-9:30 pm at: New Ark UCC Church 300 East Main Street Newark, DE 19711 The fee for our meetings will be $15 per meeting or $60 for an annual membership (covers all 5 meetings). Fees help support the chapter by providing honorariums to our guest clinicians as well as an honorarium for New Ark UCC for allowing us to use the space. You can bring payment with you to the first meeting or send a check made to "Brandywine ARS" to our treasurer, Fred Litcofsky. Fred can be reached fredlitcofsky@gmail or 19 Savoy Rd., Newark, DE 19702 As always, guests are free on their first visit, so please feel free to invite a friend (or 2 or 3)! more info...	9/12/2025	7:30pm to 9:30pm

NAVRS September Workshop with Jody Miller "Subdivide and Conquer" Solid rhythmic skills begin with understanding how the beats break down into smaller units. The relationship of the rhythm to the time signature and tempo may make things even MORE confusing. This session will help players at earlier stages of music reading implement a counting system to help with rhythmic improvement. There will be some playing, but we will mostly be breaking down the rhythms the old-fashioned way—with a pencil applied to our music! We’ll cover a few time signatures and basic note and rest rhythms through sixteenth notes. Players of all levels invited; pace of the class will be appropriate for lower-intermediate to intermediate players. more info...	9/14/2025	7:00pm to 8:30pm	Mike Richart

Playford English Country Dance Tunes for Two The Old Avoca Schoolhouse in Avoca, Nebraska will be streaming three on line Playford English Country Dance Workshops for violins, violas, cellos, basses, mandolins, soprano recorder, and alto recorder. The workshop will explore tunes from our “Playford English Country Dance Tunes for Two”. This curated collection contains 37 tunes from the 1651 edition of Playford’s “The English Dancing Master” arranged for two players. The melodies are on the top stave, and the harmony/backup is on the bottom stave. more info...	9/16/2025	7:00pm to 8:00pm	Deborah Greenblatt

New York Recorder Guild Meeting Recorder players at all levels are welcome. Beginners should be comfortable with either the C fingerings of the soprano and tenor or the F fingerings of the alto and bass. Eventually, beginners should learn both C and F fingerings so that they can enjoy playing different parts of a musical piece. Bring any size of soprano, alto, tenor, or bass recorder that you have. You will have a chance to explore more than one part of each piece. Both plastic and wooden instruments are welcome. Pitch is A=440. Please bring a music stand. We recommend that you bring a stand light to supplement the ceiling light. More info: https://www.nyrg.org/ --- The Church of Saint Mary the Virgin at 145 West 46th Street, between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in Manhattan. Meetings are held in St. Joseph’s Hall, a side chapel of St. Mary's. Located in a brick building to the left of the main church, the entranceway is distinguished by the street number 145 displayed on the door. 1:30-3:30 PM. Doors open at 1PM. --- Meeting Fees: $20 per meeting for members $30 per meeting for non-members ----- FULL SEASON PREPAYMENT OPTION: $180. Includes annual membership dues and meeting fees for the entire 2025-26 season. ----- Send payment using Zelle to NYRG treasurer Judith Wink at jwink@nyc.rr.com. Please put your email address in the Notes field. Alternatively, send checks to New York Recorder Guild, 145 West 93rd Street, Apt. 2, New York, NY 10025. more info...	9/20/2025	1:30pm to 3:30pm

FREE Online Recorder Class for Beginners with Marea Chernoff (alto recorder) The recorder is a wonderful instrument for anyone seeking the joy of making music with others, exploring a wide range of repertoire, and learning to play in a relatively short time. Whether you're completely new to the recorder, haven't played in years, or aren't yet comfortable reading music, this course is designed for you! Join professional recorder player and teacher Marea Chernoff in the American Recorder Society’s four-part beginner course for alto recorder. You'll build a strong foundation as you learn to produce a beautiful tone right from the start. The course covers essential skills such as breath control, hand and finger positioning, articulation, and the basics of note reading and rhythm. Course Dates: Wednesday, September 24th, 2025 at 4PM ET (3PM CT, 2PM MT, 1PM PT) Wednesday, October 1st, 2025 at 4PM ET (3PM CT, 2PM MT, 1PM PT) Wednesday, October 8th, 2025 at 4PM ET (3PM CT, 2PM MT, 1PM PT) Wednesday, October 15th, 2025 at 4PM ET (3PM CT, 2PM MT, 1PM PT) Do you need to purchase an instrument? You cannot go wrong with a good plastic recorder—they can actually sound better than a poor wooden one! Yamaha and Aulos make very good plastic recorders. Consider purchasing an instrument from one of our business partners: Honeysuckle Music: 651-644-8545 Von Huene Workshop (The Early Music Shop of New England): (617) 277-8690 Lazar’s Early Music: (770) 366-8596 Recorder Forge: (503) 206-6212 more info...	9/24/2025 -10/15/2025	4:00pm to 9:00pm

NAVRS September Playing Meeting with Rachel Begley Short Lives, Lasting Legacies Robert Parsons, Henry Purcell, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart all died heartbreakingly young — and yet their music continues to resonate with us centuries later. Spanning the Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical periods, this playing meeting will explore music ranging from Parsons’ serene Ave Maria to Pergolesi’s poignant and luminous Stabat Mater, and from Purcell’s clever canons to Mozart’s witty rounds. These beautiful selections of sacred and profane music in 3-5 parts reveal brilliant genius distilled into too few years — music that feels at once complete, and yet leaves us with tantalizing “what ifs.” Travel from the Renaissance to the Baroque and Classical eras as we explore humorous rounds, heartfelt laments, and radiant sacred works by composers whose genius burned brightly but briefly. more info...	9/27/2025	2:00pm to 3:30pm	Mike Richart

FREE Online Recorder Class for Beginners with Laura Townsend (soprano/tenor recorder) If you have never played recorder before, or if it has been eons since you have played, this is the course for you! Build a solid foundation for learning recorder through this 4-part beginners' course for soprano or tenor recorder starting on September 29. Professional recorder teacher Laura Townsend will cover basics such as hand and finger position, tonguing, and tone, and instill good habits for continuing to learn on your own or with a teacher. All ages are welcome, but children should be joined by an adult during the classes. Course Dates: Monday, September 29 at 8:00pm, ET (7:00pm, CT; 6:00pm, MT; 5:00pm, PT) Thursday, October 2 at 8:00pm, ET (7:00pm, CT; 6:00pm, MT; 5:00pm, PT) Monday, October 6 at 8:00pm, ET (7:00pm, CT; 6:00pm, MT; 5:00pm, PT) Monday, October 9 at 8:00pm, ET (7:00pm, CT; 6:00pm, MT; 5:00pm, PT) Do you need to purchase an instrument? You cannot go wrong with a good plastic recorder—they can actually sound better than a poor wooden one! Yamaha and Aulos make very good plastic recorders. Consider purchasing an instrument from one of our business partners: Honeysuckle Music: 651-644-8545 Von Huene Workshop (The Early Music Shop of New England): (617) 277-8690 Lazar’s Early Music: (770) 366-8596 Recorder Forge: (503) 206-6212 more info...	9/29/2025 -10/9/2025	8:00pm to 9:00pm

New York Recorder Guild Meeting Recorder players at all levels are welcome. Beginners should be comfortable with either the C fingerings of the soprano and tenor or the F fingerings of the alto and bass. Eventually, beginners should learn both C and F fingerings so that they can enjoy playing different parts of a musical piece. Bring any size of soprano, alto, tenor, or bass recorder that you have. You will have a chance to explore more than one part of each piece. Both plastic and wooden instruments are welcome. Pitch is A=440. Please bring a music stand. We recommend that you bring a stand light to supplement the ceiling light. More info: https://www.nyrg.org/ --- The Church of Saint Mary the Virgin at 145 West 46th Street, between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in Manhattan. Meetings are held in St. Joseph’s Hall, a side chapel of St. Mary's. Located in a brick building to the left of the main church, the entranceway is distinguished by the street number 145 displayed on the door. 1:30-3:30 PM. Doors open at 1PM. --- Meeting Fees: $20 per meeting for members $30 per meeting for non-members ----- FULL SEASON PREPAYMENT OPTION: $180. Includes annual membership dues and meeting fees for the entire 2025-26 season. ----- Send payment using Zelle to NYRG treasurer Judith Wink at jwink@nyc.rr.com. Please put your email address in the Notes field. Alternatively, send checks to New York Recorder Guild, 145 West 93rd Street, Apt. 2, New York, NY 10025. more info...	10/4/2025	1:30pm to 3:30pm

NAVRS October Workshop with Emily O'Brien "Nuts and Bolts: Introduction to Practical Music Theory for Recorder Players" Have you been bored or confused by music theory? Feel like you’re missing something but don’t know what it is? Music theory isn’t an arcane dark art; it’s just the systems and vocabulary we use to describe and identify the patterns and relationships in the music we play. A few theory basics can help you sight read better, learn pieces faster, and communicate with your colleagues more efficiently. In this session we’ll demystify this frequently intimidating topic and get you going on the path toward theory literacy! Open to all levels and all instrument sizes but reading treble clef is recommended. more info...	10/5/2025	7:00pm to 8:30pm	Mike Richart

Scottish Fiddle Tunes Workshops The Old Avoca Schoolhouse in Avoca, Nebraska will be streaming three online Scottish Fiddle Tunes Workshops for violins, violas, cellos, basses, mandolins, and soprano recorders. The workshop will explore tunes from our “Scottish Fiddle Tunes for Two." This curated collection contains 42 traditional Scottish tunes arranged for two players. The Workshops will be on Tuesday, October 14, 7 PM, Central Time, Wednesday, October 15, 10 AM, Central Time, and Friday, October 17, 7 PM, Central Time. Different tunes will be played at each session. We will read, play, and discuss various survival skills for these tunes. more info...	10/14/2025	Oct 14, 7:00pm Central; Oct 15, 10am Central; Oct 17, 7pm Central	Deborah Greenblatt

Scottish Fiddle Tunes Workshops The Old Avoca Schoolhouse in Avoca, Nebraska will be streaming three online Scottish Fiddle Tunes Workshops for violins, violas, cellos, basses, mandolins, and soprano recorders. The workshop will explore tunes from our “Scottish Fiddle Tunes for Two." This curated collection contains 42 traditional Scottish tunes arranged for two players. The Workshops will be on Tuesday, October 14, 7 PM, Central Time, Wednesday, October 15, 10 AM, Central Time, and Friday, October 17, 7 PM, Central Time. Different tunes will be played at each session. We will read, play, and discuss various survival skills for these tunes. more info...	10/15/2025	Oct 14, 7:00pm Central; Oct 15, 10am Central; Oct 17, 7pm Central	Deborah Greenblatt

Scottish Fiddle Tunes Workshops The Old Avoca Schoolhouse in Avoca, Nebraska will be streaming three online Scottish Fiddle Tunes Workshops for violins, violas, cellos, basses, mandolins, and soprano recorders. The workshop will explore tunes from our “Scottish Fiddle Tunes for Two." This curated collection contains 42 traditional Scottish tunes arranged for two players. The Workshops will be on Tuesday, October 14, 7 PM, Central Time, Wednesday, October 15, 10 AM, Central Time, and Friday, October 17, 7 PM, Central Time. Different tunes will be played at each session. We will read, play, and discuss various survival skills for these tunes. more info...	10/17/2025	Oct 14, 7:00pm Central; Oct 15, 10am Central; Oct 17, 7pm Central	Deborah Greenblatt

ARS Annual Members' Meeting Held Via Zoom, October 18, 2025 Led by the ARS Board President, this meeting will be a great opportunity to learn what ARS has been up to in the past year. ARS members may be wondering where the organization is putting its focus. How does the ARS plan to maintain and build on the progress made in the past couple of years? The Annual Meeting addresses questions such as these and offers a question and answer session between members and the ARS Board. To add an agenda item, please email Administrative Director Susan Burns at director@americanrecorder.org. Sign up to receive a link to attend the ARS Annual Meeting, held this year via Zoom, on Saturday, October 18, 2024, at 3:00 p.m. EDT. You will receive a link to the Zoom meeting, both in your confirmation email and in a reminder email closer to the event. more info...	10/18/2025	3:00pm to 4:00pm

AEM's CityRecorder Workshop Amherst Early Music's Weekend Workshop dedicated to recorder players! Directed by Valerie Horst and Wendy Powers, with faculty: Rachel Begley, Deborah Booth, Teresa Deskur, Eric Haas, Susan Iadone, Daphna Mor, Emily O'Brien, and Nina Stern. Classes on Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, and World Music. more info...	10/25/2025 -10/26/2025	Four classes on Saturday, three on Sunday	Sally Merriman

NAVRS October Playing Meeting with Annette Bauer DANCE FEVER! From an earthy medieval estampie, to an energetic 17th century English country dance tune, an elegant Baroque Sarabande, a fiery Italian Tarantella, and possibly even a 20th century pop song - our NAVRS October playing meeting is all about sampling dance music throughout the ages! more info...	10/25/2025	2:00pm to 3:30pm	Mike Richart

Road Scholar National Recorder / Early Music Workshop Week #1 & 2 Enhance your technique and ensemble playing during an intensive workshop with directors Letitia Berlin & Lawrence Lipnik, plus other stellar faculty. Two fabulous weeks - choose either week or both! Week# 1 October 26 - November 1, 2025. Week #2 November 2 - 8, 2025. Revel in the lyrical sounds of the recorder, viola da gamba, harpsichord, dulcian & shawm as you share your musical gifts during a week-long intensive early music workshop. Enhance your skills in small classes taught by expert instructors with emphasis on improving technique and playing with ensembles. At Hidden Valley Music Seminars, An Institute of the Arts, nestled amongst oak and buckeye trees below majestic hillsides, enjoy a serene and inspiring place for playing music in the world famous Monterey/Carmel area. Technique classes geared toward application of technique, practice to the repertoire – making music out of notes! Master class and consort classes. The 2025 theme is currently TBD and will be announced once available. more info...	10/26/2025 -11/1/2025	Each week long workshop opens Sunday at 2:00 pm and closes on Saturday at 9:00 a	Renee Babcock

NAVRS Medieval Mondays with Annette Bauer We are excited to announce the continuation of Medieval Mondays taught by NAVRS music director Annette Bauer - thank you for your continued interest in medieval music! The Medieval Mondays Fall Edition 2025 runs from September to December in four sessions. Each class will focus on a particular medieval topic, composer, or musical source. A brief overview of the historical context is followed by a selection of music to discover and play together. Scores will be available for registered participants a week ahead of each class. Play-along files will be created on recorders. Medieval Mondays will take place on zoom on the following dates, always from 12:30-2pm Eastern: September 8: Medieval Rounds and Grounds October 27: Medieval Bestiary November 17: La Spagna December 15: Early 15th century English Carols more info...	10/27/2025	12:30pm to 2:00pm	Mike Richart

Medieval Mondays (Fall Edition) Medieval Mondays Fall Edition 2025 NAVRS is excited to announce the continuation of Medieval Mondays taught by NAVRS music director Annette Bauer - thank you for your continued interest in medieval music! The Medieval Mondays Fall Edition 2025 runs from September to December in four sessions. Each class will focus on a particular medieval topic, composer, or musical source. A brief overview of the historical context is followed by a selection of music to discover and play together. Scores will be available for registered participants a week ahead of each class. Play-along files will be created on recorders. Medieval Mondays will take place on zoom on the following dates, always from 12:30-2pm Eastern: --September 8: Medieval rounds and grounds --October 27: Medieval Bestiary --November 17: La Spagna --December 15: Early 15th century English Carols Each Zoom meeting will be recorded and will stay viewable on demand until one full month after the final session of the series. Come join in on this musical time-travel on Mondays from 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm Eastern time. The course fee of $80 includes all 4 live sessions and the recordings. more info...	10/27/2025	12:30pm to 2:00pm

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"Karen was, as usual, well organized and clear with her instructions and is great to work with."

"I really like working on pieces over 3 months. As a beginner, this is ideal, because I practice a lot to catch up with the others."

"Karen is very encouraging and able to make the meeting interesting and helpful to all the players (even when there is a wide range of playing skills)."