11/1/2026 - 11/7/2026
Revel in the lyrical sounds of the recorder, viola da gamba and harpsichord 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, in Carmel Valley, California, nestled amongst oak and buckeye trees below majestic hillsides, enjoy a serene and inspiring place for playing music. This unique experience includes opportunities for daily early morning stretching and breathing, daily happy hour, locally sourced meals, free time for local exploration or playing, live faculty and student performances, and interaction with the local community.
The 2026 musical theme is Music from Spain and England from the Middle Ages on, as well as music of the New World and Netherlands. Specific class offerings differ by date and will be given out 6 weeks before the program begins.
Week #1 (Oct 25 - 31, 2026) Faculty: Letitia Berlin (recorder), Frances Blaker (recorder & orchestra), Lawrence Lipnik (recorder & viola da gamba), David Morris (viola da gamba), and Shira Kammen (early strings & repertoire).
Week #2 (November 1 - 7, 2026) Faculty: Letitia Berlin (recorder), Frances Blaker (recorder & orchestra), Lawrence Lipnik (recorder & viola da gamba), Mary Springfels (viola da gamba), and Alison Gangler (dulcian and shawm).
11/13/2026
The dates for our meetings this year will be (please note we are meeting in October rather than September for our first meeting because of scheduling conflicts with the church and my football schedule). Clinicians will be announced shortly, I'm waiting to hear back from some on availability and evaluating the number of clinicians we can invite from the outside due to budget constraints discussed last season. October 2, 2026
November 13, 2026
January 8, 2027
March 12, 2026
May 14, 2027
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 stipends for 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)!
11/14/2026
Join us for a series of Consort Studio Workshops in central New Jersey, monthly sessions in ensemble playing for intermediate to advanced level recorder players to learn to play with one another and other instruments under a skilled conductor, with professional accompaniment.
These events will be led by conductor, recorder player, and harpsichordist, Steven Russell (see below). It is an opportunity to play a variety of Baroque literature for small ensembles, through rehearsal, instruction, and demonstration, in a supportive environment, with a focus on ensemble playing, and end with the option to play the lead alto part with a professional ensemble. We will have opportunities to warm up on Renaissance music with SATB recorders, so bring all sizes. Register early to receive the music well in advance. Auditors welcome to attend. Sessions culminate in a performance.
Dates: One Saturday of the month, 1:00 – 5:00 P.M. w/ a 15-min. break
Nov. 8, 2025 Open for General Registration. A Taste of Things to Come
Jan. 10, 2026 Feb. 28, 2026 March 14, 2026 April 25, 2026
May 9, 2026 Workshop-Rehearsal June 13 Oct. 10 Nov. 14, 2026
Location: Reformed Church of Highland Park, 19-21 South Second Avenue, Highland Park, NJ. There is plenty of parking at the location, which is a 30-minute walk or 5-minute taxi ride from the New Brunswick NJT train station.
To register, Visit https://hprecorder.org/events/2026-consort-studio/. For more information contact recorderdonna@gmail.com
11/14/2026
Welcome to the 2026-2027 season of the Tucson Recorder Society, a Chapter of the American Recorder Society. We provide opportunities for people to play recorders and other early instruments, to learn more about early music, ranging from the Medieval through the Baroque periods, and to have fun. We have players of all ages and abilities, and we meet about once a month from the fall through the spring. We welcome all members, new and old.The first meeting of the season is on Saturday, September 19th, 1:30 p.m. to 3:15, at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, 602 N Wilmot Road at 5th Street. There is plenty of parking in the NW parking lot under the solar panels. Park and walk around the north end of the church to the east, and meet in the Smith Parish Hall. Please see the attached map.
The annual TRS dues are $50 per person this season. The full day Play Day will be a separate charge, and registration will open in January.
TRS Meetings
Meetings are on Saturdays from 1:30 pm - 3:15 pm, except for the Play Day as indicated
Sat., 09/19/2026 - Andy Bade
Sat., 10/10/2026 - Sierra Norris
Sat., 11/14/2026 - John Snavely
Sat., 01/09/2027 - TBD
Sat., 02/13/2027, 8:30am-4:00pm - Play Day - Tish Berlin
Sat., 03/13/2027 - Brian Cochran
Sat., 04/10/2027 - Performance Meeting
If you have your own copy of our Consort Music Book, remember to bring it to the meetings. We encourage the session leaders to begin with some warm-up exercises, such as scales, breathing, and technique. The leaders may choose to use the book if applicable.
For those who do not have a "Consort Collection Vol I" book (actually edited by Larry Bernstein not Leonard Bernstein as the web site states) and would like to buy one, it is available for $13 from:
https://www.performersmusicchicago.com/bernstein-the-consort-collection-vol-1-ultimate-anthology-sc-mag-dol0101/
Please see the web site "Library" tab for a message from our Librarian, Ben Eisenstein, about the TRS music library: http://tucsonrecordersociety.mason701.info/
We especially encourage any member to open a meeting with a short 5 to 10 minute performance. Please try to present a short performance if possible. Please let Scott Mason know which month you or your group would like to perform.
If you are interested in receiving the newsletter via e-mail, please send me your e-mail address at scottmason701@gmail.com, with a subject line "TRS Newsletter", and include your real name and address so I can match it up with the member list. Help save the cost of mailing.
The TRS Officers: Scott Mason, President (721-0846); Moshe Ben-Yeoshua, Treasurer (949-748-9091); and Ben Eisenstein, Librarian (847-987-4093).
Respectfully, Scott Mason, President, Tucson Recorder Society
11/16/2026
NAVRS is excited to present the 5th edition of Medieval Mondays taught by NAVRS music director Annette Bauer.Medieval Mondays runs from September to December 2026 in four sessions. Each class will focus on a particular medieval topic, composer, or musical source. The sessions include a brief overview of the composer and information about the music’s historical context then a selection of music to discover and play. Scores will be available for registered participants a week ahead of each class.
Medieval Mondays will take place on the following dates, always from 12:30-2pm Eastern:
September 14: Famous Burgundian Songs - A 15th-century Hit Parade
October 19: “La Fortune de Fauvel” - Music from the Roman de Fauvel
November 16: Music from the Old Hall Manuscript
December 14: “Gaudete!” A Medieval Christmas
More detail about the topics
All music will be provided in modern notation. The playing level is geared towards recorder players of intermediate and higher skill levels - fluency on C- and F-instruments is expected. For the most part, the chosen music will be accessible on alto and tenor recorders, occasionally also on soprano or bass. Since some portion of every class is spent on the historical and musical background, everyone is welcome to join the series, even if your playing level is a bit lower than suggested. In that case, feel free to work with and absorb the given materials over a longer period of time, at your own pace.