If you have never played recorder before, or if it has been eons ago since you have played, this is the course for you! Build a solid foundation for learning alto recorder through this 4-part beginners’ course. Recorder player/teacher Susan Richter 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.
Tuesday April 2 at 5 PM ET
Thursday April 4 at 5 PM ET
Tuesday April 9 at 5 PM ET
Thursday April 11 at 5 PM ET
About Susan Richter:
Susan Richter earned a degree in music education (clarinet concentration) from the University of North Texas, but soon discovered that the field of computer technology was a much more reliable way to earn money than teaching music. In the early music world, her primary instruments are recorders and Renaissance double reeds: shawms and dulcians. Susan also enjoys singing in various church and early music groups. She has been a performing member of Texas Early Music Project (TEMP), St. David’s (Episcopal Church, Austin) Compline Choir, and the Austin Baroque Orchestra, and teaches adult beginning recorder at Austin’s Lifetime Learning Institute.
Susan is on the board of TEMP, was a Board member of the ARS 2008-2012, is a music leader at Central Presbyterian Church in Austin, and is Administrator of the Texas Toot early music workshops. She enjoys travel, tending her wild Hill Country yard, feeding and watching birds, and occasionally playing penny whistle duets with her husband, Win Bent. Susan is now happily retired from gainful IT employment.
Do you need to purchase an alto recorder? You cannot go wrong with the best plastic recorders on the market. Yamaha, Aulos, and Zen-On all make fine sounding and in-tune plastic recorders. Consider purchasing an instrument from one of our business partners (the names in quotes below cite the original 18th c. recorder makers from which the plastic models are modeled):
Von Huene Workshop (The Early Music Shop of New England)
Yamaha "Rottenburgh" alto recorder
https://www.vonhuene.com/p-115-yamaha-rottenburgh-plastic-alto.aspx
Aulos "Haka" alto recorder
https://www.vonhuene.com/p-126-aulos-plastic-haka-alto.aspx
Zen-on "Bressan" alto recorder
https://www.vonhuene.com/p-6331-zen-on-g1-a-440-bressan-alto-recorder.aspx
Sweet Pipes Recorder Book
https://www.vonhuene.com/p-3689-burakoff-gerald-hettrick-sweet-pipes-recorder-book-book-1-adults-and-older-beginners.aspx
Honeysuckle Music
Alto recorders
https://honeysucklemusic.com/show3.php?cat=Alto
Sweet Pipes Recorder Book
https://honeysucklemusic.com/showf.php?item=5289
Lazar's Early Music
Yamaha "Rottenburgh" alto recorder
https://lazarsearlymusic.com/collections/recorders/products/yamaha-abs-resin-recorder-alto?variant=29092748591186
Recorderforge.com
Alto recorders
https://recorderforge.com/Shop-by-size/F-Alto/?order=name-asc&p=1&properties=151fe63ecadb49aebf3ed9923ead2718
Mr. Ritchie has been involved with early music since his college years. He is a founding board member of SC Bach, a non-profit committed to producing performances of the music of JS Bach and his contemporaries.
The program will run on four consecutive Friday evenings from 4 – 5 pm, April 12, 19, 26 and May 3. . Each participant will be provided with an “Ecodear” soprano recorder, a music folder with sheet music and handouts. Music stands will be provided at the sessions. The cost of the program is $47.50 and includes the recorder. Financial aid is available if needed.
The 2024 Recorder Fest celebrates the recorder's superpower: the ability to bring us all together: from children to retirees; students, amateurs, and professionals alike.
COMMUNITY PLAY-IN (6PM) with Artistic director Priscilla Herreid
Join the St. Louis Recorder Society for a full-day workshop on Saturday, April 13, 2024
Topic: Rest Cure!
Here it comes- the moment you don’t play. Is resting a mental break? A counting hazard? Or an electric silence? Come find out as we play (and rest) our way through a diverse selection of pieces featuring music’s quietest challenge, the rest. We'll examine the different ways rests can function in music, practice playing them with zest and panache, and explore music by Tallis, Josquin, Tye, Bruckner, and many more.
For those who can't join in person, we'll be streaming our playing session over Zoom. The Zoom meeting will open at 9:30 AM and we'll start playing at 10 AM. Members will receive a Zoom link via email, usually one day before we meet.
About our Guest Conductors
We are pleased to welcome Sarah Shoja and Teresa Deskur to lead our April 13th playing session.
Persian musician Sarah Shoja specializes in the recorder and was one of the first women in Iran to play the recorder in concert halls. In 2017, Sarah was awarded a full scholarship to study with Gwyn Roberts at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in Historical Performance.
An upstate NY local, Teresa Deskur started playing recorder at age five, and never stopped! She took first prize in the 2020 University-Instrumental category of Boulder Bach Festival's World Bach Competition. In 2016, Teresa won Piffaro's National Recorder Competition and appeared as a guest performer with the group in March 2017. She has performed regularly with the Peabody Renaissance Ensemble and Baltimore Baroque Band.
Now Is the Month of Maying: Songs and Dances for Springtime
Our program is a celebration of Renaissance and Baroque tunes that herald the coming season. We'll explore ballads, galliards, and chansons with a connection to Spring, and dive into the history of the pieces as well as ensemble best practices.
A ce joli mois de Mai, Clement Jannequin (ca. 1485-1558), SATB
April is in My Mistress' Face, Thomas Morley (1557-1602), SATB
The Frog Galliard, John Dowland (1563-1626), SATB
It was a Lover and His Lass, Thomas Morley (1557-1602), SATB
Now is the Month of Maying, Thomas Morley (1557-1602), SSATB
O Lusty May, Anonymous (from Thomas Wode's Partbooks), SATB
Shepherd, Shepherd, Leave Decoying, Henry Purcell (1659-1695), SSAB
The final meeting of the season features our Member Performances, where everyone has a chance to share a short performance of 5 to 10 minutes of pieces you have been working on, either individually or with a group. There is no leader at this meeting, and it is a great opportuity to share with the group. If you didn’t sign up at the March meeting, or send Scott Mason an email (scottmason701@gmail.com), please feel free to join those who did, and come share some music with other members. Anything goes at this meeting. In the past, we have had recorders, keyboards, viols, singers, krummhorns, percussion performing music from any genre from the Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque to contemporary works. Friends and family are welcome to come observe and cheer you on!
It’s easy to want to increase your finger speed, but difficult to know how to actually achieve it. In this live, four-week, small-group Zoom short course we’ll lay the foundations you need to build faster fingers over time. What does faster playing require of you and how can you work toward it? We’ll answer these questions and more. We’ll also complete weekly homework assignments, helping you develop habits of effective practice.
Cost: $99
Register here!
The Workshops will be on Tuesday, April 16, 7 PM, Central Time, Wednesday, April 17, 10 AM, Central Time, and Friday, April 19, 7 PM, Central Time.
Different tunes will be played at each session.
We will read, play, and discuss various survival skills for these charming pieces. A treble clef version of the sheet music for the tunes being played will be displayed on the screen during the workshop.
There is limited enrollment, and pre-registration is required. The cost for each workshop is $10.00. The cost of each optional book is $15.00 (includes shipping if ordered with workshop registration).
For more information, and to register:
https://greenblattandseay.com/workshops_baroque.shtml
7:30-9:30 PM (in person and online)
Copies of the workshop music will be made available to participants in early April.
$15 in-person/ $12 online
Info and to register: Philadelphia Recorder Society, https://philadelphiarecordersociety.org, Music-Director@PhiladelphiaRecorderSociety.org
Saturday, April 20, 2024
9:30am - 4:30pm Eastern
1702 Vista Street, Durham NC
The Triangle Recorder Society is an ARS chapter active in the Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill "Triangle" area of North Carolina.
Join us on Saturday, April 20, for a convivial day of recorder playing in Durham, NC! Technique, consort skills, repertoire, and recorder orchestra, for intermediate to advanced players, led by Jennifer Streeter and Patricia Petersen. Some music will be available ahead of time. Elevate your skill level and enjoy the thrill of playing with others!
Class descriptions & registration information:
http://www.trianglerecorder.org/spring-workshop.html
Info: 919-802-5586 or jasharpsichord@yahoo.com
Shakespeare Day Concert - April 20, 2024 - 1 pm
Open mic on Saturday! Intermediate to advanced players are welcome. Faculty: Tish Berlin, Frances Blaker, Cléa Galhano.
French Music II - Ooh La La! Our menu for the day will be a Feast of French music! French music, second installment, because once is never enough, no? Don’t you want to know about French inégal? And about the fight for Calais between the French and the English? Surely you do!