The American Recorder Society provides this calendar as a convenience to our members. Event information is provided by the event sponsors, and any questions should be submitted to the contact in the event listing.

May 2026
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Events available for Registration...

FREE - Learn to Play Soprano/Tenor Recorder with Teresa Deskur
4/14/2026 - 4/23/2026
register for this event...

Second Level Alto Beginners' Class with Dan Meyers
4/21/2026 - 4/29/2026
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Second Level Beginners' Class with Teresa Deskur (soprano/tenor)
4/28/2026 - 5/7/2026
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Events in the month of May 2026
5/2/2026 - 5/3/2026

The Phoenix Desert Pipes invites you to 

The Water is Wide

with Anne Timberlake

Saturday, May 2-Sunday, May 3, 2026

Feeling landlocked?  Set sail on a full-day voyage of exploration, playing the musical byways of Renaissance and Baroque Europe.  We'll explore music about water in its many incarnations and investigate how ideas of flow can improve our playing.  Works by Palestrina, Telemann, Lasso, and more.

Schedule & Location: 

Workshop sessions with Anne Timberlake

Saturday, May 2, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm 
Sunday, May 3, 9:00 am-12:00 pm

Location

McDowell Center
16116 N. McDowell Mountain Ranch Rd
Scottsdale 85255

Workshop Fee: Early registration discount deadline is March 28, 2026. 

5/4/2026
Medieval Mondays runs from February to May 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:
  • Feb 9: Chansonnier Cordiforme - 15th Century Songs of Love
  • Mar 16: O Fortuna! Songs from the Carmina Burana
  • Apr 13: “Eye Music” - Music Written in Extraordinary Notation
  • May 4: Composer’s Portrait: Gilles Binchois - A Musical Miniaturist Please note: If you miss a session, each Zoom meeting will be recorded and will stay available and on demand until one full month after the final class
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 information for 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.
5/4/2026
Presented by Adam Gilbert

This class will trace a tradition of composers crafting songs from symmetrical patterns, including numerical symmetries in numbers of pitches, melodic symmetries like palindromes and passages that are identical to their own retrograde inversion, contrapuntal symmetries in which a voice is consonant against its own retrograde or retrograde inversion, and even magic squares in which all four permutations of a melody can be played simultaneously to make consonant counterpoint. These devices are hidden in lovely songs and compositions by three generations of composers from Gilles Binchois to Johannes Ockeghem, Josquin Deprez, and Antoine Brumel.  In Part 2 we will explore these devices in the songs of Binchois and anonymous composers, and ask ourselves whether their use of these devices can lead to our identifying the origins of the anonymous composers.

All are welcome! SATB Recorders, A=440hz

5/5/2026
The Old Avoca Schoolhouse in Avoca, Nebraska will be streaming three on line French Fiddle Tunes for Two Workshops for violins, violas, cellos, basses, mandolins, soprano recorder, and alto recorder.

The workshop will explore tunes from our French Fiddle Tunes for Two book.  This collection of 37 traditional French tunes offer you the opportunity to play many different dance forms, including a couple of bourées, mazurkas, as well as a branle, a farandole, a galop, a schottische, and a tarantella.  These charming pieces are from several regions of France, including Alsace, Auvergne, Brittany, Flanders, and Gascogne.

 
5/7/2026 - 5/10/2026
The Newberry Consort, a classical music group in Chicago, is pleased to present: "Revolution! Early American Music from the signing of the Declaration of Independence to the Civil War" May 7-10 in Chicago and Milwaukee. Using early American instruments such as the square piano, keyed bugle, fiddle, percussion, as well as an ensemble of vocal specialists, this concert connects America's musical past and present through early American styles and composers. The program also features a world premiere of an original composition for American period instruments and voices written by composer and bass-baritone Jonathan Woody. Can't come in person? There will also be a virtual version of this concert online from June 1-22. Get tickets today! https://www.newberryconsort.org/revolution
5/9/2026
Join us in person for a rare chance to experience the rich, resonant sound of a large recorder ensemble—featuring far more voices than the familiar SATB arrangements many of us know and love. Recorder orchestras are growing in popularity across North America and Europe, yet here in Canada, the only established group is the venerable Okanagan Recorder Orchestra. Now, we finally have the opportunity to discover what all the excitement is all about.

Recorderist, orchestra member, and conductor Marea Chernoff will lead this full-day workshop, guiding participants into the vibrant world of the recorder orchestra. The selected repertoire includes works by Mendelssohn, Dvorak, Satie and more, offering something for everyone.
 
5/9/2026

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 

5/9/2026
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/
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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.
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Meeting Fees:
$20 per meeting for members
$30 per meeting for non-members
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FULL SEASON PREPAYMENT OPTION: $180. Includes annual membership dues and meeting fees for the entire 2025-26 season.
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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.
5/9/2026

Please join the Mid-Peninsula Recorder Orchestra for its 2026 Spring Concert in Redwood City. Established in 1962, MPRO was the first recorder orchestra in the United States, and has been directed by Frederic Palmer since 1988. (NB: This performance will be conducted by assistant director, Greta Haug-Hryciw.)

Selections will include Vivaldi's Recorder Concerto in C (RV443), works by Schmelzer, Dufay, Josquin, Vejvanovsky, and more. Other instruments joining the recorders are bassoon, oboe, baroque rackett, krumhorns, and keyboard. The program also features a very special appearance by local recorder quartet DJLD performing J.S. Bach's Lobet den Herrn (BWV230)

Admission is FREE!
Families are welcome
Free-will donations are gratefully accepted

https://www.mpro-online.org/
MPRO is an Orchestra member of the American Recorder Society 
and an affiliate of the San Francisco Early Music Society

5/10/2026

Echoes of the Crescent: Music of the Ottoman World

At its peak in the 16th century, the Ottoman Empire encompassed a vast territory, from Southeast Europe to the gates of Vienna, across North Africa to Algeria, and throughout the Middle East and Arabian Peninsula. In this class, we will explore the incredibly rich musical tradition of Classical Ottoman music exploring instrumental forms as well as dances. While this incredibly detailed music was originally passed down through oral tradition, over the centuries scholars and enthusiasts have transcribed it into written form. We will work from these notated versions in class and play along with recorded tracks on traditional Turkish instruments created especially for this class. Open to players intermediate and up.
5/15/2026
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)!
5/16/2026
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.

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The American Recorder Society provides this calendar as a convenience to our members. Event information is provided by the event sponsors, and any questions should be submitted to the contact in the event listing.