A MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT

 

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joyceJohnsonHamilton 6What does early music mean to you? How do these artifacts of wood and brass channeling ancient voices speak to you in the here and now? Perhaps you had an epiphany hearing a familiar piece with a new clarity or transparency revealed through the instruments and performance practices of its composer’s time. Maybe you were joyfully swept up by the accessibility of early music, learning it on an instrument, playing or singing it with others. Or perhaps you were thrilled hearing or participating in the modern premiere of a centuries-old work.

Whatever it was, whatever it still is, early music offers more than a window into another world; it is an intimate, powerfully experienced connection with voices expressing our shared passions and deepest concerns about this world.
For over 40 years SFEMS has shared, fed, and nurtured your love of early music, through inspiring concerts as well as unparalleled learning opportunities, which have developed the richness within our own community and which continue to draw the best early music players and scholars to our region. In every way, SFEMS remains at the heart of the Bay Area’s early music scene, a powerful if sometimes unrecognized force. If you have attended a workshop or collegium or one of our dozens of concerts or any of the hundreds given by our Affiliates, or if you have plans to attend next year’s Berkeley Festival, you are a friend of SFEMS, part of our community.
We are a membership organization. SFEMS’ programs—two annual concert series, six weeks of summer workshops, support for three dozen Affiliates, the biennial Berkeley Festival, and more—depend on people like you, who share our love for early music, whether as a professional, amateur, or audience member. Your passion for historical performance, your participation in our
programs, and your support for SFEMS are why we exist and can do all that we do. If you are not yet a member of SFEMS, please join us in supporting Bay Area early music. If you are a member, please give generously to help sustain and grow our work.
Ticket sales and workshop tuition pay less than half of SFEMS’ costs. Please help us achieve our year-end fundraising goal of $30,000. Your generous gift is essential if we are to keep bringing you musical experiences that are exciting, profound, joyful, and diverse—the finest early music has to offer.
With all best wishes for a holiday season filled with friends, family, and music!

 JoyceJohnsonHamilton-Signat 

Joyce Johnson Hamilton
President SFEMS Board of Directors,
San Francisco Early Music Society

DONATE-RED

 

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Please support SFEMS’ year-end goal of raising $30,000

WAYS TO GIVE TO SFEMS

Credit Card:  Gifts may be made anytime on our secure online giving form

Checks: Checks may be mailed to: San Francisco Early Music Society,
P.O. Box 10151, Berkeley, CA 94709

Employer Matching Benefits: Your gift has the potential to have twice the impact! Many companies offer a matching gift program to their employees as part of their community outreach. For more information please contact your Human Resources Department.

Stock: You may instruct your stockbroker to electronically transfer stock, on SFEMS behalf. Please contact Jessica House Steward, Development Director for instructions: [email protected], 510-575-0644

 

Written by Derek Tam