by Suzanne Siebert
SFEMS has promoted the education of children in period music over the years. Among these activities for children’s education have been the Music Discovery week-long workshops held summers for children about 8 to 14. Tish Berlin has been the Director of this workshop for many years.
My granddaughters Lucy and Sandra spent two consecutive, formative years at the Music Discovery workshops about 5 years ago. Lucy (now age 16) plays cello in her high school orchestra, took to a baroque bow this summer, and played with me and her cousin Sandra (now age 15) who sings in performing Vivaldi’s Domine Deus at the SFEMS Baroque Workshop. At this year’s Baroque Workhop, in June, they had the benefit of teachers such as singer Rita Lilly and cellist Bill Skeen’s input. Who knows if this interest in music, including early music, would have happened had they not attended those Music Discovery workshops?
SFEMS subsidizes the Music Discovery workshops, possible in part due to the wonderful generosity of John Prescott. John gives preconcert talks at some of the Philharmonia Baroque concerts, and now for about the past 6 years has given music history morning talks for 5 consecutive days on different early music topics. In June his topic was French Baroque, and this August the topic was the transition from the Renaissance to the Baroque. All surpluses after John’s modest compensation and the facilities use fees from these lectures have gone to the Music Discovery program. In August this surplus amounted to a subsidy of almost $1,000.
So…if you don’t currently belong to SFEMS, or don’t attend the SFEMS concerts or workshops, lectures…etc., I would urge you to do so for the future of early music.
