Are you missing our online community? Want to dive into material you can’t find anywhere else? Or perhaps you just want to keep your musical chops up?
We’ll be back! We have some great classes with material you won’t find anywhere else all rolled into one weekend this March.
Join some of your favorite SFEMS faculty—and meet some new scholars—on Zoom this March for some jam sessions and deep dives into the world of early music. Learn how modes behave, how to approach ornamentation—or anything in between—on March 18 and 19. In addition to the weekend, Adam Bregman will continue his Musica Prattica series with 5 classes, one a month, on Historical Notation.
Stay tuned for the Spring 2023 class descriptions.
Last Fall’s class descriptions will give you an idea of what’s in store:
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- 11/19: Adam Bregman—Solmization: A Closer Look at Mi and Fa
- 11/19: Shira Kammen—Mappa Mundi: A Musical Atlas
- 11/20: Adam Gilbert—Breaking Grounds and Putting on Airs
- 11/20: Kip Cranna—Going Baroque at SF Opera (FREE; registration required)
Saturday, November 19 at 10am PT
Adam Bregman—Solmization: A Closer Look at Mi and Fa
“To truly perceive the voices mi and fa with the eyes and mind, one must clearly target them as to avoid indiscriminately situating one in place of the other, for all Music depends on these two voices.”
Sixteenth-century theorist Hermann Finck describes the singular importance of the semitone in music of the Renaissance. He and others note the contrasting qualities of these two “voices” as opposing forces—the lower and upper boundaries of the semitone. Building on our knowledge of solmization, this class will work to hone our skills in our placement of mi and fa in music of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance.
Pitch: A=440. All instruments/voices (including texted music) and levels of experience welcome, however prior familiarity with solmization and the hexachord system is a plus.
Saturday November 19 at 2pm PT
Shira Kammen—Mappa Mundi: A Musical Atlas
Medieval, Renaissance & some traditional music exploring great places of the world!
This workshop for voices & instruments includes one- through six-part pieces about Venice, Innsbruck, Padua, Sicily, Paris & other delightful destinations, with guides such as Heinrich Isaac, Johannes Ciconia, Thomas Weelkes, and more.
Pitch: A=440.
Sunday November 20 at 10am PT
Adam Gilbert—Breaking Grounds and Putting on Airs
Join Adam in exploring the types of ground bass progressions and how to ornament over them, and in how to make diminutions over popular songs from the 16th and 17th centuries. Practice easy improvisation skills and play along live (online) with Adam in duo and trio settings of grounds and airs inspired by Marco Uccellini and Jacob van Eyck.
Pitch: A=440.
Sunday November 20 at 2pm PT
Kip Cranna*—GOING BAROQUE AT SAN FRANCISCO OPERA: An insider’s perspective and listener’s guide.
As San Francisco Opera observes its 100th season, Dramaturg Emeritus Kip Cranna, a veteran of over forty of those seasons, will look back at the 29 Baroque operas presented by the company and its affiliates during its first century: works by Claudio Monteverdi, Francesco Cavalli, Alessandro Scarlatti, Antonio Vivaldi, and (especially) George Frideric Handel. Using photos, recordings and video, Kip will survey stylistic changes in performance over the years, as well as evolving production concepts and audience reactions. And he will offer a short guide to understanding the inner workings of a Handel aria for better appreciation of the Baroque operatic art as it unfolds onstage.
*Clifford (Kip) Cranna, Dramaturg (Scholar in Residence) Emeritus of San Francisco Opera, served on the staff for over forty years and was Director of Music Administration for over thirty years. In 2008 he was awarded the San Francisco Opera Medal, the company’s highest honor, and in 2012 he received the Bernard Osher Cultural Award for distinguished efforts to bring excellence to a cultural institution. In 2014 he received the Star of Excellence Award for outstanding service to the programs of the San Francisco Opera Guild. He holds a Ph.D. in musicology from Stanford University. For thirty years he was Program Editor and Lecturer for the Carmel Bach Festival. He has taught at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and currently teaches at the Fromm Institute at the University of San Francisco and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes at U.C. Berkeley, San Francisco State University, and Dominican University.
Classes are typically 60-75 minutes, unless otherwise noted, on Zoom (all times Pacific Time):
Pitch level is indicated at the bottom of each class description (e.g. A=440 or A=415).
A week before each class, we’ll send you materials (i.e., sheet music, play-along files) and the Zoom link. The SFEMS moderator will open each class 15 minutes prior to each session. Whenever you need assistance, email administrator Stacey Helley at [email protected].
We will be sending a reminder Zoom link, as well as relevant materials, two days before each of your registered sessions through Mailchimp. Please note that some emails may have difficulty receiving messages from Mailchimp; if this is the case for you, or if you register within two days of your class, please email [email protected]. Otherwise, materials will also be provided at the start of each class.
You may select classes directly for purchase from our ticketing page. Once you complete your order, your emailed receipt will contain the option to “print your ticket(s)”. (See below for an example.) Please click on that link, and a ticket will open in your browser with a clickable Zoom link for your class sessions. When applicable, a link for the class materials is also provided in the PDF ticket. Please click on the Zoom link, or use the user ID or password to connect, when time comes for the class.
In May 2020, SFEMS began to offer a range of virtual lectures, seminars and masterclasses to adapt our summer workshops to the global health crisis. While we cannot replace the magic and thrill of in-person music-making, we remain committed towards providing a superb music education while deepening the community that makes the SFEMS summer workshops unique.
Have questions about Zoom? Here’s a Zoom FAQ for our virtual sessions! We will be offering training sessions so that you can become more familiar with the technology. While we cannot account for every Zoom hiccup, we will strive to lower the technological barriers for participation.
Fall 2022 Faculty
Adam Bregman sackbut
Shira Kammen vielle
Adam Knight Gilbert recorder, reeds
Kip Cranna musicologist, dramaturg
Fee and Registration Information
Virtual classes are $25 each.
You can purchase more classes at any time!
When you make your class purchase, you will need to designate a login email address and password. If you have paid for a membership, bought tickets or registered for a workshop with SFEMS online before, please use the same login information.
You may select classes directly for purchase from our ticketing page. Once you complete your order, your emailed receipt will contain the option to “print your ticket(s)”. Please click on that link, and a ticket will open in your browser with a clickable Zoom link for your class sessions. When applicable, a link for the class materials is also provided in the PDF ticket. Please click on the Zoom link, or use the user ID or password to connect, when time comes for the class.
We will be sending a reminder Zoom link, as well as relevant materials, two days before each of your registered sessions through Mailchimp. Please note that some emails may have difficulty receiving messages from Mailchimp; if this is the case for you, or if you register within two days of your class, please email [email protected]. Otherwise, materials will also be provided at the start of each class.
Refunds and Exchanges: You can receive a refund or exchange for a class session if you notify us no less than 24 hours prior to the session. We will also offer refunds or exchanges if there were technical issues logging in or during the Zoom call. However, we currently are unable to offer refunds or exchanges for sessions missed for any other reasons.
As always, administrator Stacey Helley ([email protected]) is available to assist you.
Terms of Use: Please note that SFEMS reserves the right to record virtual sessions for future publication and use. By registering for a virtual session, you authorize The San Francisco Early Music Society (SFEMS), acting through its agents, employees, or representatives, to take photographs, video recordings, and/or audio recordings of you (the “Participant”), including your name, your image, your likeness, your performance, and/or your voice (“Recordings”). You also grant SFEMS an unlimited right to reproduce, use, exhibit, display, perform, broadcast, create derivative works from, and distribute the Recordings in any manner or media now existing or hereafter developed, in perpetuity, throughout the world. You agree that the Recordings may be used by SFEMS, including its assigns and transferees, for any purpose, including but not limited to, marketing, advertising, publicity, or other promotional purposes. You agree that SFEMS will have final editorial authority over the use of the Recordings, and you waive any right to inspect or approve of any future use of the Recordings. You acknowledge that you are not expecting to receive compensation for participating in the Recordings or for any future use of the Recordings. You release and fully discharge SFEMS, and its employees, agents, and representatives, from any claim, damages, or liability arising from or related to my participation in the Recordings or SFEMS’s future use of the Recordings. You have read this entire waiver, fully understand it, and agree to be bound by it.