San Francisco Early Music Society

The San Francisco Early Music Society is a community-based organization dedicated to historically informed performance of medieval, Renaissance, and baroque music composed before 1750. Since its founding in 1975, SFEMS has provided an increasingly extended audience of professional 'early music' musicians who perform in our concerts and music festivals, amateur and semi-professional musicians, concert goers, and education programs for both children and adults.We emphasize three areas of activity:

1. Services to the community:
SFEMS serves as fiscal sponsor for 32 Affiliate ensembles, presenters, and educational organizations. We also maintain an online newsletter and events calendar, which serve as comprehensive sources of early music news in the Bay Area.

2. High-quality concert presentations of early music performed on historical instruments: 
Each season, SFEMS presents 24 concerts featuring professional soloists and ensembles in Berkeley, San Francisco, and Palo Alto. We also serve as primary producer of the biennial, internationally renowned Berkeley Festival & Exhibition of Early Music.

3. Education programs for all ages:
SFEMS produces six one-week summer Workshops—five for adults of all levels and one for youth ages 7-18—as well as diverse workshops and lectures throughout the year.