A short program: a performance or lecture of interest to recorder and viol players.
Ensemble playing for recorders: a large ensemble led by Peter Seibert, and a smaller beginner ensemble [currently not meeting].
Viol players welcome to participate as part of large group or separately as self directed esemble
Recent programs have featured
The SRS maintains a lending library of recorder music which is available for checkout by the membership.
A wide selection of recorder music and equipment for browsing and purchase is made available by John's Music Center at selected monthly meetings.
The SRS is a resource for finding teachers, classes, and consort coaches, for hearing announcements of upcoming concerts and workshops, and for finding other players who would like to form an ensemble.
Come Join Us at Our Next Meeting!
Also at SRS meetings
The Seattle Recorder Society
Meeting Dates
click date for info...
The Seattle Recorder Society meets monthly from October through May. Tentative dates for 2011-12 are the following Friday evenings at 7:30:
October 7
November 4
December 2
January 6
February 3
March 2
March 30
May 4
With a membership of approximately 100, the SRS has an active presence in the community offering membership meetings and a biennial international summer workshop. Membership meetings are held at Maple Leaf Lutheran Church in Seattle. Most meetings have an opening program provided by professional musicians or accomplished amateurs. The remainder of each meeting is devoted to large group playing under professional direction, often with arrangements and compositions written specifically for the Seattle Recorder Society. Additional historical instruments, particularly those in the viola da gamba family, are welcome.
The final meeting of each season is Members Night at which members are invited to perform for five minutes. A special feature of the 2010-11 season was SRS participation in the American Handel Festival with a play-in reading session of all three of the Water Music suites in St. James Cathedral. More than 80 players participated. The biennial Port Townsend Early Music Workshop takes place in July this summer, drawing players from all over North America.
The opening meeting for the 2011-12 season on October 7 will be devoted to the Handel Music for the Royal Fireworks. The current plan is to start with the easier movements so that all levels may participate together before the more advanced players tackle the challenging movements.
A monthly newsletter, Recorder Notes, is published in advance of each meeting in which the program and repertory for the forthcoming meeting are announced. Also in the newsletter are a reviews of the preceding meeting, the early music calendar for the following several weeks and other articles. The music director column is published both in the newsletter and on this website. Dues for the forthcoming season will be $35.
There are no special musical requirements for joining the SRS. The level of skill necessary to play the music varies from meeting to meeting, and participants are free to play as much or as little as they care to. Beginning classes are now available through the SRS. (Please check this website in later in the year for details.) For those wishing instruction in recorder playing, a list of available teachers is provided on this website by clicking here.
Summer Reading: Thomas Forrest Kelly, Early Music, A Very Short Introduction (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011) is just out. It gives a superb picture of the entire early music field along with the numerous issues and challenges in the field. The book is written for devotees on all levels of interest as well as people who are simply listeners. Amazon carries the book at under $10.
