May 24 – June 26
Welcome to the fifth season of the Washington Early Music Festival! This year the Festival visits the music of French composers from the Middle Ages to the Baroque, exploring the rich cultural history of France with concerts, lectures and workshops.
This season the Festival will expand to spread events throughout the entire month of June – having heard from early music lovers, the pleas for more music during the summer. We invite you to take expeditions every weekend in June into the heart of D.C. Attend our concerts and fill in the weekends with museums, restaurants and strolling. Discover, or re-discover Washington.
The Festival begins May 24 at the Kennedy Center with Opera Lafayette’s American debut of Sancho Pança by François-André Danican Philidor. This 1762 opera bouffon offers hilarious commedia dell’Arte-inspired characters in a semi-staged performance.
Festival events resume the weekend of June 4th and continue to the grand finale on June 26th, an evening entirely devoted to early French keyboard music on harpsichord and organ by four talented early keyboard performers.
Throughout the month, enjoy concerts by premiere ensembles, including Arco Voce, Armonia Nova, Carmina/Illuminare, The Countertop Quartet, Ensemble Gaudior, Harmonious Blacksmith, Modern Musick, Opera Lafayette, Orpheus, Repast, The Suspicious Cheese Lords, The Vivaldi Project and others.
Take a mini-vacation each weekend in the heart of DC.
- Enjoy an evening with a favorite French composer or discover a new one at our concerts.
- Explore the world of early music for yourself – participate in a workshop.
- Re-discover the heart of Washington DC: between concerts visit galleries, museums, restaurants and other attractions within walking distances of our venues.
New information will be posted on the website periodically from now through May 2010, as additional details become available. So bookmark the Washington Early Music website and visit again at www.earlymusicdc.org.
Thank you for joining us. We look forward to seeing you!