Early Music Festivals

Select the early music events listings for:

For additional early music festivals and faires not listed here, visit Early Music America.

Founded in 1974 by Karel Paukert and directed by Richard R. Webster every May since, the Bach Week Festival in Evanston, Illinois combines the Bach Week Festival Chorus with professional instrumentalists from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera Orchestra, and Northwestern University. The music of Bach predominates, but works by other Baroque composers have been added selectively, particularly works by worthy but lesser-known composers not widely performed elsewhere. One critic called the Bach Week Festival "the most comprehensive celebration of J. S.'s music west of Leipzig."

The 2013 Bach Week Festival will take place at the Music Institute of Chicago, 1490 Chicago Avenue, Evanston, Illinois.

2012-2013 season Bach Week Festival events will take place on: 10/7/2012, 4/19/2013, 4/19/2013, 4/21/2013, 5/5/2013.

Photos of the Bach Week Festival here.

Location: Music Institute of Chicago, 1490 Chicago Avenue, Evanston, Illinois.

For more info: call 847-293-6686; write Bach Week Festival, P.O. Box 1832, Evanston, IL 60204-1832; e-mail info @ bachweek.org; visit this site.

Bristol Renaissance Faire

Saturdays and Sundays, from early July through early September, including Labor Day Monday, 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM.

Spend a day filled with revelry and merriment, the arts, enlightenment, and delightful family fun. Discover the entertainment on 16 open air stages; discover the feasting by sampling delectable treats from 50 food booths; discover the marketplace--over 180 high quality arts and crafts shops.

Location: Bristol, Wisconsin (near the Illinois/Wisconsin border).

For more info: call 847-395-7773; visit this site.

Evelyn Dunbar Memorial Early Music Festival

The Evelyn Dunbar Memorial Early Music Festival is celebrated (typically every spring) at the Northwestern University School of Music.

Location: Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.

For more info: e-mail j-schwartz @ nwu.edu or swa440 @ northwestern.edu.

Handel Week Festival

The Handel Week Festival is an annual multi-week festival to celebrate the music of George Frideric Handel. The Festival is typically held in February of each year at Grace Episcopal Church, in Oak Park, Illinois. Founded in 2000 by Dr. Dennis E. Northway and Charles Chauncey Wells, Handel Week is patterned after the highly sucessful Bach Week Festival.

Handel Week 2013 events on: 2/17/2013, 2/23/2013, 3/3/2013, 4/27/2013.

Location: Grace Episcopal Church, 924 Lake Street, Oak Park, Illinois.

For more info: Call 708-524-0695; e-mail info @ handelweek.com; or visit this site.

Indianapolis Early Music Festival

The Festival is a production of Indianapolis Early Music (IEM). IEM was founded in 1966 as the U.S.' second early music organization and has the distinction of being the nation's oldest early music presenter in continuous operation. Now under the direction of Mark Cudek, all Festival concerts take place every June and July at the Indiana History Center, Indianapolis, Indiana. IEM also offers a Spring concert as well as educational opportunities in area schools. (IEM was known for many years as the Festival Music Society.)

Indianapolis Early Music Festival 2013 events on: 3/18/2013, 6/21/2013, 6/23/2013, 6/28/2013, 6/30/2013, 7/12/2013, 7/14/2013.

Location: Frank & Katrina Basile Theater at the Indiana History Center on the Downtown Canal, 450 West Ohio Street, Indianapolis, Indiana.

For more info: call 317-577-9731; e-mail fms @ iquest.net; or visit this site.

Madison Early Music Festival

The Madison Early Music Festival brings world-renowned ensembles and artist/teachers together for five days of workshop classes and a seven-concert series.
MEMF 2013 is titled "A Festive Celebration of the German Renaissance".

The 2013 Madison Early Music Festival runs July 6-12, 2013. MEMF concerts will be performed on 7/6/2013, 7/7/2013, 7/9/2013, 7/11/2013, 7/11/2013, 7/12/2013.

Location: University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin.

For more info: write Chelcy Bowles, Program Director, Madison Early Music Festival, 21 N. Park Street, 7th Floor, Madison, WI 53715 USA; call 608-265-5629; e-mail cbowles @ dcs.wisc.edu; visit this site.
More also here.

Peoria Bach Festival

The Peoria Bach Festival is organized and offered as gift to the city of Peoria and Central Illinois during the first weekend of June every year by Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Peoria. Since its founding in 2003 by Trinity's Cantor Martin Dicke and Dr. John Jost, Director of Choral activities at Bradley University, the Peoria Bach Festival has quickly grown from a local arts event into a significant regional festival. It seeks to not only showcase Peoria's own musicians, but also to attract national and international talent.

Location: Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, 135 NE Randolph Avenue, Peoria, Illinois.

For more info: write Peoria Bach Festival, c/o Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, 135 NE Randolph Avenue, Peoria, IL 61606-1920; call 309-676-4609; e-mail peoriabachfestival @ trinitypeoria.com; or visit this site.

Early Music CDs