All recorder players, singers, and other instrumentalists are invited to attend our meetings at the Painters and Allied Trades Building, 25 Colgate Road, Roslindale, MA. The winter meetings take place from 7:00 until 9:30 PM, generally on the fourth Sunday of the month, except when that date would fall on a holiday weekend. Here are the 2006 - 2007 dates:
During the winter season, BRS members can join at the Basic Membership level or sign up to join a playing group. The first meeting of the season is free, to allow everyone to explore the groups that we offer. After the first meeting, those who have not joined a group are welcome to play with our Joyful Noise group. BRS Basic members and members of other recorder organizations pay only $10 to play with Joyful Noise. Others pay $15. This group welcomes singers and players of other instruments as well as recorder players.
Further details and membership options are below on this page.
BRS members are encouraged to join the American Recorder Society. You can join ARS through BRS by checking the ARS membership option on our membership form, or you can join ARS directly. Please go to the ARS website for full details, including an online form.
Small ensembles (all the ones below except the Joyful Noise Drop-in Ensemble) are limited to 8 players and require a commitment of regular attendance. The coaches will select the members for their ensembles. If you wish to play in a small ensemble and can't come to the September 24 meeting, you should contact the coach directly. You'll find the contact information on our "Teachers" list.
16th Century Italian Madrigals with
Heloise Degrugillier (9 meetings)
Play some of the most dramatic music of the
renaissance. This class will explore the
madrigals of Da Rore, Arcadelt, and others.
We will work on ensemble skills, expressive
playing, and fundamental recorder technique.
Baroque and Beyond with Emily O'Brien (9 meetings)
Experience the grandeur of the Baroque while focusing on recorder technique,
ensemble, style, and performance practice. We will also explore related
repertoire from earlier periods as well as later for the perspective they
provide. The group will focus mainly on Baroque music, but expect a few
surprises too!
I Fiffari - a Renaissance flute consort with Eric Haas (9 meetings).
Not for beginners; participants must
already play transverse flute (either baroque or modern), though they need not
have experience on Renaissance flutes. The technique component of the class
will focus on developing a flexible embouchure and facility in the extreme
upper register, as well as tuning and building a suitable ensemble sound.
Repertoire will include chansons and madrigals of the 15th and 16th centuries as well as dances, fantasias and canzonas. Some instruments are available for use.
Performance Ensemble with John Tyson (10 coached meetings)
For experienced players who can commit to
practicing and extra rehearsals. The ensemble will present two
concerts. There will be extra
uncoached rehearsals, as decided by the group.
Group members will share any costs of
performance space. The music will be
challenging and varied, including Renaissance,
modern, and folk music.
Joyful Noise Drop-in Ensemble (9 meetings)
Play with some of our most popular coaches, including Tom Zajac and Lisle Kulbach. Everybody welcome -- recorder players of all
levels, players of other instruments, and singers. Feel free to sit next to someone playing the same part. Join for the
year, or drop in when you can. Coaches will
bring the material they know and love. Recent
meetings have included Sephardic music,
recorder arrangements of Wagner, and a Dufay
mass, as well as the standard (and glorious)
Renaissance vocal and dance music.
Basic membership ($35) helps BRS to carry out its mission, is tax-deductible, and offers you these benefits:
Joyful Noise ensemble membership ($110) gives you all the benefits of Basic membership, plus free participation in the monthly Joyful Noise ensemble.
Small consort membership ($175) gives you all the benefits of Basic membership plus participation in 16th Century Italian Madrigals, Baroque and Beyond, or I Fiffari.
Performance ensemble membership ($190, or $115 for half a year) gives you all the benefits of Basic membership, plus participation in the performance ensemble.
Drop-ins to the Joyful Noise ensemble pay $15, applicable to membership. BRS Basic members and members of other recorder organizations may attend for $10.
Membership discount for student, senior, and low-income members $10.
BRS events are cancelled only if there is a declared snow emergency in the city where the event takes place. So check the Boston or Cambridge websites if you are unsure and would like to come.