Who are we? The San Francisco Early Music Society is the Bay Area’s portal for early music, promoting engagement with historically informed performance spanning centuries and cultures, and creating a community reflective of our region’s diversity.
Colorscapes: Our 50th Season
Celebrating a half century as the Bay Area’s portal for early music, The San Francisco Early Music Society’s 50th Anniversary Concert Season showcases a diverse array of styles and traditions in a vibrant snapshot of the current early music landscape. With prominent international artists and celebrated local musicians—vocal ensembles, chamber orchestras, soloists, and unique historical instrumentations—SFEMS brings leading interpreters in historically informed performance to stages throughout the Bay Area. You won’t want to miss this season’s alluring harmonic hues and tonal variety of harps, early brass, viols, fortepiano, choruses, and more.
Subscription Sales open July 24:
Subscribers to the 25-26 season may hold their previous seats before July 24.
Subscription options include standard and pay-it-forward*:
Five Mainstage Concerts (by location: Palo Alto, Berkeley, San Francisco)
Mainstage Concerts plus special events:
Ensemble Correspondances: Dec 6, Berkeley
Sato/Chai: April 7, Berkeley and/or April 8, Palo Alto)
Mix & Match (choose 3, 5 & 6 concert options)
*Choose our Pay-it-forward subscription to show additional support of our pay-what-you-can campaign.
Individual tickets:
Pay-it-forward reserved seating — Open July 31
Pay-What-You-Can — General Admission tickets available 4–6 weeks before each concert. Stay tuned for announcements.
SFEMS Summer Workshops
SFEMS Summer Workshops return to downtown Berkeley in Summer 2026, offering immersive, week-long opportunities to explore early music with internationally renowned faculty. All levels are welcome.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE:
UP NEXT
PARALLAX | OCT. 2–4
New Histories and Old Futures
New Histories & Old Futures” challenges expectations around Western historical music and modern music. New compositions by young composers—written in 17th- and 18th-century historical idioms—are paired with 17th- and 18th-century works that employ seemingly modern devices like tone clusters and extended playing techniques. This symmetrical pairing aims to express the circular flows of inspiration within music history and the timelessness of experimentalism.
