About Early Music
The past twenty-five years have witnessed a dramatic increase in interest in early music.
- Colleges and universities have added courses in early music performance to their curricula
- Scholarship has flourished, giving rise to books and articles, as well as to specialized periodicals such as the English quarterly Early Music
- An increasing number of performing groups have toured and recorded
- Baroque performances have been directed by conductors such as Christopher Hogwood, John Eliot Gardiner, Trevor Pinnock and Roger Norrington. The recording of such performances have enjoyed substantial sales
- The building of instruments based on surviving historical instruments has increased substantially and societies of amateur and professional musicians committed to the performance of early music have proliferated.
While the growth of interest in early music has been substantial, the art form remains somewhat esoteric. Concert series dedicated entirely to the performance of early music have therefore thrived almost entirely in the largest and most culturally sophisticated cities of Europe and America with London, Paris, New York, Boston and San Francisco being prominent examples.
The Early Music in Columbus Series
In the years since 1980, Early Music in Columbus, and more recently, the Friends of Early Music, have made a very significant contribution to the cultural life of Columbus, Ohio and to its diversity through the creation and sponsorship of the Early Music in Columbus concert series.
The Early Music in Columbus concert series was established in 1980 and is cosponsored by the Capital University Conservatory of Music with the assistance and support of The Friends of Early Music.
Early Music in Columbus sponsors six or more concerts each year. Most concerts are held on the campus of Capital University, although the series has taken advantage of other fine performance sites in the Columbus area, including the Pontifical College Josephinum and The Southern Theatre.
International and national artists who have appeared in the series include
- Sequentia
- Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet
- The New York Cornet and Sacbut Ensemble
- Circa 1500
- Calliope
- The King's Noyse
- Paul O'Dette
- John Tyson
- Paul Hillier
- Julianne Baird
- Anonymous 4
- Tragicomedia
- The Baltimore Consort
- Pomerium
- The Harp Consort
- Apollo’s Fire
- Bimbetta
Early Music in Columbus Organization
Early Music in Columbus each year sponsors one or more performances by Columbus' resident Medieval and Renaissance ensemble, The Early Interval. The performances presented by that group as part of the series have included a number of unique concert theater pieces and collaborations with readers, dancers and choral groups. In addition to sponsoring the concert series, Early Music in Columbus has sponsored or cosponsored workshops and early music festivals.
Early Music in Columbus has been regularly supported by
- Ohio Arts Council
- The Greater Columbus Arts Council
- The Columbus Foundation
- The Huntington National Bank
- The Ohio State University (through its annual Medieval and Renaissance Festival)
- Numerous individual supporters and volunteers.
The series is frequently reviewed by the Columbus Dispatch, and articles about the series have appeared in a number of local publications. Early Music in Columbus performances are recorded for rebroadcast on WOSU-FM's Music in Mid-Ohio series.