November 2026
Sunday, Nov. 8, 4:00 PM (Oak Park)
Elettaria: Venice, Virtuosity, and the Road North
Music by Buxtehude and Vivaldi. Founding members Andrew Levy (recorder), Hejun Yang (harpsichord), and Robert Wang (lute/theorbo/ baroque guitar), will be joined by additional musicians to present this exciting program.
Location: The Church of the Epiphany / The Episcopal Church of Agoura, Oak Park, and Westlake Village, 5450 Churchwood Dr., Oak Park, CA 91377
More Information: https://tcote.org/2026-2027-20th-anniversary-season/
Sat, November 14, 7:00 PM, PST (Culver City)
Lilia Ensemble: "Love and Longing": An Evening of Early and Contemporary Vocal Works
Lilia Ensemble (Soo Bin Kwon, Elizabeth Laughton, and Rebecca Russell) is a trio of three outstanding women vocalists who join their beautiful voices together to create harmonies and sonorities that will lift our spirits, and featuring Peter Lifland, bass..
This concert features a wide array of choral works, including pieces from the Renaissance as well as pieces from the American Sacred Harp (Shape Note) tradition. The program highlights vocal works centered on themes of yearning for beauty, connection, and the divine. The program will feature works by Orlando di Lasso, Thomas Tallis, Maddalena Casulana, Lechner, Distler, Tallis, Billings, and many more.
This is a Groupmuse house concert in the Culver City area on Saturday, November 14th.
Full details at the Groupmuse link below. Space is limited, so please RSVP through the Groupmuse link below (or separately to me via email at elaughton@gmail.com).
reserve a spot:
more information, please visit www.LiliaEnsemble.org
Saturday, November 14, 8:00PM (Eagle Rock)
ELETTARIA, : At the Turning of Ages: Dowland and Stylus Phantasticus
Step into a musical world poised between two eras.In early seventeenth-century Europe, the refined beauty of the Renaissance was giving way to the drama and freedom of the Baroque. In England, John Dowland wrote music of intimacy, melancholy and elegance, while in Italy, composers including Dario Castello, Giovanni Battista Fontana and Francesco Cavalli embraced the daring new Stylus Phantasticus—a style alive with sudden contrasts, expressive gestures and virtuosic invention.This program explores that fascinating moment when two musical ages existed side by side, revealing a world in transition: graceful, experimental and full of discovery.
Performed by an ensemble dedicated to bringing Renaissance and Baroque instruments vividly to life through fresh interpretation and adventurous collaboration.
Santa Cecilia Arts and Learning Center · Eagle Rock
https://www.scartcenter.com/concerts-1/at-the-turning-of-ages-dowland-stylus-phantasticus
Sunday, Nov. 22, 2PM (San Gabriel)
USC Collegium Musicum: 400 Years to John Dowland
Join us in celebrating the 400th anniversary of the death of English composer John Dowland, with his music of melancholy, mirth, and dancing desire. Directed by Jason Yoshida
An EMSI/ USC Early Music Events
Free and Open to the Public
Mission San Gabriel Arcángel 427 South Junipero Serra Drive, Dr. San Gabriel, CA, 91776
more info: https://dornsife.usc.edu/emsi/seminar-series/music-series/
Sunday, NOVEMBER 22, 2026: 5:00PM (Beverly Hills)
Tesserae Baroque : Macque: Music of a Sixteenth-Century Experimentalist
Tesserae Baroque explores the extraordinary music of Giovanni de Macque (c. 1548–1614), one of the most extravagant and experimental composers of the late Renaissance. Known for pushing the boundaries of chromatic harmonic language, the use of highly unusual textures, complex contrapuntal structure, and a highly expressive approach to composition. Macque – the probable composition teacher of Carlo Gesualdo – was an important influence in the musical world of the late Renaissance, and paved the road to the early Baroque style.
This program features Macque’s madrigals and motets with instrumental works for strings and keyboard.
Tickets: $50/$35/$25/$20
Free admission for children and members of the All Saints’ Guild.
All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Beverly Hills 504 North Camden Drive Beverly Hills, CA 90210
more info: https://tesseraebaroque.org/
https://tesseraebaroque.org/event/macque-the-music-of-a-sixteenth-century-experimentalist/
December 2026
Wednesday, December 2 12:10 p.m. to 12:40 p.m. (Pasadena)
Elettaria : Theorbo & Recorder Duo
Performed by an ensemble dedicated to bringing Renaissance and Baroque instruments vividly to life through fresh interpretation and adventurous collaboration.
Free admission for everyone
Pasadena Presbyterian Church (Sanctuary), 585 E. Colorado Blvd.,Pasadena
Friday, Dec. 4, 8PM (near Downtown Los Angeles)
Thornton Baroque Sinfonia: A Latin American Christmas
Directed by Rotem Gilbert & Jason Yoshida, with special guest, Mary Vanhoozer, hurdy gurdy
Join us for a celebration of Baroque music of Latin America. USC’s Thornton Baroque Sinfonia performs Villancicos of the Natividad, music for the Virgin of Guadalupe, and rousing dances. Featuring music by Manuel de Sumaya, Gaspar Fernandes and Alonso Xuares from Mexico, José de Torres y Martinez Bravo and Rafael Antonio Castellanos from Guatemala, and Tomas de Torrejón y Velasco from Peru.
USC Newman Recital Hall 700 Childs Way, Los Angeles, CA 90089
more info: https://dornsife.usc.edu/emsi/seminar-series/music-series/
Saturday, December 5 (Pasadena)
Elettaria :Bach, Buxtehude, Bruhns
Experience the expressive world of German Baroque music with Elettaria, featuring Bach’s Gottes Zeit alongside sacred works by Buxtehude and Bruhns.
Join Elettaria for an evening of German Baroque sacred music, performed by voices and historical instruments, bringing together works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Dieterich Buxtehude, and Nicolaus Bruhns in a program exploring mortality, faith, and consolation. At the heart of the concert is Bach’s Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit, also known as Actus Tragicus. Alongside Buxtehude’s Jesu, meine Freude and Bruhns’s De profundis, it offers a moving encounter with music that gives voice to both human uncertainty and enduring hope. We invite longtime early music listeners and curious newcomers to experience the distinctive sounds of historical instruments and the intimate expression of the German Baroque.
Performed by an ensemble dedicated to bringing Renaissance and Baroque instruments vividly to life through fresh interpretation and adventurous collaboration.
6:30 p.m. followed by reception · $35 general admission · $15 students
Trinity Lutheran Church, 997 E Walnut St, Pasadena, CA 91106, USA
https://www.elettariala.org/event-details/bach-buxtehude-bruhns-a-triple-cantata-night-i
Sunday, Dec. 6, 2PM (San Gabriel)
Ciaramella: Sounds of the Celestial Spheres
Directed by Adam K Gilbert & Rotem Gilbert
For more than a millennium, philosophers, theologians, and composers have explored the profound links between music, math, the planets, and heavenly harmony. Join us as we explore music about the planets, from Medieval chant, to Renaissance humanism, to compositions by Adam Gilbert inspired by Johannes Kepler. This program features music recently recorded for a Ciaramella release by Yarlung Records.
Free and Open to the Public
Mission San Gabriel Arcángel 427 South Junipero Serra Drive, Dr. San Gabriel, CA, 91776
more info: https://dornsife.usc.edu/emsi/seminar-series/music-series/
Saturday, December 12 (Los Feliz)
Elettaria :Bach, Buxtehude, Bruhns
Experience the expressive world of German Baroque music with Elettaria, featuring Bach’s Gottes Zeit alongside sacred works by Buxtehude and Bruhns.
Join Elettaria for an evening of German Baroque sacred music, performed by voices and historical instruments, bringing together works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Dieterich Buxtehude, and Nicolaus Bruhns in a program exploring mortality, faith, and consolation. At the heart of the concert is Bach’s Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit, also known as Actus Tragicus. Alongside Buxtehude’s Jesu, meine Freude and Bruhns’s De profundis, it offers a moving encounter with music that gives voice to both human uncertainty and enduring hope. We invite longtime early music listeners and curious newcomers to experience the distinctive sounds of historical instruments and the intimate expression of the German Baroque.
Performed by an ensemble dedicated to bringing Renaissance and Baroque instruments vividly to life through fresh interpretation and adventurous collaboration.
7:30 p.m. · $35 general admission · $15 students
St Mary of the Angels Church, 4510 Finley Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027, USA
https://www.elettariala.org/event-details/bach-buxtehude-bruhns-a-triple-cantata-night-ii
Master Calendars
Credit: Renaissance minstrels in Augsburg (1520). iStock.com/© gameover2012
Early Music Around Town
A timely shortlist of local early music concerts and events.
To view the entire season of concerts and events, consult the current Master Calendar.
Please note that SCEMS does not present or sponsor concerts.
The listings below include early music related concerts and events offered by organizations throughout the Southern California area. Readers are advised to call ahead to verify events, times, and ticket availability, which are subject to change.