Events

The Cincinnati Early Music Festival takes place in February each year. The ultimate goal is for this list to include any early music performance in Cincinnati whose organizers want to share it. You can also see events in calendar form instead of as a list or add the full schedule to your Google Calendar or iCal.

Spring: Four Seasons with Seven Hills
May
19

Spring: Four Seasons with Seven Hills

Celebrate the arrival of warmer weather and longer days with Seven Hills Baroque as we offer our third of four Four Seasons with Seven Hills installments, featuring Spring from Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons - one of the most beloved and widely recognized pieces of classical music!

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A Lenten Prism
Mar
24

A Lenten Prism

Conducted by L. Brett Scott and Krista Cornish Scott. Featuring excerpts from Musikaliches Exequien and The Seven Last Words of Jesus on the Cross by Heinrich Schutz, these well-known works are interwoven by rarely performed gems from Sulpitia Cesis, Leone Leoni, Maria Perucona and Lucrezia Vizzana, sung from the balcony as a "cloistered" ensemble featuring Christopher Wilke, theorbo.

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Music Live at Lunch: Moyen Âge
Mar
19

Music Live at Lunch: Moyen Âge

Come enjoy a little medieval music on your lunch break at Christ Church Cathedral’s “Music Live at Lunch” with Moyen Âge, a Cincinnati-based early music ensemble that’s been performing medieval music since 2017.

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Musical Oratory of Lent: Buxtehude, 'Membra Jesu nostri'
Mar
5

Musical Oratory of Lent: Buxtehude, 'Membra Jesu nostri'

Sponsored by the Anerio Institute, the Oratory Singers & members of the Old St. Mary's Parish Orchestra will be performing the cantata cycle, 'Membra Jesu nostri patientis sanctissima', (The Most Holy Limbs of Our Suffering Jesus) written by the Danish Baroque composer and organist Dieterich Buxtehude (d. 1707), who was a major influence on the music of J.S. Bach.

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Gallicantus
Mar
3

Gallicantus

Enjoy a world-class performance of Renaissance music from British ensemble Gallicantus in the beautiful setting and acoustic of St. Peter in Chains Basilica.

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"The Last Rose" (Elena Kraineva & Michael Delfin)
Feb
25

"The Last Rose" (Elena Kraineva & Michael Delfin)

Elena Kraineva and Michael Delfín present a program for Viola d’Amore and Harpsichord. The audience will hear compositions by Heinrich Ignaz, Franz Biber, Christoph Graupner, Domenico Scarlatti, and more, including some of the earliest known compositions for string instruments.

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2024 Tapestry Concert
Feb
24

2024 Tapestry Concert

Rather than a single group, this Tapestry Concert will feature a variety of musicians from around Cincinnati performing early music sets of their choosing. Join us to celebrate the diverse talents of our Cincinnati early music community!

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Nerd Night & Saucy Sing-A-Long
Feb
23

Nerd Night & Saucy Sing-A-Long

Join emcee Douglas Easterling at the Northwood Cider Co. for early music trivia and a sing-a-long of saucy music written by some unexpected beloved composers! This is an open event—all are welcome, from the hardcore Purcell fan to the merely "Baroque-curious.”

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Bach Vespers for Lent
Feb
18

Bach Vespers for Lent

In the solemn ambiance of St. Thomas Episcopal Church, immerse yourself in a sacred journey during our Bach Vespers. Featuring BWV 229, one of Bach’s awe-inspiring motets for double chorus, this evening transcends time and connects you to a rich tradition of spiritual contemplation.

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Early Music Sing-A-Long
Feb
17

Early Music Sing-A-Long

Love singing early music? Let’s do it together! All are welcome to join. Bring a smartphone or tablet if you have one, and be sure to RSVP so we can have enough music and coffee to go around.

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Moyen Age at Design Collective
Feb
11

Moyen Age at Design Collective

Hear the dulcet sounds of the lute, the growl of the hurdy gurdy, the sweet strings of the viol, and several other captivating instruments. Exciting and enchanting music of the 14th century played on instruments of the time.

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“Four Seasons with Seven Hills”: Winter Concert
Feb
4

“Four Seasons with Seven Hills”: Winter Concert

Seven Hills Baroque’s second concert of their season will feature music which evokes the scenes and moods of winter: frost, icy winds, falling snow, and desolate landscapes. But winter is not always so bleak—we have also experienced the joy of playing in the snow, huddling around warm fires, and time spent around hearths and tables with loved ones. Experience these scenes and feelings—and more—through the lens of baroque music, performed on period instruments.

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The Last Master: Music of Bernhard Hagen
Feb
3

The Last Master: Music of Bernhard Hagen

Christopher Wilke, baroque lute, performs "The Last Master": music of Bernhard Hagen. One of the last composers to write for the lute, Hagen left a rich body of sonatas known as much for their sweeping melodic style and dramatic changes of mood as well as for their extreme technical difficulty.

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"Baroque and Brews" at Urban Artifact
Jan
30

"Baroque and Brews" at Urban Artifact

Join Seven Hills Baroque (7HB) and the Flight88 Concert Series for Baroque and Brews, a concert graciously sponsored by Flight88, a recurring classical music series at Urban Artifact—a church turned taproom in Cincinnati’s Northside Neighborhood! Grab a pint and enjoy an exciting evening of music from the Baroque and early Classical eras.

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The Knox Choir
Jan
28

The Knox Choir

Join Knox Presbyterian Church for their traditional worship service featuring music from Heinrich Schütz's Symphoniae Sacrae III of 1650 performed with soloists, choir, and period instruments.

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2nd Annual Wassail Celebration
Jan
20

2nd Annual Wassail Celebration

Northwood Cider Co.’s Annual Wassail Celebration is back—with chant provided by Heri et Hodie, an intimate treble voice ensemble that revels in both medieval and modern music with an emphasis on the work of women composers. Come honor this age-old ritual with a modern twist.

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