BLEMF 2026
Early Music & Early America
May 26-30
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Two hundred and fifty years ago, a clarion call for freedom was heard on this continent, one that continues to resound today. The anniversary of this declaration is an important opportunity to reconsider that earlier time, and there are few better ways to immerse ourselves in the world of Early America than through its music.
Follow us into Benjamin Franklin’s Philadelphia home to hear his most favored string quartets; “march on chearfully” to the Battle of Yorktown with the Musick band of the Second Virginia Regiment; be charmed by parlor music played and composed by the “fairer sex”; open your ears to enslaved Africans who hold fast to family stories and musical traditions; and revel in dance tunes and songs of worship carried from the “Old World” to the “New” by immigrants, missionaries, and nuns in New Spain and French Louisiana.
BLEMF 2026 will explore this vast variety of music and remarkable mix of people who, from across the thirteen colonies and the territories that would later join the Union, became one nation. Join us for these five days and evenings as we commemorate our collective past and celebrate the strength we have when we come together.
BLEMF Events are FREE & OPEN TO ALL
Photo credit: Alex Koppel Photography
Live Concerts & Pre-Concert Talks
Pre-concert discussions take place prior in the same venue.
No tickets or RSVP to attend!
All in-person concert venues are handicap-accessible.
Live Concerts & Pre-Concert Discussions will be livestreamed and available for streaming soon after the festival. See this section below for how to view online.
Virtual Concerts & Public Screenings
All virtual concerts & preconcert discussions will be released for streaming on Opening Night, and will be available until June 7th. Enjoy them from the comfort of your own home, or from where ever you may be!
Or join us for free public screenings in several venues listed on the main festival page! Bring your friends & family along to enjoy the performances in a comfy & fun theater setting in the heart of downtown!
How do I watch online?
On the day of the concert, “Watch concert!” and “Watch pre-concert discussion” buttons will appear below the concert listing on this webpage. Click the button and you will be redirected to the Bloomington Early Music YouTube page.
For live concerts & talks, click on the “Live Now” video at the posted start time for the livestream. Concerts will also be livestreamed on our Facebook page, and the recording will then be available to watch on our Facebook video page.
For virtual concerts & talks, these same buttons will take you directly to the videos, which you can watch at your leisure any time between May 26 and June 7.
Educational Workshops
Educational workshops are designed for children and adults. Kids under the age of 9 should be accompanied by an adult.
Please consider signing up through the “Reserve my Spot!” buttons under each workshop description. While reservations are not required, knowing attendance numbers ahead of time helps us to plan supplies and space, so that everyone can enjoy the event to the full!
General Event Information
New Neighbors Children’s Art Exhibit
A partnership with Exodus Refugee Immigration
Evenings at Trinity Episcopal | May 26th — 30th
Throughout Festival Week, enjoy artwork created by children of families who have recently joined our community, having left their troubled homelands in other parts of the world. The exhibit will be just outside the sanctuary at Trinity Episcopal Church from Opening Night, Tuesday, May 26th through Closing Night, May 30th. We are thrilled to mount the New Neighbors exhibit for the third year in a row, and we are more grateful than ever to our young friends for sharing their artwork with us and for contributing their talents to our festival. Thank you and welcome to Bloomington!
Trinity Episcopal Church
111 S. Grant Street
GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY BLOOMINGTON FINE ART SUPPLY
Tuesday, May 26
2:00pm | Workshop
What’s That Sound?
Shape Note Singing!
Discover the vibrant tradition of shape note singing, a uniquely American style of community music-making that dates back to the early 19th century. Learn how the shape note system works by singing from a historic tunebook, and make harmonious music together. No prior musical experience is required—just bring your voice and curiosity! 🎶
Led by C. Keith Collins
IU Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology
416 N. Indiana Ave.
Keith Collins is adjunct instructor in historical bassoon and recorder at Indiana University's Historical Performance Institute, and also teaches baroque bassoon and curtal at the University of North Texas. He has taught at Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute, Indiana University Recorder Academy, has been guest lecturer at the Indiana Early Double Reed Workshop as well as a writer for NPR's early music program Harmonia. Keith’s other interests include the history of Appalachian folk music and the banjo, early American hymnody and the shape-note tradition, and the early history and repertoire of the harp in the UK and Ireland.
5:00pm | Public Screening
with Pre-Concert Discussion
Williamsburg Baroque
Deplorable Barbarism & Delightful Recreation
(Williamsburg, VA) A trio of musicians direct from Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg Baroque offers an impressive display of instrumental music from the early decades of the nascent United States. The works in this program—all composed between 1767 and 1803 and titled after Thomas Jefferson comments on the state of music in the land—reflect the new “Immigrant School” of early American composers hailing from Europe and across the young nation.
Pre-concert discussion with Sophie Genevieve Lowe, Williamsburg Baroque member, and Rebecca Bechtold, Associate Professor of English at Wichita State University and specialist in 18th and 19th-century American literature & culture and soundscape studies.
Williamsburg Baroque is a BLEM Emerging Ensemble.
Monroe County Public Library Auditorium
303 E. Kirkwood Ave
Available May 26th on BLEM’s YouTube channel
CO-SPONSORED BY STEVE & JO ELLEN HAM
7:00pm | Opening Night Concert!
6:15 | Pre-Concert Discussion
Franklin Quartet
A Federal Fanfare at the Franklins’!
(Philadelphia, PA) BLEMF 2026 begins our concert series in an ostensible 1785, in Benjamin Franklin’s own parlor as the Franklin Quartet performs works of lesser-known European composers personally acquainted with Franklin during his decade in Paris. Listeners will enjoy an intimate house concert rooted in the city’s rich 18th-century parlor music tradition that helped shape early cultural exchange as the US formed its own identity separate from, but heavily influenced by, Europe.
Pre-concert discussion with Marika Homqvist, member of the Franklin Quartet, and Peyson Weekley, Indiana University Ph.D. candidate in musicology and specialist in music & politics in the Enlightenment period
Trinity Episcopal Church
111 S. Grant Street
Livestreamed at www.BLEMF.org
SPONSORED BY J. PETER BURKHOLDER & DOUG MCKINNEY
Wednesday, May 27
2:00pm | Workshop Presentation
Indigenous American Music
Acknowledging Tradition & Music Making
This presentation explores Indigenous American music traditions, cultural protocols, communal contexts, and the deeper meanings behind music practice, with focus on musical forms of the Eastern Woodlands cultures. Reserved almost entirely for ritual and worship, this music is nonetheless of profound importance to the soundscape of the early American period.
IU Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology
416 N. Indiana Ave.
5:00pm | Public Screening
with Pre-Concert Discussion
Music of the Regiment
Equal to Any Band in this Country
(Alexandria, VA) During the American War for Independence, military bands provided music for social events, recruiting, military ceremonies—and, with ill-equipped and hungry soldiers on the verge of mutiny, to aid troops “march on chearfully [sic]” into battle. Music of the Regiment recreates the historical band of the Second Virginia Regiment in a program that pairs readings with marches, arias, and divertimenti that formed the soundtrack for the international armies converging at Yorktown in 1781.
Pre-concert discussion between Music of the Regiment Co- Director Dominic Giardino and Bruce Gleason, professor of music history at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN and specialist in military history & military music
Monroe County Public Library Auditorium
303 E. Kirkwood Ave
Available May 26th on BLEM’s YouTube channel
7:00pm | Live Concert
6:15 | Pre-Concert Discussion
Tonos
Padre Kino’s Soundscape: Music and Mission in Early America
(Bloomington, IN) The second night of the concert series moves far across the land to 17th-century New Spain, to territory destined to be the very last to join the continental United States in 1912. Tonos, a beloved ensemble born in Bloomington a decade ago, presents a collection of music from Jesuit missions resonant with the rich intellectual and artistic exchange from across the region. Tonos’s performance brings together Indigenous, Spanish, and Catholic traditions that remain a part of the fabric of the present-day nation.
Pre-concert discussion with Sarah Cranor, Tonos artistic director, and Paul W. Borg, former BLEM board member and Latin American music specialist
Trinity Episcopal Church
111 S. Grant Street
Livestreamed at www.BLEMF.org
GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY THE LATIN AMERICAN MUSIC CENTER, JACOBS SCHOOL OF MUSIC
AND CO-SPONSORED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF SPANISH & PORTUGUESE, INDIANA UNIVERSITY AND BY ALAIN BARKER
Thursday, May 28
2:00pm | Workshop
Writing Early America
Early Documents & the Tools that Made Them
We gladly return to the Lilly Library to explore its extensive and incredibly varied collections of books, manuscripts, sheet music, and cultural artifacts. Join us as we discover materials that illuminate life in early America, from everyday objects to the documents that shaped a young nation—including one of the original 13 copies of the Declaration of Independence!
Move on then to our popular hands-on crafting activity—the art of quill and ink writing, where you will mix your own ink according to an authentic 18th century recipe and carve a hearty feather into a genuine quill pen you can take home with you to write your own declarations! (Because the carving requires the use of sharp knives, we will have ready-made quills for younger children at the event.)
Led by the Lilly Library & Kirby Haugland
Lilly Library
1200 E. 7th Street
AT 3PM, the workshop moves an 8-minute walk away to
The Global Lounge (BLGA 1050) Hamilton Lugar School
355 N. Eagleson Ave.
We will walk with you to meet Kirby for Quills & Ink!
A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE LILLY LIBRARY AT INDIANA UNVERSITY
Dr. Kirby Haugland is a visiting assistant professor in the musicology department at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. His research focuses on relationships surrounding musical creation and performance. This interest manifests in subjects ranging from early film music and contemporary composer John Adams to technologies of 18th-century theater stages. He is a talented trumpet player—if an out of practice one—and serves as Finance & Administration Manager for Bloomington Early Music. This is the third year in a row that he is bringing his ink & quills skills to BLEMF for this most popular workshop, so reserve your spot early!
5:00pm | Public Screening
with Pre-Concert Discussion
Patricia García Gil
Music for a Nation, “by a Lady”
(Ithaca, NY/Madrid, Spain) Internationally accomplished historical keyboardist Patricia García Gil explores Parlor Music—a genre in which those of “the fair sex” were meant to charm rather than to dazzle—throughout the first century of the United States. Moving from the earliest piano music written by American women veiled as “A Lady” or “A Young Lady,” to more sophisticated works by recognized American women composers, to South American women composers who through influence and immigration bridged the two continents, Gil brilliantly links women’s parlor culture to a rising public virtuosity most often reserved for men.
Pre-Concert Discussion screened at the start of the program, between Patricia and Glenda Goodman, Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and specialist in American music of the 17th and 18th centuries.
Patrica García Gil is a BLEM Emerging Artist.
Monroe County Public Library Auditorium
303 E. Kirkwood Avenue
Available May 26th on BLEM’s YouTube channel
SPONSORED BY SUZANNE RYAN MELAMED & DANIEL R. MELAMED
7:00pm | Live Concert
BLEMF Community Showcase
Bloomington Musicians Take the Stage!
Our Community Showcase line-up is one show-stopper after another! Come hear the stunning harmonies of the Ukrainian heartland, the striking ardor of love songs from Aleppo, and the eternal beauty of the music of John Dowland, honoring the 400th anniversary of his death. Join, then, in our annual Sing-Along, before heading to Zimmerman's coffee house in Bach’s Leipzig for some rousing tunes! And end the evening with a blast of Old Time music in an extraordinary display.
Here's the line-up!
Traditional Music of Ukraine, IU Slavic Choir
Music of John Dowland, Scott Witzke, lute
Classical Arabic Music & Songs of Aleppo, Fares Sandouri, voice & bendir
Another Great Community Sing-Along! Led by Carolann Buff
Coffee at Zimmerman's, Bloomington Bach Cantata Project with Howell Petty & Steven M. Warnock, voice and Scott Witzke on mandora
Old Time Fiddle & Banjo Uke, Brad Leftwich & Linda Higgenbotham
Come celebrate with your friends & neighbors the astonishing musical community that is Bloomington!
Trinity Episcopal Church
111 S. Grant Street
Livestreamed at www.BLEMF.org
Friday, May 29
2:00pm | Workshop
Tea vs. Coffee!
A Brewing Revolution in Early America
Tea or coffee—which would you choose? In this engaging workshop, explore how these two beverages became symbols of culture, politics, and daily life in early America. Learn about their surprising histories, taste a few varieties, and mix one up to take home and enjoy! Discover how a simple drink could spark debate in a brewing revolution.
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH MOTHER HUBBARD’S CUPBOARD
Led by Steven M. Warnock
Lotus Firebay
105 S. Rogers St
Steven M. Warnock is a classically trained baritone working in a broad range of styles. Warnock performs regularly in operas and musicals, engages with his community through music forward administration and volunteering, and collaborates frequently with composers and creatives to bring new works to life
4:15pm | Documentary Film Premiere
with Pre-Concert Discussion
Rock & Reel
Monticello’s Black Fiddlers
(Charlottesville, VA) This new documentary film tells the story of two families of enslaved and free Black musicians who transformed the soundscape of 19th century Virginia: the Hemings —a trio of enslaved sons of Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson—and their cousins the Scotts—indigenous fiddler Jesse Scott and his three sons and grandson. The music of these family bands resounded throughout the halls of Monticello and in the streets of Charlottesville, for dignitary guests of the former president and for pub-goers along Main Street. In Rock & Reel: Monticello’s Black Fiddlers, premiering at BLEMF 2026, historians piece together the lives and tunes of these influential, under-examined musicians to show that their music was as joyful and infectious as their lives were complicated and difficult. Join us for the film, and then come back Saturdy night for the live concert!
Discussion after the film screening with filmmaker David McCormick & renowned fiddle player Ben Hunter
Lotus Firebay
105 S. Rogers St
CO-SPONSORED BY LINDA HANDELSMAN
This screening is supported by the Arts Midwest GIG Fund, a program of Arts Midwest that is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional contributions from the Indiana Arts Commission.
7:00pm | Live Concert
6:15 | Pre-Concert Discussion
Alchymy Viols
Songbook from Across the Sea: The Sounds of French Louisiana
(Bloomington, IN) Indiana’s own Alchymy Viols offers music from the Ursuline Manuscript, a spiritual songbook gifted from France in 1736 to a convent in New Orleans in the heart of French Louisiana—territory that would later join the United States. Sung in devotion by the Ursuline sisters, its music is by the most reputed French composers of the era—Lully, Campra, Lambert, Marchand, Clérembault—adapted with religious lyrics. In transcriptions by Alchymy artistic director Phil Spray, this concert is a stunning showcase of feminine expression and colonial life in the Louisiana territory.
Pre-concert discussion with Phil Spray, Alchymy Viols artistic director & founder and John Romey, Assistant Professor of Music, Purdue University Fort Wayne and specialist in early modern French music, politics & religion, and historical performance practices.
Trinity Episcopal Church
111 S. Grant Street
Livestreamed at www.BLEMF.org
SPONSORED BY CATHLEEN CAMERON AND BY JAK DOSKOW & JEAN PERSON
CO-SPONSORED BY PAUL BORG AND BY THE DEPARTMENT OF FRENCH & ITALIAN, INDIANA UNIVERSITY
Saturday, May 30
2:00pm | Workshop
The Early American Ballroom
Lessons in Contredanse
Step into the lively world of the early American ballroom and learn the elegant steps of the contredanse, a popular social dance of the 18th century. In partnership with the Bloomington Old Time Music & Dance Group, this workshop introduces the basic figures and rhythms that brought communities together on the dance floor. No prior dance experience is required—just bring comfortable shoes and be ready to move!
Dance Caller - Beverly Francis
Dance Band - Jonathan Whitall & Meg Dedolph
Harmony School
909 E. 2nd Street
A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE BLOOMINGTON OLD TIME MUSIC & DANCE GROUP
CO-SPONSORED BY LINDA HANDELSMAN
Beverly Francis has been dancing up a storm for more than four decades. She was a dancer and caller in New York City for many years and now lives in Ohio. She has called at dances and workshops up and down the East Coast and across the continent and was a staff member at several Pinewoods Dance Camp weeks in Massachusetts. She is inspired by the beauty and variety of country dance music and enjoys helping dancers discover the opportunities for sociability and good humor in dance choreography. Beverly is known for the clarity of her calling and her broad knowledge of dance history. These skills, coupled with a subtle sense of humor and a deep love of dance, enhance her rapport with dancers. Beverly is particularly fond of the novels of Jane Austen and the English country dances of her time.
Jonathan Whitall is an avid, multi-instrumentalist dance musician from Chicago. He brings intricate, energetic and tasteful music to his performances that makes it impossible for you to keep your feet still. Inspired by a variety of British Isle-based traditions, he regularly performs for contras, squares, Irish sets, English country dances, Scottish country dances, and Morris dances. In addition, he has recently started a Balfolk series (French and Breton social dancing).
His current musical endeavors include the Cosmic Otters (Contra/Irish/ECD), Big Brandy (Contra), Chicago Reel (Irish), and Les Rats Mouillés (Balfolk).
5:00pm | Live Concert
The BEMI Players
The 4th Annual Stanley Ritchie Youth Performance
(Bloomington, IN) It’s hard to believe we are already into our fourth year of BEMI! Join us for this beloved annual appearance on the BLEMF mainstage by members of the Bloomington Early Music Immersion program. Hear the always amazing Players showcase new skills and newly discovered talents developed during their week together, where they enjoyed instruction and activities introducing middle-school aged musicians to Baroque era technique and repertoire. A partnership between Bloomington Early Music and the Historical Performance Institute of the Jacobs School of Music, the 2026 BEMI program is once again free to participants and fun for all!
Trinity Episcopal Church
111 S. Grant Street
Livestreamed at www.BLEMF.ORG
A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE HISTORICAL PERFORMANCE INSTITUTE OF THE JACOBS SCHOOL OF MUSIC
AND GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY PSI IOTA XI | BLOOMINGTON THRIFT SHOP
SPONSORED BY LEAH SHOPKOW
CO-SPONSORED BY W.B. PATRICK
7:00pm | Live Concert
6:15 | Pre-Concert Discussion
Early Music Access Project
Tunes & Stories from Monticello
(Charlottesville, VA) Our weeklong commemoration comes to a rousing close with Early Music Access Project’s trio of two fiddles and a storyteller, bringing to life the tales of Pricilla Hemings—enslaved nursemaid to Thomas Jefferson’s household and the aunt of Sally Hemings—interwoven with the thrilling music played by the Hemings and Scott families we learned about at Friday’s film screening. This is a highly original and exciting program rooted in the deeply revered traditions of Black oral narrative and Black string bands that will inspire your heart to sing and your body to dance! Nationally acclaimed storyteller Sheila Arnold and renowned Black fiddler Benjamin Hunter join EMAP’s David McCormick for this very special festival finale.
Pre-concert discussion with David McCormick, EMAP’s Artistic Director and founder, Sheila Arnold, nationally acclaimed storyteller, and Benjamin Irvin, IU Department of History professor and social and cultural historian of early America and the United States
Trinity Episcopal Church
111 S. Grant Street
Livestreamed at www.BLEMF.org
CO-SPONSORED BY LYNN SCHWARTZBERG & PETER HARALOVICH
This concert performance and discussion is supported by the Arts Midwest GIG Fund, a program of Arts Midwest that is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional contributions from the Indiana Arts Commission.
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