Piffaro, The Renaissance Band

Piffaro, The Renaissance Band

Piffaro, the nation’s finest Renaissance Band, enjoys a dynamic full year season performing both nationally and abroad in a variety of public and private functions. Its excellent artistry, presented always in a relaxed and approachable style, brings its historically informed presentations alive. Join us at home or while traveling. Or purchase one of our many CDs, and bring Piffaro’s lively sound right into your home. Check out our fantastic educational videos, and ask about our new educational programs in Philadelphia!

Concerts in Philadelphia :: Current Season

On Tour with Piffaro :: U.S. and Abroad

CDs :: Full Discography :: Purchase

Education Videos :: What’s a Sackbut, Anyway?

Piffaro :: Concerts, Tours, Recordings, Education & Research

A Philadelphia Treasure

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Piffaro, with guest singers from the Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia and additional brass players on cornettos and sackbuts, presented a serene and earthy Portuguese Advent Vespers this past weekend in Chestnut Hill, Center City Philadelphia, and in Wilmington, DE. Attendees of the American Musicological Society’s Annual Meeting were especially enthusiastic to experience the artistry of this historically informed presentation.

Upcoming show :: Piffaro’s December “Christmas in Renaissance Spain” featuring soprano Laura Heimes.  December 18 – 21 – Chestnut Hill, Center City Philadelphia, Wilmington DE , and Princeton NJ.

Tickets at 215-235-8469 or email carolyn@piffaro.com.

Correct dates and venues for the Friday and Saturday concerts in our upcoming December Concert Series, below. Alas, there was an error in our brochure sent out in September, so please check.

Friday, December 18 :: Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill

Saturday, December 19 :: St. Mark’s in Center City Philadelphia

Check out the Education tab for Piffaro’s brand new educational web site. There, you’ll find video segments of Piffaro members talking about the instruments, audio samples, and history of the Renaissance Wind Band.

Find the Education tab above, or just click here.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/david_patrick_stearns/20090331_What_do_women_want__Go_ask_Chaucer.html
Posted Tue. Mar. 31, 2009

What do women want? Go ask Chaucer

By David Patrick Stearns
Inquirer Classical Music Critic

Wendy Steiner

NEW YORK – Centuries collided last weekend in a smallish room in Chelsea Studios, where some of the biggest names in the early-music movement – from Anonymous 4 to Piffaro to soprano Julianne Baird – were collaborating in ways they’d never attempted.

The occasion was a rehearsal for the new Chaucer-inspired opera The Loathly Lady, premiering tomorrow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Irvine Auditorium. It requires musical specialists from a number of distant eras but sees them through a distinctly 21st-century lens.

“Can we make shawms and rebecs play a tango? I think we just did – and with such joy,” said conductor Gary Thor Wedow during a break. “It was like they’re playing hooky.”

Read more »

Vespers

The long-anticipated recording of Kile Smith’s VESPERS with Piffaro and The Crossing is available now at piffaro.org.

This work, written by Kile Smith and commissioned for Piffaro, was such a success in concert, that we just had to make the recording! You asked for it. Here it is!! Purchase your copy from Piffaro’s web site.

Last summer, music critic David Patrick Stearns stopped in on one of our recording sessions for a sneak peak. Listen to his interview on WRTI’s Creatively Speaking.

Watch a video about the recording, courtesy of WRTI.org, on Piffaro’s Facebook page.

And, of course, order your copy TODAY from Piffaro’s website, or by clicking this button:

Help to make future recordings like this one possible by making a contribution to Piffaro online at piffaro.com or by clicking this button:

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Vespers is being released by PARMA Recordings classical imprint Navona Records. Navona is distributed by Naxos and the CD will be released in stores everywhere on Tuesday, April 28. For more info visit www.navonarecords.com.

Upcoming events for Piffaro:

Feb. 13-15, Venice, Paris & Lyons: Centers of Music Publishing in the 16th c.

Mar. 7, Recital: 2007 and 2009 Young Recorder Players Competition winners

May 8-10, Harmony of the Spheres: A Celebration of Celestial Inspiration

Where's Piffaro?

Piffaro’s touring calendar is now posted under “Concerts” (or just click here).

This weekend, Piffaro joins Parthenia, Consort of Viols in New York City for a concert sponsored by the Miller Theater at Columbia University. Piffaro is pleased to be joined by Rainer Beckmann for this concert. Read about him after the jump –> Read more »

Piffaro’s second competition for young recorder players, ages 12 to18, was held on Saturday, January 10, 2009, at the Settlement Music School in Philadelphia.

The Performers

Five finalists, chosen on the basis of tapes that they submitted in November, performed before a small, but enthusiastic and supportive audience.  A smattering of snow and ice kept some people away who otherwise would have attended, although the finalists had no trouble reaching Philadelphia from distant snow capitals of the country – Denver, Minneapolis and Chicago! Read more »

manuscript image

Piffaro program notes are now available online. So read the notes now, and spend the time before the concert sociallizing instead of reading. (and maybe showing off how much you know about the music and the wonderful manuscript the on which the December concert is based!)