Piffaro Recorder Fest 2026 • March 7, 2026 • Philadelphia, PA
The Piffaro Recorder Fest is an annual celebration of the recorder, bringing recorder enthusiasts of all levels together in one space, sharing the joy of music and reminding everyone why making music together feels so good. Held this year in Philadelphia’s Rock Hall at Temple University, Recorder Fest 2026 included coaching for soloists and chamber ensembles led by Priscilla Herreid and Joan Kimball, accompanied by Grant Herreid, a Play-In led by Priscilla Herreid which was open to all, and culminated in a recital featuring groups from elementary and high schools, teen-aged soloists and ensembles, videos performances from across the country, and enthusiastic adult performers.
The event began with coaching sessions for the performers. Piffaro Artistic Director Priscilla Herreid, founder Joan Kimball, and Grant Herreid led the soloists and small chamber ensembles in a mini masterclass to polish their performances. This was an open “dress rehearsal”, so all were able to learn about phrasing, alternate fingering, and intonation concerns as the professionals offered insights and tips to improve performance.
The Play-In exemplifies exactly what this festival exists to ignite, a reminder that everyone can enjoy playing the recorder. Recitalists and audience members came together to learn from Ms. Herreid and one another. This set the communal tone that continued in the recital.
This recital is unlike many performances: it is something better! Recorder players at all stages of development, from beginners to accomplished professionals, all performing on the same stage in the same program. The families of the young musicians filled the auditorium with encouragement and warmth, and fans of traditional and early music got treated to lively performances and awesome virtuosity.
Several performers returned from previous years to the Recorder Fest stage, including Corvin Fuchs-Orsher, Knox Seabolt and Gregory Weaver, the adult ensemble Musica Sophia, duet partners Barbara Stark and David Lawrence, and the Mt. Pleasant High School Early Music Ensemble, led by Brian Drumbore. For fans of Recorder Fest, seeing performers come back year after year, and watching the progress of student performers, is part of the magic of the event. Videos by David Brown, Maple Sun and Vinayek Vikram showcased their continued developing virtuosity.
An exciting new group premiered this evening: the Esperanza Elementary Charter School Recorder Ensemble in their debut performance! Led by Piffaro Board member Miriam Arbelo, this enthusiastic group of beginning recorder players is the result of an inspiring collaboration between Piffaro and Esperanza. Ms. Arbelo began teaching these students in October, and they have taken to their Flauta Dulce classes with energy and delight. They opened the recital with their own composition and two traditional melodies. After performing, they wanted to do it again. This is the magic of Recorder Fest; fostering and encouraging a love for the recorder and making music that will last a lifetime.
Other performers making their Recorder Fest debut included Deirdre Lopresti, who performed in a quartet with Knox Seabolt, Corvin Fuchs-Orsher and Joan Kimball, as well as a low consort quartet, The Greenwood Players. Julia Lipkis, Lane Neubauer, Julie Senecoff and Charles Gabriel performed on a Sigo tenor, bass and great bass, and Paetzold contrabass recorder, providing the audience with a chance to experience recent developments in recorder technology.
Everyone was treated to a delightful display of virtuosity and musical communication when Priscilla and Grant Herreid performed on recorder and lute, and were then joined by Knox Seabolt in a Purcell Chaconne. The evening ended with a reception provided by the Philadelphia Recorder Society, one of the largest chapters of the American Recorder Society. Parents, siblings, students, performers and audience members got to talk and mingle, and the electricity in the air was contagious.
For four consecutive years, Piffaro’s Recorder Fest has been doing something no other event in the region does: bringing professional and amateur musicians, children and families together around live early music and folk traditions, featuring the recorder. This grew out of Piffaro’s Recorder Competitions for middle and high school performers, which, throughout the 2000’s, was held regularly in Philadelphia, and continued online through a virtual version in 2022. The recorder is one of the oldest instruments that still lives and breathes today, and Recorder Fest promotes the tradition of sharing music with people from all backgrounds and levels of experience.
