Boston Early Music Festival
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Mission Statement
The Boston Early Music Festival (BEMF) is universally recognized as a leader in the field of Early Music. Founded by a group of passionately devoted performers and instrument makers interested in promoting historical performance in the United States, BEMF has grown beyond measure since its first Festival and Exhibition in 1981. BEMF currently presents and produces a wealth of diverse programs and activities, including superb performances of Baroque opera, an annual concert series that brings the field’s brightest stars to the Boston and New York concert stages, the biennial weeklong Festival and Exhibition acknowledged as “the world’s leading festival of early music” (The Times, London), GRAMMY-winning opera recordings, and consummate touring programs. BEMF is honored to have earned its place as North America’s premier presenting organization for music of the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque periods and has secured Boston’s reputation as “America’s early music capital” (The Boston Globe).
About This Cause
About the Boston Early Music Festival The Boston Early Music Festival (BEMF) is universally recognized as a leader in the field of Early Music. Founded by a group of passionately devoted performers and instrument makers interested in promoting historical performance in the United States, BEMF has grown beyond measure since its first Festival and Exhibition in 1981. BEMF currently presents and produces a wealth of diverse programs and activities, including superb performances of Baroque opera, an annual concert series that brings the field’s brightest stars to the Boston and New York concert stages, the biennial weeklong Festival and Exhibition acknowledged as “the world’s leading festival of early music” (The Times, London), GRAMMY-winning opera recordings, and consummate touring programs. BEMF is honored to have earned its place as North America’s premier presenting organization for music of the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque periods and has secured Boston’s reputation as “America’s early music capital” (The Boston Globe). • Baroque Opera Project BEMF’s Baroque Opera Project seeks to unearth lesser-known masterpieces and present them with today’s leading operatic superstars and a wealth of instrumental talent from across the globe. Infused with the latest information on period singing, orchestral performance, scenic design, costuming, dance, and staging, these performances take the form of full-scale spectacle operas, salon-style chamber operas, exceptional concert performances, national and international tours, radio and internet broadcasts, and acclaimed recording projects. BEMF operas reproduce the Baroque’s stunning palette of sound and sight, expertly led by Artistic Directors Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs, and creatively reimagined for the stage by Opera Director Gilbert Blin. BEMF’s ability to research, design, and produce extraordinary Baroque opera and to attract the best musicians from around the world has made the BEMF brand synonymous with quality and excellence in Early Music. • Celebrated Concerts In 1989, BEMF established an annual concert series bringing Early Music’s brightest stars to the Boston concert stage. With a focus on presenting the community’s most cherished and respected artists, BEMF is also committed to promoting the industry’s most promising new talents. BEMF expanded its concert series in 2006, when it extended its performances to The Morgan Library & Museum in New York City, providing “a shot in the arm for New York’s relatively modest early-music scene” (The New York Times). In November of 2008, BEMF introduced the Chamber Opera Series as a regular feature of the annual season, to present the wealth of smaller operas composed during the Baroque period, while providing a broader local audience the opportunity to experience one of BEMF’s superb productions. • Biennial Festival and World-famous Exhibition The biennial Festival and Exhibition takes place in Boston in odd-numbered years, and is a weeklong extravaganza gathering over 17,500 music lovers for Early Music concerts, a centerpiece opera and chamber opera, a trade show, lectures, performance masterclasses, and much more. BEMF regularly receives international praise for its sophistication, thoroughness, and exemplary artistry, and was recognized by The Times of London as “the world’s leading festival of early music.” Some of the most thrilling moments at the Festival occur during one of the more than two dozen concerts presented around the clock, including the acclaimed Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra led by Orchestra Director Robert Mealy, and once-in-a-lifetime collaborations and programs by the spectacular array of talent assembled for the week’s events. The nerve center of the biennial Festival, the Exhibition, is the largest trade show of its kind in North America, showcasing early instrument makers, music publishers, service organizations, schools, and more. Hundreds of professional musicians, students, and enthusiasts come from around the world to purchase instruments, restock their libraries, learn about recent musicological developments, and renew old friendships. • Recording Project With the goal of capturing the exceptional work of the Baroque Opera Project, BEMF initiated an effort to record its acclaimed Baroque Operas in 2005. This commitment to preservation has produced eight celebrated recordings and attracted the attention of the international community in the form of numerous awards and accolades, including five GRAMMY nominations in ten years and a GRAMMY Award for Best Opera Recording for our 2014 CD release of Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s La Descente d’Orphée aux Enfer and La Couronne de Fleurs. BEMF recordings have also been nominated for—and won—ECHO Klassik awards, Gramophone awards, the Diapason d’Or de l’Année, and Gramophone Magazine’s Recording of the Month. • Touring and Colleague Collaborations BEMF is committed to expanding its outreach beyond the local audience in the northeast United States to broader national and international communities. BEMF regularly partners with local and regional colleagues to offer opera and concerts in western Massachusetts, a thriving concert series in New York City, and numerous lectures, recitals, and presentations with performing arts organizations, local schools, and community centers. Internationally, BEMF has presented programs at various locations in Canada, as well as throughout Europe. • Young Artists Training Program Inaugurated in 2011, the Boston Early Music Festival’s Young Artists Training Program nurtures talented young artists through training and performance opportunities. The program offers an invaluable chance to experience and participate in the creation of a Baroque opera production—in addition to appearing in BEMF operas as a supernumerary, each young artist learns an assigned role, follows all of the musical and stage rehearsals for that part, and receives coaching from BEMF’s internationally acclaimed directorial team. This serves as an important step in the evolution of young artists in their early careers—the development of young artists and the elevation of their talents are essential components of the mission of the program, and it has been very successful in that regard: a number of participants have subsequently returned to perform featured roles in our opera productions. While BEMF’s Young Artists Training Program has invited only singers and dancers to participate to date, it is envisioned that other artists—instrumentalists and directors—may be incorporated into the program in future seasons. • Internship Program The Boston Early Music Festival Internship Program offers a rare opportunity for students and young professionals to work closely with one of North America’s preeminent performing arts organizations. During each biennial Festival, interns are enlisted to aid in the areas of opera production and direction, stage management, orchestra management, and executive and administrative support. Interns also support the annual Chamber Opera Series productions. These unique and crucial roles offer total immersion in the world of performing arts management, and have successfully prepared interns for the fast-paced environment they will encounter later on in their careers. Many of BEMF’s past interns have gone on to find success as both artists and administrators in the performing arts community.