Chicago ARS

05/13/2026

Join us on May 17th for our Spring Concert to celebrate the close of our 2025-2026 recorder season!

Spring Concert on May 17 at 2 PM.

All are invited to perform, or just listen and enjoy, and all types of music are welcome.
After the concert, stay for refreshments, followed by group playing.
Whether performing or not, all are welcome!

Meeting location: St. John’s Episcopal Church, 3857 N Kostner Ave, Chicago.

If you would like to play in the program, please contact us ASAP.

05/11/2026

The May issue of Recorder Reporter is out.
Full with news of recent meetings of the Chicago Chapter, West Suburban Early Music Society and the Recorder Orchestra of the Midwest. Don’t miss it.

04/17/2026

Sunday, April 19, 2:00 PM: Join us to play your recorder in our monthly meeting.

Lisette Kielson will lead us in our dress rehearsal for the spring concert in May. We will run, in order, Handel’s Sarabande, Williams’ My Bonny Boy, Gabrieli’s Alla Battaglia, and Lully’s Chaconne. We will have time to rehearse a few selected spots. More music-playing will follow Lisette’s program!

For access to the music: please contact us.
Meeting location: St. John’s Episcopal Church, 3857 N Kostner Ave, Chicago. Use entry on Byron Street.
https://chicagorecorders.org/2026/03/27/join-us-on-april-19th-to-welcome-the-warm-chicago-weather-and-prepare-for-may/

Please feel free to join us, even if you don’t plan to appear in the May concert! All are welcome!

04/13/2026

Members of the Chicago Recorder Society performed at St. John's Episcopal Church (home of our monthly rehearsals) this morning. The congregation gave us a warm welcome!

04/03/2026

Our newsletter, Recorder Reporter, April 2026, is now available. It includes a very nice article about the March meeting, directed by David Echelard from Minnesota.

“The idea of the meeting was to play the recorder with an understanding of how a singer makes music, how the singer breathes and opens his or her throat to form vowels.”

Check it out!

03/06/2026

Join us on March 15th to welcome Spring with a little polyphonic music!

On March 15th David Echelard presents: “The Art of the Motet ; Exploring the Stile Antico”. This is the pure, balanced, woven style of music that made the 16th century the golden age of polyphony. We’ll work through the masterpieces of four giants who defined this sound: Willaert, Lassus, Victoria, and Palestrina. For recorder players, this will be an exercise of playing the recorder with an awareness of how a singer sings, focusing on vocalized articulation, using the underlying text vowels and consonants of the motets to dictate our tonguing, phrasing, and breathing.

March 15 from 2:00 – 5:00 PM
At: St. John’s Episcopal Church, 3857 N Kostner Ave, Chicago (Entrance on Byron Street)
Please contact us for the music.
Please join us in March for this great opportunity to delve into the wonderful polyphony of the Renaissance! All are welcome

For more news: see https://chicagorecorders.org/
Don’t miss the March newsletter, with a description of classes byDavid Echelard at the Early Music Festival at Whitewater WI:https://chicagorecorders.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/march-2026.pdf

02/26/2026

Are there any animal loving recorder players who would be interested in this? It's not often that recorder players are included when people are looking for musicians.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1FnGWubtmR/

🎶 CACC Sound Sessions - Now Scheduling More Musicians 🎶

After several pilot sessions, the feedback around CACC Sound Sessions has been absolutely incredible. We’ve heard from musicians, families, and community members across the city, and we’re excited to continue growing this program.

We’re also grateful to share that the The Rosenthal Family Foundation, one of our partners, will be helping coordinate performers for upcoming sessions. Their support is helping ensure this initiative continues in a thoughtful, organized way that benefits both the animals at Chicago Animal Care and Control and the musicians who participate. 💙

This program is open to musicians of all ages, with a priority on youth and student performers when possible. Participants provide acoustic, gentle, quiet music in our pavilions and designated areas to help create a calm, low-stress environment for our animals.

🎻 Appropriate instruments include:
Violin, viola, cello, acoustic guitar, soft piano, recorder, and light vocals.

🚫 Please note: No brass instruments, percussion, amplified music, or high-volume playing.

Whether you’re a student looking for a place to practice, or an adult musician looking to share your talents in a meaningful way, this program creates space where:

• Animals receive soothing enrichment
• Musicians can play with purpose
• Our community comes together

📍 2741 S Western Ave
📩 To participate, please email: [email protected]

02/08/2026

Join us for our ‘Halfway to Summer’ music-fest
On Sunday, February 15, at 2:00PM

At February’s meeting with Lisette Kielson, we will sightread Andrea Gabrieli’s 8-part Alla Battaglia and confirm & rehearse the pieces we’ll be playing in the May Concert (R.V. Williams/Lully/Handel/Gabrieli).

More music-playing (Ciconia, Shannon!) will follow Lisette’s program!

For music for February, please contact us.
Meeting location: St. John’s Episcopal Church, 3857 N Kostner Ave, Chicago
https://chicagorecorders.org/2026/01/27/join-us-for-our-halfway-to-summer-music-fest-on-february-18/

Please feel free to join us, even if you don’t plan to appear in the May concert! All are welcome!

02/03/2026

Here is our February newsletter. It’s full of news about both the Chicago chapter and West Suburban Early Music Society – and its members.
Don't forget the next meeting: February 15th

01/17/2026

You are invited to our January Chicago Recorders meeting
Sunday, January 18, 2026 (tomorrow)
From 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM
At the Rectory of St. John’s Episcopal Church, 3849 North Kostner Avenue, next to the church where we usually meet.

Lisette Kielson plans to rehearse for our annual performance, the Spring Concert in May. Bring your inégal for Lully’s Chaconne des Africains; your arpeggiated technique for V. Williams’ My Bonny Boy; and your most beautiful tone for Handel’s Sarabande. We’ll need one sopranino for each piece! Contact us for access to the music, if you don’t have access yet.

And more music in the 3rd hour, following Lisette’s program!

See our latest newsletter herehttps://chicagorecorders.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/january-2026.pdf

Please feel free to join us in January, even if you don’t plan to appear in the May concert! All are welcome!