A Project of the Anacortes Arts Foundation
2026-2027 Concert Series
Anacortes Early Music (AEM) concerts take place at the Croatian Cultural Center, 801 5th Street in Anacortes and begin promptly at 7:00 PM. Doors open at 6:30 PM. Concerts are $30 per person, cash or check at the door, with students under 18 years of age admitted free.
Season Reservations available NOW – just $150:
Buy 5 concerts and get the 6th one FREE.
Click here for Season Reservation details…
A season reservation subscription is available for $150 per person for all six concerts. Please note, the August 28 season kick-off concert is NOT included in the subscription. A season reservation guarantees a seat in a reserved seating section for all concerts (specific seats will not be reserved, just within the section). Reserved seats will be released to general audience seating at 6:50 PM. If you have any questions, please email AnacortesEarlyMusic@Gmail.com, or fill out the Contact Form below.
To purchase a season reservation, send a check made out to Anacortes Arts Foundation, with AEM in the memo line. Reservations are $150 per person. Checks sould be mailed to:
Anacortes Arts Foundation, Attention Barbara King
801 5th Street
Anacortes, WA 98221
Concert Details for the 2026-2027 season
2026-2027 Season Kick-off Concert*
Bach and Dall’Abaco Cello Recital
Friday, August 28, 2026
Seattle native, Montréal-based cellist Elinor Frey will perform a solo cello recital as a 2026-2027 season kick-off celebration. At the heart of the repertoire of nearly all cellists, Bach’s six cello suites are among the most appreciated works of music lovers around the world. The inspired polyphony in the suites, created by harmonies and melodies intertwined, showcases Bach’s wonderful compositional techniques that intrigue the ear at every moment. The cellist Giuseppe Clemente Dall’Abaco was also a respected virtuoso living in Bonn Germany, during the generation of Bach’s sons. His solo caprices bring out the natural beauty of the cello’s tone and are full of singing melodies with the lightness of folk songs.
Champagne and dessert reception to follow.
*Please note, this concert is not included in the season reservation ticket package of 6 concerts for price of 5.
Tears & Smiles – Viol Consort with Lute
Friday, September 25, 2026
John Dowland’s Lachrimae (Seaven Teares) weaves a tapestry of resonant, intertwining voices, where sorrow and beauty meet in haunting, timeless conversation. And yet, within the shadows of grief, a quiet joy emerges – a wry, knowing smile that whispers of hope and brighter days to come. Bringing this extraordinary program to life is a full-viol consort plus lute: Eva Lymenstull, Adaiha MacAdam-Sommer, Caroline Nicholas, Annabeth Shirley, and Sarah Stone, with Kevin Payne, lute.
The Classical Voice
Friday, November 20, 2026
This concert features the vocal works of Franz Schubert arranged for string quartet alongside the string quartets of Maddalena Lombardini, one of the first women to write string quartets. Skyros Quartet has commissioned an opera about the life of Lombardini and will showcase excerpts from this new, exciting opera for Anacortes music lovers. Soprano Linda Tsatsanis joins the Skyros Quartet: Sarah Pizzichemi and Brandon Vance, violins; Justin Kurys, viola; and Timothy Pizzichemi, cello.
Canova Winds
Friday, January 22, 2027
Canova Winds, a wind quintet performing on period instruments, presents a French-themed concert around two composers working during the French Revolution (1789-1799): Francois Devienne and Anton Reicha. Support for the American Revolution was a partial reason for the social, economic, and political upset in France. Be prepared for some battlefield and patriotic music that is both fresh and strikingly old. Performers are Joshua Romatowski, flute; Curtis Foster, oboe; Elise Bonivert, clarinet; Anna Marsh, bassoon; and Burke Anderson, horn.
Evening in the Palace of Reason
Friday, February 26, 2027
This program will take you on the sonic tale of music history’s most significant “bring your dad to work week”: the elder Johann Sebastian Bach visiting his successful son, Carl Philip Emmanuel, at the court of Emperor Frederick the Great in Berlin in 1747. Drawing on research from John Gaines’ book, we will encounter the musical world that JS Bach himself would have heard when he left the university town of Leipzig for the grandeur of the Prussian imperial court. We’ll finish the journey with one of the most intricate musical creations JS Bach ever composed: his incredible trio sonata from The Musical Offering. Featuring Lindsey Strand-Polyak, violin; with additional performers TBA.
Gaiety & Gravitas
Friday, April 23, 2027
Together, Haydn’s String Quartet Op. 33 (#2 – “The Joke”) and Beethoven’s Op. 95 (#11 – “Serioso”) invite listeners into a world where wit and intensity coexist. From Haydn’s playful, teasing surprises to Beethoven’s brooding, restless energy, this program celebrates the full spectrum of human expression – where gravity and humor dance in perfect balance. Performers will be Aisslinn Nosky and Adam LaMotte, violins; Maureen Murchie, viola; and Nathan Whittaker, cello.
The Smallest Operas in the World – Chamber Contatas
Friday, May 14, 2027
With no sets, no costumes, and all the drama, this concert will present music of George Frederic Handel, Alessandro Scarlatti, and Elizabeth Claude Jacquet de la Guerre. Chamber cantatas are a vast legacy of intimate operas in miniature – packing deep human drama and spectacular virtuosity into compact storytelling and performing forces. Sometimes secular, sometimes sacred, yet always stunning. Featuring Lindsey Strand-Polyak, violin; and additional performers TBA.
PAST CONCERTS – 2026/2027 Season (to be updated as the season progresses…)
About AEM
The Anacortes Early Music Concert Series is a project of the Anacortes Arts Foundation and has brought historically informed performances featuring world-renowned musicians and rising stars to Anacortes for almost two decades. Historically informed performance (period performance) is an approach in Western music which adheres to the knowledge, as it is currently known, of the instruments and performance practice of the period in which the music was conceived. Access to examples of earlier musical instruments and historical treatises are the basis on which period performance is formed. Instruments corresponding to the period of the music being performed are used, as well as techniques and aesthetics of the period.
Click here to learn more about the anacortes arts foundation.
Anacortes Early Music Concert Series
Barbara P. King, Chairperson
Barbara King is a retired professional church organist, harpsichordist, and pianist. Ms. King was a longtime leader in the American Guild of Organists, the Western Early KeyBoard Association, and music teacher organizations in Ohio and California. Prior to moving to Anacortes she was harpsichordist with the Southern California Harmonia Baroque.
To Support the Anacortes Early Music Concert Series
Concert admissions at the door cannot cover the costs of the high level programming presented by Anacortes Early Music. Donations make it possible. Please mail your donation, made out to the Anacortes Arts Foundation, to 801 Fifth St, Anacortes WA 98221. Note in the memo line that the donation is for the Anacortes Early Music series. Thank you for your much appreciated support!
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Anacortes Early Music is a Project of the Anacortes Arts Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit.
anacortesearlymusic[at]gmail.com
Anacortes Early Music 