Early Music Singers
The Stanford Early Music Singers is a select chamber choir dedicated to reviving music of the medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque eras, directed by Eric Tuan. Dedicated to cultivating the art of vocal chamber music, the choir offers opportunities for solo and small-group singing. Participation is open to both students and community members by audition.
2025-2026 Season:
Winter Quarter: Imperial Polyphonies
In the winter we’ll explore music from Guatemala and Mexico, including music in the indigenous languages of Quechua and Nahuatl; a reconstruction of a service against plague from the choirbooks of Guatemala City Cathedral; and sacred works by indigenous composer Juan de Lienas.
Spring Quarter: Reflections
In the spring we’ll trace the stylistic influence of early music on contemporary composers ranging from Benjamin Britten to Arvo Pärt.
Auditions
Auditions for the Early Music Singers will take place from Friday, September 19 through Wednesday, September 24. Signups for auditions for all ensembles can be accessed via the choral audition intake webform.
Key Dates
The Early Music Singers rehearse on Wednesday evenings from 7:00 - 9:00 PM. Optional small group rehearsals take place from 9:00 - 9:30 pm after rehearsal.
Winter Quarter:
Wednesday, 7 January 2026: First rehearsal for winter quarter
Tuesday, 10 March 2026: Winter concert dress rehearsal
Wednesday, 11 March 2026: Winter concert
Spring Quarter:
Wednesday, 1 April 2026: First rehearsal for spring quarter
Tuesday, 2 June 2026: Spring concert dress rehearsal
Wednesday, 3 June 2026: Spring concert
Attendance Policy
Please note that excellent attendance is vital to the success of the group. Absences will be excused only for reasons of personal health, family emergency, or events of an equally serious nature. Members are expected to limit absences to no more than one per quarter. Missing more than one rehearsal will necessitate a part check with the director in order to perform in the concert, and may cause a lowering of the final letter grade.
Listserv Instructions
Go to this URL in a browser: https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/early-music
You will see instructions for joining the list, as well as a description of its etiquette. Appropriate messages to this list pertain to the Early Music Singers: coordinate rehearsal, performance, or social activities; or share information of interest to the group. Please do not send messages of a commercial or marketing nature to our list.
Members with a non-Stanford email address (one that does not end in "@stanford.edu") will need to create a password for themselves.
Follow the instructions and click on "subscribe". Please do not select "digested" as that will delay your receiving messages.
Please contact rleigh [at] stanford.edu (Rowen in the Music Office) or mwpalm [at] stanford.edu (Miriam) if you have questions.
Once you are a member of the list, you can send messages to it using this address: early-music [at] lists.stanford.edu (early-music[at]lists[dot]stanford[dot]edu). Some messages with attachments may be delayed for review by the list managers.
Photo/Video/Audio Consent
The Choral Studies Program now asks all participants in ensembles to consent to the use of photographs, video and audio recordings at rehearsals and concerts, for publicity purposes.
Matriculated students (undergrad and graduate) need to enroll in EMS on Axess, even if you are not taking it for credit. There is now a zero-unit enrollment option. The policy and steps for this option are on the Music Department website. The student form includes the consent described above.
Students will need to follow this policy each quarter they participate.
Community members who sing in EMS need to sign and submit a photo/video/audio consent waiver. The form and complete information on the policy is located here. This is a one-time submission.
Please review these forms and instructions, and submit them within two weeks of the first quarter's rehearsal.