Connecticut Early Music Festival Spans Centuries of Music Across Multiple Towns

NEW LONDON, CT – The Connecticut Early Music Society (CEMS) will present its 2026 Festival from June 6–21, featuring six concerts with music from the 14th century to today.

Artistic Director Ian Watson promised the series will deliver “both historical insight and a truly moving musical experience.”

The festival opens June 6 at the Chester Meeting House in Chester with Ensemble Origo – Saravanda! Dances of New Spain, exploring the cross-cultural origins of the sarabande and chaconne with music and live dance demonstration.

On June 7, Baroque Remix – Reimagining Bach and Pergolesi will be performed at Harkness Chapel at Connecticut College in New London, presenting theatrical reinterpretations of works by J.S. Bach and G.B. Pergolesi.

The June 13 program at St. Ann’s Parish in Old Lyme features Blue Heron performing a medieval French songbook spanning Machaut to Okeghem. On June 14 at the Red Barn at Mitchell College in New London, Seven Times Salt traces early American music from colonial settlement through the Revolutionary era.

The festival continues June 20 at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Niantic with New England Baroque, pairing Bach and Vivaldi with a contemporary work by Caroline Shaw. The series concludes June 21 at Evans Hall at Connecticut College with Mozart’s Requiem (K. 626) and Ave Verum Corpus alongside Rachmaninoff’s Bogoroditse Devo, performed by the CEMS orchestra and chorus under Ian Watson.

All performances begin at 5 p.m., and seating is general admission.

Tickets range from $20 to $45, with free admission for students. A six-concert subscription offers savings equivalent to one free concert, and a three-concert mini-series package is also available. Visit the Connecticut Early Music Society website for more information and to purchase tickets.