Join us to make music together in our first full-day workshop of the autumn. Singers and instrumentalists will work together on sacred and secular music from the Renaissance period, on the theme of "regretz" and departures. Our guest MD for the day is John Bryan, an early music specialist and a very experienced tutor and workshop leader.

Singers, recorders and other early winds, viols, modern and baroque strings are all welcome - and other instruments may be possible. We will play at A440.  Advance registration is essential, to ensure that we have appropriate music for everyone! 

When and where? Saturday 3rd October 2026, 10.00am to 4.30pm, Broughton St Mary's Church, 12 Bellevue Cres, Edinburgh EH3 6NE. There is free on-street parking in the local area and bus stops close by. Waverley train station is within approx 15 minutes' walk.  There is an accessible entrance at the back of the building and a small passenger lift giving access to the foyer and the main church.  Please let us know on the registration form if you have any accessibility requirements.

The format of the day: singers and instrumentalists will work together all day. Please note that we will not split into separate groups in the morning for this workshop. There will be short morning and afternoon breaks and a longer lunch break, during which the EMFS AGM will take place. 

About John Bryan : John is a professional viol player and a member of the Rose Consort of Viols. He has performed with other early music groups including Consort of Musicke, Musica Antiqua of London and I Fagiolini. John was Head of Music and Drama at the University of Huddersfield, where he is now an Emeritus Professor of Music. He is an artistic adviser to York Early Music Festival; a founder of the North East Early Music Forum; and chair of the Viola da Gamba Society. And of course, he enjoys leading workshops in early music!

Who is it for? We will be working from printed vocal scores and instrumental parts. Singers should have some choral sight-singing experience, but you don't need to have sung early music before. Instrumentalists should be willing to sight-read, and it will help if you have some experience of playing in a conducted ensemble. Suitable instruments include viols, modern and baroque strings, oboes, recorders and other early winds. Other instruments may be possible - if in doubt, please ask us by filling in that section of the registration form. We will be playing and singing at A440.

What does it cost? The participant fee is £32 for EMFS members and £37 for non-members. A concession fee of £16 is available at personal discretion.

Music pdfs will be circulated by email in advance of the workshop - we ask you to print and bring your music if possible. Hard copies will be available on the day for those who request this on the registration form.

Tea, coffee and biscuits at breaks are included in your fee. Please bring your own cup or mug - it saves on the washing-up! If you have any allergies or specific dietary needs, please let us know on the form.

PLEASE REGISTER BY SUNDAY 13TH SEPTEMBER, TO ALLOW US TIME TO ALLOCATE & PREPARE INSTRUMENTAL PARTS. THANK YOU!