California
National Road Scholar Recorder/Early Music Workshop
Program No. 6254RJ
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National Road Scholar Recorder/Early Music Workshop
National Road Scholar Recorder/Early Music Workshop
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Program
At a Glance
Duration
7 days
Program Begins
Carmel Valley, CA
Program Concludes
Carmel Valley, CA
Meals
16 (
6B, 5L, 5D
)
Activity Level
From
1,499Revel in the lyrical sounds of the recorder, viola da gamba and harpsichord as you share your musical gifts during a week-long intensive early music workshop. Enhance your skills in small classes taught by expert instructors with emphasis on improving technique and playing with ensembles. At Hidden Valley Music Seminars, An Institute of the Arts, nestled amongst oak and buckeye trees below majestic hillsides, enjoy a serene and inspiring place for playing music.
Best of all, you'll...
- Improve your musical talents with instruction from seasoned professional performers.
- Rehearse for ensemble performances with your fellow musicians.
- Delight in musical arrangements that include compositions from the medieval through baroque periods.
General Notes
This program is for intermediate to advanced recorder and viola da gamba players. Recorder players must be able to play at least two sizes (at least one F instrument and one C instrument). The November 1, 2026 program includes dulcian and shawm. The dulcian and shawm programs are open by audition. Please contact the workshop director at tishberlin@sbcglobal.net to arrange an online audition. The 2026 musical theme is Music from Spain and England from the Middle Ages on, as well as music of the New World and Netherlands. Specific class offerings differ by date and will be posted 6 weeks before the program begins. Due to the nature of this program, listening devices are not available. The Retreat Difference: This unique, often basic and no-frills experience at a Road Scholar Retreat includes opportunities for early morning exercise, interaction with the local community for insight into local life, locally sourced meals, and a live performance or event.
Featured Expert
All Experts
Letitia Berlin
Letitia Berlin plays recorder with Calextone, the Bertamo Trio, and Farallon Recorder Quartet. She has performed as a soloist with the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and North Carolina Baroque Orchestra. Tish received her master’s of art in early music performance practices with a concentration in recorder. As co-director of Tibia Adventures in Music, she organizes workshops across the U.S and Europe. She co-directs Hidden Valley’s Early Music Road Scholar program. She will soon be the co-executive directors of the Amherst Early Music Festival.
Please Note:
This expert may not be available for every date of the program
Please Note:
These experts may not be available for every date of the program
Letitia Berlin
Letitia Berlin plays recorder with Calextone, the Bertamo Trio, and Farallon Recorder Quartet. She has performed as a soloist with the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and North Carolina Baroque Orchestra. Tish received her master’s of art in early music performance practices with a concentration in recorder. As co-director of Tibia Adventures in Music, she organizes workshops across the U.S and Europe. She co-directs Hidden Valley’s Early Music Road Scholar program. She will soon be the co-executive directors of the Amherst Early Music Festival.
Frances Blaker
Frances Blaker performs on recorders of all types and sizes as a soloist and with Ensemble Vermillian, Farallon Recorder Quartet, Calextone, Sitka Trio and Tibia Recorder Duo. As a member of Ensemble Vermillian she performs and records chamber music of the 17th and 18th centuries. She has performed throughout the U. S., Denmark, England, France, Italy and the Netherlands. She is conductor and music director of the North Carolina Baroque Orchestra, and of BABO (Bay Area Baroque Orchestra), a community orchestra for accomplished amateur players.
Lawrence Lipnik
Lawrence Lipnik has performed with many acclaimed early music ensembles from ARTEK and Anonymous 4 to Piffaro and the Waverly Consort, and is a founding member of the viol consort Parthenia and vocal ensemble Lionheart. In addition to performing, he enjoys a busy teaching schedule which has included national and international festivals including the Benslow Music Trust in the UK, Port Townsend, San Diego Early Music Festival and Pinewoods. He is a contributor to The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare and Contemporary Dramatists.
Shira Kammen
Shira Kammen is a multi-instrumentalist and occasional vocalist who has spent well over half her life exploring the worlds of early and traditional music, and studied medieval music and Vielle with Margriet Tindemans. She was a member of the early music ensembles Alcatraz and Project Ars Nova and is the founder of Class V Music, an ensemble dedicated to providing music on river rafting trips. She has performed and taught in the United States, Mexico, Europe, Israel, Abu Dhabi and Japan.
David Morris
David Morris is a viola da gamba instructor. Dubbed a "continuo wizard" by Gramophone (UK), David Morris is a member of Quicksilver and the Galax Quartet and is a frequent guest performer with the New York State Early Music Association. He was the founder and musical director of the Bay Area baroque opera ensemble Teatro Bacchino, and has produced operas for the Berkeley Early Music Festival and the San Francisco Early Music Society series. He received his bachelor’s and master’s U.C. Berkeley.
Peter T. Meckel
Peter Meckel is the founder and General Director of Hidden Valley Music Seminars. Born and raised in the Midwest, he attended university at Rockford University in Illinois, and Occidental College in California. His leadership of Hidden Valley has resulted in one of the most respected opera training centers in America and a major contributor of arts education programs for vocalists, instrumentalists, and dancers. Students from throughout the world come to study with master teachers from many of America’s most prestigious orchestras and opera companies.
Tish Berlin
Letitia Berlin plays recorder with Calextone, the Bertamo Trio, and Farallon Recorder Quartet. She has performed as a soloist with the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and North Carolina Baroque Orchestra. Tish received her master’s of art in early music performance practices with a concentration in recorder. As co-director of Tibia Adventures in Music, she organizes workshops across the U.S and Europe. She co-directs Hidden Valley’s Early Music Road Scholar program. She will soon be the co-executive directors of the Amherst Early Music Festival.
Mary Springfels
Mary Springfels is a veteran of the American Early Music Movement with lifetime achievement awards from Early Music America and The Viola da Gamba Society of America. Mary has been an active participant in prominent ensembles, including the Waverly Concert, Concert Royal, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, The Folger Consort, and Ars Lyrica Houston. Mary directed the Newberry Consort in Chicago for 20 years, during which the group made several critically acclaimed recordings. Currently, she is co-director of Severall Friends, an ensemble in Santa Fe.
Emily Gray
Emily Gray’s love for dance and movement began as a young child in classes at Hidden Valley Music Seminars. In Houston, Emily continued training in classical ballet and modern dance. She served as Discovery Dance Group’s assistant to the director and director of the Junior Company while performing professionally. Since returning to Carmel Valley in 1995, Emily has enjoyed a career as a dance instructor, teaching children and adults of all ages and skill levels. She currently holds adult ballet classes at Hidden Valley.
Alison Gangler
Alison Gangler holds a bachelor's degree from Mount Holyoke College and studied at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, Switzerland, concentrating on shawms, baroque, and classical oboe and historical performance. She has enjoyed an active career in Europe and the United States, performing and recording with many well-known ensembles and orchestras of historical performance, as well as playing actively in the New England region and beyond.
Activity Level
Easy Going
Walking up to 0.25 miles per day over mostly flat terrain. Minimal standing required. Sitting up to 8 hours per day with breaks. Program will require approximately 1.25 miles of walking over 5 days. Stretching and breathing activities in the mornings and additional walking during free time according to personal choice. Hidden Valley campus facilities are located on the ground floor and stairs may be avoided by using alternate routes. Due to limited ADA rooms wheelchairs and scooters cannot be accommodated on this program, however canes and walkers are permitted. Must be physically capable of participating in all planned program activities.
HAVE QUESTIONS?
Prefer to enroll or inquire by phone?
We can help. Give us a call, and we can answer all of your questions!
Call
800-454-5768
Helpful Links
Enroll with Confidence
Peace of Mind
We want your Road Scholar learning adventure to be something to look forward to—not worry about. That’s why we go to the ends of the earth to give you peace of mind, from the moment you enroll until the day you return home.
Assurance Plan
Road Scholar is committed to the well-being of every participant, whether on a program in the United States or abroad. That’s why all participants are covered under our Road Scholar Assurance Plan, which provides 24-hour assistance in the event of an emergency during your program, as well as insurance for emergency medical evacuation.
Want to Protect Your Investment?
Road Scholar is pleased to offer its Trip Protection Plan as a way to protect your program investment. You may purchase this optional trip protection plan when enrolling in your program.
Sustainable Travel
We offset a portion of the emissions created by your travel. Read about our commitment to a more sustainable planet.
- Peace of Mind
We want your Road Scholar learning adventure to be something to look forward to—not worry about. That’s why we go to the ends of the earth to give you peace of mind, from the moment you enroll until the day you return home.
- Assurance Plan
Road Scholar is committed to the well-being of every participant, whether on a program in the United States or abroad. That’s why all participants are covered under our Road Scholar Assurance Plan, which provides 24-hour assistance in the event of an emergency during your program, as well as insurance for emergency medical evacuation.
- Want to Protect Your Investment?
Road Scholar is pleased to offer its Trip Protection Plan as a way to protect your program investment. You may purchase this optional trip protection plan when enrolling in your program.
- Sustainable Travel
We offset a portion of the emissions created by your travel. Read about our commitment to a more sustainable planet.
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