Love Early Music!
Tutors: Lisa Colton & Louise Ellinson
The Tung Auditorium, 60 Oxford Street, Liverpool, L7 3NY
VOICES & ALL INSTRUMENTS
BOOK ONLINE BY 24 JANUARY 2026 for early bird discount
This workshop is for singers in all vocal ranges and players of viols, cornetts, sackbuts, recorders (alto and lower), curtals, and other similar instruments, playing pitch at A=440. Modern strings, bassoons and trombones are also welcome.
Our first workshop of the year is a joint venture with the University of Liverpool, and is designed to bring together experienced early music performers with accomplished singers from the University of Liverpool Chamber Choir, and some instrumentalists. This is a wonderful opportunity to share the love for early music across generations, make new connections, and perform in a special venue.
We particularly encourage all our instrumentalists to join us, as this is a great chance to introduce younger musicians to early music instruments, and hopefully encourage them to explore this wonderful repertoire further.
All full-time students aged 18 or older are welcome and can attend the workshop for free – please join as a member beforehand (student membership is also free).
Repertoire
The repertoire is ideal for flexible scorings, and some parts of the day will include voices and instruments working separately with a tutor. Full details will be confirmed nearer the time, but the repertoire is likely to include the following:
- English madrigals and part-songs (Fair Phyllis I saw (Farmer), Weep, weep mine eyes (Wilbye), Draw on sweet night (Wilbye)
- Monteverdi madrigals (Cruda Amarilli, Era l’amina mea, Maria quid ploras, O Jesu mia vita)
- Magnificat for 12 voices in 3 choirs by Giovanni Gabrieli
We will need to vacate the venue a little earlier than usual, so registration will start at 9.30am, with the morning session starting at 10am. We will finish by 4.30pm.
The expected timetable is as follows, but is subject to minor changes on the day.
TIMETABLE
09.30 Registration and tea/coffee
10.00 Morning session (with short comfort break)
12.45 Lunch break
14.00 Afternoon session (with tea/coffee break)
16.30 Conclusion
Venue
The Tung Auditorium, 60 Oxford Street, Liverpool, L7 3NY
We are delighted that we are about to hold this workshop in the Tung Auditorium, Liverpool’s state-of-the-art concert hall. There are 3-4 spaces immediately outside the Tung Auditorium, which can be prioritised for those with very cumbersome instruments or equipment. It may be possible to use the Management School car park, which is very close on campus, but more details will be given nearer the time. To download a map of the University campus, click here.
The main car parking is either the Paddington car park (5-10 mins walk, flat, £6 for the day via an internal deal for users of the Tung) or the Mount Pleasant car park (£6 all day, 10-15 mins walk, uphill to reach venue). If coming by public transport, it is about a 20 minute from Liverpool Lime Street, or there are regular buses to the University campus. Further details here:
Your visit | The Tung Auditorium
Refreshments during the day
The backstage area is available to us all day, and includes green rooms for breakout groups and for tea/coffee breaks/lunch, as well as accessible toilet facilities. There is a boiling water tap available all day, but no crockery – please bring a mug with you to use on the day.
No food or drink may be consumed in the Tung Auditorium itself, except water. There is a circulation space on the ground floor of the Tung that can be used during the day in breaks, including some tables/seating on Floor 1 (lift is available). Outside there are picnic tables if the weather is kind, plus the newly installed ADHD Foundation Garden, originally exhibited at the 2025 RHS Chelsea Flower Show (Silver-Gilt Medal) by designer Katy Terry.
Please join as a member before submitting your workshop application form.
Workshop fees
Please book as soon as possible – apply by 24 January to benefit from the early bird discount. All applications should be received by 31 January so we can prepare sufficient scores for all participants who want them (please contact us if you can only apply after this date).
- £20 for NWEMF members (and other EMF members) before 24 January (£25 if booked after this date)
- £25 for non-members before 24 January (£30 if booked after this date)
- Full-time students attend for free
Payment details
Please send the appropriate workshop fee by bank transfer to:
Account Name ‘N W E M F’ (include the spaces between each letter)
Sort code 09-01-56
Account number 79658106
Payment reference – “14Feb” followed by your own surname
You can also pay by cheque made payable to “NWEMF” or by cash – either bring it with you on
the day (let us know that you intend to do this), or send it to the organiser, Kirsten Flores (details are on the PDF application form). You can also contact Kirsten directly by email at nwemf.chair@gmail.com.
Please complete the online application below, completing a separate form for each adult person attending. If you are attending as a family, include details of all full-time students in the “Any other information” box including name(s), voice and/or instrument.
Your place on the workshop will not be confirmed until payment has been received.
Thank you – we will be in touch shortly
In the rare event that any technical issues persist after a few attempts, simply email Kirsten with the required information to nwemf.chair@gmail.com.
If you would prefer to download and print the application form, click here.
The Tutors
Lisa Colton is Head of Department at the University of Liverpool, and is a musicologist who specialises in early music. Lisa is a singer, plays viols and other instruments, and has experience in directing choirs in university settings.
Louise Ellinson is the Choral Director at the University of Liverpool. She is also a conducting tutor for Sing for Pleasure, leads workplace choirs for The Hallé, is a regular guest tutor for Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Choir, Liverpool Philharmonic Children’s Choir, and Sale Youth Choirs, and is in demand as a workshop leader.
