We have embarked on an ambitious project to document NWEMF’s history from its inception in 1977. We will do this primarily with reference to our newsletters, but we will also look at other documents and information as well. In particular, we will make available all full workshop reviews written by our members over the years.
From 2024 onwards, there are also short Workshop Reports for each workshop, which include a few photos, and occasionally a recording made on the day.
There follows a list of past workshops with links to the reviews where available – click on the year to see the workshops for that year.
This page is an ongoing project and will be regularly updated.
2020-present
2026
| 14 February 2026 Liverpool | Love Early Music! | Tutors: Lisa Colton & Louise Ellinson |
| 21 March 2026 Didsbury | From Despair to Joy: Holy Week with Tomás Luis de Victoria | Tutor: David Allinson |
| 18 April 2026 Preston | Missa Ave Virgo Sanctissima by Gery de Ghersem, and other pieces from 17th century Iberia | Tutor: Rory Wainwright Johnston |
| 16 May 2026 Wilmslow | Vivaldi’s Gloria | Tutor: Ben England |
| 13 June 2026 Lancaster | The polychoral music of Heinrich Schütz and his contemporaries | Tutor: Peter Wendland |
| 12 September 2026 Chester | Renaissance ‘Back-to-School’ – Music for Learning & Scholarship | Tutor: Stephanie Dyer |
| 17 October 2026 Bolton | Music from the Odhecaton | Tutor: Lizzie Gutteridge |
| 21 November 2026 Bramhall, Stockport | 1535 – a year in the life of Pierre Attaingnant | Tutor: Peter Syrus |
2025
| 15 February 2025 Wilmslow | Music and Ritual in a 16th Century Florentine Convent | Tutor: Laurie Stras Reviewer: James Walton |
| 22 March 2025 Didsbury | Missa Diligam Te Domine a 12 by Giovanni Valentini | Tutor: Philip Thorby Reviewer: Bryan Au Yeung |
| 5 April 2025 Bolton | Music for the Chapel Royal No 1 | Tutor: Chris Roberts Reviewer: Dorret Conway |
| 5 April 2025 Bolton | Music for the Chapel Royal No 2 | Tutor: Chris Roberts Reviewer: Martin Godden |
| 17 May 2025 Lancaster | The Secret Spirituality of Prioris, Pomponio and Palestrina | Tutor: Deborah Catterall Reviewer: Chris Martin |
| 14 June 2025 Chester | The ‘Full Moon’ Mass – Giuseppe Corsi da Celano | Tutor: George Parris Reviewer: Roger Wilkes |
| 13 September 2025 Liverpool | Lusitano and other Portuguese composers | Tutor: Rory McCleery Reviewer: Valerie Pedlar |
| 11 October 2025 Manchester | Italian Renaissance Canzonas | Tutor: Ali Kinder Reviewer: Frank Gibson |
| 8 November 2025 Sale, Manchester | The Sound of Power: Johann Stadlmayr’s Polychoral Music for the Habsburg Courts | Tutor: Gawain Glenton |
2024
| 23 March 2024 Liverpool | “I am troubled on every side!“ Music by Tallis and his contemporaries | Tutor: Lisa Colton |
| 20 April 2024 Preston | ‘O What Evil is War’ – War and Peace in 17th Century Germany | Tutor: Gawain Glenton Reviewer: Gwenda Meredith |
| 11 May 2024 Didsbury | Handl Opus Musicum | Tutor: Stephanie Dyer Reviewer: Vincent Walsh |
| 15 June 2024 Sale | Polychoral music to include works by Lassus, Scheidt, Hassler and others | Tutor: Peter Wendland Reviewer: Susie Ross |
| 21 September 2024 Didsbury | Palestrina plus | Tutor: Peter Syrus Reviewer: Chris Martin |
| 19 October 2024 Sale | ‘Apt for voices and viols‘ – Music from Jacobean England | Tutor: Elizabeth Dodd Reviewer: Tom McLean |
| 9 November 2024 Lancaster | The Music of Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla | Tutor: Clive Walkley Reviewer: Terry Wareham |
| 9 November 2024 Lancaster | The Music of Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla | Tutor: Clive Walkley Reviewer: Helen Johnson |
| 16 November 2024 Chester | Music of Gabrieli and his European contemporaries | Tutor: Grace Barton with Polyphonica Recorder Trio |
2023
| 11 March 2023 Lancaster | Felix Austriae: Music from Habsburg Vienna | Tutor: Gawain Glenton Reviewer: Gwenda Meredith |
| 15 April 2023 Didsbury | Majesty and Magnificence: Andrea Gabrieli and Orlando di Lasso | Tutor: James Weekes Reviewer: John Huthnance |
| 13 May 2023 Sale | The Orpheus of Amsterdam – Sweelinck and his pupil Scheidt | Tutor: George Parris Reviewer: Kirsten Flores |
| 24 June 2023 Chester | ‘Back to the Future’: C11 to Byrd | Tutor: Angus Smith |
| 4 November 2023 Chester | “Gaudeamus!” borrowings in Spanish church music of the Golden Age | Tutor: Peter Syrus Reviewer: Kirsten Flores |
| 11 November 2023 Didsbury | Missa Concertata in Echo by Christoph Straus | Tutor: David Hatcher Reviewer: Roger Gibson |
2022
| 12 March 2022 Natland | Colours of Orpheus: using Vocalisation and Imagination to lead to new Discoveries (or a different view of COVID – and what it might mean for singers) | Tutor: Evelyn Tubb Reviewer: Jenny Murphy |
| 30 April 2022 Didsbury | Master and Pupil – Music by Orlandus Lassus and Leonhard Lechner | Tutor: Philip Thorby Reviewer: Kirsten Flores |
| 11 June 2022 Cilcain | Exaudi Nos – the masses and motets of Jacob Obrecht (1457/8-1505) | Tutor: Peter Syrus Reviewer: Hugh Cherry |
| 17 September 2022 Didsbury | Mother, Sister, Daughter; Music from the Convent of San Matteo in Arcetri | Tutor: Laurie Stras Reviewer: Ruth Stock |
| 12 November 2022 Didsbury | Heinrich Schütz: Geistliche Chormusik | Tutor: Roger Wilkes Reviewer: Andy Coatsworth |
2021
| 21 March 2021 Online | Sinking in a Sink-a-pace: Dowland and Dance | Tutor: Elizabeth Dodd Reviewer: Caroline Brown |
| 17 April 2021 Online | Josquin des Pres revisited: the myths, the man and his music | Tutor: John Bryan Reviewer: John Huthnance |
| 11 September 2021 Didsbury | Usper & Bassano | Tutor: Roger Wilkes Reviewer: David Rowley |
| 9 October 2021 Chester | Josquin (and Jacquet) – No 1 | Tutor: Andrew Griffiths Reviewer: Anna Wright |
| 9 October 2021 Chester | Josquin (and Jacquet) – No 2 | Tutor: Andrew Griffiths Reviewer: Kirsten Flores |
| 9 October 2021 Chester | Josquin (and Jacquet) – No 3 | Tutor: Andrew Griffiths Reviewer: Hugh Cherry |
| 13 November 2021 Didsbury | H Praetorius/ Schutz/Bianci | Tutor: Stephanie Dyer Reviewer: Susie Greenwood |
2020
| 15 February 2020 Hoylake | Zielenski & Pekiel | Tutor: Graham O’Reilly Reviewer: Chris Poyser |
| 28 November 2020 Online | Rorate caeli – William Byrd’s music for Advent in the Gradualia I (1605) | Tutor: David Allinson Reviewer: John Huthnance |
2010-2019
2019
| 16 February 2019 Didsbury, Manchester | Cardoso Requiem & other Portuguese composers | Tutor: Rory Johnston Reviewer: Laura Dias de Almeida |
| 9 March 2019 Wilmslow | Music by Hassler, Lassus & Lechner | Tutor: Roger Wilkes Reviewer: Cath |
| 22 June 2019 Windermere | The Gabrielis in Venice | Tutor: Gawain Glenton Reviewer: Liz Richards |
| 14 September 2019 Didsbury | Praise the Lord! Psalm settings (Lassus, de Monte, Palestrina, Asola) | Tutor: John Bryan Reviewer: Rhoda Bramhall |
| 16 November 2019 Chester | Ceremony and Devotion – William Byrd and his circle | Tutor: Sally Dunkley Reviewer: Kirsten Flores |
2018
| 24 February 2018 Chester | Schütz, pieces from Geistliche Chormusik (1648, Op 11) & Psalmen Davids (1619, Op 2) | Tutor: Andrew Griffiths |
| 24 March 2018 Wilmslow | Music from the early fifteenth-century: a musical moment | Tutor: Don Greig Reviewer: Hugh Cherry |
| 21 April 2018 Wilmslow | Works by Giovanni Croce | Tutor: Roger Wilkes Reviewer: Tim Gannicliffe |
| 26 May 2018 Lancaster | Brumel: Missa Et ecce terrae motus | Tutor: William Carslake Reviewer: Clive Walkley |
| 16 June 2018 Didsbury, Manchester | Ecce….Peter Philips! | Tutor: Peter Syrus Reviewer: Jill Mitchell |
| 22 September 2018 Didsbury, Manchester | ‘In nomine Domini’: John Taverner | Tutor: David Allinson |
| 26 October 2018 Mold | Crequillon & Lambert: French song, 1500 to 1620 | Tutor: Deborah Catterall Reviewer: Jacqui Gresham |
| 24 November 2018 Chester | Puer Natus in Bethlehem | Tutor: Ali Kinder Reviewer: David Parry |
2017
| 14 January 2017 Wilmslow | Works by Hieronymus Praetorius | Tutor: Roger Wilkes Reviewer: Isobel McCretton |
| 11 February 2017 Lancaster | Agony and Ecstasy: Music of the Song of Solomon & The Sibylline Prophecies | Tutor: Alistair Dixon Reviewer: Ann Bond |
| 18 March 2017 Didsbury, Manchester | Alternatively . . . Giovanni Gabrieli | Tutor: Peter Syrus Reviewer: Nick Eden |
| 22 April 2017 Cilcain | Renaissance Music for Recorders | Tutor: Grace Barton Reviewer: Ros Flinn |
| 6 May 2017 Wilmslow | Explore polyphony from 13th & 14th century France | Tutor: Lizzie Gutteridge Reviewers: Ruth Stock & Hugh Cherry |
| 3 June 2017 Lancaster | Monteverdi Vespers of 1610 – NWEMF 40th Anniversary | Tutor: Justin Doyle Reviewers: John Pratt & Alan Jones |
| 16 September 2017 Didsbury, Manchester | Philippe Rogier | Tutor: Sally Dunkley Reviewer: Roger Williams |
| 14 October 2017 Liverpool | J.S. Bach and the chorus | Tutor: Philip Duffy Reviewer: Jean Hill |
| 18 November 2017 Alderley Edge | Explore the chant of the Slavic Orthodox world | Tutor: Ivan Moody Reviewers: Clive Tolley & Ian Dayes |
2016
| 23 January 2016 | Madrigals for Spring, a Workshop for Singers | Tutor: Martin Westhorp Reviewer: Kate Shore |
| 20 February 2016 | Libera nos….Libera me a workshop for singers | Tutor: Peter Syrus Reviewer: Mark Flinn |
| 5 March 2016 | Music for Lent and Passiontide | Tutor: Roger Wilkes Reviewer: David Parry |
| 11-14 March 2016 | NWEMF Viol Course | Tutors: Ibi Aziz & Hugh Cherry Reviewer: Clive Tolley |
| 14 May 2016 | Into Battle! a workshop for singers and instrumentalists | Tutor: Clive Walkley Reviewer: Valerie Pedlar |
| 18 June 2016 | Clemens non Papa (in memoriam Jim Marshall) | Tutor: Stephen Rice Reviewer: Jane Micklethwaite |
| 17 September 2016 | Purcell: Dido and Aeneas | Tutor: John Hancorn Reviewer: Susie Greenwood |
| 15 October 2016 | A Polychoral “Tour of Europe” | Tutor: Ali Kinder Reviewer: Helen Jackson |
| 5 November 2016 | Fyer, fyer! A bonfire day special for singers and instrumentalists | Tutor: Robert Hollingworth Reviewer: Valerie Pedlar |
2015
| 31 January 2015 Didsbury | “O sing unto the Lord a new song” – Sacred music by Johann Schein (1586-1630) | Tutor: Peter Syrus Reviewer: George Horsman |
| 21 February 2015 Grappenhall | The sacred music of Dominique Phinot | Tutor: Paul Spicer Reviewer: Lucy Crispin |
| 13-16 March 2015 Caernarfon | Fifth NWEMF viol weekend, 13–16 March 2015 | Tutors: Ibi Aziz & Hugh Cherry Reviewer: Clive Tolley |
| 21 March 2015 Knutsford | Verse anthem workshop (in memory of Pat Lockwood) | Tutor: William Hunt Reviewer: Philip Gruar |
| 18 April 2015 Didsbury | Purcell: King Arthur | Tutor: John Hancorn Reviewer: Valerie Pedlar |
| 16 May 2015 Wilmslow | Mediaeval Polyphony – from organum to Josquin | Tutor: Donald Grieg Reviewer: Hugh Cherry |
| 27 June 2015 Chester | Masterpieces of the Portuguese Golden Age | Tutor: David Allinson Reviewer: Jill Mitchell |
| 19 September 2015 Lancaster | The Music of Ludwig Senfl and his contemporaries | Tutor: Eileen Silcocks Reviewer: Ros Flinn |
| 17 October 2015 Grappenhall | Songs of Robin Hood and Marian | Tutor: Sara Stowe Reviewer: Jill Mitchell |
| 28 November 2015 Didsbury | Lions of St Mark’s | Tutor: Jamie Savan Reviewer: Janet Evans |
2014
| 8 February 2014 Westhoughton | Fire and Water | Tutor: Martin Westhorp Reviewer: Mark Flinn |
| 8 March 2014 Grappenhall | Worldes Bliss: A vocal workshop on Early songs | Tutor: Sara Stowe Reviewer: Christine Wood |
| 29 March 2014 Newcastle-under-Lyme | Rosenmüller Vespers | Tutor: James Weekes Reviewer: Mark Flinn |
| 10 May 2014 Didsbury | Domenico Scarlatti: Stabat Mater | Tutor: John Hancorn Reviewer: Hugh Cherry |
| 21 June 2014 Upton-by-Chester | Greatest Glory of our Muses: Church music of Robert White (c1538-1574) | Tutor: Peter Syrus Reviewer: Valerie Pedlar |
| 13 September 2014 Liverpool | Chant Workshop: Holy Cross Day | Tutor: Philip Duffy Reviewer: Morris Davies |
| 11 October 2014 Natland | Music from Spain and the New World: music by Ribera and Padilla | Tutor: Clive Walkley Reviewer: Valerie Pedlar |
| 22 November 2014 Knutsford | Early Music for Advent and Christmas | Tutor: Roger Wilkes Reviewer: Rhoda Bramhall |
2013
| 19 January 2013 Liverpool | Chant Workshop: The Ceremony of the Star | Tutor: Philip Duffy Reviewer: Valerie Pedlar |
| 23 February 2013 Sale | Hidden treasures of 17th century Latin America | Tutor: Jeffrey Skidmore Reviewer: Mark Flinn |
| 1-3 March 2013 Llanarmon | Fourth NWEMF viol weekend – the viol music of Germany | Tutors: Ibi Aziz & Hugh Cherry Reviewer: Clive Tolley |
| 9 March 2013 Port Sunlight | Murdered anthems and improper psalms? | Tutor: Sally Drage Reviewers: Ruth Stock & David Roberts |
| 13 April 2013 Didsbury | Motets from the Bach and beyond | Tutor: Peter Syrus Reviewer: Sheila Livesey |
| 18 May 2013 Natland | Purcell, English madrigals and more | Tutor: Evelyn Tubb Reviewer: Kate Jackson |
| 29 June 2013 Knutsford | German Sacred music | Tutor: John Butt Reviewer: Marian Needham |
| 28 September 2013 Didsbury | Gentlemen of the Chappell | Tutor: Alistair Dixon Reviewer: Jill Mitchell |
| 9 November 2013 Wilmslow | Music from the time of Henry VIII | Tutor: Ralph Allwood Reviewer: Mark Flinn |
2012
| 4 February 2012 Carnforth | Lutheran Vespers | Tutor: Roger Wilkes Reviewer: Frank Estcourt |
| 2-4 March 2012 North Wales | 3rd Annual Viol weekend | Tutors: Ibi Aziz & Hugh Cherry Reviewer: Clive Tolley |
| 10 March 2012 Sale | Schütz for singers & wind players | Tutor: Roger Wilkes (for Philip Thorby) Reviewer: Jill Mitchell |
| 28 April 2012 Knutsford | Bach with Paul Spicer | Tutor: Paul Spicer Reviewer: Mark Flinn |
| 23 June 2012 Cholmondeley | Ludford and Tallis | Tutor: Peter Syrus Reviewer: Hugh Cherry |
| 21-27 July 2012 Chester | NWEMF Summer School 2012 | Reviewers: Diana & Tom McLean |
| 1 September 2012 Sale, Manchester | Renaissance Masses | Tutor: David Allison Reviewers: David Allen & Mark Flinn |
| 13 October 2012 | Josquin and Lassus: Praeter rerum seriem | Tutor: David Hatcher Reviewer: Janet Evans |
| 10 November 2012 | Machaut & Dunstaple | Tutor: John Leigh Nixon Reviewer: Jill Mitchell |
2011
| 12 March 2011 Westhoughton | “….and birds do sing” | Tutor: Martin Westhorp Reviewer: Janet Evans |
| 12 March 2011 Westhoughton | “…and birds do sing” | Tutor: Martin Westhorp Reviewer: Rhoda Bramhall |
| 9 April 2011 Natland | JUAN ESQUIVEL: Music from a Golden Age | Tutor: Clive Walkley Reviewer: Hugh Cherry |
| 6-9 May 2011 Fort Belan | Fort Belan Viol Weekend | Tutors: Hugh Cherry & Ibi Aziz Reviewer: Clive Tolley |
| 4 June 2011 Knutsford | Bach Motets | Tutor: Paul Spicer Reviewer: Mark Flinn |
| 23-29 July 2011 Chester | NWEMF Summer School 2011 | Reviewer: Pat Stewart |
| 23-29 July 2011 Chester | NWEMF Summer School 2011 | Reviewer: Janey Katovsky |
| 15 October 2011 Chester | Tomás Luis de Victoria: A Conspectus | Tutor: Roger Wilkes |
2010
| 23 January & 13 February 2010 Chester | Vocal music by Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck | Tutor: Roger Wilkes Reviewer: Jeanette Burden |
| 6 March 2010 Liverpool | Exploring the English Anthem c.1600-1800 | Tutor: Sally Drage Reviewer: Janet Evans |
| 16-18 April 2010 Fort Belan | Fort Belan Viol Weekend | Tutors: Ibi Aziz and Hugh Cherry Reviewer: Thelma Williams |
| 22 May 2010 Knutsford | Loquebantur variis linguis: responds by Taverner, Sheppard and Tallis | Tutor: David Allinson Reviewer: Hannah Davies |
| 24-30 July 2010 Ambleside | NWEMF Summer School 2010 | Reviewers: Margaret Miller, Jeanette Burden, Angela Wood |
| 23 October 2010 Huddersfield | Joint NWEMF/NEEMF Workshop – Giovanni Croce | Tutor: Michael Proctor Reviewers: Frances Burditt, Roger Dillon, John Bryan |
| 4 December 2010 Chorley | Season’s Greetings, from Michael Praetorius | Tutor: Peter Syrus Reviewer: Mark Flinn |
2000-2009
2009
| 31 January 2009 Carnforth | Carissimi comes to Carnforth | Tutor: Roger Wilkes Reviewer: Charles Browne |
| 7 March 2009 Lancaster | AGM and workshop with Philip Thorby | Tutor: Philip Thorby Reviewer: Janet Evans |
| 17-19 April 2009 Nottingham | Interfora and NEMA Handel 250th Anniversary Commemoration | Tutor: Laurence Cummings Reviewer: Jill Mitchell |
| 25 April 2009 Chester | William Byrd’s Songs of Sundrie Natures | Tutors: Philip Taylor and Roger Wilkes Reviewer: Rhoda Bramhall |
| 16 May 2009 Chester | William Byrd: Songs of sundrie natures | Tutors: Philip Taylor & Roger Wilkes Reviewer: Thelma Williams |
| 13 June 2009 Crosthwaite | Renaissance music for harps and early instruments | Tutor: Elizabeth Dodd Reviewer: Virginia Clucas |
| 20 June 2009 Northwich | Angels and archangels – music from the Chigi Codex | Tutor: Peter Syrus Reviewer: Jill Mitchell |
| 25-30 July 2009 Ambleside | NWEMF Renaissance Summer School 2009 | Reviewers: Emma Wardell; David Adshead |
| 21 November 2009 Chester | First Vespers of Saint Cecilia | Tutor: Roger Wilkes Reviewer: Mark Flinn |
| 5 December 2009 Chester | The Spanish Renaissance, a workshop for recorder players | Tutor: Grace Barton Reviewer: Alix Bryson |
2008
| 11 October & 8 November 2008 Chester | Music by Jakob Handl (Gallus) and Jacobus de Kerle | Tutor: Roger Wilkes Reviewer: Jenny Howard |
| 29 November 2008 Newcastle under Lyme | Juan Esquivel – new music from old manuscripts | Tutor: Clive Walkley Reviewer: Hugh Cherry |
| 26 July-1 August 2008 Ambleside | NWEMF Summer School of Renaissance Music | Reviewers: Ron Kelley and Hazel Bone |
| 14 June 2008 Cilcain | Music for a Tudor church ‘Songs to popish ditties’ – music by John Taverner (c1490-1545) | Tutor: Peter Syrus Reviewer: Janet Evans |
| 5 & 26 April 2008 Chester | Marian antiphons and motets | Tutor: Roger Wilkes Reviewer: Jeanette Burden |
| 2 February 2008 Carnforth | Music and readings for Candlemas | Tutor: Roger Wilkes Reviewer: Sylvia Irvine |
2007
| 20 January & 17 February 2007 Chester | Music by Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706) and his German predecessors | Tutor: Roger Wilkes Reviewers: Janey Katovsky & Beth Lloyd |
| 3 February 2007 Carnforth | Tudor Evensong | Tutor: Roger Wilkes Reviewer: Silvia Irvine |
| 10 March 2007 Manchester | In Nomine | Tutors: David Allinson, Elizabeth Dodd, Philip Gruar Reviewers: Janet Evans, David Roberts |
| 21 April & 19 May 2007 Chester | Lesser-known motets from Byrd’s Gradualia, Book 1 (1605/1610) | Tutor: Roger Wilkes Reviewer: Ron Kelley |
| 9 June 2007 Chester | Voices and Viols Workshop | Tutor: Abi Aziz Reviewers: Clive Tolley, Ron Kelley |
| 21-27 July 2007 Ambleside | NWEMF Renaissance Music Summer School | Reviewer: David Fletcher |
| 11-18 August 2007 Languedoc | Renaissance consort singing workshop in Languedoc | Tutors: Francis Steele, Robert Hollingworth, Robert Harre Jones Reviewer: Nicky Brooks |
| 6 & 20 October 2007 Chester | ‘Serious’ British Madrigals | Tutor: Roger Wilkes Reviewer: David Rowley |
| 10 November 2007 Natland | Music in honour of the Blessed Virgin | Tutor: Clive Walkley Reviewer: Jill Mitchell |
| 8 December 2007 Newcastle under Lyme | Croce: Four Choir Mass and other works (Joint workshop with MEMF) | Tutor: Michael Proctor Reviewer: Jim Rowley |
Use the search bar for specific search terms, eg tutor name, venue, topic, etc. This will bring up a list of all pages and posts which include that search term in chronological order. The search facility will improve as more reviews are added to the website. You can also search using the tag cloud at the bottom of the page.

