Europe's Early Music Day Announces 2024 Edition

The European Early Music Network’s celebration of early music is held annually on March 21 to mark the birthday of J.S. Bach

The Early Music Day (EMD) initiative was founded in 2013 by the Réseau Européen De Musique Ancienne (REMA) or the “European Early Music Network,” to celebrate over 1,000 years of music through a series of events and concerts held across Europe.

Additionally, EMD aims to increase awareness of the music from the medieval, renaissance, and baroque periods and bring it to wider audiences. The event is held every year on March 21 to mark the beginning of Spring and the birthday of J.S. Bach. 

As the official promoter and coordinator of the celebration, REMA is the representative network for Early Music in Europe, which comprises 176 members in over 20 countries. 

REMA organizes concerts, conferences, and other events under the banner of EMD and also holds live streams as part of the EMD Festival online, which offers eight concerts proposed by REMA’s members. 

An ambassador is also chosen each year to represent the event, and hundreds of participants register their events to the official program. The 2024 EMD ambassador is conductor and recorder player Dorothee Oberlinger. 

The EMD program will typically include various forms of early music, from solo to opera works. To attend or register an event, click here. 

“I am so honored to be an ambassador for Early Music Day of REMA 2024! The pioneering achievement of the ‘Early Music Movement’ has written music history and is probably one of the most influential revolutions in the history of musical performance practice,” said Oberlinger in a statement. “Ultimately, with our passion for Early Music, I believe we are all ambassadors for our cause: We are musicians, teachers, musicologists, ensembles, festival organizers, enthusiasts and connoisseurs around the world.

“With a spirit of discovery and a thirst for research, we embark on a never-ending search for the appropriate language and sound of Early Music or a new sound for historical instruments, all the while being aware that there can never be absolute authenticity in [Historically Informed Performance],” she added. “Early Music and historically informed performance practice now stand for an attitude and approach and there is an unbroken hype about Early Music. As ambassadors, let us proudly and creatively carry this precious love for Early Music into the future.”