Our mission and activities

About the VdGS-NE

As a chapter of the Viola da Gamba Society of America, the Viola da Gamba Society – New England is dedicated to creating community around love for the viola da gamba. We provide opportunities for people to come together to participate in workshops, listen to concerts, access lessons and attend classes. Our membership is made up of beginning as well as experienced amateur players and professionals. 

We warmly invite people of all ages, abilities, races, ethnicities, socio economic backgrounds, religions, gender identities, sexual orientations  and cultural communities to join our membership and participate in in person and online workshops, classes and lectures suitable for players of  all levels.  

Furthermore, the VdGS-NE is dedicated to developing programs that introduce more beginning players of all ages to the instrument we love. We are particularly interested in developing outreach programs which could include lecture/demonstrations, instruments and lessons for students in under-privileged communities and schools. We invite schools and institutions  interested in collaboration to contact our president for further information.

With members in all six New England states, as well as New York, New Jersey, and eastern Canada, the VdGS-NE is dedicated to promoting viol playing and related activities in the New England area. From the “First Gathering” in 1976, workshops have formed the backbone of the program of the Viola Da Gamba Society – New England. Three one-day workshops a year, led by master coaches, allow members to explore the viol literature through the music of an individual composer or of a particular repertoire or style, or to focus on specific aspects of viol consort playing.

The Society has also sponsored concerts and masterclasses, and a series of mini-classes on topics of special or scholarly interest. To reach new audiences for the viola da gamba, the Society has established the Gian Lyman Silbiger grants – annual awards for the performance of music for voices and viols in a church, synagogue, or concert setting. (See “Programs”)

VdGS-NE activities also include a newsletter, scholarships, classes for beginners at every workshop, and occasional special coaches’ seminars where teachers can explore issues of viol pedagogy. “Musick Meetings” sponsored by the Society provide an opportunity for viol students throughout the region to play for each other. The VdGS-NE is here to support everyone’s love for the viola da gamba. Please peruse our offerings on this website. We look forward to playing  with you soon!