The Academy of Early Music presents a series of concerts each season that celebrates the richness of music from the Middle Ages to the Classical Era and feature artists and ensembles from around the world who specialize in period performance. Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, home to the University of Michigan, the Academy presents concerts in Ann Arbor and in Metro Detroit at Bloomfield Hills.
The Academy’s concert series is the only one in Michigan that is dedicated exclusively to early music, with performances featuring nationally and internationally acclaimed artists. Presented in intimate settings that foster communication between artists and audiences, Academy performances allow listeners to revisit the past through a journey that helps frame the present. Along the way, audiences are introduced to music—beautiful, inspiring, and timeless music—written by some of the greatest composers who ever lived.
Opportunities to experience the world of early music are not confined to concert performances alone. The Academy’s preconcert lectures are conversations that explore musical concepts as well as historical and cultural contexts. Audience members are encouraged to talk to the artists and ask them questions after the performance, as well as examine their musical instruments during intermission.
Standalone lecture/demonstrations and workshops provide a more in-depth experience, and master classes help prepare future performers of early music.
Administration
Executive Director: Emily Solomon
Volunteer Coordinator: Shirley Harden
Board of Directors
Officers
President: David Schreiner
Vice President: Stephanie Rosenbaum
Treasurer: Wayne Petty
Secretary: Judith Petty
Members-at-large
Eberhard Gerlach
Lynda Asher
Shirley Harden
Meet Our Executive Director
Emily Solomon
execdirector@academyofearlymusic.org
Executive Director Emily Solomon enjoys an active career as a musician in both Ann Arbor and Detroit alongside her work with the Academy. She serves as Cantor of Zion Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Detroit and often collaborates with other performing artists for a variety of events throughout the state of Michigan. In May 2018, Emily was invited to perform on the Nordic Historical Keyboard Festival in Kuopio, Finland. Emily was named as one of The Diapason’s 20 Under 30 Class of 2019, an award that recognizes young talents in the fields of organ and harpsichord performance, organ and harpsichord building, carillon, and church music.
In 2020, Emily received her Doctor of Musical Arts in Sacred Music from the University of Michigan, where she was awarded a Rackham Dissertation Fellowship to support her research on the Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book of 1912. Her prior degrees include dual M.M.s in Early Keyboard Instruments and Sacred Music from the University of Michigan and an M.A. in Music Research from Western Michigan University. A proud Michigan native, Emily is a Certified Tourism Ambassador™ for Washtenaw County and serves on the board of the Soo Locks Visitors Association in the Upper Peninsula.