Indianapolis Early Music

Indianapolis Early Music (IEM) is a non-profit organization established in Indianapolis in 1966 to organize concerts featuring music of the medieval, renaissance, baroque, and early classic eras. Since 1966, it has produced the annual Indianapolis Early Music Festival, the oldest continuous Early Music festival in the United States.

Its annual summer festival spans three weekends and features American and international performers who perform on instruments of the period. Beyond the festival, IEM also presents other Early Music concerts throughout the year while also fostering educational programs in Indianapolis schools.

Indianapolis Early Music, originally known by its corporate name of the Festival Music Society, was founded in 1966 to provide music during the summer months when the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, now one of the few full-year U.S. orchestras, was on vacation. The IEM initially concentrated on the major works of the baroque era, such as Bach, Handel and Vivaldi. The range of music presented was soon expanded to include that of the Renaissance and Medieval periods.

Music played at IEM concerts is that of works generally composed between 900 AD and 1800 AD. Performances have included vocal music, both choral and solo; instrumental music, both ensemble and solo; and dance, court, folk and ballet. Among the more noteworthy early concerts was the 1977 performance of the cycle of seven Bach Partitas by harpsichordist Igor Kipnis in Indianapolis just before making his Grammy-nominated recordings of them for Angel Records.

IEM has a long association with National Public Radio (NPR). NPR broadcasts selections of IEM concerts throughout the United States and Canada on its program Performance Today. Selections are regularly featured on the NPR Early Music program, Harmonia. In addition, IEM has conducted workshops in Early Music and dance, presented a symposium and exposition of historical musical instruments, and sponsored the Collegiate Virtuoso competition. In 2016, it co-presented the International Baroque Competition of Indianapolis with the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra. Prizes include a $10,000 first prize presented by the Gerber family.

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