About Us / Membership

The annual contribution for Friends of the Boston Clavichord Society is $20 (or $10 for the bulletin alone). Please send your name, address and telephone number (and fax number, email address and so forth, if applicable) to: The Boston Clavichord Society, P.O. Box 540515 Waltham MA 02454.

For further information, contact the Treasurer ( Beverly Woodward , P.O. Box 540515, Waltham, MA 02454, tel: (781-891-0814), the President ( Peter Sykes, tel: (617-661-0570), or any member of the Board of Directors. (Note: The BCS has "friends" rather than "members" since we are set up as a non-profit corporation.)

A Brief History of the BCS

The Boston Clavichord Society was founded in 1995 “to promote understanding and appreciation of the clavichord among musicians and the general public.” Alan Durfee, Peter Sykes, and Beverly Woodward were co-founders. At the initial exploratory meeting the name “Boston Clavichord Society” was chosen with the understanding that the society would seek friends and supporters across the U.S. and beyond. As the minutes of this meeting record “the focus of the society would be the clavichord: study of the instrument and the music written for it, presentation of performances on the clavichord, and the examination of other areas of interest connected with the clavichord.” By March 1995, the BCS was incorporated and registered with the state of Massachusetts and by December of the same year it had received provisonal tax-exempt status from the IRS (now no longer provisional).

The first public presentation by the society was at the Boston Early Music Festival on June 16, 1995: an open meeting in which Alan Durfee, the first president of the BCS, gave a lecture on the clavichord followed by discussion of the society’s plans. On June 18, Peter Sykes gave a well-attended recital—using several clavichords—at the French Cultural Center and Library.

Since then, the society has presented numerous concerts, several master classes, lectures, “Clavichord Days,” “Clavichord Weekends,” and clavichord demonstrations at music schools and elsewhere. It has gone from an initial schedule of two recitals each season to now presenting four or more. The society has continued to participate in the biennial Boston Early Music Festival. In 2003, the society presented recitals and a symposium—held at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts—organized by BCS Board member David Schulenberg. It did the same in 2005. At BEMF 2007, it presented two recitals, one on a pedal clavichord.

The society has a biannual publication. In 2004, it was renamed Tangents: The Bulletin of the Boston Clavichord Society. The first editor was Alan Durfee. The present editor is Beverly Woodward. The bulletin contains both clavichord-related news and scholarly explorations of clavichord-related topics. It is currently received and catalogued by libraries at twenty-six colleges, universities and conservatories. The society also distributes a set of pamphlets, written by Richard Troeger (the society’s second president), intended to familiarize newcomers with various aspects of the clavichord.

From the outset, the society has had a website. The website is at: www.bostonclavichord.org. The webmaster is Benjamin Martinez. The site includes a calendar of the current concert season, a builders directory, a discography of currently available clavichord CDs that can be procured using a U.S. credit card, and information about back issues of the society’s bulletin.

Friends of the BCS are currently found in twenty-eight states, as well as in Canada and several European countries. The society maintains ties with other clavichord societies in Europe and Japan and makes available to its friends the opportunity to subscribe to Clavichord International and to The British Clavichord Society Newsletter,

The BCS has a eleven-member Board of Directors and an nine-member Board of Artistic Advisors. The current president of the BCS is Peter Sykes. David Schulenberg is vice-president.

Beverly Woodward
September 28, 2008

Why should one join the Boston Clavichord Society?

To join the Boston Clavichord Society:

A Brief History of the BCS

Board of Directors

Board of Artistic Advisors



				Information About the Boston Clavichord Society Why should one join the Boston Clavichord Society? Benefits include: • Our Bulletin, published twice a year in the spring and the fall. • Reduced price admission to BCS-sponsored events. • The opportunity to subscribe to Clavichord International, the international magazine for the clavichord, and also the Newsletter of the British Clavichord Society, and pay in US currency. (Details are available from the address below.) • Ready access through our bulletin and website to other clavichord enthusiasts, builders, players, teachers, and researchers and to information about recording releases and new developments in the clavichord world. To join the Boston Clavichord Society: The annual contribution for Friends of the Boston Clavichord Society is $20 (or $10 for the bulletin alone). Please send your name, address and telephone number (and fax number, email address and so forth, if applicable) to: The Boston Clavichord Society, P.O. Box 540515 Waltham MA 02454. For further information, contact the Treasurer ( Beverly Woodward , P.O. Box 540515, Waltham, MA 02454, tel: (781-891-0814), the President ( Peter Sykes, tel: (617-661-0570), or any member of the Board of Directors. (Note: The BCS has "friends" rather than "members" since we are set up as a non-profit corporation.) A Brief History of the BCS The Boston Clavichord Society was founded in 1995 “to promote understanding and appreciation of the clavichord among musicians and the general public.” Alan Durfee, Peter Sykes, and Beverly Woodward were co-founders. At the initial exploratory meeting the name “Boston Clavichord Society” was chosen with the understanding that the society would seek friends and supporters across the U.S. and beyond. As the minutes of this meeting record “the focus of the society would be the clavichord: study of the instrument and the music written for it, presentation of performances on the clavichord, and the examination of other areas of interest connected with the clavichord.” By March 1995, the BCS was incorporated and registered with the state of Massachusetts and by December of the same year it had received provisonal tax-exempt status from the IRS (now no longer provisional). The first public presentation by the society was at the Boston Early Music Festival on June 16, 1995: an open meeting in which Alan Durfee, the first president of the BCS, gave a lecture on the clavichord followed by discussion of the society’s plans. On June 18, Peter Sykes gave a well-attended recital—using several clavichords—at the French Cultural Center and Library. Since then, the society has presented numerous concerts, several master classes, lectures, “Clavichord Days,” “Clavichord Weekends,” and clavichord demonstrations at music schools and elsewhere. It has gone from an initial schedule of two recitals each season to now presenting four or more. The society has continued to participate in the biennial Boston Early Music Festival. In 2003, the society presented recitals and a symposium—held at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts—organized by BCS Board member David Schulenberg. It did the same in 2005. At BEMF 2007, it presented two recitals, one on a pedal clavichord. The society has a biannual publication. In 2004, it was renamed Tangents: The Bulletin of the Boston Clavichord Society. The first editor was Alan Durfee. The present editor is Beverly Woodward. The bulletin contains both clavichord-related news and scholarly explorations of clavichord-related topics. It is currently received and catalogued by libraries at twenty-six colleges, universities and conservatories. The society also distributes a set of pamphlets, written by Richard Troeger (the society’s second president), intended to familiarize newcomers with various aspects of the clavichord. From the outset, the society has had a website. The website is at: www.bostonclavichord.org. The webmaster is Benjamin Martinez. The site includes a calendar of the current concert season, a builders directory, a discography of currently available clavichord CDs that can be procured using a U.S. credit card, and information about back issues of the society’s bulletin. Friends of the BCS are currently found in twenty-eight states, as well as in Canada and several European countries. The society maintains ties with other clavichord societies in Europe and Japan and makes available to its friends the opportunity to subscribe to Clavichord International and to The British Clavichord Society Newsletter, The BCS has a eleven-member Board of Directors and an nine-member Board of Artistic Advisors. The current president of the BCS is Peter Sykes. David Schulenberg is vice-president. Beverly Woodward September 28, 2008 Board of Directors Peter Sykes, President David Schulenberg, Vice President Beverly Woodward, Treasurer and Editor of Tangents Paul Monsky, Assistant Treasurer Paul Rabin, Clerk Tim Hamilton, Assistant Clerk Sylvia Berry Paulette Grundeen Christa Rakich David Kim Ellen Pond Board of Artistic Advisors Joan Benson Clifford Boehmer Bernard Brauchli Lynn Edwards Christopher Hogwood Margaret Irwin-Brandon Mark Kroll Darcy Kuronen William Porter Howard Schott†
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