Piffaro, Philadelphia’s acclaimed Renaissance Band, opens its 2026-2027 season next month with an all-instrumental program, “At the Sign of the Crumhorn,” with one of its first performances scheduled for The Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, 8855 Germantown Ave.

The group’s musicians will recreate the sounds of 16th-century Antwerp with shawms, sackbuts, dulcians, crumhorns and other remarkable Renaissance instruments. The concert will take place on Oct. 17 at 7:30 p.m. It will be filmed live and streamed online Nov. 2-15.

The program will guide listeners to a bustling shop located “at the Sign of the Crumhorn.” Behind the door, Tielman Susato’s printing press was churning out the newest, best and most exciting music of the day, eagerly anticipated by musicians and dancers. Piffaro explores the multi-faceted life of this fascinating professional: a savvy publisher, working trombonist and successful composer.

“So many of us were first introduced to the early music genre through Susato’s dances,” notes Piffaro artistic director, Priscilla Herreid, in a news release. “When we hear these dance tunes, we are transported back to the sound of an old recording we had, or to memories of playing orchestral, band or brass quintet arrangements. I’m elated to have this opportunity to play some of those great tunes.”

Herreid adds, “My favorite musicians to work with can find both the beauty and the fun in dance music, and can also break your heart with the way they play more intricate music. I imagine that Susato would have been all of those things, and more.”

Piffaro has delighted audiences around the world for over four decades with recreations of the rustic music of the peasantry and the elegant sounds of the official wind bands of the late medieval and Renaissance periods. They breathe life into history with their ever-expanding instrumentarium — all careful reconstructions of instruments from the period, and the only professional collection of its kind in North America.

The full 2026-2027 season is as follows:

“At Sign of the Crumhorn”

Oct. 16, The Church of the Holy Trinity, Rittenhouse Square

Oct. 17, The Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill

Oct. 18, Christ Church Christiana Hundred, Wilmington

Nov. 2–15, streaming online

“In the Midwinter Light” (with Grammy-winning tenor James Reese)

Dec. 4, The Church of the Holy Trinity, Rittenhouse Square

Dec. 5, The Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill

Dec. 6, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Wilmington

Dec. 18–31, streaming online

“From the Source: A Mass for Manila” (with Dutch vocal ensemble Cappella Pratensis)

Feb. 26, The Church of the Holy Trinity, Rittenhouse Square

Feb. 27, The Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill

Feb. 28, Christ Church Christiana Hundred, Wilmington

March 15–28, streaming online

“At the Town Square: Music of Renaissance Germany” (all instrumental)

May 7, The Church of the Holy Trinity, Rittenhouse Square

May 8, The Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill

May 9, Christ Church Christiana Hundred, Wilmington

May 24–June 6, streaming online

“Philadelphia Recorder Fest”

Piffaro invites the community to celebrate the recorder with a play-in and free performances.

April 3, location TBA

Nov. 2–15, streaming online

Tickets and subscriptions are on sale now at piffaro.org, by phone at 215-235-8469, or at the venue one hour before concerts. Prices start at $29 for in-person tickets; youth and full-time students attend free of charge.