Blackheath Baroque is a thriving community of instrumentalists who want to make music with others and share a love for Early Music, ranging from the 17th century to the late baroque and early classical period.

The group has been developed to offer historical performance opportunities for musicians with an interest in Early Music who want to further their knowledge in this field and to explore the vast and rich repertoire with like-minded people. The Conservatoire has its own harpsichord, a French-style five octave single manual, that we use for the lessons. There aren't many places out there for adults to play together and so our aim is to create such a place, in a friendly, welcoming and relaxed atmosphere. The repertoire we have covered includes JS Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No 4 and Orchestral Suites Nos. 1 and 2, Telemann's Double Concertos for Flute and Recorder, and many trio sonatas by Telemann, Boismortier, Janitzch and CPE Bach to name but a few. We have also joined forces with the Conservatoire's choirs to perform Pergolesi's Stabat Mater and Charpentier's Messe de Minuit pour Noël.

Blackheath Baroque Ensemble I (Tuesdays, 7-8pm) offers students from approximately Grade 6 and above an opportunity to play in a chamber ensemble, playing the trio sonata, quartet and quintet repertoire, mostly one to a part.

Blackheath Baroque Ensemble II (Mondays, 8-9pm) offers students from approximately Grade 7 and above an opportunity to play in a chamber ensemble, playing the trio sonata, quartet and quintet repertoire, mostly one to a part. This is a fantastic opportunity to develop your musical skills and enjoy playing with others. The groups welcome players of recorders, flutes, oboes, bassoons, strings, piano/harpsichord, viola da gamba, theorba, lute and archlute. The Conservatoire also has its own harpsichord, a French style five octave single manual, which we use for lessons. The group was developed to offer historical performance opportunities for musicians with an interest in Early Music who want to further their knowledge in this field, and to explore the vast and rich repertoire with like-minded people.

Blackheath Baroque Orchestra (Tuesdays, 8.15-9.15pm) is for players from approximately Grade 6 standard and up. The orchestra aims to explore the orchestral repertoire written before 1800 in a historically informed way. This is an exciting opportunity to play with a wide range of instruments in a chamber setting. As this is a baroque chamber orchestra it will be mostly one or two instruments per part.