The American Recorder Society
Tables P-1 and P-11
The American Recorder Society is a non-profit membership organization that promotes the pleasures of recorder playing. For over 85 years, the ARS has provided a supportive community for all who value the recorder and its music. Its members are more than 2,000 chapters, consorts, individuals, and businesses, representing a community of players throughout the U.S., Canada, and 30+ countries around the world. The recorder and its music has been an integral part of more than 600 years of the historical development of music as we currently practice it. The ARS carries on this legacy by promoting it to amateurs, professionals, and youth from all backgrounds. Not only is the recorder a serious instrument in its own right (embracing skill levels from beginner to virtuoso), but it is a gateway to all forms of early music and to the delights of playing in social groups of all backgrounds and cultures.
Recorders come in many sizes, from miniature to 8-foot giants. The main constituents of the ARS are
- Professionals and teachers who perform for their audiences and mentor their students builders
- Composers, arrangers, publishers who produce recorders and its repertoire
- Amateurs who play for the sheer joy of it with their Chapters, Consorts, and Recorder Orchestras
- Students of all ages who continue the long and much-loved tradition of the recorder The ARS works to bring these groups together to learn and collaborate in a friendly, supportive environment that promotes networking, information exchange, and other shared goals.
As a member of the National Guild for Community Arts Education, the ARS is committed to making high quality arts education accessible to all.
