The Oregon Renaissance Band, directed by Phil and Gayle Neuman, is an ensemble of 10 members that performs on a wide variety of historical instruments including early violin, recorders, sackbutts, serpent, violas da gamba, cornamusen, krummhorns, racketts, tartold, shawms, schreierpfeiffen, bagpipes, cittern, spinettino, tabor and other percussion.   The group, formed in 1991, has performed for numerous concert series in the U.S. and Germany.  Various configurations within the band include 4 singers, 4 sackbutts, 8 recorders, 4 bowed strings, 4 racketts, 4 cornamusen, 3 shawms, and many more. The ensemble specializes in performances with rhythmic precision, lively ornamentation and unparalleled variety.  The members are David Bryan, Ben Fitch, Polly Gibson, Andy Harris, Laura Kuhlman, Cindy Markham, Gayle Neuman, Phil Neuman, Kathryn Richer, and Esther Saulle.  The Oregon Renaissance Band appears in the recent movie “Buddymoon”, distributed by Orion Pictures.

“For more than two decades, Phil and Gayle Neuman have added a vital dimension to Portlandʼs classical music scene: Renaissance music performed on authentic replicas of archaic instruments—spinettino, sackbutt, rackett, tartold, cornamuse, krummhorn, bells, tabor, plus more familiar early recorders, violin, viol, lute and guitar—from the time the music was written. Their dozen-member ensembleʼs annual concert includes music by William Byrd, Thomas Tallis, Michael Praetorius and other important composers of the time—including a Magnificat by one Charles Pachelbel, spawn of the Canon fodder, and selections from their splendid new CD of Renaissance Christmas music and other celebratory sounds, Now Make We Joye”.
– Willamette Week

Past programs of The Oregon Renaissance Band have included “Early Women Composers,” “Music of Early Transylvania,” “Early Music of Scandinavia,” “An Early Christmas from Around the World,” “Music of Palestrina and Gastoldi,” “An Early Celtic Christmas,” “Tanzen und springen,” and many more.

Some of the instruments played by the Oregon Renaissance Band. Top row, left to right: treble viol, alto curtal; 2nd row: bagpipe, gourd rattle, tartold, tenor alt rackett, tenor sackbutt, bass sackbutt, contrabass sackbutt; 3rd row: violone, tenor shawm, alto shawm, 2 schreierpfeiffen, 2 krummhorns, bass douçaine, 4 recorders, 3 cornamusen, bass Praetorius schreierpfeif, bass rackett, bass curtal; 4th row: great bass rackett; 5th row: viola da braccio, spinettino