The Early Music Ensemble is dedicated to vocal and instrumental music from historical periods prior to 1800, with particular emphasis on Western repertories not usually covered by other UCLA ensembles. The mission of the course is dual: to explore historical repertories and performance practices with depth and rigor, and to bring the results of these explorations to a high performance level. Founding Director Elisabeth Le Guin was an original member of Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and has made over 40 recordings of early music; her scholarship has transformed the study of early music performance as a theoretical and practical field.