Indiana University, Bloomington. School of Music. Early Music Institute

The Early Music Institute (EMI) was established as a part of the School of Music at Indiana University Bloomington in 1980, with Thomas Binkley serving as the founding director. The EMI was created to address the needs of students who wanted to pursue studies and increase their experience in professional performance of early music. The EMI focused on the study of performance on musical instruments from the medieval, renaissance, and baroque periods. Binkley established the Archive of Early Music Recordings in 1989, which was later renamed The Thomas Binkley Early Music Recordings Archive. Binkley felt an archive of sound recordings was necessary as a research tool in the field of musical performance and especially for the field of early music revival.

The Early Music Institute (EMI) was formally established as a part of the Indiana University School of Music in 1980. The EMI was created to address the needs of students who wanted to pursue studies and increase their experience in professional performance of early music. The EMI focused on the study of performance on musical instruments from the medieval, renaissance, and baroque periods. Today, the EMI continues to thrive and currently offers degrees at the undergraduate and graduate level.

Thomas Binkley was appointed Professor of Music at Indiana University in 1979. He founded the institute shortly thereafter, and was director of the Institute until January 1995. Previously, Binkley had been the director of the Studio der Fruhen Musik in Munich, Germany from 1957-1979. He had also been a teacher and performer in the Medieval Program at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel, Switzerland. During his tenure, Prof. Binkley founded the commercial record label, Focus Records. These recordings consisted of faculty performances and EMI ensemble performances. He also published articles and reviews in various professional journals on such topics as performance practice. In addition, he established the Archive of Early Music Recordings in 1989, which was later renamed The Thomas Binkley Early Music Recordings Archive. Binkley felt an archive of sound recordings was necessary as a research tool in the field of musical performance and especially for the field of early music revival.

Binkley died in April 1995. Wendy Gillespie served as Interim Director until Paul Hillier became Director of the Early Music Institute in 1996. Hillier maintained the position until 2003, at which time Wendy Gillespie again was appointed as the Interim Director a position she held until Michael McCraw appointment in 2005.