The New York Recorder Guild (NYRG) was established on October 16, 1960, as the New York chapter of the American Recorder Society,^[1] and incorporated under its current name in 1975.^[2] The goal of the organization was to increase interest in the recorder as an instrument and to promote music written for it.^[3]

The first president of the New York Recorder Guild was Bernard Krainis; Martha Bixler was appointed vice-president and, one year later in 1961, music director.^[1] By 1972, the group had 185 members and organized rehearsals monthly with rotating conductors.^[3] In the late 1970s, the group moved into offices shared with its parent organization, the American Recorder Society, at 12 East 16th Street, New York, NY.^[4] They published the Early Music Newsletter regularly from 1977 through 1991.^[5][6] NYRG organized performances at St. Peter's Episcopal Church^[7][8] and Columbia University.^[9]

Monthly gatherings of the group included into the early 2000s,^[10] after which point group became largely inactive.^[2] In 2017, the NYRG was revitalized by Natalie Lebert and Deborah Booth,^[11] with meetings at The Unitarian Church of All Souls in Manhattan.^[12][13] In 2022, these monthly meetings moved to the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin in Manhattan,^[2] and NYRG members took part in subway performances of music by Bach, with The Uptown Cantata Project.^[14]

Past leadership of the NYRG has included:

• Phil Levin^[15]
• Andrew Acs^[16]
• John DeLucia^[17]
• Michael Zumoff^[18]