The group was founded in 1980, and performs music of the late Medieval and Renaissance periods.
Piffaro's instrumentarium includes shawms, dulcians, sackbuts, recorders, krumhorns, bagpipes, lutes, guitars, and a variety of percussion.
The group's founding Artistic Directors were Joan Kimball and Robert Wiemken.
Priscilla Herreid became Artistic Director beginning with the 2022-2023 concert season.
[2] Early Music America has awarded Piffaro's founders and co-artistic directors, Joan Kimball and Robert Wiemken, their 2021 Howard Mayer Brown Award for lifetime achievement in the field of early music.