Altramar specializes in the music of the Medieval Era, sharing historical repertory in the context of human experience, and evoking the vibrant tapestry of medieval culture. Altramar combines a process of collaborative partnership with a commitment to scholarship and expression. Since 1991, Altramar has been presenting their unique blend of song and story, and voices and instruments to audiences throughout North America. Altramar, in the Occitan language of the troubadours, was the name given to the Near Eastern lands that lay "over the sea," where crusade and trade resulted in the rich cultural interchange of East and West.

   Altramar uses instruments appropriate to the times and places of their repertoire. Information about medieval instruments often comes from iconography, because very few originals survive. By studying paintings and sculptures, one can discover which instruments were played when and where. Using this type of research, Timothy G. Johnson has created a matched set of instruments for Altramar.