The Newberry Consort

Description

Described as "the city's flagship early-music ensemble and artistic standard-bearer" by the Chicago Tribune, The Newberry Consort has performed intriguing early music repertoire in exciting new ways for over 36 years. From Arthurian legends to bawdy Italian poetry to Renaissance Mexican traditions, the Consort brings medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque music to life.
The Consort offers a yearly concert series in Chicago, where musicians perform on period instruments using historical performance styles. In addition, the Consort tours throughout the United States and the world, appearing everywhere from local concert series and festivals to the Utrecht Early Music Festival and the Boston Early Music Festival. Praised as "Chicago's gift to the early music world" by the Boston Globe, the Consort has produced over ten albums and produces new and innovative live programming every year. The 2023-2024 season includes work by the 16th-century German composer Sophie Elisabeth of Brunswick, medieval French music, and Venetian music associated with the artist Jacopo Tintoretto, plus the bilingual "A Latin-American Christmas." The Consort regularly works with local singers and instrumentalists and collaborates with local and national organizations including Bella Voce, Trobár Medieval Ensemble, Haymarket Opera, and Incantare. The Newberry Consort is currently the ensemble-in-residence at Roosevelt University.

Work Sample

https://www.newberryconsort.org/media

"Nasce la fiamma mia" by Giovanni Giacomo Gastoldi (ca. 1554-1609)
Madama Europa at the Gonzaga Court
Ganz Hall, Roosevelt University
October 30, 2022
Directed by Liza Malamut

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https://www.newberryconsort.org/media

"Libyca" from Prophetiae Sibyllarum, by Orlande de Lassus (ca.1532-1594)
Oracles, Prophets, and Dreams
Ganz Hall, Roosevelt University
March 19, 2023
Directed by Liza Malamut

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https://www.newberryconsort.org/media

"Qué música divina" by José de Cáseda (ca1660-1725)
Mexican Christmas
Saint Mary of the Lake Catholic Church, Chicago
December 22, 2022
Co-directed by Ellen Hargis and Francy Acosta

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The work samples provided here exemplify the wide array of themes explored in Newberry Consort programs. For example, "Madama Europa in the Gonzaga Court" (Fall, 2022) featured the long overlooked music and life of a Jewish singer in Renaissance Italy. Well known in her own time, her story brings to light the complex relationships between Jews, women, music, patronage, and professional creative life. "Oracles, Prophets, and Dreams" (Winter 2023) reflects the Consort's ability to explore complex literary themes in an accessible way. This concert featured the music of the 16th-century Flemish composer Orlande de Lassus about the 12 Sybils (the Oracles of Apollo), interspersed with other music exploring the theme of dreams, prophecy, and visions. Multimedia projections and narration helped to carry the audience into their own dream world. Since 2018, the Newberry Consort's "A Mexican Christmas" has been a holiday favorite. Featuring sacred and popular holiday music from Renaissance and Baroque Mexico, it demonstrates the ensemble's ability to combine familiar and unfamiliar music to create a novel musical experience. This coming season, the Consort will take a look at other regions throughout Latin America, performing holiday music that incorporates an even wider range of music traditions.

History

The Newberry Consort was founded in 1986 to bring to the stage the latest discoveries in Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music, using period instruments and incorporating historical performance practices. Originally part of Chicago's Newberry Library, the Consort has operated independently since 2009. In 2022, acclaimed trombonist Liza Malamut was named successor to longtime co-artistic directors David Douglass and Ellen Hargis. As the new artistic director, Malamut is committed to the musical integrity and innovation for which the Consort is known. A mid-career artist, she is eager to pursue new avenues of access to early music. The Consort has recorded ten albums under the Harmonia Mundi and Navona record labels. Most recently, the Consort recorded Juan de Llienas's Vespers, featuring Baroque music for women's voices and instruments. The Consort has been sought after at music festivals and series all over the world, including the Boston and Utrecht Early Music festivals. The Consort has also been in residence at the University of Chicago, Northwestern University and is currently the ensemble-in-residence at Roosevelt University.

Artistic Vision

The Newberry Consort brings together singers and instrumentalists of the highest caliber to create historically informed performances of music from the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Baroque, and beyond. Our goal is always to provide accessible and engaging musical experiences that integrate historical performance practice and research with contemporary themes. We inspire our audiences by providing a window into earlier times and diverse cultures that reflect back on our own time. The Consort's programs are organized around topics or themes: overlooked composers recently rediscovered, artistic circles that include poets and painters alongside composers and musicians, patronage, literary themes, historical occasions, etc. Our programs use multimedia art projections and often include dramatic narration, dance, and elements of theater. The Consort actively supports Chicago's early music community through mentorships, teaching, and engagement of local artists. This includes our current residency at Roosevelt University and our participation in grassroots musical endeavors. Our frequent collaborations with musical ensembles of comparable skill provide opportunities for artists in Chicago and beyond to work together.