Newberry Consort News
Explore posts about our upcoming projects, including interviews, program notes, musical previews, and more!
Who Was Queen Christina of Sweden?
For our next concert, happening March 3 to 5, we’re delving into the world of Queen Christina of Sweden, one of Europe’s most colorful and eccentric characters. We’ll be taking audiences on a musical journey of Christina’s life, performing music that was written...
Behind-the-Scenes Rehearsal for Oswald von Wolkenstein Concert
Just a few days before our concert featuring the music of medieval nobleman, poet and composer Oswald von Wolkenstein! Here's a short video of us rehearsing for the concert and performing the multi-layered melodies that co-artistic director David Douglass created...
Getting to Know Medieval Instruments
One of the most interesting things about the Newberry Consort is the fact that we get to play so many different kinds of instruments depending on the time period that we’re focusing on in each concert. Some of the early instruments we play are recognizable and have...
Meet Our “The Count” Mentee, Allison Monroe
The Newberry Consort not only prides itself on maintaining a connection to the past through performing rarely heard early music. We also are constantly looking to the future by inviting young artists to perform with us to gain valuable mentorship experience, so we...
Exploring Medieval Music with Multimedia Slideshows
Centuries ago, music wasn’t always just written on a page. During the Middle Ages, music could also be lovingly illustrated using brightly colored paintings and gold leaf to depict the story that the songs were about. “It’s medieval multimedia,” explains Shawn...
Meet Our Kemp’s Jig Mentee, Brandon Acker
For several seasons the Newberry Consort has helped emerging musicians through our Young Artist Mentorship Program. We'd like you to meet our Kemp's Jig mentee Brandon Acker, who was kind enough to answer a few questions. Did you know a lutenist can also be a rock...
The Costumes of Kemp’s Jig
Usually, when we perform music from another time period, we have to close our eyes and imagine what the people playing it in the past would have looked like. But for our first concert of the season this year, entitled Kemp’s Jig, we are thrilled that you won’t have...
Program Notes for The Clown – Kemp’s Jig
NOTES ON THE PROGRAM 2016 marks the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare. We musicians have a special place in our hearts for Shakespeare, who loved music, used it in his plays, and frequently referred to it to manipulate the emotions of his...
Steve Player – Profile
This fall, we’re excited to perform some jigs that were common in Shakespearean England for our first concert of the season, entitled “Kemp’s Jig.” Back then, a jig was a humorous skit that was set to music and was usually performed at the end of a stage play or on...
Summer Diary, Part One
We here at the Newberry Consort often say we're bringing "the best in early music to Chicago and beyond," but if you attend our regular season concerts in Chicago you likely haven't heard much about "the beyond." This summer, we'd like to feature our directors'...
Meet mezzo-soprano Ashley Mulcahy
Newberry Consort Young Artist Mentorship Program Participant We had a chat with Ashley Mulcahy, our second participant in The Newberry Consort’s Young Artist Mentorship Program. Here’s what she had to say about singing Mexican convent music and her upcoming...
Interview with Ryaan Ahmed
Newberry Consort Young Artist Mentorship Program Participant We sat down with Ryaan Ahmed, our first participant in Newberry Consort's Young Artist Mentorship Program. Here's what he had to say about playing theorbo and his upcoming experience working with our...
