T H E   N E W B E R R Y   L I B R A R Y

60 West Walton Street
Chicago, Illinois 60610-7324
(312)943-9090

NEWBERRY CONSORT HOSTS A BATTLE OF THE (RENAISSANCE) BANDS

CHICAGO--From May 19 through May 22, 2005, the Newberry Consort joins forces with members of the acclaimed wind ensemble Piffaro to present The Musicians of Venus and Mercury.  The concert repertoire spans 1450-1490, when the Palazzo Schifanoia in Ferrara, Italy, was a lively center of music, poetry, dance and intellectual experimentation.  Compositions will include improvised dances and songs by Dufay, Compere, Martini, and Josquin.  The multi-media performance will also feature readings from Matteo Maria Boiardo's Orlando Innamorato, the first great Renaissance epic poem, and a slide show of Palazzo Schifanoia frescoes.

The Musicians of Venus and Mercury will feature an exciting sextet of multi-faceted musicians playing trombones, shawms, recorders, lutes and viols--the loud winds of Mercury and the soft strings of Venus.  Musicians include the Consort's Mary Springfels and David Douglass, Piffaro's Grant Herreid and Tom Zajac, and guest artists Craig Trompeter and Debra Nagy.

The Newberry Consort will present four performances of The Musicians of Venus and Mercury in Chicago, Oak Park, and Evanston.  Ticket prices vary by section and venue, but range from $21-$38 for general attendance, $19-$34 for Library Associates and seniors, and $11-$19 for students.  Open rehearsal tickets are $10, $7, and $5, respectively.  For more information, call the Center for Public Programs at (312)255-3700.

This program is sponsored, in part, by the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation and the Istituto Italiano di Cultura.

The Newberry Consort is ensemble-in-residence at the Newberry Library, the Northwestern University School of Music, and the University of Chicago.  Programs are made possible in part with funding from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, a CityArts Program 4 grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, and generous individuals known as the Friends of the Consort.  The Anne P. Lederer Research Institute supports the open rehearsals and Senior Community Project.