Chicago (August 30, 2006) - David Spadafora, president and librarian of the Newberry Library, announced today that Mary Springfels will be leaving her position as artistic director of the Newberry Consort, following the conclusion of the group's 20th anniversary season. Springfels has directed the Consort since it was formed in 1986.
"Under Mary's leadership, the Newberry Consort has delighted and educated a generation of early music fans," Spadafora said. "She leaves us with a great legacy of excellence, having built a superb group and program that will continue to flourish. Everyone connected with the Consort and the Newberry regrets her departure, but we understand her desire to retire to New Mexico."
Springfels came to the Newberry Library 25 years ago to start an early music concert series to showcase the Library's magnificent music collections. The Consort grew out of the series, and over the years, the ensemble has had many important milestones including an international tour and nine recordings with Harmonia Mundi USA. Another notable accomplishment during Mary's tenure is the Consort's exploration of European early music in non-European settings. In past seasons, the Consort has performed Baroque and medieval music that was introduced to China. This season, the players will continue this trend by showcasing music written by Spaniards in colonial Mexico.
"I just felt the need for a big change in my life," explained Springfels, who will be retiring to New Mexico. "I've always been in love with that part of the country. While reluctant of course to step down in my official role, I am excited to watch the new directions the Consort will take in the future."
The Newberry Consort is known for its well-researched performances, for which Springfels has made the Consort famous during her time as a director, noted Ken Perlow, the group's manager.
"Mary also knows how to connect with her audiences," he said. "She has an incredible breadth and depth of knowledge spanning six centuries of repertoire. Pre-Classical music is intimate, deeply personal; it was written to cast a spell, which somehow Mary always can summon."
Spadafora and Vice President for Research and Education James Grossman are planning the process for the selection of Springfels' successor. They are confident that the Consort will continue Springfels' tradition of excellence in the future.
Background Information for Mary Springfels
Mary Springfels remembers hearing New York Pro Musica perform early music for the first time when she was 14 years old. She said she immediately fell in love with it and began learning early music instruments in college. She began playing viola da gamba and related early music instruments professionally in 1968. She has been Musician-in-Residence at the Newberry Library since 1982.
Besides founding and directing the Consort, Springfels has performed and recorded extensively with such ensembles as the New York Pro Musica, the Waverly Consort, Concert Royal, Sequentia, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, the Seattle Baroque Orchestra, Music of the Baroque, Musica Sacra, the Marlborough Festival, the New York City Opera, and Chicago Opera Theater, where she has served as an artistic advisor.
In Chicago Springfels has also served as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University. She has taught and performed in summer festivals throughout the US, among them the San Francisco, Madison, and Amherst Early Music Festivals, and the Conclave of the Viola da Gamba Society of America. In 2004 she delivered the keynote address to the Berkeley Festival and Exhibition for Early Music America.
Over the past few years, Springfels has become very active in baroque opera, and she has performed with organizations such as the New York City Opera and Central City Opera. She will continue this involvement as well as providing lectures.
RECORDINGS WITH THE NEWBERRY CONSORT
The Newberry Consort has recorded the following CDs for Harmonia Mundi USA: Musick for Severall Friends, ¡Ay Amor!, Missa de la Mapa Mundi, Il Solazzo, Wanderers' Voices, and The Golden Dream: Music of the Low Countries. The most recent CD, Puzzles and Perfect Beauty: Italian Music at the End of the Middle Ages, was released in November 2004 on the Noyse Productions label.
ABOUT THE NEWBERRY CONSORT
The Newberry Consort began as part of the Early Music from the Newberry series, which was founded by gambist and current director Mary Springfels in 1982. The Newberry Consort also includes violinist David Douglass and countertenor Drew Minter, who have been performing with Springfels for 20 years. Soprano Ellen Hargis joined the Consort in 2002. The Newberry Consort performs early music, which refers to pieces usually composed in Western Europe as early as the 9th century up to the Baroque period around 1750. To perform these pieces, the Newberry Consort players use period instruments such as the composers themselves heard and played to create a sound that is different from the larger and louder orchestral and operatic repertoire we today call "classical music."
You may reach the Newberry Consort by calling (312) 255-3610 or by e-mailing consort@newberry.org. To order tickets, please call (312) 255-3700.
ABOUT THE NEWBERRY LIBRARY
The Newberry Library is an independent library open to the public for research and reference in the humanities. One of the largest independent research libraries in the United States, the Newberry holds an extraordinary collection of more than 1.5 million books, 5 million manuscript pages and 300 thousand historic maps. As one of the world's leading repositories of a broad range of books and manuscripts relating to the civilizations of western Europe and the Americas, the Library's mission is to acquire and preserve research collections of such materials, and to provide for and promote their effective use by a diverse community of users.