Chamber Music on the Fox heads to 17th century Italy

Chamber Music on the Fox will bring the music of 17th century Italy to the Fox Valley at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 30. The concert, featuring the celebrated Newberry Consort, will take place at the First Congregational Church of Dundee, 900 S. Eighth St., West Dundee. Tickets are $10 for students and $20 for adults. Tickets can be purchased at www.chambermusiconthefox.org.

"I'm very excited to be bringing the very prestigious and storied Newberry Consort to our community this season. This performance is a special treat for our audience, as the performers will be using period-specific instruments, including the sackbut, which is a predecessor to the trombone, a Baroque organ, and a Baroque violin," said Mark Fry, artistic director, Chamber Music on the Fox.

The Seicento, the turn of the 17th century in Italy, was a time of transition: instrumental music was on the rise and virtuosity was in vogue. The stile moderno, or "modern style," in turn affected music throughout early modern Europe.

Newberry Consort will present a selection of this music by composers Castello, Notari, Marini, Jarzebski, and more.

Jason J. Moy, one of the most sought-after harpsichordists in the Midwest, will be featured on historical keyboards. Alice Culin-Ellison, who regularly performs with the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra and Chatham Baroque, will perform on violin. The sackbut will be played by Liza Malamut, artistic director of Newberry Consort. The musicians will be joined by soprano Nathalie Colas, soloist, voice instructor, and co-founder of Third Coast Baroque, Liederstube, and new music ensemble Fonema Consort.

Newberry Consort is in its 32nd season of offering audiences performances from the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Baroque and beyond. Originally an in-house music series at Chicago's The Newberry Library, the Newberry Consort is now a not-for-profit organization and is currently an Ensemble-in-Residence at Roosevelt University. For information on the Newberry Consort, visit www.newberryconsort.org.