The Newberry Consort Presents Concert Celebrating the Innovations of the Renaissance March 13-15

Jan. 22, 2026

Chicago, Ill. — As the Middle Ages ended and the Renaissance began, music and technology experienced an explosion of innovation and invention. The printing press, flying machines, golf, whiskey, parachutes, bell chimes, toothbrushes, spring-driven clocks… these inventions and more changed society as we knew it. At the same time, music was undergoing innovations of its own. From the interlocking polyrhythms of Johannes Ockeghem and Antoine Busnoys to the aural revolution of Josquin des Prez’s exquisite motets, music in Europe was never the same.

This March, The Newberry Consort will celebrate the revolutionary sounds that changed the course of music in Europe and beyond in their concert “Corkscrews, Coils and Clocks,” playing March 13 at Bond Chapel at the University of Chicago in Hyde Park, March 14 at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Evanston, and March 15 at Ganz Hall at Roosevelt University in the Loop.

The concert will not only feature the innovative music of the 15th and 16th centuries but will also highlight instruments that evolved during that time as well. For example, earlier pieces will be performed on earlier instruments such as medieval slide trumpets and shawms, and later pieces will be performed on more “modern” instruments such as dulcians, sackbuts and recorders, allowing the audience to visually chart the music’s aural and technological evolution from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance.

Projection artist Shawn Keener will display images and drawings of 15th- and 16th-century inventions and innovations, including diagrams by Leonardo da Vinci, Johannes Gutenberg, and more while the music is performed. The art will give important context to the program and allow audiences to see how this “new” music fit into the exciting landscape of the Renaissance.

“I love that our audience will be able to connect the evolution of music and musical instruments with the parallel advances of science, technology, theory, and ideas during the Renaissance," Malamut says. “The opportunity to experience these advancements close up, both visually and sonically, will be a treat not just for music enthusiasts, but for people who love science, philosophy, technology, and more.”

The music will be performed by a consort of singers — soprano Camila Parias, mezzo-soprano Laura Pudwell, tenor Matthew Dean, and bass Ian Prichard — accompanied by a group of six musicians playing on historical instruments: Malamut on sackbut and slide trumpet; Ben David Aronson on sackbut; Rotem Gilbert and Daniel Stillman on shawms, dulcians, recorders, and bagpipes; Dani Zanutti-Frank on Renaissance lute; and Chicago-based music specialist Mary Vanhoozer-Rodriguez on hurdy gurdy, a hand-cranked instrument that uses a wheel to produce sound.

In addition to the three performances in Chicago, The Newberry Consort will also take this show on tour to Kansas, where they will perform at the Kansas State University as a featured guest ensemble on March 17.

Corkscrews, Coils and Clocks
The Newberry Consort celebrates the musical, technological, and scientific inventions from the 15th and 16th centuries in this concert featuring music by Johannes Ockeghem, Antoine Busnoys, Josquin des Prez and more. See images, art, and diagrams of Renaissance innovations projected onto a screen while you listen to music performed on the instruments designed during that time period.

Friday, March 13, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. at Bond Chapel at University of Chicago, 1025 E 58th St, Chicago
Saturday, March 14, 2026 at 4 p.m. at Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church 939 Hinman Avenue, Evanston
Sunday, March 15, 2026 at 4 p.m. at Ganz Hall at Roosevelt University, 430 S Michigan Ave, Chicago

Tickets: $70 for preferred seating, $45 for general admission, $25 for affordable access tickets, $10 for students with a valid student ID, and free for children 16 and under.

To purchase tickets please visit www.newberryconsort.org.

About The Newberry Consort:
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. By integrating historical performance and research with contemporary themes and multimedia, we inspire audiences, musicians, and scholars by providing a window into earlier times and diverse cultures. The Consort continues to uplift Chicago’s early music community through mentorships, teaching, and engagement of local artists.