NMGM - Mayfest

New Music at the Green Mill is happy to participate in the Mayfest sponsored by New Music Chicago. Following is an article on the festival by Wynne Delacoma in the Sun-Times.

MAYFEST showcases new music ensembles

May 1, 2009
BY WYNNE DELACOMA

It's a contemporary music festival literally waiting to happen.
Beginning Saturday and running through May 17, 11 of Chicago's new music ensembles will give 12 concerts in venues ranging from the Green Mill lounge in Uptown to the Museum of Contemporary Art downtown. New Music Chicago, an umbrella organization that fosters composers and ensembles devoted to contemporary music, has decided to link the concerts in a two-week MAYFEST extravaganza.

"MAYFEST grew out of all the new music concerts already planned by the members,'' according to Larry Axelrod of the Chicago Composers Consortium, a member group of New Music Chicago. "New Music Chicago is simply throwing a spotlight on ... new art music here.''
Chicago's contemporary music scene has grown steadily in the last decade. Talented young musicians have formed groups like ensemble dal niente, a five-year-old collective of 25 musicians whose repertoire ranges from Radiohead to Stockhausen, while established groups such as the Chicago Chamber Musicians have expanded their repertoire into the 21st century. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra's MusicNOW series has primed the musical pump, and during any given week, local fans of contemporary music usually can find a concert to attend. The next two weeks, however, are unusually jam-packed.

Following is the festival lineup. Check each group's Web site for complete details.

7:30 p.m. Saturday: Chicago Composers Forum and ensemble dal niente. Acme Arts at St. Paul's 2215 W. North. New music by members of the Chicago Composers Forum and the Seattle Composers Alliance. $10-$15.
2 p.m. Sunday: New Music at the Green Mill. The Great Lakes Flute Quartet and other ensembles. Green Mill, 4802 Broadway. $5.
7:30 p.m. May 8: Chicago Chamber Musicians. Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago. Music of George Crumb and Rolf Wallin. $10-$25. Pre-concert talk with Wallin at 6:30 p.m.
6 p.m. May 11: Chicago Composers Consortium. 4933 N. Oakley. Cyber Victorian Parlor Concert. $5-$10.
5:30 p.m. May 12: Open rehearsal of Fulcrum Point New Music Project. Darnton and Hersh Violins, Stradivari Music and Arts Center, 30 N. Adams, Suite 1200. Free.
6 p.m. May. 15: Chicago Composers Forum. PianoForte Chicago, 410 S. Michigan. Experimental music performed by pianist Matthew McCright. $10-$15.
7:30 p.m. May 15: Contempo, the University of Chicago's new music ensemble. Fulton Hall, 1000 E. 59th St. Free.
8 p.m. May 15: New Music DePaul. DePaul Concert Hall, 800 W. Belden. Free.
7:30 p.m. May 16: Northwestern Contemporary Music Ensemble. Music on the theme of technology and nature. Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, 50 Arts Circle, Evanston. $5-$7.
7:30 p.m. May 16: The Accessible Contemporary Music ensemble presents rags, stomps and stride music performed by pianist Reginald Robinson. Gottlieb Hall, Merit Music School, 38 S. Peoria. $5-$12.
2 p.m. May 17: The ensemble CUBE performs works by Samuel Barber, William Bolcom, Ralph Shapey and other composers in a concert featuring baritone Daniel Billings. Elizabeth Stein Co., 410 S. Michigan. $10-$15.
7 p.m. May 17: Maverick Ensemble. Music of Elliott Carter, Steven Stucky, Robert Sierra, Villa-Lobos and others. Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, 2320 W. Chicago. $15.

Wynne Delacoma is a local free-lance writer.