October 6 was a banner day for the Chicago Composers’ Consortium – we celebrated our 30th anniversary at the Experimental Sound Studio. For any organization, this is a remarkable amount of time. For a small self-administered not-for-profit group, it is a minor miracle.
Beth Bradfish and KC Ginther took the lead in organizing the event, assuring that good food (from the Middle Eastern Bakery in Andersonville), lovely silent auction art works and scheduling all went smoothly. Kyong Mee Choi, Martha Horst and Laura Schwendinger used their considerable charm in engaging our attendees, making sure the food and wine remained properly displayed and directing our attendees to the performing space. Tim Edwards provided important audiovisual `support of C3 history. Larry Axelrod, Tim Johnson and Betsy Start, along with former member Sebastian Huydts and flutist and dear longtime supporter and friend Caroline Pittman were the performers.
We also took this important marker to honor one of Chicago’s most fervent supporters of new music – Jane Heron. Jane’s role in creating New Music Chicago, her support of us and many of other new music groups, and her sane, solid advice have been fixtures for many years. We were delighted to share our celebration of good fortune with her.
It was a lovely afternoon, so our audience friends were able to enjoy the garden space. To our delight, most people decided to spend several hours with us, enjoying good food, conversation and music. The warmth and good will of the event were readily apparent to everyone.
Here’s to the beginning of our next decade of bringing the newest music to Chicago!