Chicago's Newberry Consort is one of the city's leading early music groups, offering concerts and recordings of consistently high quality since its founding in 1986. The group is associated with Chicago's Newberry Library and has based its programming in part on the rich lode of music manuscripts among that private library's holdings. Mary Springfels formed the Newberry Consort in 1986, retaining the services of musicians who had appeared at the library. Springfels served as the Newberry Consort's director for many years, and she was succeeded by David Douglass and Ellen Hargis. The Newberry Consort made its recording debut with ¡Ay Amor! in 1991. In 2021, the Newberry Consort released the albums Juan de Lienas: Vespers and A Mexican Christmas. That year, Douglass and Hargis stepped down as music directors and were succeeded by Liza Malamut.