In 2004, Lawrence Klevan and I became friends. New music was a major common interest. Lawrence was working for the Chicago Dance and Music Alliance and had come to know many of the new music ensembles. He and I talked about the idea of creating a consortium of the performing groups, and we raised the question with several musicians. Thus, in 2005, New Music Chicago was born. The first concert series was supported by Fulcrum Point, and Stephen Burns became our first president. The rest is history, as we say.
I call myself avid audience, since I am not a performer. I did play violin and piano, but my exposure to 20th century music came through my wonderful dance teacher, who played all sorts of music and introduced us to Merce Cunningham and John Cage who came to Chicago in 1955. I was helped along by exposure to Varese by a friend of my parents. Funny how these things happen! I served on the NMC Board till 2010.