Trombonist, researcher, and educator Liza Malamut joined UChicago as the Director of the Early Music Ensemble in the Autumn 2025 quarter. Learn more about her vision for the ensemble, the importance of early music, and more in this interview!
In addition to directing the Early Music Ensemble here at UChicago, you are also the Artistic Director of The Newberry Consort, teach historical trombone at Indiana University, and are an active researcher and performer. How do your performer, educator, and researcher sides complement one another?
Early music is a multifaceted area of study. I have found that teaching, programming, researching, and performing are all intertwined, and that they enhance one another. For example, my research into repertoire and performance practice directly informs my programs and teaching styles, including my choices of music for the UChicago Early Music Ensemble. Teaching and performing are truly different sides of the same coin. I enjoy using my own experiences to elevate my students’ enthusiasm for music, and I also love learning from them. Watching my students fall in love with early music is one of my greatest joys.
How is early music relevant in the present day? What can we learn from it?
Early music allows us to peer into the past using music as our lens. This, in turn, gives us an opportunity to contextualize history, and sometimes even reexamine it and come to new conclusions. Every piece of music, no matter how old or obscure, has a story. Who wrote it, and why? Where was the music performed, and by whom? What were the circumstances surrounding the music? What communities would have engaged with it? What external events affected it? Why did some pieces survive to be performed today, yet others have not? The answers aren’t always what we think. Telling these stories through sound can give us important new perspectives.
Why should students consider joining the Early Music Ensemble?
The early music community is one of the friendliest and most inclusive places to make music! The ensemble is open to all levels, including UChicago students, faculty, staff, alumni, and members of the Chicago community. Not only is it ridiculously fun to sing in early styles and play historical instruments, but it’s even better to do it surrounded by supportive friends. And the music is truly beautiful and varied; think hundreds of years of repertoire, much of which is still totally unexplored. I find the creative and intellectual aspects of historical performance to be one of its greatest draws.
In your first year with the Early Music Ensemble, what are you most looking forward to?
We already had a great session with Trio Mediaeval in our first quarter, and I’m really excited to continue working with them and any future UChicago guests and clinicians. Our next concert features sacred and secular music from the Netherlands, France, Germany, and beyond, including some upbeat dances that are really fun to play.
How does a historical performance differ from a modern performance?
The biggest thing people usually notice is the difference in instruments. We play on historical instruments or replicas to get as close to the sound of earlier time periods as possible. We also combine voices and instruments in a variety of ways that may be unusual for modern audiences. For example, in some pieces, instruments play “colla parte,” or as part of the choir, blending with voices to make a brand new sound. This is one of my favorite things about early music performance practice!
Are there any places in Hyde Park or on campus that you’re excited to explore?
I love the museums! I’ve already checked out the ISAC museum, and I’m looking forward to visiting the Smart Museum. I also fell in love with the Harper Memorial Library. I plan to spend a lot of time in there.
What are three songs you’ve had on repeat recently?
I’m a big early music nerd (as you may have guessed), and lately I’ve been researching early Flemish and Viennese music. I’m currently obsessed with Fux’s Kaiserrequiem and Busnois’s In hydraulis. I also love purchasing old records from the $1 bin at my local record store. Lately, I’ve been playing an old album by Joni Mitchell while making dinner.
What do you like to do in your free time?
I love the outdoors! I love hiking, camping, long-distance trekking, and running. Lately I’ve been dipping a toe into rock climbing, ice climbing, and beginner mountaineering. I also enjoy reading (especially fantasy/science fiction) and cooking (especially baking).
Any upcoming projects you’d like to plug?
I’m definitely excited about the Early Music Ensemble’s winter concert on February 21st! Come hear warm music on a cold evening—lush sacred polyphony, beautiful secular songs, and cheerful dances will brighten your day!
The Newberry Consort will also be performing in Bond Chapel this March. It’s a program called Corkscrews, Coils, and Clocks, and it features musical evolution during the Age of Invention. Think Leonardo Da Vinci and some really cool instruments such as the shawm (early oboe) and plectrum lute. There are special rates for students. The Early Music Ensemble will be performing a piece or two by composers on this program (such as Zarlino and Busnois) during our February concert—bringing us full circle, I suppose, to your first question! I’m really excited for UChicago folks to get involved with the world of early music.