About Us
Ars Musica Chicago makes early music relevant and engaging for modern listeners through historically informed performance and educational outreach for all ages. Since its inception nearly 40 years ago, Ars Musica Chicago has presented countless concerts, workshops, and educational programs highlighting the richness and cultural heritage of early music. Under the leadership of its Artistic Director, harpsichordist Jason J. Moy, Ars Musica Chicago has distinguished itself in Chicago’s vibrant early music scene as one of the only ensembles dedicated to period instrument performances of Renaissance, Baroque, and early Classical chamber repertoire.
Our Artistic Director
Jason is a founding member of the award-winning period instrument ensemble Trio Speranza, and principal keyboardist of the Bach Week Festival Orchestra. He has performed as a soloist and continuo player throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, with notable appearances at the Boston Early Music Festival, the York Early Music Festival (UK), and on the acclaimed Dame Myra Hess and Rush Hour Concert Series in Chicago. He frequently performs with such esteemed ensembles as the Newberry Consort, Haymarket Opera Company, Grant Park Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, South Bend Symphony Orchestra, and Bella Voce.
Jason J. Moy is Artistic Director of Ars Musica Chicago and one of the most sought-after Early Keyboard specialists in the Midwest. He is a proud graduate of the Early Music program at McGill University in Canada, and counts Hank Knox, Ketil Haugsand, Andrew Lawrence-King, and the late Bruce Haynes among his most influential mentors and teachers. Jason teaches at DePaul University, where he was awarded the School of Music’s first-ever endowed chair as Monsignor Kenneth J. Velo Distinguished Professor in 2022, and at Roosevelt University, where he was recently appointed Artist-Faculty in Early Keyboards in the Chicago College of Performing Arts.
Originally founded in 1986 as the American Medieval Players, Ars Musica Chicago quickly gained recognition for its interdisciplinary approach to early music under the dynamic leadership of the classical musician, musicologist, and DePaul University professor, Dr. Enrique Arias (1941-2004). With his commitment to “Opening Ears to forgotten beauty”—Ars Musica Chicago’s motto for many decades—Dr. Arias helped make centuries-old music from Europe and Latin America accessible, engaging, and relevant to present-day audiences through innovative and lively concerts, and educational outreach events for Chicago Public School students. Dr. Arias’s mission to combine public performances of “recovered” musical treasures with complementary engagements in the community quickly made Ars Musica Chicago a unique and indispensable player among the city’s cultural organizations.
This mission has been proudly sustained through nearly four decades, leaving a viable legacy that is being further developed and expanded under the leadership of its current Artistic Director, Jason J. Moy. Ars Musica Chicago presents an annual concert series in historic venues across Chicago featuring early music specialists from around the United States and Canada performing alongside up-and-coming local talent. On the road, Ars Musica Chicago has given acclaimed performances on the Taylor Johnson Early Music Series at Michigan State University, and for the prestigious Indianapolis Early Music Festival. Recent outreach events for Chicago Public Schools students include a presentation showcasing the music of Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre and Isabella Leonarda at Franklin Fine Arts Academy, and a performance and period instrument demonstration at Stephen T. Mather High School for which Ars Musica Chicago received an Early Music America Outreach Grant in 2017.
Our History
Jason J. Moy, Artistic Director
Terry Duchow, President & Treasurer
Elinor Olin, Vice-President
Ellen Credille
Jineen Heiman
Bonnie Tipton Long
Simone Zurawski