Bowen Violin Shop Run by Sharon Bowen since 1981, this 470-square-foot shop on the eighth floor of the Hyde Park Bank offers affordable violins, violas, cellos, and accessories, many in a price range accessible to students. The shop also rents and repairs instruments (single-day service is available for bow rehairing). A second location at 410 S. Michigan, opened in 1995 by Sharon’s husband, John, handles strictly repairs. The Hyde Park location is open by appointment only during the hours below. Mon, Wed, and Fri 11 AM-5:30 PM, Tue and Thu 2:30-5:30 PM, 1525 E. 53rd, suite 828, 773-752-1156, bowenviolinshop.com. —Peter Margasak
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Contempo Formerly the University of Chicago Contemporary Chamber Players, Contempo has been an unambiguously progressive force in classical music since its founding by composer Ralph Shapey in 1964. Composer Shulamit Ran has been the collective’s artistic director since 2002, and its core membership now consists of the musicians in Eighth Blackbird and the Pacifica Quartet, augmented as needed by performers from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra or Lyric Opera. Contempo regularly premieres new work and often collaborates with artists outside the classical realm. Some of the group’s concerts take place at off-campus venues like the Harris Theater for Music and Dance (where Eighth Blackbird plays March 24) and the Museum of Contemporary Art, but on May 14 Contempo plays at Fulton Recital Hall (Goodspeed Hall, fourth floor, 1010 E. 59th, 773-702-8069). A relatively intimate room that seats about 150, Fulton has had a special place in my heart ever since I saw a wonderful concert there by British improvised-music pioneers AMM in 1996. contempo.uchicago.edu. —PM
Experimental Station This community center, technically in Woodlawn, describes itself as a nonprofit “cultural incubator.” It occasionally hosts concerts, but at press time no music was scheduled. See Martha Bayne’s story on the 61st Street Community Garden in the front of this issue for more about the center. 6100 S. Blackstone, 773-241-6044, experimentalstation.org. —PM
Hyde Park Suzuki Institute Hyde Park is home to one of a handful of centers in the Chicago area that use the famous Suzuki method, an immersive approach that begins when students are three or four years old and encourages them to learn to play an instrument the same way they learn to speak. The school offers training for violin, viola, cello, and piano; conventional music lessons are available too, for adults as well as kids. See also Education and Volunteering. 5500 S. Woodlawn, 773-643-1388, hydeparksuzuki.com. —PM
Marsha’s Music Together Music Together, which also has locations in Wicker Park and Lincoln Park, is a music-education program for babies, toddlers, and young kids—basically children who aren’t ready for more formal lessons. It’s not based on learning scales and keys, or even on learning to play an instrument (beyond basic percussion), but instead teaches the very deepest foundations of musicianship, like keeping rhythm. Kids, parents, and instructors engage in sing-alongs, clap-alongs, and drum-alongs designed to have a more positive developmental effect than your typical preschool racket making—but that seem just as fun. 5485 S. Cornell, 773-288-3815, marshasmusic.com. —MR
University of Chicago Folk Festival The prestigious University of Chicago Folk Festival celebrated its 50th anniversary last month with three days of concerts at Mandel Hall—bluegrass, blues, old-timey string-band music, klezmer, Greek and Creole music, and more. The shows are always ticketed, but the fest’s daytime workshops at Ida Noyes Hall (1212 E. 59th, 773-702-9737), which cover subjects like hurdy-gurdy, shape-note singing, and 19th-century parlor music, have always been free. uofcfolk.org. —PM
