Mary Springfels is a veteran of the American Early Music Movement and has been given Lifelong Achievement awards by Early Music America and The Viola da Gamba Society of America. She is a native of Los Angeles but moved to New York at the age of 21 to join the New York Pro Musica as their viola da gambist. From that time on, Mary has been an active participant in prominent early music ensembles, including the Waverly Concert, Concert Royal, the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, The Folger Consort (Washington, DC), Ars Lyrica Houston, and the Texas Early Music Project (Austin). Mary directed the Newberry Consort in Chicago for 20 years, during which time the group made a number of critically acclaimed recordings. She has also been a continuo player for the Chicago Opera Theater, Central City Opera, and the New York City Opera. Currently, she is a codirector of Severall Friends, an early music ensemble based in Santa Fe. Mary and James Keller have collaborated on a lecture course, Orpheus in Music, for Renesan, and Mary has also spoken on The Medieval Tristan for the Santa Fe Opera Guild.