These are two great contemporary works that deserve a wide audience. Chicago Pro Musica was founded in 1979 by composer/pianist Easley Blackwood and Chicago Symphony Orchestra clarinetist John Bruce Yeh. Honored with the 1986 Grammy Award for "Best New Classical Artist", Chicago Pro Musica has earned an international reputation for it's dynamic performances of a widely varied repertory. The ensemble comprises several virtuoso musicians from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The Chicago Tribune has called them "one of the most versatile and artistically accomplished [ensembles] on the American chamber music scene."