ABOUT CHAMBER MUSIC CINCINNATI

Chamber Music Cincinnati is the fifth oldest U.S. chamber music series, featuring award-winning international artists at chamber music’s pinnacle (Danish, Ébène, Kronos, Pavel Haas, Takács string quartets; cellists Jean-Guihen Queyras and Alicia Weilerstein; 2025 Grammy winning soprano Karen Slack and pianist Michelle Cann; and more recent arrivals there (Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason, and the Isidore and Leonkoro quartets).

Affordable tiered pricing, including free admission for students, makes it possible for young and old to experience the ultimate in small group classical performance.

·  Alone among seven Cincinnati chamber presenters, CMC exclusively offers the world’s leading chamber music artists. (Virtually all have played Carnegie Hall.) Works spanning 300 years include those by composers Bach, Bartok, Beethoven, Coleridge-Taylor, Haydn, Montgomery, Price, Mozart, Shostakovich.

·  Each season’s concerts feature at least one of the five active BBC-named “ten greatest string quartet ensembles of all time.” CMC is the only U.S. presenter to do so.

·  During the four pre-Covid seasons from 2016-17 through 2019-20, CMC’s subscriber base tripled to

300+, reportedly leading the nation in growth.

·  Since 2021-22, when performing arts audiences shrank after the Covid shutdown, CMC’s has grown every year, more than doubling. In a survey of about 40 presenters at Chamber Music America’s 2026 conference, CMC was one of just three whose audiences had returned to or surpassed pre-Covid levels.

·  Crucial to its sustainability, CMC actively welcomes artists and audiences of all backgrounds. From 21-22 thru 23-24, it’s 20%+ Black audience made it America’s most inclusive classical series. In the past five seasons, more than 50% of its artists have had Black or Brown musicians, again leading the nation.

·  The December 10, 2024, audience for Isata and Sheku Kanneh-Mason was the largest for a Cincinnati chamber series in 25 years (review attached). This is the smallest U.S. city in which they have performed. Minus the North American premiere here of a piece by Sheku, the program was repeated at Carnegie Hall.

·  Our 2026-27 season opening Kronos quartet concert had our third best audience since the Covid shutdown.

Chamber Music Cincinnati is not a museum for music of the past. It is actively engaged in the present.

·  CMC commissions/co-commissions new works and presents the premieres (North American, U.S., and

World) of compositions commissioned by others.

·  Recognizing that talent and desire are universal, but opportunities are not, CMC actively supports the advancement of music students, especially those from disproportionately represented communities.

·  CMC guest artists coach students from Princeton, SCPA, St. Xavier, Sycamore, Walnut Hills, and Withrow high schools, Evanston Junior High School, the Marian Spencer Center for Gifted and Exceptional Students, and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s remarkable Nouveau Program.

·  A December 9, 2024, event with Isata and Sheku Kanneh-Mason drew more than 500 students from four Cincinnati public schools to Walnut Hills High. Combined with the Memorial Hall sell-out the following night (above), the Kanneh-Mason’s total Cincinnati audience exceeded 1,000.

·  CMC is forming its own stringed instrument collective to continue its partnerships with Corinthian, New Jerusalem, and New Prospect Baptist churches, and Word of Deliverance Ministries. This will also enable CMC to expand its programs at both churches and local elementary, middle, and high schools.

·  CMC is the sole standalone chamber music organization belonging to the Black Orchestral Network, Equity Arc, and the League of American Orchestras.

·  On June 1, 2025, CMC Vice President Adrian Cunningham became the first Black Board leader of a major U.S. chamber music presenter. He is also a Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Board member. Former CMC Board President John Spencer remains as Executive Director.