Founded in 2011, Civitas Ensemble is one of the leading chamber music groups in Chicago. The Ensemble presents repertoire spanning four centuries of music history and numerous genres and styles. The musicians nurture relationships with living composers to commission new works. Over the past 14 years, Civitas has commissioned and premiered more than ten new works. The Ensemble is currently working on commissioning projects for future seasons.

Praised for its quality of performances as well as its community engagement efforts, Civitas members are passionate about working with artists from other creative disciplines, dancers, visual artists, poets, in projects that underscore the power of cross-disciplinary arts. Past such collaborations include Alla Zingarese, an international connections project supported by MacArthur Foundation. The namesake album Alla Zingarese showcases Civitas Ensemble with Prague-based Gipsy Way Ensemble in exhilarating music inspired by the Roma music tradition.

Other collaborative projects include performances with Yo-Yo Ma at the Chicago Humanities Festival that featured panel discussion on the topic of “Artist and Citizenship.”   Civitas was named the Artists in Residence for the Chinese Fine Arts Society and has been invited by the City of Chicago to perform at the Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park, as part of the City’s Loops and Variations series.

The Ensemble continues to receive rave reviews from the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Classical Review, and Chicago on the Aisle. Its albums were on the top of Classical Billboard. Currently, there are plans for three distinct projects and featured albums with composers Mischa Zupko, James Stephenson, and Clarice Assad & Sergio Assad.

Civitas Ensemble receives generous grants from various foundations and many individuals.

Celebrating nearly three decades of transformative music-making, the Grammy-winning and four-time nominated Imani Winds has led both a revolution and an evolution of the wind quintet. Known for their dynamic playing, adventurous programming, imaginative collaborations, and impactful outreach, they have inspired audiences of all ages around the globe.

Imani Winds’ repertoire bridges the traditional and the contemporary, featuring core chamber works, reimagined arrangements, and newly commissioned pieces by both renowned and rising composers. Their programming reflects the urgency and diversity of our times, amplifying stories and voices too often left unheard.

Their 2024 release, BeLonging, a collaboration with composer Andy Akiho exploring the issue of mass incarceration, earned a 2025 Grammy nomination. Other recent highlights include a double quintet by Arturo Sandoval featuring Boston Brass; Jessie Montgomery’s work inspired by her great-grandfather’s migration north; and Carlos Simon’s tribute to African American icons. These works are part of the ensemble’s ongoing Legacy Commissioning Project, encompassing dozens of world premieres.

Since forming in 1997, Imani Winds has regularly appeared on major chamber music series and at leading performing arts centers and summer festivals, including Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Chamber Music Northwest, Banff Centre, and Chautauqua Institution. Internationally, their reach extends across Asia, Europe, South America, Australia, and New Zealand.

Education is central to Imani Winds’ mission. Appointed in 2021 as the Curtis Institute of Music’s first ever Faculty Wind Quintet, they also lead residencies and masterclasses nationwide, reaching thousands of students annually at institutions such as the University of Chicago, Eastman School of Music, and Duke University. In 2010, they launched the Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival, an acclaimed summer program nurturing the next generation of professional musicians through mentorship, masterclasses, and entrepreneurial training. In 2019, they deepened their mission by founding the Imani Winds Foundation, followed by the creation of Imani Winds Media, a record label spotlighting artists of color. Its first release, Jeff Scott’s Passion for Bach and Coltrane, won a Grammy Award 2024.

Imani Winds’ deep connection to jazz is reflected in collaborations with legends such as Wayne Shorter, Paquito D’Rivera, and Jason Moran. Their multidisciplinary project Josephine Baker: A Life of Le Jazz Hot! featuring jazz vocalist René Marie earned rave reviews in cities across the U.S.

One of their most meaningful honors is a permanent installation in the classical music section of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, a fitting tribute to their enduring impact on the American musical landscape.

Nicholas Phan is a Grammy Award-winning lyric tenor, curator, and educator, celebrated for his expressive artistry and versatility across a repertoire spanning nearly 500 years. Described by the Boston Globe as “one of the world’s most remarkable singers,” he has earned international recognition for his captivating stage presence, keen intelligence, and natural musicianship. In 2010 he co-founded Art Song Chicago to promote art song and vocal chamber music, where he serves as artistic director.

Committed to education of audiences and musicians alike, Nicholas Phan served on the voice faculty of the DePaul University School of Music from 2018-2020. In addition to his time at DePaul, he has guest taught (working as both a voice teacher and a coach) at the Eastman School of Music, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Merola Opera Program, University of Michigan School of Music, Theater, and Dance, and the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera. He currently serves as a coach on the faculty of the San Francisco Opera Center, where he works with the Adler Fellows. Phan is the President of Chamber Music America.

Throughout his critically acclaimed recordings as a leader and collaborator with numerous leading jazz figures and world-class ensembles, Ryan Cohan has masterfully walked the line of writer and player, proving himself time and again to be a composer of rare vision as well as a versatile, powerfully expressive pianist.

Recognized for his “ingenuity and virtuosity” (Chicago Tribune), Cohan’s expansive body of work ranges from compositions for solo piano to symphony orchestra. His albums of original music include One Sky, Another Look, and The River, the latter featuring a sixty-minute suite inspired by his travels in Africa. His large-ensemble recording Originations (Origin Records) synthesizes Middle Eastern and other world music influences with classical compositional elements and improvisation, earning a DownBeat Editor’s Pick and recognition as one of the Chicago Tribune’s Best Jazz Recordings of 2020. His latest project, Prism, had its world premiere at the Hyde Park Jazz Festival in late 2025.

Cohan has toured internationally as a cultural ambassador for the U.S. Department of State in partnership with Jazz at Lincoln Center, leading ensembles across Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. These tours emphasized collaboration with local musicians and the role of music in fostering empathy and connection across cultures.

His career includes performances with jazz luminaries and elite large ensembles such as Freddie Hubbard, Randy Brecker, Joe Locke, Kurt Elling, Andy Narell, Paquito D’Rivera, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Orbert Davis’s Chicago Jazz Philharmonic. Cohan worked closely with Ramsey Lewis for over seven years, contributing more than twenty compositions and arrangements to the late NEA Jazz Master’s recorded and live performance repertoire and writing the theme for Lewis’s nationally syndicated television series The Legends of Jazz. Additional projects include orchestral work for Joe Locke’s recording Wish Upon a Star and commissions for the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra.

A Guggenheim Fellow and winner of the George Duke Commissioning Prize from the Symphonic Jazz Orchestra, Cohan has also received major awards and grants from Chamber Music America, New Music USA, the Sundance Institute, the Aaron Copland Fund, and the Illinois Arts Council.

As an educator, he has served as artist-in-residence at international festivals and universities and on faculty at institutions including the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Skidmore Jazz Institute. He continues to work as a clinician at schools and music programs across the U.S. and abroad, maintaining a strong commitment to mentorship and musical exchange.

Third Coast Percussion (TCP) is Chicago’sGRAMMY® Award-winning percussion quartet and GRAMMY®-nominated composer collective that made history as the first percussion ensemble to win the revered music award in the classical genre.To date, TCP has garnered seven totalGRAMMY® nominations.

The four members of Third Coast Percussion (SeanConnors, Robert Dillon, Peter Martin, and David Skidmore)met while studying percussion music at NorthwesternUniversity with Michael Burritt and James Ross, formingThird Coast Percussion in 2005. From their base in Chicago, the four friends carefully and thoughtfully built a thriving nonprofit organization — including full-time staff, office/studio space, and a board of directors — to support their vision and facilitate their efforts to bring new works to life.Members of Third Coast also hold degrees from theEastman School of Music, Rutgers University, the New England Conservatory, and the Yale School of Music.

The Takács Quartet was formed in 1975 at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest by Gabor Takács-Nagy, Károly Schranz, Gabor Ormai and András Fejér, while all four were students. The group received international attention in 1977, winning First Prize and the Critics’ Prize at the International String Quartet Competition in Evian, France. The Quartet also won the Gold Medal at the 1978 Portsmouth and Bordeaux Competitions and First Prizes at the Budapest International String Quartet Competition in 1978 and the Bratislava Competition in 1981. The Quartet made its North American debut tour in 1982.

Now in the Quartet’s 50th year, its members Edward Dusinberre, Harumi Rhodes (violins), Richard O’Neill (viola) and András Fejér (cello) are excited about upcoming projects including performances throughout the USA and on major international stages including London’s Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw, and Konzerthaus Berline, among others.

In recognition of its 50th anniversary, the Takács Quartet was the subject of an in-depth New York Times profile and featured on the cover of Strad magazine. The Takács released two anniversary season albums in 2025 for Hyperion Records to glowing reviews. ‘Flow’ by Ngwenyama, composed for the ensemble, was followed by an album of piano quintets by Dvořák and Price with Marc André Hamelin.

The members of the Takács Quartet are Christoffersen Fellows and have been Artists in Residence at the University of Colorado, Boulder since 1986. During the summer months the Takács join the faculty at the Music Academy of the West, running an intensive quartet seminar. This season the ensemble begins a new relationship as Visiting Artists at the University of Maryland.

The Takács has recorded for Hyperion since 2005, with all other recordings available to stream at hyperion-streaming.co.uk. In 2021, the Takács won a Presto Music Recording of the Year Award for their recordings of string quartets by Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn, and a Gramophone Award with pianist Garrick Ohlsson for piano quintets by Beach and Elgar. For their CDs on the Decca/London label, the Quartet has won three Gramophone Awards, a Grammy Award, three Japanese Record Academy Awards, Disc of the Year at the inaugural BBC Music Magazine Awards, and Ensemble Album of the Year at the Classical Brits.

In 2014 the Takács became the first string quartet to be awarded the Wigmore Hall Medal. In 2012, Gramophone announced the Takács as the first string quartet inducted into its Hall of Fame. The ensemble also won the 2011 Award for Chamber Music and Song presented by the Royal Philharmonic Society in London.

Derived from ancient Greek (ποιεῖν), the word Poiesis means “to make;” specifically, to create something that has never existed before. With a focus on expanding the string quartet repertoire with vibrant new works by emerging composers, the Poiesis Quartet infuses each performance with unique moments of synchronicity and verve. The Poiesis Quartet is the First Prize and Commission Prize winners of the 2025 Banff International String Quartet Competition. In 2023, they were named the Grand Prize and Lift Every Voice Prize winners of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, as well as Gold Medal and BIPOC Prize winners at the 2023 St. Paul String Quartet Competition.

Poiesis was selected as the 2025-26 Ernst Stiefl Quartet-in-Residence at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, and as the 2025 St. Lawrence Emerging String Quartet in Residence at Stanford University. Their 2024 debut album, as we are, on the Bright Shiny Things label, featured world premiere recordings with mezzo-soprano Nancy Maultsby, and their commission of String Quartet No. 7 ‘Surfacing’ by Kevin Lau received its world premiere at the Chautauqua Institution in 2025. In March 2026 through their Oberlin Commission Project, Poiesis will present five world premieres of commissioned works by LGBTQ+ composers of color.

The Poiesis Quartet is currently the Graduate Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) studying under the Ariel Quartet. As graduates of Oberlin College & Conservatory, they were previously mentored by Sibbi Bernhardsson of the Pacifica Quartet and members of the Verona Quartet. As a multi-faceted ensemble, in addition to their performance degrees from Oberlin, members of the quartet also individually received formal education in disciplines such as chemistry, comparative American studies, feminist studies, baroque, and jazz. Members of the Poiesis Quartet play on instruments and bows generously loaned by Jonathan Solars Fine Violins.

Composer Jonathan Bailey Holland has written music that has been performed across the country and around the world. He is currently the dean of the Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University, as well as the Kay Davis Professor of Music. He has served on the faculty of Berklee College of Music, Boston Conservatory, Curtis Institute of Music, and Vermont College of Fine Arts, and he has been a guest at numerous schools and festivals.  A recipient of a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, Holland has been awarded the Fromm Commission from the Fromm Foundation at Harvard University, a Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist Fellowship, a Brother Thomas Award and a Live Arts Boston grant from the Boston Foundation, amongst other honors and awards.  

Dr. Andrea C. Baker serves as Assistant Professor of Bassoon at Western Illinois University and is a founding member of Camerata Nova. She works with composers to expand the contemporary woodwind quintet repertoire and has helped secure grant support for Camerata Nova’s commissioning projects, including an IDRS 50 for 50 grant.

Renée Baker is a transdisciplinary artist working across music, film, and visual art. She has composed over 2,000 orchestral and chamber works and is the founding music director and conductor of the Chicago Modern Orchestra Project and the Modern Black Music Ensemble. She is currently the Interim Chair of the world renowned AACM Chicago.

Tanya Bannister is a concert pianist and influential arts leader whose career bridges performance, entrepreneurship, and cultural advocacy. She currently serves as President of Concert Artists Guild (CAG), a nonprofit that supports emerging classical musicians through management, mentorship, and career innovation. A former winner of the CAG International Competition, she brings firsthand experience and conviction to her leadership. Bannister has spearheaded a transformation of the organization—launching a year-round selection model, expanding programming, and establishing a series of programs that equip artists with entrepreneurial skills to build meaningful, sustainable careers.

Deborah Barrett Price is a nationally recognized violist, pedagogue, and founder of the Chamber Music Connection, Inc., a leading program for chamber music education and performance. She is a recipient of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Award for Extraordinary Service to Chamber Music and multiple major arts education honors.

Heralded as a leading classical music interpreter, violinist Rachel Barton Pine performs with top-tier symphonies worldwide including the Chicago Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In fall 2025, she released her 41st album French Impressions, featuring works of Chausson and Tailleferre together with pianist Orion Weiss and the Pacifica Quartet. She plays the 1742 "ex-Soldat" Guarnerius del Gesu.

Larry Blumenfeld has written features, essays and interview pieces for Chamber Music since 2018, and previously served as a guest editor. He has written regularly about music, books and culture for The Wall Street Journal for the past 20 years, and writes often for Daily Beast. His work during the past 25 years has appeared in The Village Voice, The New York Times, New Orleans Times Picayune, Pitchfork and Salon, among others. His reporting often focuses on connections between the arts and social justice; as a critic, he specializes in jazz and Afro-Latin music. He was the 2019 Jeanette K. Watson Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Humanities at Syracuse University, and has received the Jazz Journalists Association’s Helen Dance-Robert Palmer Award for Writing, an Open Society Institute Katrina Media Fellowship and a National Arts Journalism Fellow at Columbia University. He programs and hosts the National Jazz Museum in Harlem’s “Jazz and Social Justice” series, and has lectured and presented at Harvard University, Yale University, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and Lincoln Center, among others. He curates the jazz series of Spoleto Festival USA, in Charleston, S.C. and the Deer Isle Jazz Festival in Stonington, Maine.

Carey Bostian has been the Artistic Director and core cellist of Red Cedar Chamber Music since 2016. As a conductor and cellist, he has commissioned and/or premiered over 200 works. He is also on the conducting faculty of the Preucil School of Music in Iowa City.

Seth Boustead is a composer, broadcaster, and visionary arts leader redefining how classical music is perceived and produced. His chamber music is frequently performed in the U.S. and abroad. As founder of Access Contemporary Music, he created The CheckOut, the PBS series Songs About Buildings and Moods, Thirsty Ears Festival, Sound of Silent Film Festival, and the award-winning podcast Relevant Tones.

Dr. Charlie Chadwell is a saxophonist, educator, and advocate for new music, serving as Assistant Professor at Western Illinois University and Director of Professional Activities for The College Music Society. A Camerata Nova founding member, he frequently premieres new works and presents nationwide. 

Jasmine Choi is an internationally acclaimed flutist based in Austria, known for her extraordinary virtuosity, acclaimed recordings, and a robust online presence exceeding one million followers across social media. She has become an icon of the flute in the 21st century. She serves as professor at Indiana University and is principal flute of the Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center. A Curtis and Juilliard graduate, she previously held principal posts with the Cincinnati Symphony and the Vienna Symphony.

Kori Coleman is a Chicago-based arts executive, creative strategist, and entrepreneur who has built a career by leveraging the power of creativity and storytelling to encourage Black people to take up space in any place. She is the Founder, Executive, & Artistic Director of D-Composed, a Black chamber music collective and non-profit organization committed to uplifting and empowering society by providing a platform for the music of Black composers.

Olivia Cosío is an educator, vocalist, and co-founder of Sounds That Carry: Creative Impact Consultants, a firm that partners with arts and culture organizations to design impactful community programs that connect more deeply with audiences. She also serves on faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she teaches courses in teaching artistry and music education. A Juilliard-trained operatic mezzo-soprano praised by The Wall Street Journal as “a standout.”

Nicholas Csicsko is fascinated by the connection between music, economics, and the world. After receiving a Doctorate of Music in composition from The Juilliard School, Nicholas has gone on to become an institutional investor, managing the endowments for multi-billion dollar non-profit organizations. He continues to lecture and write about the intersection between music and finance and loves to play the piano in his free time. He joined CMA's Board in 2023 and currently serves as Board Chair.

Nora Daley is Chair of the Illinois Arts Council Agency and Co-Chair of the Chicago Architecture Biennial. A cross-sector leaders and systems innovator, she advances bold cultural strategies that strengthen communities and institutions alike. With more than 25 years of experience, she champions collaborative models that expand the reach and impact of the arts.

Geoffrey John Davies is an Australian-born and New York-based entrepreneur who founded The Violin Channel in 2009 — which has since grown to become one of the most influential classical music media providers in the world.

Now with a combined reach in excess of two million viewers worldwide per month, The Violin Channel has helped foster the development of a formidable generation of outstanding young string soloists.

The Violin Channel was appointed as an official global media partner of the Kronberg Academy, the Menuhin Academy, in Gstaad, the New World Symphony, and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center — plus notable global events including the Menuhin, Queen Elisabeth, Indianapolis, Wieniawski, Joseph Joachim, Sibelius, Montreal, Michael Hill, and the ARD International Violin and Cello Competitions.

The Violin Channel's clients and close collaborators include The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, the New England Conservatory, the Curtis Institute of Music, The Colburn School, The New York Philharmonic, Warner Classic, and Wigmore Hall, among many others.

Ernest Dawkins is one of the world’s leading saxophonists and composers, known for music that embodies the evolving cultural memory of the African American experience. His recent major works include Great Black Music (2025) dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the AACM. Paul Robeson: Man of the People (2024), Tim Black, Blacker Than Black (2022), Refound Connections (2021), and Redefining Frederick Douglass (2020). Dawkins has collaborated internationally, including the MacArthur-funded 2019 Englewood to Soweto project in South Africa, and is the creator of Quantum Englewood, recipient of the 2016 Joyce Award. He serves as Executive Director of Live the Spirit Residency, is a former Chairman of the AACM, performs globally, and hosts a longstanding weekly jam session at Norman’s Bistro in Chicago.

John Dowdall, the founding guitarist and Artistic Director of Red Cedar Chamber Music along with his partner, flutist Jan Boland, performed throughout the USA and in England, Europe and Japan. Dowdall and Boland recorded 13 compact discs, and were frequently featured on NPR, PBS and Iowa Public Radio and Television.

Kate Dumbleton is the Executive and Artistic Director of the Hyde Park Jazz Festival and a Professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). Kate’s work in jazz, improvised music, and performance spans nearly three decades.

Duo Chinoiserie—featuring guzheng virtuoso Xia Jing and classical guitarist Hu Bin—has become one of today’s most compelling intercultural chamber ensembles. Praised by Grammy-winning guitarist David Russell as “a moving and impressive combination,” the duo blends the guzheng’s shimmering resonance with the guitar’s expressive warmth to create a mesmerizing sound world. Their award-winning album Chinoiserie was hailed by critics as “an engaging anthology showcasing artistry at the highest level.” Their recent and upcoming highlights include debuts at Carnegie Hall, Guitar Foundation of America, Austin Classical Guitar, Omni Foundation for the Performing Arts, Arizona Friends of Chamber Music, and more.

Julianna Eidle is a flutist, educator, and organizer based in Illinois. She teaches at Western Illinois University, performs with Opera in the Ozarks and Midwest ensembles, and collaborates with Linton Chamber Music and Concert:Nova. She directs Cincinnati New Music, supports community-centered projects, and regularly premieres new works.

Monica Ellis — a 2024 Grammy Award winner and three-time nominee — is a bassoonist, entrepreneur, and founding member of the wind quintet Imani Winds, which for over a quarter-century has dazzled audiences with dynamic playing, adventurous programming, and a commitment to outreach, new works, and collaborations. She received her bachelor of music degree from Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and her master’s degree from The Juilliard School and her Professional Studies Certificate from Manhattan School of Music. She has appeared as solo bassoon with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra, and Chineke! Orchestra in London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall. Recording credits include 10 studio albums with Imani Winds.

Ellis is on the faculty of Curtis Institute of Music and Manhattan School of Music and frequently presents master classes and solo recital performances across the country. She is a sought-after commentator on issues of race, gender, and entrepreneurship in classical music and is a board member of Concert Artists Guild and the International Double Reed Society. Ellis is a Fox Bassoon Artist and plays exclusively on a Model 201.

Jennifer Elowitch is Director of Music at Walnut Hill School for the Arts, a three-time E.E. Ford Faculty Award recipient, and Founder and Artistic Director Emerita of the Portland Chamber Music Festival. She teaches and presents widely, and performs as Assistant Principal Second Violin with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra.

José R. Feliciano is a versatile nonprofit professional whose experience is balanced between nonprofit administration and strategy; education; and community development. His past work includes nonprofit administration and grant-making; public policy and civic engagement work; creating people-centered and place-based approaches; and leadership development for creative professionals. He has a background in movement-based arts and music. He holds a BS ED from Central Connecticut State University and an MA from Penn State. He joined CMA in 2022.

A Chicago native, Carlton Ford has raised over $30 million for leading arts, culture, and social impact institutions. An advocate for rethinking philanthropy's language around marginalized communities, Carlton currently serves as Managing Director of national Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategy firm Diaz Inclusion Consulting, Chief Effective Philanthropy Officer for Taproot Foundation, and Board Chair of Nu Deco Ensemble. A retired international operatic baritone, he has performed at Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Berlin Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera, and in both Emmy and Oscar-nominated productions. He is a Founding Member of Victory Hall Opera, YoungArts alumnus, and a graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy, Rice University, and The Juilliard School. Carlton is Chair-Elect of Chamber Music America's Board of Directors.

Pamela Freund-Striplen is a visionary curator and violist known for innovative programming and community impact. As founder and Artistic Director of the Gold Coast Chamber Players for 35 years.

James Ginsburg founded Cedille Records in 1989 to promote the work, careers, and legacies of Chicago’s finest classical musicians. He has personally produced well over 150 recordings for Cedille, working closely with artists and engineers to maintain the label’s reputation for musical and sonic excellence, and has overseen the release of Cedille’s more than 240 albums. Cedille and its recordings have garnered eight Grammy Awards and 38 nominations, including two for Ginsburg as Producer of the Year, Classical. Thanks to Ginsburg’s leadership, the work of more than 180 classical musicians and ensembles from Chicago has been promoted to listeners worldwide and well over 400 works have received world-premiere recordings.

Bio coming soon.

Miera Kim has been the Executive Director and core violinist of Red Cedar Chamber Music since 2016. Prior to that, she was a private teacher and titled player in Orchestra Iowa and the Quad Cities Symphony.

Iryna Krechkovsky is an award-winning violinist, educator, and arts executive. She is Co-Founder and Executive Director of Chamber Music | OC, where she leads the nationally recognized Pre-College Program. A founding member of Trio Céleste, she has appeared on major broadcast platforms and serves on the summer faculty at the Montecito International Music Festival.

Chinese-American violinist Sarah Ying Ma is a founding member of the Poiesis Quartet, the First Prize and Canadian Commission Prize winners of the 2025 Banff International String Quartet Competition as the only North American participants. As lovers of new music, Poiesis is currently working on numerous commissions, and their recent projects include the release of their debut album featuring world premiere recordings of works by Rick Stout and Clint Needham, singer Nancy Maultsby, and multiple Grammy-winning producer Elaine Martone. The Poiesis Quartet is currently in residence at the University of Cincinnati's Graduate Quartet Program studying with the Ariel Quartet. Poiesis Quartet is the 2026 Cleveland Quartet Award recipient through Chamber Music America.

Liza Malamut is Artistic Director of The Newberry Consort and a founding member of Incantare. A specialist in historical trombones, she has performed with premier period ensembles all over the world. Her scholarly work includes the co-edited volume Music and Jewish Culture in Early Modern Italy: New Perspectives, winner of the 2023 Ruth A. Solie Award with Rebecca Cypess and Lynette Bowring, and, most recently, the article “Europa Rossi: A Question of Identity,” published in Min-Ad: Israel Studies in Musicology. She currently teaches historical trombone at Indiana University and is Director of the University of Chicago Early Music Ensemble.

Matt A. Mason is a composer, pianist, and educator whose work spans contemporary classical, electroacoustic, and music theater. An Assistant Professor of Musicianship at Roosevelt University, he teaches music theory, composition, and performance, with interests in post-tonal theory, electroacoustic music, hip hop musicology, and advanced composition.

Garrett Mendez is a dynamic performer, educator, and arts leader with over 20 years of experience. He is the founding Artistic Director of Project Music and The Archipelago Project and is the Music Department Chair at King School in Connecticut. A Bass Trombonist, Garrett has led workshops and residencies around the world.

Of Navajo-Ute heritage, R. Carlos Nakai is the world’s leading performer of the Native American flute. With more than 50 recordings—including two gold albums—he has earned 11 Grammy nominations and 10 NAMA awards. He tours widely, performing instrumental music that blends Native traditions with diverse contemporary influences.

A celebrated artist, arts administrator, educator, and visionary, Jennie Oh Brown serves as Executive Director of Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras. In addition to her role at CYSO, Brown is Artist in Residence at the Epiphany Center for the Arts (Chicago) and serves as flutist, Executive and Artistic Director of ensemble collective Picosa. Brown is an active performer throughout Chicago in many contexts, including performances with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Lyric Opera Orchestra. Brown is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music (Bachelor of Music degree in Flute Performance), the Eastman School of Music (Performers Certificate, Doctorate and Masters of Music Performance, Repertoire, and Literature), and the Interlochen Arts Academy. Recently, she served as Artistic Director of Epiphany Center for the Arts, Artistic and Executive Director of Ear Taxi Festival in 2021 and faculty at Wheaton College and Elmhurst University. Brown is a Board Member of CMA where she serves as Treasurer and the Conference Committee Chair.

Miriam Owens is the President and CEO of The People’s Music School, Chicago’s largest, 100-percent tuition-free after-school music program. Her career has spanned education, business, and arts. Miriam holds an AB from Harvard University, an MS in Education from Hunter College, and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Linda Petrikova is an Artist Manager and SVP at IMG Artist. For over a decade, she has overseen the global careers of conductors, soloists and chamber musicians. Her roster includes Evgeny Kissin, Murray Perahia, Julia Fischer, the Julia Fischer Quartet, the Calidore String Quartets, Jan Bartoš, Juanjo Mena and Renée Fleming. She has also worked with the late André Previn and the now retired Emerson String Quartet.

Chicago-based chamber ensemble Picosa holds ongoing concert series in Allen Recital Hall at DePaul University's Holtschneider Performance Center, at the Driehaus Museum, and at The Epiphany Center for the Arts. The ensemble also holds residencies at Elmhurst University and North Central Colleges.

Founded in 2014, the ensemble performs regularly throughout Chicago including concert series Live from WFMT, Frequency Series at Constellation Chicago, and The International Music Foundation’s Rush Hour Concert Series at St James Cathedral. They received CMA's 2022 Classical Commissioning Grant with acclaimed composer Shawn E. Okpebholo and guest percussionist Peter Ferry.

Dr. David Plylar, Concert Producer at the Library of Congress, develops and produces programs that celebrate the Library’s historic collections. He is an active writer, pianist, and composer, and is known for his large array of transcriptions for varied forces.

Bio coming soon.

Devoted teacher, and generous citizen in the profession, Augusta Read Thomas is one of the most critically acclaimed and frequently performed composers working today. According to the American Academy of Arts and Letters, she “has become one of the most recognizable and widely loved figures in American Music.” The New Yorker Magazine called Augusta “a true virtuoso composer.”

Renate 艶子 Rohlfing is a pianist, music therapist and co-founder of Sounds That Carry: Creative Impact Consultants. As an Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music, she teaches courses at the intersection of music, psychology, and public health, and co-directs the Community Health Musician Certificate program. She also serves on the faculty at The Juilliard School. Ms. Rohlfing has been invited to give workshops and presentations at McLean Institute of Technology, Berklee Abu Dhabi, University of Toronto, among others. A proud native of Honolulu, Hawaii, she holds degrees from New York University and The Juilliard School.

Judith Sherman is an American audio engineer and producer. She has received 15 Grammy Awards for her achievements, including Producer of the Year, Classical. She has worked with countless contemporary composers and notable ensembles, including Alexander String Quartet, Kronos Quartet, Cleveland Quartet, and Pacifica Quartet. She is a former CMA Board Member and received CMA's highest honor, the Richard J. Bogomolny National Service Award, in 2009.

Lyric baritone Robert Sims, a Gold Medal winner of the American Traditions Competition, is acclaimed for his masterful interpretation of African American spirituals. His performances span Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and collaborations with leading artists. A dedicated advocate, he created the Lincoln Center production Majesty of the Spiritual. 

Melissa Smey is Associate Dean and Executive Director at Columbia University School of the Arts, where she leads Miller Theatre, an acclaimed music venue and concert producer. Co-creator and host of the acclaimed podcast Mission: Commission, she is passionate about chamber music, fostering audience development, and nurturing collaborative relationships with creative artists.

Bio Coming Soon.

Solidaire unites flutist Jennifer Grim and percussionist Svet Stoyanov in a genre-defying duo celebrated for fearless expression, technical brilliance, and immersive storytelling. Born from the upheaval of 2020, Solidaire creates transformative musical experiences that captivate audiences and spark meaningful connection. Recent highlights include performances at National Sawdust and Festival Napa Valley, featuring premieres and reimagined works by Paola Prestini and Philip Glass. As ensemble-in-residence at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music and frequent visiting artists at university programs including Eastern Illinois University, they offer dynamic residencies—masterclasses, lectures, and performances that inspire communities and emerging artists.

Led by Matthew Baker, one of the world's few baryton performers, the Valencia Baryton Project has achieved international acclaim with sold-out concerts in the Americas and Europe. The VBP focuses on the baryton, a classical-era aristocratic instrument, featuring both bowed strings on the front and plucked harp-like strings on the back and has been featured in publications like The Strad and Gramophone amongst many others.

Beyond performing works by Haydn and his contemporaries, the VBP has always valued the educational aspect of the trio's work, bringing the instrument to institutions like the Royal Academy of Music and UCLA. They are also committed to commissioning new works, collaborating with international composers such as David Gorton, Ivan Moody, and José Zárate, to incorporate the baryton's unique sound into modern composition.

The Telegraph Quartet has been performing for 13 seasons with an equal passion for standard and modern chamber music. Described by the San Francisco Chronicle as "powerfully adept...with a combination of brilliance and subtlety," the Quartet was awarded the 2016 Naumburg Chamber Music Award and Grand Prize at the 2014 Fischoff Competition. The group is currently Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Michigan.

Jeremy VanSlyke is founder of Leaf Music, an international classical label based in Nashville and Nova Scotia. Trained as a classical musician and recording producer at McGill University and the Banff Centre, he has produced over 100 chamber music recordings, guiding artists from concept through release.

Bio coming soon.

Yang and Olivia are a storytelling-driven violin–piano duo known for refined musicianship, multicultural programming, and warm rapport with audiences. Their 2025 feature program, Music & Mental Health, explores how composers such as Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Bartók, Price, and Korngold transformed psychological struggles into powerful music. Highly praised by presenters and frequently rebooked, the duo is valued for professionalism, clear communication, and the ability to create close, engaging interactions with listeners of all ages. Their performances for concert series, libraries, senior communities, and educational settings combine artistic depth with accessible, human-centered narratives.