Welcome to Chamber Music Rochester’s 50th Anniversary Season
Chamber Music Rochester's 50th Anniversary Season runs from October 2026 through June 2027, with five Sunday-afternoon concerts at Beston Hall at Nazareth University. The 2026-2027 season brings together beloved masterworks, jazz, and two world premieres. Every concert opens with a 2:30 p.m. talk, and no musical background is needed. Everyone is welcome.
Picture a room where you sit close enough to see a violinist glance at a cellist before they play. Close enough to hear one instrument ask a question and another answer it. Close enough to feel the room go quiet at the same moment everyone around you does.
That closeness is the whole point. It is why a group of strangers can walk in separately and leave feeling like they shared something.
This season, that experience turns fifty.
Fifty Years of Music in Rochester
For fifty years, Chamber Music Rochester has brought musicians and audiences into the same room and let something happen between them. Some patrons have been coming for decades. They watched the organization grow, welcomed new artists to the stage, and brought their friends and grandchildren along.
Now a new generation is finding it too. Some people will attend their very first chamber music concert this season. Others are just looking for live music and events in Rochester, NY, and following the sound.
A fiftieth anniversary is a good moment to look back at what a community builds together, one concert at a time. This one belongs to the people who have been here since the early years and to the person buying a single ticket for the first time. Both are part of the story.
The season honors that history while it keeps looking forward. Familiar works share the stage with music by living composers. Returning favorites perform alongside guests making their first Rochester appearance. And two world premieres bring music written for this moment, for this community, into the world.
"Whether you've been with us since the beginning or you're about to discover what you've been missing, this is the season to be there."
Juliana Athayde and Erik Behr, Artistic Directors
What a Chamber Music Rochester Concert Feels Like
Chamber music puts you unusually close to the performance. You do not simply hear it. You watch musicians communicate through a look or a small gesture. You hear one player introduce an idea and another respond. Each performer has a distinct voice, and the music only comes together when everyone listens to everyone else.
You do not need to recognize the composers. You do not need to know the terminology. Curiosity is enough.
Every concert begins with a talk at 2:30 p.m. that introduces the people, the stories, and the ideas behind the program. The music starts at 3:00 p.m. Many audience members will tell you the talks are their favorite part. One put it simply: "The concerts are fantastic, but the preconcert talks are so engaging."
All five concerts take place at Beston Hall in the Glazer Music Performance Center at Nazareth University, a 550-seat space at 4245 East Avenue that was built for the sound of live ensembles. Students and children attend free by stopping at the welcome table.
Come for the musicians you know. Come to discover a composer you have never heard. Either way, there is a seat waiting for you.
The Five Concerts of the 2026-2027 Season
Five programs fill the milestone season, each with its own musicians and stories.
The Marvelous Mr. Mendelssohn
Sunday, October 18, 2026. The season opens with an afternoon of music for strings. Richard Strauss's elegant Capriccio Sextet begins the program, followed by Serenata para Cuerdas from young Spanish composer Javier Martínez Campos. The concert closes with Felix Mendelssohn's beloved Octet, which he wrote at sixteen. Eight string players create music that feels intimate one moment and almost orchestral the next.
Eddie Barbash from The Late Show Band, the Sequel
Sunday, November 15, 2026. Classical music and jazz meet. The program opens with George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue in a rare arrangement for piano and string quintet, then welcomes saxophonist Eddie Barbash, a founding member of Jon Batiste and Stay Human, back to Rochester. He joins pianist and arranger Kyle Athayde for jazz standards and original arrangements performed by a jazz quartet and a string quartet. Spontaneous, warm, and full of personality, it is a wonderful first concert for anyone new to chamber music.
Early Romanticism of Bartók
Sunday, March 14, 2027. Many listeners know Béla Bartók for the bold language he developed later in life. His early Piano Quintet reveals another side of him: passionate, lyrical, and shaped by the Romantic composers before him. Mozart's Oboe Quartet adds elegance and warmth, and the program features Family Photos by Kian Ravaei, winner of Chamber Music Rochester's 2026 Composition Competition. Together, the three works show how composers find their own voices.
The ABCs: Assad, Brahms, and Cabell
Sunday, April 25, 2027. Acclaimed soprano Nicole Cabell returns for an afternoon of vocal and instrumental color. The program includes the world premiere of a new work for solo violin by Clarice Assad, commissioned in loving memory of Linda G. Gillim by CMR Board of Directors. Audiences will also hear Guillaume Connesson's lively Disco Toccata, Maurice Delage's Quatre Poèmes Hindous, Ravel's Introduction and Allegro, and Brahms's cherished Clarinet Quintet, with harpist Bridget Kibbey joining the ensemble.
Beethoven and Mozart’s Viola Fever
Sunday, June 6, 2027. The final concert celebrates the rich sound two violas bring to the conversation. Mozart's Horn Quintet features the natural horn, a chance to hear the instrument in a distinctive way, and Beethoven's String Quintet in C Major, Op. 29, brings warmth and sweeping energy. The afternoon also carries a second world premiere: Zachary Wadsworth's new Oboe Sonata, commissioned by Alan Curle and Andrew London, performed by Artistic Director Erik Behr and pianist Chiao-Wen Cheng.
New to Chamber Music? A Few Things Worth Knowing
If you have never been, here is what actually matters before you go.
No experience is required. You do not need to read music or name the composers. Every person in the audience attended their first concert once. Curiosity is the only ticket you need to bring.
Come at 2:30 for the talk. The pre-concert talk sets up the people and stories behind the music, so the first note lands with more meaning. It is one of the most-loved parts of the afternoon, and it takes the guesswork out of listening.
Come as you are. There is no dress code and no wrong way to enjoy it. If you are curious about live music and events in Rochester, NY, and want something meaningful to share with someone, this is an easy yes. You are in good company: just under half of U.S. adults attended an in-person arts event in a recent year.
How to Experience the Full Season
There are three ways to join the 2026-2027 season, depending on how much of the story you want to follow.
Choose a full-series subscription when:
• You want all five concerts and the complete arc of the season, from the Mendelssohn Octet to the final world premiere.
• You would like the best value: a full-series subscription is $150 for all five concerts and saves more than 15 percent compared with buying five individual tickets.
• You want the same seats and the same afternoon reserved across the year.
A subscription is the simplest way to make the season a habit rather than a one-time visit.
Choose a Flex Pack or single ticket when:
• You want three tickets to use in any combination, which you can keep or share with friends and family. The Flex Pack is $100.
• You have one concert calling your name and want to start there. Individual tickets are $35.
• You are testing the waters and would rather come once before committing to the whole series.
Students and children always attend free at the welcome table, whichever option the adults in their life choose.
Ready to Plan Your First Afternoon?
Pick a concert that sounds like you, arrive at 2:30 for the talk, and let the room do the rest. There is always a seat waiting.
Explore Subscriptions and Tickets
Want to see everything first? Browser the Full Season
Frequently Asked Questions
When is Chamber Music Rochester's 50th Anniversary Season?
The 50th Anniversary Season runs from October 2026 through June 2027. It includes five Sunday-afternoon concerts, on October 18 and November 15, 2026, and March 14, April 25, and June 6, 2027. Each concert opens with a talk at 2:30 p.m., and the music begins at 3:00 p.m.
Where do the concerts take place?
All five concerts are at Beston Hall in the Glazer Music Performance Center at Nazareth University, located at 4245 East Avenue in Rochester, NY. It is a 550-seat hall built specifically for the acoustics of live ensembles, which keeps every seat close to the performance.
Do I need to know anything about classical music to enjoy a concert?
No. You do not need to read music, recognize the composers, or know any terminology. Every concert begins with a 2:30 p.m. talk that introduces the people and stories behind the program, so the music is more meaningful whether it is your first concert or your fiftieth.
How much do tickets cost?
Individual concert tickets are $35. A three-ticket Flex Pack is $100 and can be used for any combination of concerts and shared with others. A full-series subscription is $150 for all five concerts and saves more than 15 percent compared with buying single tickets. Students and children attend free at the welcome table.
What kind of music will I hear this season?
The season spans a wide range: string masterworks like Mendelssohn's Octet and Beethoven's String Quintet, jazz with saxophonist Eddie Barbash, an early Romantic side of Bartók, and vocal and chamber works featuring soprano Nicole Cabell. It also includes two world premieres by living composers, Clarice Assad and Zachary Wadsworth.
Are the concerts good for first-time attendees or families?
Yes. The concerts are welcoming for newcomers, and the November jazz program with Eddie Barbash is an especially easy starting point. Students and children attend free, and there is no dress code, so families and first-timers are encouraged to come exactly as they are.