The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society is a non-profit presenter of
chamber music and
recitals and one of the largest organizations of its kind in the United States. It was created, in 1986, by
Anthony Checchia and
Philip Maneval
Philip Maneval (born 1956) is an American composer and arts administrator.
As a composer, Maneval has written more than 35 solo, chamber music and orchestral works which have been played by groups including the Chicago String Quartet and Miami ...
, its Founding Artistic Director and Executive Director respectively. Miles Cohen was appointed Artistic Director in 2013. The Society presents approximately 50 chamber music concerts,
instrumental and vocal recitals and special events each season by international artists (for example,
András Schiff and the
Kronos Quartet
The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for almost 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classic ...
in 2020-21), and at low prices ($30 or less per ticket) that encourage
classical music attendance by people from differing economic levels.
The Society is one of the resident companies of the
Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts is a large performing arts venue at 300 South Broad Street and the corner of Spruce Street, along the stretch known as the Avenue of the Arts in Center City Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is owned and ...
and the largest music presenter in that center's Perelman Theater. The annual program offers a diversity of repertoire including masterworks, rarely heard pieces and new music. It also presents concerts at the American Philosophical Society's Benjamin Franklin Hall and other Center City Philadelphia venues.
Since its founding, the Society has presented more than 1,700 concerts by hundreds of ensembles and recitalists, and it has commissioned numerous new works, including music by
Richard Wernick
Richard Wernick (born January 16, 1934, in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American composer. He is best known for his chamber and vocal works. His composition ''Visions of Terror and Wonder'' won the 1977 Pulitzer Prize for Music.
Career
Wernick b ...
,
William Bolcom
William Elden Bolcom (born May 26, 1938) is an American composer and pianist. He has received the Pulitzer Prize, the National Medal of Arts, a Grammy Award, the Detroit Music Award and was named 2007 Composer of the Year by Musical America. He ...
,
Nicholas Maw
John Nicholas Maw (5 November 1935 – 19 May 2009) was a British composer. Among his works are the operas '' The Rising of the Moon'' (1970) and '' Sophie's Choice'' (2002).
Biography
Born in Grantham, Lincolnshire, Maw was the son of Clarence ...
,
George Rochberg
George Rochberg (July 5, 1918May 29, 2005) was an American composer of contemporary classical music. Long a serial composer, Rochberg abandoned the practice following the death of his teenage son in 1964; he claimed this compositional techniqu ...
,
, and other prominent composers. The Society also runs an extensive music education program.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Official website
Chamber music
Musical groups from Philadelphia