Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta announces major gift

Press Release: Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020, for immediate release.

Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta announces major new gift, formation of a Board of Advisors, and the 2020-21 28^th Season including a new series.

These are difficult times for most Music organizations, but the Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta (ECMSA), the largest organization of its kind in the Southeast US, bucks that trend with the announcement of two exciting steps forward for the organization- a $500,000 gift from an anonymous patron, and the formation of a distinguished Board of Advisors to support their activities. In addition, their 2020-21 online season- their 28^th- begins on Friday, September 11 and will include a brand new series of Noontime Concerts in collaboration with First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta, “Bach’s Lunch”, to complement their existing three Series.

William Ransom, Artistic Director, says “This new gift and the formation of a Board will help us to more fully realize the vision of the ECMSA, supporting our Quartet-in-Residence program (held by the international award-winning Vega String Quartet, the only full-time Quartet to ever be based in Atlanta) and allowing us to continue to spread this great music throughout all sectors of the Atlanta community and beyond. The main mission of the ECMSA is education. We offer masterclasses and interdisciplinary classes at Emory, as well as lectures on music for the public. In addition, the ECMSA annually presents over thirty free public concerts that feature some of Atlanta’s finest musicians along with guest artists from around the world. Expanded plans are underway to take live music to various hospitals, nursing homes and medical centers around the community, as well as to some exciting new venues including the Georgia Aquarium and the Atlanta Botanical Garden among others. Uniquely amongst such concert Series, all our concerts are free and open to the public to assure as large and diverse an audience as possible, and to continue to build future audiences for this great music.”

The 20-21 season, all livestreamed and availble to view around the world, is available here: http://arts.emory.edu/outreach/community/ecmsa.html-  offers the Cooke Noontime and Bach’s Lunch Series, the Family Series, and the Emerson Series. The fall will conclude the “Beethoven 2020” project which was interrupted in March, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Master’s birth with performances of his complete Piano Sonatas, String Quartets, and complete Violin and Cello Sonatas. Brilliant young Norwegian violinist David Coucheron, Concertmaster of the Atlanta Symphony, joins the Vega Quartet as guest First Violin for the 3 fall concerts of Beethoven’s String Quartets.

For more information, please contact William Ransom, Artistic Director, at wransom@emory.edu/404-727-6443.