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AUSTIN CHAMBER MUSIC CENTER PRESENTS

2025 AUSTIN CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL

June 27 - August 9 | Bates Recital Hall

The Austin Chamber Music Center (ACMC) announces its 29th Annual Summer Festival, marking the inaugural series under new Artistic Director Sandy Yamamoto. The festival runs June 27–August 9, 2025, featuring world-class artists including Grammy Award-winning violinist Gil Shaham, the acclaimed Miró Quartet, and vocal ensemble Cantus.

Yamamoto opens the festival with her own Yamazalde Trio, taking us on a journey of vibrant melodies and rhythms by Joseph Haydn, Astor Piazzolla, and Anton Arensky. Her trio will be joined the following night by local favorite, Austin Symphony Associate Concertmaster Patrice Calixte as well as award-winning violist Eric Wong for a dynamic program featuring Clara Schumann, Robert Schumann, and Johannes Brahms. The festival continues with four weekends of extraordinary performances, including:

• Cantus vocal ensemble, known for their “exalting finesse” and “expressive power” (The Washington Post) exploring music and memory through classical and contemporary works
• A family-friendly bilingual presentation of Saint-Saëns's Carnival of the Animals
• Historical performance specialists Twelfth Night in a program of Baroque masterworks
• A historic collaboration between the emerging Poiesis Quartet and Austin's own Miró Quartet, performing Felix Mendelssohn’s masterful String Octet
• Festival grand finale featuring Gil Shaham and pianist Akira Eguchi performing Beethoven's iconic Violin Sonatas

All performances take place in UT Austin's Bates Recital Hall.

Special early bird pricing available for a limited time, March 3 through April 9. Individual concert tickets ($12–$115) available starting on April 10. 

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FRIDAY, JUNE 27  | YAMAZALDE TRIO

Program: Haydn “Gypsy” Trio, Piazzolla Four Season of Buenos Aires, Arensky Piano Trio

• Sandy Yamamoto, violin
• Matthew Zalkind, cello
• Julio Elizalde, piano

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SATURDAY, JUNE 28 | YAMAZALDE TRIO w/PATRICE CALIXTE & ERIC WONG

Program: Clara Schuman Three Romances for Violin and Piano, Schumann Piano Quartet, Brahms Piano Quintet

• Sandy Yamamoto, violin
• Matthew Zalkind, cello
• Julio Elizalde, piano
• Patrice Calixte, violin
• Eric Wong, viola

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SUNDAY, JUNE 29 | CANTUS

Program: Wanting Memories

The engaging low-voice ensemble Cantus is widely known for its trademark warmth and blend, innovative programming and riveting performances of music ranging from the Renaissance to the 21st century.

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SATURDAY, JULY 19 | KODAK STRING QUARTET w/MICHELLE SCHUMANN

Program: Brahms Quartet in a minor, John Zorn Cat o’Nine Tails, Dohnanyi Quintet #1

Winners of the grand prize at the 2023 Coltman Chamber Music Competition, Kodak Quartet, is setting the world on fire with their passionate and energetic playing. They are highly regarded for their work with contemporary composers and for presenting traditional works with a contemporary flavor. The Quartet will play with ACMC Artistic Director Emeritus, Michelle Schumann on piano.

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SUNDAY, JULY 20 | KODAK STRING QUARTET

w/MICHELLE SCHUMANN & FRIENDS

Program: Carnival of the Animals

• A family-friendly show with two performances (Spanish and English narration). The concert will include kid-friendly activities before and after the show in conjunction with local music education nonprofits. This concert will feature reduced ticket prices to encourage families to attend. 

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FRIDAY, AUGUST 1 | RACHEL ELLEN WONG & TWELFTH NIGHT

Program: Baroque with a Twist

Violinist Rachell Ellen Wong made history in 2020 when she was awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, becoming the only baroque artist in the program's history to receive the honor. 

Alongside acclaimed keyboardist David Belkovski, Rachell is co-founder of Twelfth Night. Founded in 2021, Twelfth Night’s notable engagements include Music Before 1800, Reno’s Apex Concert Series, Arizona Early Music, and Chatham Baroque. The ensemble is set to make its Carnegie Hall debut during the 2023-2024 season. Inspired by Shakespeare’s play of the same name, the ensemble strives to invoke a spirit of boundless revelry, celebration, and community in their programming.

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SATURDAY, AUGUST 2 | POIESIS STRING QUARTET 

w/JOHN LARGESS & JOSHUA GINDELE

Program:

• Many Many Cadences by Sky Macklay
• Haydn Quartet Op. 71 No. 2
• Kevin Lau String Quartet No. 7 (Austin premiere)
• Brahms Sextet in G Major

The Poiesis Quartet is the 2023 Grand Prize winner of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Having formed just eight months earlier during Oberlin Conservatory's Advanced String Quartet Seminar, Poiesis also received Fischoff’s Senior Strings Gold Medal and the Lift Every Voice prizes, as well as the Gold Medal and BIPOC Prize at the 2023 St. Paul String Quartet Competition.

The name Poiesis is derived from the ancient Greek word ποιεῖν, which means "to make"; particularly, to create something that has never been made before.  As a string quartet made up of inter- and multi-disciplinary young artists, the Poiesis Quartet seeks to program music of all styles and genres and expand the traditional quartet setting with an emphasis on platforming works by emerging and underrepresented composers. Poiesis strives to create unique moments of synchronicity, sensitivity, and verve in each performance.

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SUNDAY, AUGUST 3 | THE MIRÓ QUARTET & POIESIS STRING QUARTET

Program: Beethoven Quartet Opus 132 + Mendelssohn Octet

The Miró Quartet is one of America’s most celebrated and dedicated string quartets, having been labeled by The New Yorker as “furiously committed” and noted by the Cleveland Plain Dealer for its “exceptional tonal focus and interpretive intensity. Based in Austin, and thriving on the area’s storied music scene, the Miró takes pride in finding new ways to communicate with audiences of all backgrounds while cultivating the longstanding tradition of chamber music. 

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SATURDAY, AUGUST 9 | GIL SHAHAM & AKIRA EGUCHI

Program: Beethoven Sonatas for Piano and Violin #4, #5 #9

Gil Shaham is one of the foremost violinists of our time; his flawless technique combined with his inimitable warmth and generosity of spirit has solidified his renown as an American master. The Grammy Award-winner, also named Musical America’s “Instrumentalist of the Year,” is sought after throughout the world for concerto appearances with leading orchestras and conductors, and regularly gives recitals and appears with ensembles on the world’s great concert stages and at the most prestigious festivals.

Since making his highly acclaimed New York recital debut at Alice Tully Hall in 1992, Akira Eguchi has performed in the foremost music centers of the United States, Europe, and the Far East. 

Born 1963 in Tokyo, Mr. Eguchi has received his Bachelor’s Degree in Composition from Tokyo National University of the Fine Arts and Music (renamed to Tokyo University of the Arts), Master’s Degree in Piano Performance from The Juilliard School. He has studied with Herbert Stessin, Samuel Sanders, Hitoshi Toyama, Akiko Kanazawa for piano, and Shin Sato, Akira Kitamura, Ichiro Mononobe for composition. Currently, he lives in New York and Tokyo, serving as an Associate Professor at Tokyo University of the Arts.

Event Details

• Date: June 27 - August 9, 2025
• Time: Fridays & Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. | Sundays at 3:00 p.m.
• Venue: Bates Recital Hall
• Website: https://austinchambermusic.org/festival/

Ticket Information

• Cost: $12.00-$115.00

Presenter Details

• Name: Austin Chamber Music Center

The Austin Chamber Music Center creates chamber music experiences that connect, educate, and inspire our community. Founded in 1981, ACMC offers a year-round concert series, award-winning education programs, and the summer festival. In 2015, ACMC received the CMAcclaim award from Chamber Music America for its tremendous impact on the local community through chamber music.

Venue Details