Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Extends Residency at Harris Theater

The Harris Theater and The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS) today announce an extended three-year artistic residency that will bring the world-class Chamber Music Society back to the Theater through the 2016-2017 performance season.

CMS is now entering the final year of the original three-year partnership, established in 2011, which began its first Chicago-based performance series. The new residency will feature an expanded five-concert series, beginning in 2014-2015, including a collaborative performance between CMS artists and the nine-time Grammy Award-winning Emerson String Quartet. Chicago audiences will get their first chance to hear the Emerson String Quartet with new ensemble member Paul Watkins, who replaced original Quartet member and CMS Co-artistic Director David Finckel as lead cellist in May of 2013.

"We've been fortunate to present chamber music to the greater Midwest these last few years, thanks to the Harris Theater," said CMS Co-artistic Directors David Finckel and Wu Han. "It's been a joy to perform in Chicago on a regular basis, and we look forward to a continued presence in the coming years through this new residency."

The expanded series next season includes Dvorák, Chausson, and Schubert, a program featuring renowned Israeli-born pianist and Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient Inon Barnatan and Schubert's beloved "Trout Quintet"; the return of the popular holiday favorite Brandenburg Concertos; Romantic Piano Quartets featuring David Finckel and Wu Han, international powerhouse violinist Daniel Hope and viola legend Paul Neubauer; and Mozart, Liebermann, and Tchaikovsky, a Chicago premiere and CMS co-commissioned performance between CMS artists and the Emerson String Quartet.

"The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center is among the greatest arts organizations in the world," said Michael Tiknis, the Harris Theater's Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols President and Managing Director Endowed Chair. "When we began discussing an expanded partnership, it was never a question of 'if' but 'when and how long'. To bring CMS back to the Harris is, of course, wonderful for the Theater, but even more wonderful for the city of Chicago, now accustomed to the great work CMS has produced over the last three years."

Single tickets and subscriptions for The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's 2014-2015 season are now on sale, available only by calling the Box Office at 312-334-7777.

Community Engagement and Access Tickets Program
Throughout its residency, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center has partnered with the Harris Theater for community engagement programs such as the Theater's Teen Arts Project, which pairs CMS musicians with strings and piano students from the Music Institute of Chicago for special master classes. Master classes have been led by artists such as Wu Han, Anne-Marie McDermott, Ani and Ida Kavafian, Paul Neubauer and members of the Orion String Quartet.

Students and families from the Music Institute of Chicago also receive complimentary tickets to CMS performances through the Harris Theater's Access Tickets Program. More than 450 tickets have been distributed to CMS performances over the last three years to organizations like Music Institute of Chicago, Chicago Academy for the Arts, Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras, Chicago Chinese Cultural Institute, Midwest Brain Injury Clubhouse and the Merit School of Music.

The partnership between the Harris Theater, CMS and the Music Institute will continue during the extended residency.