Seattle Chamber Music Society Acquires The Concert Truck

Seattle Chamber Music Society (SCMS) has acquired The Concert Truck, a traveling music venue that redefines how people experience live performance. By converting a box truck into a fully equipped mobile concert hall—complete with lights, a sound system, and a grand piano—the project brings world-class classical music directly into everyday spaces such as city streets, festivals, schools, and parks.

Now a core element of SCMS’s programming, The Concert Truck will advance accessibility and engagement while turning spontaneous outdoor moments into lasting connections with the community.

“We believe classical music is vibrant, magnetic, and belongs in everyday life,” says John Holloway, SCMS’s Dr. Oliver E. Cobb Executive Director. “By welcoming The Concert Truck and its visionary co-founder, Susan Zhang, into our organization, we are investing in the future of classical music and partnering with organizations nationwide to bring world-class performances wherever you can think to park a truck.”

Pianist Susan Zhang co-founded The Concert Truck with pianist Nick Luby in 2016. Since then, it has partnered with leading arts organizations including the Kennedy Center’s Washington National Opera, the Gilmore Piano Festival, Piano Cleveland, the Aspen Music Festival and School, and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Guest artists have included James Ehnes, Lawrence Brownlee, Ursula Oppens, Shaun Martin, and Jerome Lowenthal.

“Chamber music is a remarkably flexible art form—it thrives anywhere people gather,” says James Ehnes, Gilbert Omenn and Martha Darling Artistic Director of SCMS. “One of the most powerful ways to show people that this music belongs to them is to bring it directly into their daily lives. The Concert Truck makes that possible in the most joyful and immediate way.”

Zhang will continue to lead the program at SCMS as the Maryanne Tagney Director of The Concert Truck, while Opus 3 Artists will manage bookings. Performances this fall include appearances at a Juvenile Probation Center, a winery, museums, performing arts centers, public parks, and dozens of schools.

“Being part of Seattle Chamber Music Society is a powerful step forward in our mission to make classical music a vital, living part of today’s culture,” says Zhang. “These performances break classical music out of the concert hall and into the heartbeat of the community. That’s how we build a future where this music isn’t just preserved but pulsing through the cultural zeitgeist for decades to come.”

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