The Seattle Chamber Music Society (SCMS) is an American organization of musicians located in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

that is dedicated to the performance and promotion of chamber music. Established in 1982, the presenting organization is currently in its 30th Anniversary Season. Originally the organization only presented a series of summer concerts during the month of July at the Lakeside School. However, in 1999 the organization added a series of winter concerts during the month of January at Benaroya Hall in downtown Seattle. In 2005 they expanded their summer series to include further performances during the month of August at The Overlake School in addition to the July performances. SCMS was founded by Toby Saks, a cellist and music professor at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

, who served as artistic director until she handed over to

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

-winning

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

ist

James Ehnes James Ehnes, (born January 27, 1976) is a Canadian concert violinist and violist. Life and career Ehnes was born in Brandon, Manitoba, the son of Alan Ehnes, long time trumpet professor at Brandon University (Canada), and Barbara Withey Ehnes, fo ...

about a year before her death on August 1, 2013. Ehnes had been associate artistic director since 2008, and Connie Cooper has been executive director since 1996. Recent performers with the organization include violist Cynthia Phelps, cellist Ronald Thomas, pianist

Jeremy Denk Jeremy Denk (born May 16, 1970 in Durham, North Carolina) is an American classical pianist. Early life Denk did not come from a musical family. After several years in New Jersey, his family settled in Las Cruces, New Mexico, where he grew up. He ...

, harpsichordist Byron Schenkman and violist Richard O'Neill. The Society hosts more than forty artists each season who also boast impressive careers, with the Seattle Times describing them as "the equivalent of an all-star lineup. A dream team of chamber players."Seattle Times, July 6, 2008
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References

External links

* {{authority control 1982 establishments in Washington (state) Chamber music groups Non-profit organizations based in Seattle Musical groups from Seattle Arts organizations established in 1982