Dear Musical Friend,

What has brought you to this page?

Perhaps you are a professional musician, earning your daily bread teaching and performing, but rarely taking the time to enjoy recreational music making. Maybe you are a professional in another field, who studied music until your career took precedence. Now you don't have the time you used to dedicate to music. Are you a student, wondering what place music will hold in your future life? Or are you an adult who has taken on a new instrument, but you feel that you are alone in your desire to make music for the love of it?

Chamber Music Weekend is for you. Let me personally invite you to share a few days of recreational chamber music, in a unique and inspiring setting, an oasis of music in a busy world.

Each year we come—experienced players, students and novices—to do what we love best: make music together. We immerse ourselves in the chamber music repertoire, exploring new pieces and revisiting familiar ones. We meet in varied groups, with different players, each session carefully arranged to meet the needs of each participant. We come as strangers and leave as friends.

The weekend provides various performance opportunities, as well as social occasions. Our traditional Candlelight Dinner, a semi-formal event held on Friday evening, gives us a time to be treated to an elegant meal, surrounded by new-found friends and fellow musicians.

CMW is open to all string players, but is designed for those who can sight-read at least easy chamber music repertoire. One participant described CMW as a "sight-reading boot camp", so be prepared to see a lot of music! Each year we accept a few advanced pianists, for both string-and-piano repertoire and piano ensemble literature. Wind players join us by invitation only.

The attitude of the weekend is one of encouragement and support, adventure and accomplishment. I do hope you will choose to come to Chamber Music Weekend, and experience the joy of making music for the love of it.

Sincerely,
Ellen Francisco, CMW Director