OUR 70TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON
Click below to view the full concert program
TICKETS
general admission Ticket: $45
5-Concert season pass: $200
STUDENT Ticket: $15
All seats are unassigned except ADA accessible seating. Please call to reserve ADA seats.
To purchase tickets by phone call our office at (401) 863-2416.
The 5th Annual September Soirée!
Friday, September 5, 2025 / 5-7 PM
The Providence Art Club, 11 Thomas Street
RI Chamber Music Concerts and the Alliance Française of Providence invite you to join our organizations in kicking off the 2025-2026 season! Our 5th Annual September Soirée will be held outdoors in the courtyard of The Providence Art Club (Indoors should it rain). Pianist Mark Taber will delight with Jazz and American Songbook classics. Let's welcome the new season!
$15 cover includes a glass of wine, refreshments, and entertainment. There will be a cash bar. RSVP to tickets@ricmc.org or call (401) 863-2416.
“Imani Winds has carved a unique path into the world of classical chamber music... inventive programs, commissioning projects, and educational activities, and above all superb musicianship” – Cleveland Classical
Imani Winds
Thursday, September 11, 2025
7:30 PM
PROGRAM
Lina Mathon Blanchet: A Haitian Tale
Jean Français: Quintet No. 2
Lalo Shifrin: La Nouvelle Orléans
Valerie Coleman: Portraits of Josephine Baker
Igor Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring
“The ensemble’s hot rapport churns with conviction throughout." – Gramophone
Imani Winds, Imani Winds, the 2024 GRAMMY® winner in the Classical Compendium category for composer Jeff Scott’s Passion for Bach and Coltrane, continues to redefine the wind quintet through dynamic playing, inventive programming, and broad-reaching education. Now in its 27th season, the ensemble blends traditional repertoire with newly commissioned works that reflect contemporary themes and voices.
Their acclaimed Legacy Commissioning Project includes new works by Arturo Sandoval, Jessie Montgomery, and Carlos Simon. Their 11th studio album, BeLonging by Andy Akiho—released in June 2024 and nominated for a 2025 GRAMMY®—explores themes of mass incarceration.
With a full-time touring schedule, Imani Winds has appeared on nearly every major chamber music series and has performed at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and Lincoln Center, as well as at festivals including Chamber Music Northwest, Chautauqua, and the Banff Centre. Their international appearances span Asia, Europe, Australia, and the Americas.
Committed to education, they have held impactful residencies at institutions like the University of Chicago and Eastman School of Music. Since 2021, they have served as the first Faculty Wind Quintet at the Curtis Institute of Music. Their annual Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival, founded in 2010, trains pre-professional musicians through mentorship, entrepreneurship, and performance.
Imani Winds also founded the Imani Winds Foundation in 2019 to further support their educational and community initiatives. Their crossover collaborations with jazz luminaries Wayne Shorter, Paquito D’Rivera, and Jason Moran include standout projects like Josephine Baker: A Life of Le Jazz Hot!, featuring jazz songstress René Marie in performances that brought the house down in New York, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and St. Louis.
Their GRAMMY®-nominated 2021 album Bruits received praise from Gramophone for its intensity and conviction. Imani Winds has released recordings on Koch, E1, Naxos, Blue Note, and Warner Classics, and they are frequently featured on NPR, BBC, and the New York Times. www.imaniwinds.com
Brandon Patrick George, Flute
Toyin Spellman-Diaz, Oboe
Kevin Newton, Clarinet
Mark Dover, French Horn
Monica Ellis,
Bassoon
“We can now see the Con Brio as the worthy successors of the legendary Beaux-Arts Trio. That says it all!” – Díapason
Trio con Brio Copenhagen
Thursday, October 9, 2025
7:30 PM
PROGRAM
Lili Boulanger: D’un matin de printemps
Lili Boulanger: D’un soir triste
Miesczyslav Weinberg: Piano Trio, Op. 24
Franz Schubert: Piano Trio No. 2, Op. 100
“Anyone who heard the irresistible intensity, immaculate clarity, and stringent lament could feel nothing but profound shock.” – Nürnberger Nachrichten
Recognized as one of the world’s finest piano ensembles, the Trio con Brio Copenhagen’s multifaceted members are not only performing artists who tour extensively, but also esteemed recording artists, artistic directors and educators. The Trio appears regularly at the world’s leading venues and concert series, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Wigmore Hall, Berlin’s Pierre Boulez-Saal, the Concertgebouw and many more. Trio con Brio is a recipient of the Carl Nielsen and Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen Award, one of Denmark’s most prestigious prizes.
Trio con Brio Copenhagen is a fusion of two overlapping “musical pairs:” two sisters, violinist Soo-Jin Hong and cellist Soo- Kyung Hong, are from South Korea; pianist Jens Elvekjaer, Soo-Kyung’s spouse, is from Denmark. Founded at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna in 1999, the Trio is now based in Copenhagen and is recognized for its exceptional musicianship, fresh approach to the core repertoire, adventurous programming and a commitment to bringing music to young people through their highly creative concerts.
As visionary artistic directors who are known for their insatiable curiosity, inventive programming and engaging children’s concerts, Trio con Brio Copenhagen plays a vital role in the cultural life of Denmark. Trio con Brio Copenhagen serves as artistic directors of the annual festival, Chamber Music at Lundsgaard, and the Hellerup Chamber Music Society in Copenhagen. www.trioconbrio.dk
Soo-Jin Hong, violin
Soo-Kyung Hong, cello
Jens Elvekjaer,
piano
“Such was their ferocity on Saturday night that the instruments almost burst into flames…Make no mistake: the Brentanos are a magnificent quartet…This was wonderful, selfless music-making.” – The Times London
Brentano String Quartet
Thursday, November 6, 2025
7:30 PM
PROGRAM
Joseph Haydn: Quartet in C major, Op. 54, No. 2, "Tost"
Béla Bartók: Quartet No. 4, Sz.91
Franz Schubert: Quartet No. 13 in A minor, D. 804, "Rosamunde"
“The glittering clarity of the Brentano’s sound was intoxicating…A revelatory performance.” – The Strad
With a career spanning over three decades, the Brentano Quartet has appeared throughout the world to popular and critical acclaim. The New York Times extols its “luxuriously warm sound [and] yearning lyricism; and the Times (London) hails their “wonderful, selfless music-making.” Known for its unique sensibility, probing interpretive style, and original programming, the Quartet has performed across five continents in the world’s most prestigious venues and festivals, thus establishing itself as one of the world’s preeminent ensembles.
Dedicated and highly sought-after as educators, the Quartet has served as Artists-in-Residence at the Yale School of Music for the past decade. They also lead the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival and appear regularly at the Taos School of Music. Previously, the Quartet served for fifteen years as Ensemble-in-Residence at Princeton University.
In the 2025-26 concert season, the Quartet will tour throughout North America, including concerts in New York, Boston, Chicago, Vancouver, Detroit, San Francisco, and Denver. They will perform the complete Mozart Quintets with violist Hsin-Yun Huang in Philadelphia. Further afield, they will tour Spain in November 2025 and elsewhere in Europe in March 2026.
Formed in 1992, The Brentano Quartet has received numerous accolades, including, in 1995, the prestigious Naumburg and Cleveland Quartet Awards. They have been privileged to collaborate with such artists as sopranos Jessye Norman and Dawn Upshaw; mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato; as well as pianists Mitsuko Uchida and Jonathan Biss. The Quartet has commissioned works from some of the most important composers of our time, including Bruce Adolphe, Matthew Aucoin, Gabriela Frank, Stephen Hartke, Vijay Iyer, Steven Mackey, Charles Wuorinen, Lei Liang, James MacMillan, and Melinda Wagner.
Notable recordings include Beethoven’s Quartet, Op. 131 (Aeon) which was featured in the 2012 film “A Late Quartet,” starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Christopher Walken, and a 2017 live album with Joyce DiDonato, “Into the Fire—Live from Wigmore Hall” (Warner) Their most recent release features the K. 428 and K. 465 (“Dissonance”) Quartets of Mozart for the Azica label.
The Quartet is named for Antonie Brentano, whom many scholars consider to be Beethoven’s “Immortal Beloved,” the intended recipient of his famous love confession.
www.brentanoquartet.com
Mark Steinberg, violin
Serena Canin, violin
Misha Amory, viola
Nina Lee,
cello
“The Ulysses Quartet projects that avid enthusiam we critics immediately fall for—fortunately Ulysses Quartet has the chops to back up their passion.” – San Diego Story
Ulysses String Quartet
Thursday March 19, 2025
7:30 PM
PROGRAM
Selected Folk Songs
Arranged by The Ulysses Quartet)
Bela Bartok
String Quartet No. 2
Robert Schumann
String Quartet No. 3
“Immaculate phrasing and the kind of chemistry many quartets long for, but rarely achieve.” – The Strad
The Ulysses Quartet has been praised for its “textural versatility,” “grave beauty,” and “the kind of chemistry many quartets long for, but rarely achieve” (The Strad), performing with “exuberance and polished artistry” (The Buffalo News) and “avid enthusiasm… with chops to back up their passion” (San Diego Story).
Since its founding in 2015, Ulysses has garnered top prizes at the Fischoff, Schoenfeld, Osaka and Vietnam international competitions, and received a career development grant at the Banff International String Quartet Competition. The quartet has appeared at venues including Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Jordan Hall, the National Gallery of Art, and the National Recital Hall in Taiwan, with international performances across Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
Ulysses recently released their debut album, “Shades of Romani Folklore,” on the Navona label. The quartet also has two new collaborative albums out: “Sea Change Quartets” by Grammy-nominated composer Joseph Summer, and “A Giant Beside You” with guitarist Benjamin Verdery. They also appear on Clovis Nicolas’s album “The Contrapuntist.” The group recently completed a residency as GBH Music’s first-ever quartet in residence. They also served as the Lisa Arnhold Fellows at Juilliard from 2019 to 2022, and from 2016 to 2019, was in residence at the Louis Moreau Institute in New Orleans, working with composer Morris Rosenzweig.
Dedicated to inspiring diverse audiences, the Ulysses Quartet Foundation supports outreach, education, and programming that amplifies underrepresented voices.
The quartet’s members hail from Canada, the United States, and Taiwan. They hold degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, New England Conservatory, Boston Conservatory, the Juilliard School, and University of North Texas. Their name honors Odysseus’s epic journey—symbolizing their pursuit of artistic and personal ideals through music. www.ulyssesquartet.com
Christina Bouey, violin
Rhiannon Banerdt, violin
Peter Dudek, viola
Grace Ho, cello
“Eloquent, full-blooded playing... The four players offer a beautiful blend of individuality and accord.” – BBC Music Magazine
Escher String Quartet and
Flutist Brandon Patrick George
Thursday, April 30, 2025
7:30 PM
PROGRAM
Amy Beach
Theme and Variations for Flute and String Quartet, Op. 80
Giuseppe Verdi
Quartet in E minor
Samuel Barber
Adagio for Strings from Quartet Op. 11
Wolfgang Mozart
Flute Quartet No. 1
Alberto Ginastera
Impresiones de la Puna
The Escher String Quartet has received acclaim for its profound musical insight and rare tonal beauty. A former BBC New Generation Artist and recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant, the quartet has performed at the BBC Proms at Cadogan Hall and is a regular guest at Wigmore Hall. In its hometown of New York, the ensemble serves as season artists of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
Highlights of the 2024–2025 season include performances at Alice Tully Hall, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Shriver Hall, Chamber Music Pittsburgh, University Musical Society, Spivey Hall, Chamber Music Houston, Wigmore Hall (BBC live broadcast), and venues in Germany and continental Europe.
Escher String Quartet has made a distinctive impression throughout Europe, with debuts including Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Berlin Konzerthaus, Kings Place, Slovenian Philharmonic Hall, Geneva’s Les Grands Interprètes, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, and Auditorium du Louvre. Festival appearances include Heidelberg, Budapest, Dublin, Risør, Hong Kong, and Perth. The quartet continues to flourish in North America, performing at Aspen, Bravo! Vail, Santa Fe, Bowdoin, Toronto, Cape Cod, OKM Festival, Chamber Music San Francisco, Music@Menlo, Ravinia, and Caramoor.
They achieved critical success last season with complete Bartok quartet cycles at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and featured in The New Yorker. Recordings include works by Jalbert, Janacek, Pavel Haas (with Colin Currie), Mendelssohn, Dvorak, Borodin, and Tchaikovsky.
Other acclaimed releases include DANCE with guitarist Jason Vieaux, and the complete quartets of Ives, Barber, and Zemlinsky. www.escherquartet.com
Adam Barnett-Hart, violin
Brendan Speltz, violin
Pierre Lapointe, viola
Brook Speltz, cello
“Brandon Patrick George, is a knockout musician with a gorgeous sound.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer
Brandon Patrick George is a GRAMMY-winning flutist whose repertoire extends from the Baroque era to today. He is the flutist of Imani Winds and has appeared as a soloist with the Atlanta, Baltimore, and Albany symphonies, American Composers Orchestra, and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, among others. He has been praised as “elegant” by The New York Times, as a “virtuoso” by The Washington Post, and as a “knockout musician with a gorgeous sound” by The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Brandon has performed at the Elbphilharmonie, the Kennedy Center, the Dresden Music Festival, and the Prague Spring Festival. In addition to his work with Imani Winds, Brandon’s solo performances include appearances at Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 92nd Street Y, Tippet Rise, Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. In 2021, Brandon was part of the inaugural class of WQXR’s Artist Propulsion Lab, a program designed to advance the careers of early and mid-career artists and support the future of classical music. During his yearlong residency at WQXR, Brandon guest hosted Evening Music, interviewed Ford Foundation president Darren Walker about diversity and equity in the performing arts, and recorded with pianist Aaron Diehl and harpist June Han.
Prior to his solo career, Brandon performed as a guest with many of the world’s leading ensembles including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE). He has appeared as guest principal flute with the Los Angels Philharmonic, performing at Walt Disney Concert Hall and at the Hollywood Bowl with Music Director Gustavo Dudamel.
Brandon serves on the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music since 2021 and was appointed to the flute faculty at the Mannes School of Music in January 2025. He has spent many summers on the faculty of the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Canada. In 2024, he was appointed as the Music Consultant at The Morgan Library & Museum, where he oversees the development and implementation of its music program. www.brandonpatrickgeorge.com
Tickets & Subscriptions
GENERAL ADMISSION: $45
5-concert subscription: $200
STUDENT Ticket:
$15
All seats are unassigned except ADA accessible seating.
To reserve ADA seats please call (401) 863-2416.