Opening our 20th anniversary season with a Baroque flourish, CMSCVA celebrates the music of Georg Friderick Handel. Join us for The House of Handel, a Baroque musical showcase inspired by the drama of G. F. Handel’s “Messiah” and the dynamism of a runway show. House of Handel will take the listener through an emotional musical playlist that also includes a special surprise – the world premiere of “…like a shepherd” by Richmond’s own Zachary Wadsworth! All of this glorious music will be performed by an eleven-piece orchestra of period instruments. Performers: Jason Amos, viola Adam Cockerham, lute Sarah Schilling, oboe/recorder Carmen Johnson-Pájaro, violín Anthony Manzo, bass Ingrid Matthews, violin Emily Monroe, violin Kristin Olson, oboe Edson Scheid, violin Carsten Schmidt, harpsichord Zachary Wadsworth, composer James Wilson, cello  

They say “life is a cabaret,” so why shouldn’t we celebrate Richmond in song? Revel in contemporary American life and the Richmond experience with this recital of cabaret songs, including special commissions from CMSCVA by Virginia composers Emily Graham, Zachary Wadsworth, Riley Peters, and Betsy Podsiadlo. Register for this free event here.

The freedom and joy of 1930’s Germany cabaret culture was swept away by the winds of fascism and war. Travel back to this unique period in musical history with songs and instrumental works by banned and émigré composers from the time, and “For a Look or a Touch,” a moving chamber opera by contemporary American composer Jake Heggie. With “Swept Away!” CMSCVA revisits two of the more intriguing concert themes we have featured over the past two decades – revolutionary and banned music, and forbidden love. Program: Irreverent songs by Hanns Eisler, Friedrich Hollaender and Rudolf Nelson. Selections from Arnold Schoenberg’s groundbreaking cabaret piece, “Pierrot Lunaire,” featuring performing artist Gwen Grastorf. Franz Schreker’s romantic chamber music piece “The Wind.” And Jake Heggie’s dramatic work for voice, actor and ensemble “For a Look or a Touch,” featuring actor Doug Schneider and bass-baritone Paul Max Tipton.

Celebrate CMSCVA’s 20th anniversary (and the dawn of chamber music) with music by the “father of the string quartet,” Joseph Haydn, and young composers from Richmond in this sun-themed concert. The premiere of a new work by Richmond native Kyle Valorose joins music from Haydn’s collection nicknamed the “Sun Quartets,” opus 20, in which Haydn developed compositional techniques that were to define chamber music for the next 200 years. Register for this free event here.

  Before candlelight concerts became popular, CMSCVA presented this concept seventeen years ago with “Bach by Candlelight,” one of the favorite concerts from our past 20 years. This year, we present a revival of this concert with elegant and emotional music from  J. S. Bach’s solo cello suites and violin partitas, played in candlelight. Intimate music perfect for a winter’s night performed by violinist Johnny Gandelsman and cellist James Wilson.

Through the month of January, CMSCVA celebrates our contribution to the chamber music repertoire with a digital festival of pieces we have commissioned and premiered. Enjoy works written for CMSCVA in the past four years that have transformed the chamber music repertoire and delighted audiences throughout Richmond.  Shuying Li, Eight Immortals and the Sea Kevin Day,  Surgent Zachary Wadsworth Palaces of Memory, and C/1995 O1 Kenyon Duncan, we go where we need to go Angélica Negrón, A través del manto luminoso Brian Raphael Nabors, Soul Bop And the Our Pictures project with works by Chloe Biggs, Benjamin Broening, Krystal Folkestad, Antonio Garcia, and Donovan Williams.  

CMSCVA continues its theme of “20” in celebration of our 20th anniversary with Romantic music from the late 19th century. Edward Elgar’s Serenade opus 20 makes its CMSCVA debut in a special arrangement for strings and flute, and is joined by Borodin’s famous String Quartet in D major, written as a 20th anniversary wedding gift for his wife. This concert is presented in partnership with the Richmond Public Library’s Gellman Room Concerts. Register for this free event here.

What could celebrate our 20th anniversary more perfectly than a performance of Felix Mendelssohn’s exhilarating Octet, opus 20? We pair this famous piece of chamber music with a joyful fanfare commissioned for this year from Richmond’s own Donovan Williams, and celebrate the 100th anniversary years of composers Maurice Ravel and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.

Built in 1753, members of the Randolph family called Wilton home for over 100 years and entertained some of the most notable political figures including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Having survived the Revolutionary and Civil War, the Wilton House has a rich and complex history. CMSCVA returns to this historic setting for a program of Baroque music performed on period instruments. Because of the intimate size of the Wilton House venue, this concert is offered on two dates.

Built in 1753, members of the Randolph family called Wilton home for over 100 years and entertained some of the most notable political figures including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Having survived the Revolutionary and Civil War, the Wilton House has a rich and complex history. CMSCVA returns to this historic setting for a program of Baroque music performed on period instruments. Because of the intimate size of the Wilton House venue, this concert is offered on two dates. Please note that this event is sold out. Tickets may become available at a later date. Please contact us at 804-304-6312 or at cmscva@yahoo.com for more information.