top of page

Welcome to CMA

BB01B4C5-762D-4B36-9CE6-9F735A76717F_edited.jpg

Founded in 1942 as the “June Music Festival” by Ruth Hanna McCormick Simms and her husband Albert, CMA is in its 83rd season of bringing fine classical ensembles and soloists to the Albuquerque community. We are incredibly grateful for all of our friends, patrons, and donors in supporting our mission. CMA is a 501(c)(3) organization.

Our History

5F3FF678-E10E-4887-A3B0-C5C5AB92CAEF_edited.jpg

On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the June Music Festival, Albert G. Simms wrote, “In 1942 my wife and a group of Albuquerque people, interested in sponsoring music and art in Albuquerque and New Mexico, conceived the idea of the June Music Festival…. Mrs. Simms, with her deep feeling for art and beauty, realized the importance of music in a community, and she wished to make it possible for the people of Albuquerque to hear and enjoy the great and beautiful works written by the great masters in the field of chamber music.”

 

​Ruth Hanna McCormick Simms died on December 31, 1944. Beginning in 1946, Albert G. Simms sponsored the June Music Festival as a gift to the 

community in memory of his wife. In 1961 the financial responsibility for the

Festival was undertaken by three musicians, Georges Miquelle, Josef Gingold, and Ralph Berkowitz, who formed the nucleus of the performing artists. In 1966 (the 25th season), the June Music Festival became an incorporated body with a Board of Directors assuming the responsibility for the continuance of the Festival.

 

The organization began sponsoring periodic winter concerts in 1972, and by 1997, the Board of Directors felt the time had come to adopt a new name: Chamber Music Albuquerque (CMA), which better describes the scope of the organization’s programs.

On June 6, 2022, on the occasion of the June Music Festival's 80th anniversary, the Albuquerque City Council issued a proclamation naming June 2022 "Chamber Music Albuquerque Month."

 

Now in its 83rd season, Chamber Music Albuquerque continues to bring fine classical ensembles and soloists to the Albuquerque community.

Our Staff and Board of Directors

Staff

Financial Consultant - Michael Tamasi    

 

Operations Manager - Laurie Thomas     

 

Stage Manager - Curtis Mark            

Board of Directors

Jonathon Gerson - Board President   

 

Jack Reynolds - Treasurer 

 

 Carl Litsinger - Secretary

Betsy Ebert Schmidt-Nowara

Julius Kaplan  

Robin Kaplan

Harry Linneman

Sheila Litsinger

Pamela Pyle

BA3BBBD4-0DC5-4D1B-BEAE-AC9C843E15EA_edited.jpg
bottom of page