A Golden Season of Music
Welcome to CMA! For 84 seasons, we have followed our mission "to present chamber musicians in live performance, sharing the power of music with community." We are excited to invite you to our 2025-26 season featuring seven extraordinay ensembles presenting richly varied and engaging repertoire.
Overview
Catalyst Quartet
SUNDAY - October 5, 2025
AT 3PM
Simms Center for the Performing Arts
Albuquerque Academy Campus
Artists:
Karla Donehew Perez, violin
Abi Fayette, violin
Paul Laraia, viola
Karlos Rodriguez, cello
Program:
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Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges: Six Concertante Quartets, No. 2
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Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz: Madre la de los primores (arr. Catalyst Quartet)
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Aftab Darvishi: Daughters of Sol
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Florence B. Price: Andante Moderato from “unfinished quartet”
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Toru Takemitsu: Autumn Leaves (Les Feuilles Mortes) for 4 strings
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Jorge Amado Molina: Tríptico cubano
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Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges: String Quartets
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Florence B. Price, Five Folksongs in Counterpoint
Hailed by The New York Times at its Carnegie Hall debut as “invariably energetic and finely burnished… playing with earthy vigor,” the Grammy Award-winning Catalyst Quartet was founded by the internationally acclaimed Sphinx Organization in 2010. The ensemble believes in the unity that can be achieved through music and imagine their programs and projects with this in mind, redefining and reimagining the classical music experience.
Overview
Danish String Quartet
SATURDAY - November 15, 2025
AT 3PM
Simms Center for the Performing Arts
Albuquerque Academy Campus
Artists:
Frederik Øland - violin
Rune Tonsgaard Sørenson - violin
Asbjørn Nørgaard - viola
Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin - cello
Program:
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Schnittke: String Quartet No. 2
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Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 3 in F major, Op. 73
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Beethoven: String Quartet No. 13 in B flat major, Op 130 (with Grosse Fuge)
The Danish String Quartet celebrated its 20th Anniversary in 2022-23, and the GRAMMY®- nominated quartet continues to assert its preeminence among the world’s finest string quartets. Formed when they were in their teens, they are renowned for impeccable musicianship, sophisticated artistry, exquisite clarity of ensemble, and, above all, and an unmatched ability to play as one. Performances are characterized by a rare musical spontaneity, giving audiences the sense of hearing even treasured canon repertoire as if for the first time. They exude a palpable joy in music-making that has made them one of today’s most highly acclaimed and in-demand classical quartets, performing sold-out concert halls around the world. Their inventive and intriguing programming and repertoire choices have produced critically acclaimed original projects and commissions as well as popular arrangements of Scandinavian folk music.
Overview
Joseph Lin & Friends
Beethoven Celebration
SUNDAY - December 7, 2025
AT 3PM
Simms Center for the Performing Arts
Albuquerque Academy
Artists:
Joseph Lin, violin
Helen Huang, piano
Raman Ramakrishnan, cello
Claire Bourg - violin
Natalie Loughran, viola
Program:
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Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 10 in G major, Op. 96
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Beethoven: String Quartet No. 11 in F minor,"Serioso," Op. 95
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Beethoven: "Archduke" Piano Trio in B flat major, Op. 97
From prayerful meditation and delicate lyricism to passionate outbursts and playful exuberance, Beethoven’s three consecutive masterpieces offer a rich and fascinating musical journey that captures a time of transition in Beethoven’s life. For this program of sonata duo, piano trio, and string quartet, Joseph Lin returns to Chamber Music Albuquerque for the first time since 2017, joined by his dear friends Helen Huang, Raman Ramakrishnan, Claire Bourg, and Natalie Loughran.
Overview
Curtis on Tour
SUNDAY - February 15, 2026
AT 3PM
Simms Center for the Performing Arts
Albuquerque Academy
Artists:
Curtis President and violist Roberto Diaz leads the ensemble of soprano, piano, clarinet, and viola.
Program:
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Bernstein: Clarinet Sonata
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Schubert: The Shepherd on the Rock
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Bruch: Selections from Eight Pieces for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano
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Gems from the Art Song Repertoire
A violist of international reputation, Roberto Díaz is president and CEO of the Curtis Institute of Music, following in the footsteps of renowned soloist/directors such as Josef Hofmann, Efrem Zimbalist, and Rudolf Serkin. As a teacher of viola at Curtis and former principal viola of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Mr. Díaz has already had a significant impact on American musical life and continues to do so in his dual roles as performer and educator. Since founding Curtis on Tour in 2007, Mr. Díaz has taken this successful initiative to North and South America, Europe, and Asia, performing chamber music side-by-side with Curtis students and other faculty and alumni of the school.
Overview
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Wind Ensemble
SUNDAY - April 12, 2026
AT 3PM
Simms Center for the Performing Arts
Albuquerque Academy Campus
Artists:
Michael Cox - flute
Fiona Cross - clarinet
John Roberts - oboe
Julie Price - bassoon
Stephen Stirling - horn
Program:
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Mozart: Adagio & Allegro in F-minor for musical clock, K 594 (arranged for wind quintet)
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Composer TBD: a newly commissioned work
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György Ligeti: Six Bagatelles
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Haydn: Pieces for musical/mechanical clock, HOB. XIX (arranged for wind quintet)
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Carl Nielsen: Quintet for Winds, Opus 43
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Mozart: Fantasy in F-minor, K 608 for mechanical clock (arr. Julian Phillips)
The Academy of St Martin in the Fields was founded by Sir Neville Marriner
in 1958 and is currently led by Music Director Joshua Bell. In 1967, the Academy Chamber Ensemble was formed to perform the larger scale chamber music repertoire with players who customarily worked together, instead of the usual string quartet with additional guests. Drawn from the principal players of the orchestra, the Chamber Ensemble’s touring commitments are extensive and include regular tours of Europe and North America, whilst recording contracts with Philips Classics, Hyperion, and Chandos have led to the release of over thirty CDs. The Chamber Ensemble now performs in multiple configurations, including the Academy Wind Ensemble, which returns to North America with wind quintet repertoire in April 2026.
Overview
Viano Quartet with Avi Avital
SUNDAY - May 3, 2026
AT 3PM
Simms Center for the Performing Arts
Albuquerque Academy Campus
Artists:
Lucy Wang - violin
Hao Zhou - violin
Aiden Kane - viola
Tate Zawadiuk - cello
Guest Avi Avital - mandolin
Program:
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Tsintsadze: Six Miniatures for String Quartet and Mandolin
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Viano Quartet (Rep TBD)
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Bach: Chaconne for solo mandolin
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David Bruce: Cymbeline for String Quartet and Mandolin
Viano Quartet
Praised for their “virtuosity, visceral expression, and rare unity of intention” (Boston Globe), the Viano Quartet are one of the most sought-after performing young ensembles today and recipients of the prestigious 2025 Avery Fisher Career Grant. Since soaring to international acclaim as the First Prize winner at the 13th Banff International String Quartet Competition, they have traveled to nearly every major city across the globe, captivating audiences in New York, London, Berlin, Hong Kong, Vancouver, Paris, Beijing, Toronto, Lucerne, and Los Angeles. They are currently in-residence at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's Bowers Program from 2024-2027.
Avi Avital
The first mandolin soloist to be nominated for a classical Grammy, Avi Avital has been compared to Andres Segovia for his championship of his instrument and to Jascha Heifitz for his incredible virtuosity. Passionate and “explosively charismatic” (New York Times) in live performance, he is a driving force behind the reinvigoration of the mandolin repertory.
Overview
So Percussion
with
Caroline Shaw
SUNDAY - June 21, 2026
AT 4PM
Simms Center for the Performing Arts
Albuquerque Academy Campus
Artists:
Eric Cha-Beach
Josh Quillen
Adam Sliwinski
Jason Treuting
Caroline Shaw
Program:
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TBA
Caroline Shaw
Caroline Shaw is a musician who moves among roles, genres, and mediums, trying to imagine a world of sound that has never been heard before but has always existed. She works often in collaboration with others, as producer, composer, violinist, and vocalist. Caroline is the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize in Music, several Grammys, and an honorary doctorate from Yale. Her favorite color is yellow, and her favorite smell is rosemary.
So Percussion
For 25 years, Grammy-winning percussion quartet Sō Percussion has redefined chamber music for the 21st century through an “exhilarating blend of precision and anarchy, rigor and bedlam” (The New Yorker). The group is celebrated by audiences and presenters for a dazzling range of work: for live performances imbued with “telepathic powers of communication” (New York Times); for an extravagant array of collaborations; and for creating opportunities and platforms for music and artists that explore the immense possibility of art in our time.