Chamber Music America Names 2025 Award Winners

Bang on a Can chamber music collective received the National Service Award

Founded in 1977, Chamber Music America (CMA) is a national network of ensemble music professionals and aims to develop, strengthen, and support the chamber music community. Each year, its awards honor ensembles, composers, presenters, executives, and advocates who have exhibited excellence in the chamber music community.

The awards will be presented at the CMA Awards Luncheon on February 15, during the 2025 National Conference in Houston, Texas.

The prize winners are as follows:

The National Service Award is particularly prestigious, and honors those whose career represents historic service on a national level. Previous recipients include Herbie Hancock, Lucy Shelton, The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), Billy Taylor, Elliott Carter, the Juilliard, Guarneri, and Emerson Quartets, Chick Corea, and Paquito D’Rivera.

Bang on a Can has been performing for nearly 40 years and creates a diverse range of concert offerings. A multi-faceted and cross-disciplinary enterprise, the collective presents LONG PLAY and LOUD Weekend festivals; the People’s Commissioning Fund; the Bang on a Can All-Stars; the Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival; the Asphalt Orchestra; and Found Sound Nation; as well as collaborations with DJs, visual artists, choreographers, and filmmakers.

"I am pleased to announce this year’s awards cohort, representing distinguished leadership and artistic excellence in our field," said cellist Jeffrey Zeigler, a member of CMA’s Board of Directors who serves as the Awards Committee Chair. "It’s an honor to celebrate extraordinary achievements of the small ensemble music community across style and discipline, reflecting the breadth and magnitude of chamber music. This group of recipients represents individuals working to expand musical boundaries, stewards of tradition, as well as mentors for the next generation."

(PC: Peter Serling)