Chamber Music America Announces 2025 National Conference

In a historic move, the organization will transition its annual conference from New York City to Houston, Texas, for February 13–16, 2025

Founded in 1977 to support the chamber music community, Chamber Music America (CMA) is a national network for ensemble music professionals. After deliberation within the organization, CMA will hold its 2025 National Conference in Houston, Texas. 

This is a historic move for the CMA, which has held events primarily in New York. While New York City will remain CMA’s official hub (and future conferences will be held in cities across the nation), CMA’s identity as a national service organization will mandate its presence in communities beyond New York.

The next annual Conference will be held from February 13–16, 2025, with Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music serving as an official sponsoring partner; general sessions will be held at the InterContinental Houston.

In the future, CMA will foster partnerships with Houston and Texas-based institutions. Confirmed partner organizations include DACAMERA, Associated Chamber Music Players, and New Music USA.

Other national partners of the conference include the American Composers Forum and Early Music America, which both contributed to the running of CMA’s 2024 event.

The CMA 2025 Conference programming — including sessions, speakers, and performers — will be released later this year, with registration opening in the fall.

In its new Houston location, the area’s cultural landscape will also provide a backdrop for CMA’s diverse constituency of artists, presenters, managers, publishers, and advocates.

“Further, a move to our nation’s fourth-largest city not only opens doors to those who have faced geographic constraints, it also empowers us to cultivate essential national discussions in regions we haven’t fully embraced,” said CMA’s CEO Kevin Kwan Loucks in the press release. “It is our duty to extend our platform of support to our entire national community, and we’ve selected a university partner that shares in our mission of challenging convention, championing innovation, and promoting passionate and curious minds.”

“We are delighted to host Chamber Music America’s 2025 conference on Rice University’s beautiful campus and welcome attendees to Houston for the first time,” added Dean of the Shepherd School Matthew Loden. “Chamber music is a critical component of our training at the Shepherd School, and we are proud to be the hub where so many will connect and engage in meaningful dialogue to advance the field, all while enjoying the vibrant arts scene in America’s most diverse city.”

“I’m pleased to see CMA embarking on an exciting new chapter, which will bring unique content and contacts to more of the many vital music communities across the United States,” continued Vanessa Reed, New Music USA’s president and CEO. “We are eager to partner more closely with CMA in 2025, especially to celebrate the phenomenal music making occurring in Houston and the region at large and to share models we are developing through our regional incubator programs.”