CMA Announces the Distribution of $625,000 to Ensembles and Presenters

Chamber Music America (CMA), the national network for ensemble music professionals, has announced the distribution of $625,000 through four of its grant programs. The awards will support the work of ensembles and presenters across the contemporary and traditional jazz, classical, and folkloric genres, funding the creation of new scores and recordings, as well as landmark performances bridging artists and communities.

The first cohort of 2026 grantees was selected after multi-day peer-review processes by independent panels of chamber music professionals. Individual awards, from $4,125 to $20,000, will be used to support projects in communities across the US, including 12 states and Washington, DC. Funding will impact more than 260 musicians, 29 presenting organizations, and 43 total ensembles.

“In a year that has brought significant challenges to the arts funding landscape, CMA adapted to meet the rapidly changing needs of our chamber music community,” says CMA CEO Kevin Kwan Loucks. “With assistance from the Sewell Family Foundation, CMA swiftly reconfigured one of our flagship commissioning programs this year, to award $75,000 to ensembles and presenters that lost income as a result of cancelled National Endowment for the Arts grants.”

In addition to this shift, CMA has responded to the field’s needs in other ways. Recognizing that ensembles at any stage may need support in the areas of strategic and professional development, CMA evolved its Ensemble Forward program from an early-career recording boost to offering deeper core support that addresses an ensemble’s sustainability and organizational health. Over three years, the New York Community Trust has committed $300,000 to funding 30 New York City-based ensembles (10 per annual cycle) who will each receive $10,000. This grant program complements CMA’s Artistic Projects program—a New York City–focused grant funded by the Howard Gilman Foundation that supports the creation of new work, recording projects, or high-impact performances within the city’s five boroughs. In 2026, CMA is awarding $300,000 to support 17 ensembles.

With generous funding from the Doris Duke Foundation, CMA has continued to fund nationwide jazz performances through its Presenter Consortium for Jazz program. This year—marking the 26th that Doris Duke has supported CMA’s jazz constituents—10 organizations will each receive $15,000 to present jazz ensembles in tandem with multiple organizational partners. Panelists selected grant recipients based on a project’s potential community impact in addition to artistic excellence, and in this grant cycle, performances will be offered across 7 US states and Washington, DC.

“I am thrilled to recognize this year’s grant recipients, whose projects exemplify the vitality and forward momentum of the chamber music field,” continues Loucks. “In challenging times, it’s essential to invest in bold ideas and the artists who bring them to life; these awards provide critical support at a pivotal time and empower the artists who propel the art form. As CMA continues to listen and respond to the needs of an evolving field, we are also investing in new initiatives launching later this year that will expand our impact and further strengthen and sustain the chamber music community.” Details for new programs will follow in early 2026.

Explore each of the grant programs and their recipients below.

Classical Commissioning: A Responsive Shift
funded by CMA and the Sewell Family Foundation

CMA’s 2026 iteration of its flagship Classical Commissioning was reconfigured to respond to widespread funding recessions at the National Endowment for the Arts. For the 2026 cycle, Classical Commissioning: A Responsive Shift specifically supports ensembles and presenters whose funding was rescinded by the NEA in 2025 and those that present music by living American composers whose compositions are written in the musical styles associated with contemporary classical music.

15 grantees (8 ensembles and 7 presenters) received awards of either $4,125 (ensembles) or $6,000 (presenters), for general operation support, the commissioning of classical/contemporary music, or both.

The 2026 Classical Commissioning grantees are:

Ensembles

• Present Music, Milwaukee, WI
• Castle of Our Skins, Roxbury, MA
• San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, San Francisco, CA
• Wet Ink Ensemble, Brooklyn, NY
• Pathos Ensemble, Brooklyn, NY
• Crossing Borders Music, Chicago, IL
• Percussia, Jackson Heights, NY
• Imani Winds, New York, NY

Presenters

• Synchromy, Pasadena, CA
• Capital Region lassical, Albany, NY
• Schubert Club, Saint Paul, MN
• Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Philadelphia, PA
• Musical Masterworks, Old Lyme, CT
• Meany Center for the Performing Arts at The University of Washington, Seattle, WA
• Roosevelt Island Concerts, New York, NY

Artistic Projects

The Artistic Projects program is administered by Chamber Music America and made possible with funding from the Howard Gilman Foundation.

Grants totaling $300,000 have been awarded to 17 New York City-based projects comprising performances, recordings, and new compositions, among other artist-generated ideas. The projects funded through this program represent the artistic visions, concepts, and priorities of the applicants, regardless of musical genre or style.

The 2026 Artistic Projects grantees are:

Recordings:

• Sonnambula (Manhattan)
• Afro-Andean Funk (Queens)
• The Charanga Syndicate (Queens)
• Alkemie (Brooklyn)
• The Klezmatics (Manhattan)

Performances:

• Jessica Pavone String Ensemble (Queens)
• INTERWOVEN (Manhattan)
• Nate Wooley Ensemble (Brooklyn)
• Isham Park Restoration Program 1970, Inc. (Manhattan)
• Brass Queens (Brooklyn)
• InfraSound (Brooklyn)
• Unheard-of Ensemble (Brooklyn)
• Five Boroughs Music Festival (Brooklyn)

Commissions:

• andPlay (Manhattan)
• Chromic Duo (Brooklyn)
• Or Bareket Quartet (Brooklyn)
• El Vapor de Brooklyn (Brooklyn)

Ensemble Forward

Supported by the New York Community Trust

CMA’s Ensemble Forward program was refreshed for 2026 to help better meet the needs of ensembles based in NYC and focus on long-term organizational health. The goals of this program are to support ensemble development at any stage, and to help them navigate an increasingly demanding cultural landscape. CMA distributed $10,000 grants to 10 ensembles based in Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn. Ensembles will work closely with their selected consultants and participate in six cohort-specific learning sessions.

The 2026 Ensemble Forward grantees are:

• Either/Or Ensemble
  • Borough: Manhattan
  • Consultant: Deborah Steinglass
  • Areas of Focus: Strategic Planning, Development
• Exceptet
  • Borough: Brooklyn
  • Consultant: Michelle Zarco
  • Areas of Focus: Strategic Planning, Development
• Exponential Ensemble
  • Borough: Manhattan
  • Consultant: Mary Sternbach
  • Area of Focus: Development
• Katarina String Quartet
  • Borough: Brooklyn
  • Consultants: Everett Davis, Kate Gainard
  • Areas of Focus: Strategic Planning, Social Media & Website
• Sandbox Percussion
  • Borough: Brooklyn
  • Consultant: Max Stephenson
  • Area of Focus: Development
• Sylvan Winds
  • Borough: Manhattan
  • Consultant: Peter McDowell
  • Areas of Focus: Social Media & Website, Development
• The Western Wind
  • Borough: Manhattan
  • Consultant: Jennifer Einhorn
  • Areas of Focus: Marketing & Communications, Audience Assessment
• Unheard-Of Ensemble
  • Borough: Brooklyn
  • Consultant: Sarah Manze
  • Areas of Focus: Strategic Planning, Financial Planning
• Weiwei & José
  • Borough: Brooklyn
  • Consultant: Gina Izzo
  • Areas of Focus: Strategic Planning, Audience Assessment
• Yarn/Wire
  • Borough: Queens
  • Consultant: Joshua Borenstein
  • Areas of Focus: Strategic Planning, Audience Assessment

Presenter Consortium for Jazz

Supported by the Doris Duke Foundation

Ten grants totaling $150,000 have been awarded to 10 presenters who will work with at least one additional organization partner to present a jazz ensemble. Awards can be used to offset artistic and technical expenses. In 2026, performances will be presented in 7 states and Washington, DC. This grant program kicks off the 26th year of CMA’s commitment to jazz programming, made possible by the Doris Duke Foundation. Through DDF, CMA will award $2.5 million to jazz bandleaders, presenters, and composers over the next three years. The 2026 Presenter Consortium for Jazz grantees are:

Redwood Jazz Alliance (Arcata, CA)

• Ensemble Partner: Emilio Solla y La Inestable de Brooklyn
• Consortium Partner: The 222 (Healdsburg, CA)

Arts for Art (New York, NY)

• Ensemble Partners: Jen Shyu, DoYeon Kim
• Consortium Partner: Ars Nova Workshop (Philadelphia, PA)

The National Jazz Museum in Harlem (New York, NY)

• Ensemble Partner: Nabaté Isles’ En Motion
• Consortium Partner: Words Beats & Life (Washington, D.C.)

MCG Jazz (Pittsburgh, PA)

• Ensemble Partner: Jamie Baum Septet+
• Consortium Partners: Rochester International Jazz Festival (Rochester, NY)

CapitalBop, Inc. (Washington, D.C.)

• Ensemble Partner: Douglas Ewart Quasar
• Consortium Partners: FourOneOne (New York, NY)

Jazz Institute of Chicago (Chicago, IL)

• Ensemble Partner: Zaccai Curtis Cubop Lives!
• Consortium Partners: Chicago Park District – Humboldt Park (Chicago, IL)

Riverview Jazz (Jersey City, NJ)

• Ensemble Partner: Tim Berne
• Consortium Partners: Pet Shop Jersey City (Jersey City, NJ)

DC Jazz Festival (Washington, D.C.)

• Ensemble Partner: Michele Rosewoman and Quintessence
• Consortium Partners: JAZZ HOUSE KiDS (Montclair, NJ)

Denver Jazz (Denver, CO)

• Ensemble Partner: The Ingrid Jensen Quartet
• Consortium Partners: The Gift of Jazz (Denver, CO)

Montavilla Jazz Festival (Portland, OR)

• Ensemble Partner: Jessie Marquez y su conjunto Cubano
• Consortium Partners: Miracle Theatre Group (aka Milagro) (Portland, OR)

Chamber Music America, the national network of ensemble music professionals, was founded in 1977 to develop, strengthen, and support the chamber music community. With a membership including musicians, ensembles, presenters, artists’ managers, educators, music businesses, and advocates of ensemble music, CMA welcomes members representing a wide range of musical styles and traditions. In addition to its funding programs, which in 2025, distributed more than $1.2 million, CMA provides its members with consulting services, access to instrument and other insurances, conferences, seminars, and its quarterly publication, Chamber Music magazine.

The Doris Duke Foundation’s mission is to improve the quality people’s lives through grants supporting the performing arts, environmental conservation, medical research, and child well-being, and through preservation of the cultural and environmental legacy of Doris Duke’s properties.

Howard Gilman believed in the power of the arts to transform lives. The Howard Gilman Foundation honors his legacy by supporting the most robust, innovative, and promising performing arts organizations in New York City.

A public charity, The New York Community Trust connects past, present, and future generous New Yorkers with vital nonprofits working to make a healthy, equitable, and thriving community for all. It is a public grantmaking foundation dedicated to improving the lives of residents of New York City, Westchester, and Long Island.