Announcing the 2026 Award Winners

Chamber Music America, the national network for small ensemble music professionals, announced today the recipients of its highest awards: the prestigious Richard J. Bogomolny National Service Award; the Michael Jaffee Visionary Award; and its biennial Cleveland Quartet Award. These honors recognize those who have made a profound impact on the field through leadership, creativity, and artistic excellence—as well as a rising string quartet that demonstrates significant promise. The presentation of these awards will take place during CMA’s National Conference in Chicago, Illinois, August 20–23, 2026.

“It is my pleasure to announce this year’s award recipients, who represent distinguished leadership and artistic brilliance,” says Nicholas Phan, President of CMA’s Board of Directors. “These ensembles’ extraordinary achievements through vision, service, and artistry embody chamber music’s breadth and magnitude, as well as the restless innovation that propels and inspires the field’s future.”

“It is the rich histories and decades of mentorship of ensembles like the Takács Quartet and Imani Winds that have allowed newer ensembles, like Poiesis Quartet, to flourish,” continues CMA’s CEO, Kevin Kwan Loucks. “The Cleveland Quartet Award is named for one of history’s most illustrious ensembles, whose exceptional artistry and deep commitment to mentorship helped shape generations of quartets, including the Ariel, Pacifica, and Verona Quartets — all of whom have, in turn, been meaningful mentors to the Poiesis Quartet. It’s inspiring to see this lineage alive in Poiesis, whose brilliant musicianship and extraordinary artistry are already unmistakable, even in their short time together.”

The Cleveland Quartet Award was established in 1995 as a culmination of the Cleveland Quartet’s remarkable 26-year history. Envisioning a legacy for young musicians, its members joined forces with CMA and eight prominent presenters to establish the Cleveland Quartet Award Endowment Fund (managed by CMA). Every two years, nominations for the award are submitted confidentially to CMA by a national roster of chamber musicians, presenters, and educators. Previous recipients are the Brentano, Borromeo, Miami, Pacifica, Miró, Jupiter, Parker, Jasper, Ariel, Dover, Rolston, Verona, Aizuri, and Balourdet Quartets.

As part of the Cleveland Quartet Award, the Poiesis Quartet will be presented by a consortium of eight presenters: the Buffalo Chamber Music Society; Carnegie Hall; Chamber Music Society of Detroit; Freer and Sackler Galleries of Art at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC; Friends of Chamber Music in Kansas City, MO; Market Square Concerts in Harrisburg, PA; Krannert Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; and Texas Performing Arts.

Celebrating their 50th season in 2025, the Takács Quartet embodies this evolutionary spirit and is recognized by enthusiasts and critics alike as “the essential quartet of our time” (The New York Times). They will receive the Richard J. Bogomolny National Service Award, honoring those whose careers represent historic service on a national level—those who have made significant and lasting contributions to enrich and foster a greater appreciation for chamber music.

With a distinctive sound and an inimitable ethos that never rests on the Takács’ name or time-honored reputation, its members are both stewards of old-world tradition as well as champions of contemporary composers. The Quartet has also spent more than three decades leading the way for the next generation, working as Artists in Residence at the University of Colorado, Boulder, since 1986. Previous recipients of the Richard J. Bogomolny National Service Award include Bang on a Can; Herbie Hancock; Lucy Shelton; The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM); Chick Corea; Paquito D’Rivera; and the Juilliard, Guarneri, and Emerson Quartets.

The Imani Winds will receive the Michael Jaffee Visionary Award, which recognizes remarkable artistry and a commitment to advancing the boundaries of chamber music through innovation, exploration, and experimentation. Celebrating nearly three decades of transformative music-making, the Grammy-winning ensemble has led an evolution of the wind quintet. Known for their dynamic playing, adventurous programming, imaginative collaborations (for which they have received a CMA commissioning grant), and impactful outreach, their repertoire features core chamber works, reimagined arrangements, and new commissions from renowned and emerging composers that reflect the urgency and diversity of our time.

In 2024, CMA initiated a new awards program to honor artists, advocates, and change-makers in the chamber music field, especially those across the country who are deserving of special recognition on a national level. Beginning December 9, 2025, CMA welcomes nominations from its members for the 2026 recipients in the following six categories: Ensemble of the Year; Album of the Year; Interdisciplinary Collaboration of the Year; Commission/New Work of the Year; Community Impact Award (Presenter of the Year); and Arts Advocate of the Year.

Nominations from CMA Members will be accepted through January 16, then reviewed, evaluated, and selected by independent panelists. The winners, who receive a monetary award of $1,000, will also be celebrated during CMA’s 2026 National Conference in Chicago, August 20–23, 2026.

Read more about each ensemble below; tickets for the Awards ceremonies will be available in early 2026.

Poiesis Quartet:

Derived from ancient Greek (ποιεῖν), the word Poiesis means “to make;” specifically, to create something that has never existed before. With a focus on expanding the string quartet repertoire with vibrant new works by emerging composers, the Poiesis Quartet infuses each performance with unique moments of synchronicity and verve. The Poiesis Quartet is the First Prize and Commission Prize winners of the 2025 Banff International String Quartet Competition. In 2023, they were named the Grand Prize and Lift Every Voice Prize winners of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, as well as Gold Medal and BIPOC Prize winners at the 2023 St. Paul String Quartet Competition.

Poiesis was selected as the 2025-26 Ernst Stiefl Quartet-in-Residence at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, and as the 2025 St. Lawrence Emerging String Quartet in Residence at Stanford University. Their 2024 debut album, as we are, on the Bright Shiny Things label, featured world premiere recordings with mezzo-soprano Nancy Maultsby, and their commission of String Quartet No. 7 ‘Surfacing’ by Kevin Lau received its world premiere at the Chautauqua Institution in 2025. In March 2026 through their Oberlin Commission Project, Poiesis will present five world premieres of commissioned works by LGBTQ+ composers of color.

The Poiesis Quartet is currently the Graduate Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) studying under the Ariel Quartet. As graduates of Oberlin College & Conservatory, they were previously mentored by Sibbi Bernhardsson of the Pacifica Quartet and members of the Verona Quartet. As a multi-faceted ensemble, in addition to their performance degrees from Oberlin, members of the quartet also individually received formal education in disciplines such as chemistry, comparative American studies, feminist studies, baroque, and jazz. Members of the Poiesis Quartet play on instruments and bows generously loaned by Jonathan Solars Fine Violins.

Takács Quartet
The Takács Quartet was formed in 1975 at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest by Gabor Takács-Nagy, Károly Schranz, Gabor Ormai and András Fejér, while all four were students. The group received international attention in 1977, winning First Prize and the Critics’ Prize at the International String Quartet Competition in Evian, France. The Quartet also won the Gold Medal at the 1978 Portsmouth and Bordeaux Competitions and First Prizes at the Budapest International String Quartet Competition in 1978 and the Bratislava Competition in 1981. The Quartet made its North American debut tour in 1982.

Now in the Quartet’s 50th year, its members Edward Dusinberre, Harumi Rhodes (violins), Richard O’Neill (viola) and András Fejér (cello) are excited about upcoming projects including performances throughout the USA and on major international stages including London’s Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw, and Konzerthaus Berline, among others.
In recognition of its 50th anniversary, the Takács Quartet was the subject of an in-depth New York Times profile and featured on the cover of Strad magazine. The Takács released two anniversary season albums in 2025 for Hyperion Records to glowing reviews. ‘Flow’ by Ngwenyama, composed for the ensemble, was followed by an album of piano quintets by Dvořák and Price with Marc André Hamelin.
The members of the Takács Quartet are Christoffersen Fellows and have been Artists in Residence at the University of Colorado, Boulder since 1986. During the summer months the Takács join the faculty at the Music Academy of the West, running an intensive quartet seminar. This season the ensemble begins a new relationship as Visiting Artists at the University of Maryland.

The Takács has recorded for Hyperion since 2005, with all other recordings available to stream at hyperion-streaming.co.uk. In 2021, the Takács won a Presto Music Recording of the Year Award for their recordings of string quartets by Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn, and a Gramophone Award with pianist Garrick Ohlsson for piano quintets by Beach and Elgar. For their CDs on the Decca/London label, the Quartet has won three Gramophone Awards, a Grammy Award, three Japanese Record Academy Awards, Disc of the Year at the inaugural BBC Music Magazine Awards, and Ensemble Album of the Year at the Classical Brits.

In 2014 the Takács became the first string quartet to be awarded the Wigmore Hall Medal. In 2012, Gramophone announced the Takács as the first string quartet inducted into its Hall of Fame. The ensemble also won the 2011 Award for Chamber Music and Song presented by the Royal Philharmonic Society in London.
Members of the Takács Quartet are the grateful beneficiaries of an instrument loan by the Drake Foundation. They are grateful to be Thomastik-Infeld Artists.

Imani Winds
Celebrating nearly three decades of transformative music-making, the Grammy-winning and four-time nominated Imani Winds has led both a revolution and an evolution of the wind quintet. Known for their dynamic playing, adventurous programming, imaginative collaborations, and impactful outreach, they have inspired audiences of all ages around the globe.

Imani Winds’ repertoire bridges the traditional and the contemporary, featuring core chamber works, reimagined arrangements, and newly commissioned pieces by both renowned and rising composers. Their programming reflects the urgency and diversity of our times, amplifying stories and voices too often left unheard.

Their 2024 release, BeLonging, a collaboration with composer Andy Akiho exploring the issue of mass incarceration, earned a 2025 Grammy nomination. Other recent highlights include a double quintet by Arturo Sandoval featuring Boston Brass; Jessie Montgomery’s work inspired by her great-grandfather’s migration north; and Carlos Simon’s tribute to African American icons. These works are part of the ensemble’s ongoing Legacy Commissioning Project, encompassing dozens of world premieres.

Since forming in 1997, Imani Winds has regularly appeared on major chamber music series and at leading performing arts centers and summer festivals, including Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Chamber Music Northwest, Banff Centre, and Chautauqua Institution. Internationally, their reach extends across Asia, Europe, South America, Australia, and New Zealand.

Education is central to Imani Winds’ mission. Appointed in 2021 as the Curtis Institute of Music’s first ever Faculty Wind Quintet, they also lead residencies and masterclasses nationwide, reaching thousands of students annually at institutions such as the University of Chicago, Eastman School of Music, and Duke University. In 2010, they launched the Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival, an acclaimed summer program nurturing the next generation of professional musicians through mentorship, masterclasses, and entrepreneurial training. In 2019, they deepened their mission by founding the Imani Winds Foundation, followed by the creation of Imani Winds Media, a record label spotlighting artists of color. Its first release, Jeff Scott’s Passion for Bach and Coltrane, won a Grammy Award 2024.

Imani Winds’ deep connection to jazz is reflected in collaborations with legends such as Wayne Shorter, Paquito D’Rivera, and Jason Moran. Their multidisciplinary project Josephine Baker: A Life of Le Jazz Hot! featuring jazz vocalist René Marie earned rave reviews in cities across the U.S.

One of their most meaningful honors is a permanent installation in the classical music section of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, a fitting tribute to their enduring impact on the American musical landscape.

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 awards more than $1.2 million annually, CMA provides its members with consulting services, access to instrument and other insurances, conferences, seminars, and its quarterly publication, Chamber Music magazine.