CMA Announces a Historic Move to Houston for its 2025 National Conference

Today, Chamber Music America (CMA), the national network for ensemble music professionals, announces a historic move for the 2025 National Conference. After careful consideration and collaborative discussions, CMA will hold its next annual event February 13 to 16, 2025, in the vibrant city of Houston, Texas.

While New York City will remain CMA’s official hub—and future conferences will be held in cities across the nation, including New York—CMA’s identity as a national service organization mandates its presence in communities beyond New York.

Houston’s cultural landscape provides a welcoming backdrop for CMA’s diverse constituency of artists, presenters, managers, publishers, and advocates, says CMA Chief Executive Officer Kevin Kwan Loucks. “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. 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.”

CMA is working in close collaboration with The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, which will serve as CMA’s official sponsoring partner and host conference performances in its renowned facilities. (General sessions will take place at nearby hotel, InterContinental Houston; room block details will become available this summer). Says Shepherd School’s Dean Matthew Loden: “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. 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.”

CMA has also tapped additional Houston and Texas-based institutions for guidance and partnership, including presenting organization DACAMERA. Confirmed national partners of the conference include American Composers Forum and Early Music America—two organizations that contributed to the success of CMA’s 2024 event—as well as Associated Chamber Music Players and New Music USA, new partners for 2025. “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,” says Vanessa Reed, President and CEO of New Music USA. “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.”

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

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, CMA provides its members with consulting services, access to instrument and other insurances, conferences, seminars, and its quarterly publication, Chamber Music magazine.