CMA Announces Two Creative Engagement Initiatives in Chicago

Today, Chamber Music America, the national network for ensemble music professionals, announced the kickoff of Sound Journeys and Echoes of the City—two creative engagement initiatives that build connections between professional chamber music artists and students at The People’s Music School, a tuition-free music school serving children in the Chicago metropolitan area. While the programs are geared toward musical education at the elementary and high school levels, both projects, designed by creative impact consulting firm Sounds That Carry, will also offer Chicago-based teaching artists innovative frameworks for meaningful community engagement and opportunities to apply those frameworks in practice.

Members of CMA’s Chicago-based constituency who are interested in participating in the projects as teaching artists are encouraged to apply; applications are being accepted through November 20, 2025.

Sound Journeys, which will launch this fall, is made possible by generous support from The Volgenau Foundation, one of CMA’s newest funding partners. This is the second iteration of Sound Journeys; the pilot took place in spring 2024, engaging 5th graders at the Casita Maria Center for Arts & Education in the Bronx, NY. Over the course of a 6-week program, two NYC-based teaching artists (who participated in a two-day intensive training session) imparted structured musical workshops that explored living composers’ works, composition techniques, and fundamental music appreciation. Lessons centered around a musical concept—such as harmony—paired with a complementary socio-emotional skill, like collaboration, as well as a composer of color whose work exemplified the same themes. The program concluded with a sharing session, during which students presented their own compositions using found objects and digital recording tools.

In Chicago, elementary school–aged children will participate in a similar curriculum, focusing on classical composers and classical improvisation. “The Sound Journeys curriculum is built to reflect each community,” notes Renate Rohlfing of Sounds That Carry. “We want to empower teaching artists to implement customized approaches, which, in turn, empowers the young musicians to explore, create, and perform music that resonates with their backgrounds and experiences.”

From studying established chamber music literature to creating their own pieces, the program develops lasting musical skills while connecting with chamber music’s evolving heritage. “The People’s Music School is a perfect partner for this work,” says Olivia Cosío of Sounds That Carry. “They not only provide rigorous, high-quality musical training, but also believe that musical learning develops a holistic foundation of self-esteem, resilience, and empowerment which translates to all areas of life.”

Says CMA CEO Kevin Kwan Loucks: “This second iteration of Sound Journeys is made possible through the generous support of The Volgenau Foundation. We are deeply grateful for their recognition of the program’s ability to foster community connection, advance meaningful artistic and cultural exchange, and expand access to chamber music. With their partnership, CMA can create lasting impact for students and promote chamber music learning and engagement throughout the city—a priority as we look ahead to our 2026 National Conference to be held in Chicago.”

Chamber Music America’s annual flagship event gathers more than 600 chamber music professionals from across the country to participate in four days of dialogue, performance, and shared growth. Ahead of the national convening, CMA’s efforts in Chicago aim to create strong, purposeful partnerships in the area, ensuring the National event will be rooted in regional vitality. By building connections that extend beyond one-off engagements, CMA’s intentional, place-based programs respond to local needs and assets, grounded in a belief that meaningful impact emerges from programs grounded in local relationships.

In addition to Sound Journeys, Chamber Music America and Sounds That Carry will launch Echoes of the City in spring 2026, with support from The Wallace Foundation. Similar to the Wallace Foundation-funded Sounds of Houston sonic memoir project, Echoes of the City will pair musicians with residents to create place-based compositions exploring the sounds and stories of their communities at risk of erasure. In this new iteration, high school-aged students enrolled in The People’s Music School will work with CMA-selected teaching artists and People’s Music School faculty. Through the projects, students will not only gain compositional skills but also learn frameworks for measuring impact through surveying and data analysis—key aspects of CMA’s creative placemaking projects.

“The Wallace Foundation has been an outstanding partner for work like this,” says CMA’s Loucks. “This fall, we were invited to present findings from Sounds of Houston during the United Nations General Assembly Healing Arts Week alongside representatives from The Wallace Foundation. Thanks to their support through projects such as these, chamber music was placed at the heart of civic dialogue, illustrating the role music plays in climate justice, empathy-building, and healing. The Wallace Foundation’s continued championing of our work, including through Echoes of the City, allows us to build upon these ideas and strongly advocate for music and arts education.”

“We are thrilled to be partnering with CMA on the Sound Journeys and Echoes of the City programs,” says Miriam Goldberg Owens, President and CEO of The People’s Music School. “Sound Journeys’ focus on storytelling, improvisation, and ensemble work fits perfectly with our core values of creativity and community, while Echoes of the City is a perfect complement to TPMS’s ethos of honoring our students’ communities, families, and personal histories. I can’t wait to hear what our students will create with CMA.”

The Volgenau Foundation’s mission is to protect and restore the natural environment, support education of under-resourced communities, and strengthen appreciation of classical music. TVF envisions a world in which all living things have the resources to thrive within sustainable ecosystems, and culturally vibrant opportunities are accessible for all.

The Wallace Foundation’s mission is to help all communities build a more vibrant and just future by fostering advances in the arts, education leadership, and youth development. We seek to catalyze broad

impact by supporting the development, testing and sharing of effective practices.

The People’s Music School is the largest completely tuition-free music school serving Chicago metropolitan area children, focusing on removing barriers to access for students who otherwise would not have the opportunity of intensive music instruction. Our mission is to deliver access to the benefits of high-quality, tuition-free music education. Through intensive instruction and performance, our students achieve excellence in music that transfers to other areas in life. They grow musically, socially, emotionally and intellectually, and develop a foundation of responsibility, self-esteem, resilience and purpose.

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.