Join us for the 2026 Spring season of the MANNES CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL!

April 7-14, 2O26

Presented by the Mannes School of Music, the Mannes Chamber Music Festival is a special weeklong series celebrating student accomplishments in chamber music throughout the semester, as well as a showcase for our faculty and guest performers. This spring, the festival will feature an all-star roster performing Olivier Messiaen's rarely programmed Quatuor pour la fin du temps (“Quartet for the End of Time”), a duo recital performed by our own Rebecca Fischer and Simone Dinnerstein, the Second-Ever Chamber Music Lecture given by Prof. Audrey Axinn, our Grand Finale featuring numerous faculty members performing alongside students, and so much more.

Join us in celebrating the artistry, collaboration, and vibrant tradition of chamber music that makes this festival truly unforgettable.

All events are free and open to the public. Register once for your CHAMBER PASS to access the entire festival EXCEPT for the following three events, which require individual registration:

• Opening Night: Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time (Tuesday, 7 April from 7:00-9:00pm)
• Special Presentation: Rebecca Fischer and Simone Dinnerstein (Thursday, 9 April from 7:00-9:00pm)

• Grand Finale: Faculty and Student Joint Chamber Music Ensembles (Tuesday, 14 April from 7:00-9:00pm)

Free reservation is required in advance for these events. Space is limited, reserve your spot today!

PROGRAMMING: 

Opening Night: Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time

Tuesday, 7 April from 7:00-9:00pm in Stiefel Hall

(*Not included in CHAMBER PASS. Free reservation required in advance for this event.)

Join us for the opening night performance of the Chamber Music Festival, which will highlight a special ensemble of Mannes faculty members performing one of the greatest and most important chamber pieces ever written: Olivier Messiaen’s Quatuor pour la fin du Temps (“Quartet for the End of Time”). Featuring Charles Neidich, clarinet; Rebecca Fischer, violin; Michael Nicolas, cello; and Xiayin Wang, piano, this is likely one of the only times that this 8-movement work has been programmed at Mannes in the last 25 years. Join us in our celebration of a piece that changed the trajectory of chamber music forever.

Student Showcase No. 1: Piano Extravaganza - A Night of Keyboard-Only Ensembles

Wednesday, 8 April from 7:00-10:00pm in Stiefel Hall

Coming back by popular demand: a fun-filled night of keyboard-only student ensembles! Featuring music for 1-piano/4-hands, 1-piano/6-hands, and 2 pianos, and spanning from Schubert and Brahms through Ligeti and Bernstein, this will surely be a night to remember.

Special Presentation: Rebecca Fischer and Simone Dinnerstein

Thursday, 9 April from 7:00-9:00pm in Stiefel Hall

(*Not included in CHAMBER PASS. Free reservation required in advance for this event.)

Join us for a special performance offered by two of our beloved faculty members: Rebecca Fischer, violin; and Simone Dinnerstein, piano. Having worked together as a duo for decades, this duo recital will feature music by Bach, Mozart, Jessie Montgomery, and Beethoven. As duo repertoire holds a special place within our chamber music program, and as it is one of the most requested forms of chamber music by our students, this recital will be a wonderful representation of one of the most intimate types of performance.

Student Showcase No. 2: Modernism, Part 1 - Music from 1900-1960

Friday, 10 April from 7:00-9:00pm in Stiefel Hall

For our first concert devoted to modernism, we will focus on the beginnings of the movement within the first six decades of the twentieth century. Featuring some of the most famous chamber classics, as well as some quite rare masterpieces, this will be a night to remember!

Student Showcase No. 3: A Celebration of Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert

Saturday, 11 April from 7:00-9:30pm in Stiefel Hall

Join our students in a special showcase devoted to the music of three of the most foundational composers in classical music: Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert. From piano duos all the way through a grand quintet, this concert will feature a wonderful collection of some of the greatest works by these three beloved composers.

Student Showcase No. 4: Modernism, Part 2 - Music Since 1960

Sunday, 12 April from 7:00-9:30pm in Stiefel Hall

For our second concert devoted to modernism, we will feature music written over the last six decades by well-known living composers, music written and coached by our own esteemed composition faculty members, and even music written by our own students! This night will be a special treat, in which we will be hearing music written as far back as 1962 to music written in just the last few weeks!

Student Showcase No. 5: A Celebration of Brahms, Mendelssohn, and the Schumanns

Monday, 13 April from 7:00-9:30pm in Stiefel Hall

For our final student showcase of the festival, join us as we host a special night devoted to some of the most important figures of the Romantic movement: Brahms, Mendelssohn, and Robert and Clara Schumann! Featuring duos, trios, and quartets, this concert will feature some of the greatest masterpieces ever composed within the 1800s.

The Second-Ever Chamber Music Lecture: Partners, Not Rivals

Tuesday, 14 April from 12:00-1:30pm in Stiefel Hall

Given by our own Prof. Audrey Axinn, this lecture and demonstration explores how the similarity of materials and sound production between historical keyboard and string instruments lead to performances in which the sounds of the instruments blend and balance more than performances on modern instruments. When combined with information about differences in the meaning of Classical-era notation, playing on historical instruments and equipment can result in chamber musicians making different interpretive decisions about tempo, affect, and phrasing, leading to performances that can be both vibrant and revelatory.

Grand Finale: Faculty and Student Joint Chamber Music Ensembles

Tuesday, 14 April from 7:00-9:00pm in Stiefel Hall

(*Not included in CHAMBER PASS. Free reservation required in advance for this event.)

In our grand finale of this semester’s Chamber Music Festival, we have a special presentation that has never happened before: a night entirely performed by our students and our faculty together! We have had limited experiences in the past in which students were afforded the opportunity to perform alongside faculty, so we are thrilled that we are able to grant our students the chance to perform with some of the leading and most renowned musicians within the United States: their own professors! The evening will feature music by Charles Martin Tornov Loeffler, Eric Ewazen, Felix Mendelssohn, and our own composition faculty members Christopher Cerrone and David T. Little. Faculty artists for this event will include flutist Brandon George; violinists Miranda Cuckson, Wen Qian, and David Southorn; violist Daniel Panner; cellists Michael Nicolas and Jeffrey Zeigler; and pianist J.Y. Song. Please join us for this wonderful final performance of this academic year’s Chamber Music Festival series - this night will be a true celebration of chamber music as a whole, and it will act as a stepping stone into the Chamber Music Festival’s future.

Join us!