Amherst Chamber Ensembles Chamber Music Workshop

About the Workshop

The Amherst Chamber Ensembles (ACE) is going to hold a chamber music workshop on the weekend of August 22-24, 2025. We are located in Amherst, NY, which is a suburb of Buffalo, NY.

To participate, you need to form a group that will prepare a piece of music on which to be coached. A group must have a minimum of 3 players in it. Then you would rehearse the music you choose, preferably to the “comfortable” state. I guess I define that to be able to be played through or better. Each group will have 6 playing sessions during the workshop, three of them coached by members of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra or equivalent. We’ll have a master class, where volunteer groups are coached in “public.” And at the end we will (optionally) play some or all of what we have been working on for each other. (Friends may be invited.)

There will be Friday dinner, Saturday lunch and various snacks provided. The schedule will be Friday from 5:30 to 10:00, Saturday from 10:00 to 5:30 PM and Sunday from 2 to 5. The cost will be $140 per person, which covers food, rent, and coaching. I applied for and received a grant from the Associated Chamber Music Players to cover part of the rent, which is why the cost is so modest. If that is more money than your budget will stand, there are full or partial scholarships available. We will be at the Community Music School, 217 E. Delevan, which has air-conditioning. It is in a solidly middle class neighborhood with good parking facilities.

Groups don’t have to be members of ACE, nor do they have to be adults, but they need to act like adults.
This is about the 15th workshop we’ve held. The participants have enjoyed them greatly.