An anonymous member of ACMP recently spearheaded a fundraising initiative for ACMP in the two week lead-up to Giving Tuesday, offering a $25 gift for each donation received from November 18, 2025 through Giving Tuesday (December 2.) This mystery donor just revealed her identity: Thank you, Louise K. Smith!

Louise was already on ACMP’s Board of Directors when I became the Executive Director back in August 2020, and only recently stepped down because of health concerns. She is an indomitable spirit and the kind of person who comes up with ideas and does what it takes to follow through. I asked Louise some questions about her background as a pianist, involvement with ACMP over the years, and about her recent matching grant idea. 

Could you please tell us about your background and how you developed a love for the piano? 

I’ve been playing the piano since I was five years old. We were living in London and my parents bought a spinnet. I started to noodle around on it and soon I was sent to the Royal Conservatory of Music, where I studied for several years before we returned to the US. I’ve taken piano lessons on and off for most of my life, and also studied chamber music.  

How did you catch the chamber music bug?  

Believe it or not, it wasn’t until college that I really developed a passion for it.  I was taking music theory courses at the University of Chicago and one summer I took a chamber music class.  Honestly, I really hadn’t even liked chamber music before then, but that class really opened my ears and mind for the first time.  I’ve often wondered how many people who don’t like chamber music might change their minds if they had the benefit of a different kind of exposure to it.  

How did you first hear about ACMP and why did you decide to become a member? 

It was through a casual interaction with someone I met at a concert. I was a management consultant traveling a lot for work, and would have to stay in a strange town for weeks on end where I knew no one.  I found the ACMP directory to be a positively miraculous way to meet wonderful musical people all over the country and the world to play with:  Hayward, WI; Greensboro, NC; Kansas City, KA; New York City; Decatur, IL; even Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  

I was invited to join ACMP’s Board of Directors a few years ago, and thought that would be another great way to dig in deeper with this wonderful organization.  I served until just a few months ago when some health problems unfortunately made it difficult for me to continue.   

This past Giving Tuesday, you offered ACMP an unusual type of matching grant, with a $25 gift per donation received over a two-week period. What was your motivation for this kind of match, and how did you come up with this idea? 

As you may remember, ACMP used to require dues of $25 a year to be a member. A few years ago, the Board decided to drop that requirement in order to make membership more accessible to everyone and to grow our numbers. We rely on members’ generosity to make up for that foregone dues revenue, and we have been most fortunate in that some 600 members are in fact doing so. We would really like to expand our financial support from more members, and so to encourage more people to participate at any and all levels, I volunteered to supplement every contribution made in this fundraiser period, regardless of level, with a $25 match. This kind of participation demonstrates widespread support of the organization, which is encouraging to those who are able to support at a higher level. To that end, I’m delighted to report that my pocket got picked by 134 members! 

Yes – it was an amazing response – and from those 134 donors, we received $9631. With your matching grant, that comes to $12,981, in just two weeks! Thank you so much for your generous support of ACMP. Which leads me to my final question: Why do you support ACMP and what inspires you most about its mission?   

Very simply and personally, playing music with others has brought me wonderful friends, deep interpersonal communication, and most sincere happiness all in the course of playing. And I would like to enable more players to enjoy this same experience.  Naturally, I want to support ACMP–that’s exactly what it’s all about!