The Rice University Chamber Music Club is the first official university-student organization to be affiliated with ACMP, and I am proud to be part of this story. 

I started playing music when I was four, ten years before I traveled across the world from my hometown Shenzhen, China, to attend boarding school in Massachusetts. There, I discovered chamber music and my powerful love for it. 

Fast forward another six years, in September of 2023, I was playing my violin in my room alone at Rice University in Houston, Texas. I knew not bounding for a music conservatory was ultimately the better choice for me, but still wanted to do something with other musicians. So, I decided to do something about it. 

The Rice Chamber Music Club was first founded before I started my studies at Rice by Abhinav Madduri, but it never quite got rolling. My first step was to call Abhinav, and by the end of the week, we had a plan to get the club going. 

From designing the club logo to distributing flyers across campus, Abhinav and I started gathering interest from student musicians across campus. After holding an information session with cookies and ice cream, we convinced many to join the club. After all, I wasn’t the only one who was feeling lonely with my instrument. 

A month later, we put together a few chamber groups, ranging from duos to quintets, playing pieces from Saint-Saëns to Schumann. Back on December 2nd, the club held its first-ever performance to the public. With support from ACMP, we were able to bring cookies and Capri Suns to the members and audience. 

Watching the smiles of the performers on stage, I knew that I was bringing back alive the musicians within us that we often lose during our dedicated studies. 

Moving forward, the Rice Chamber Music Club will continue to partner with ACMP to provide the students of Rice University the opportunity to play chamber music. There will be many more events and performances in the coming months and years!