Chambermusiccollective

At Chamber Music Collective not only we make non-stop music but also have group Alexander Technique sessions and know how to have a good time! Applications are open now until the 1st of March for this summer's Chamber Music Collective on Cornell University's campus.

We are excited to announce the fifth meeting of the Chamber Music Collective, a six-day intensive chamber music program dedicated to repertoire from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Our program will take place on Cornell University's wonderful campus this summer in Ithaca, New York. and our thematic focus will be Recreation: We will explore this concept in its multitude of meanings through the repertoire of this year’s CMC. Applications are now being accepted from advanced music students and young professionals in strings, piano, and voice. Classes and workshops will be led by distinguished international faculty members, who will perform side by side with participating students on a wonderful range of period instruments. In addition to chamber music coaching, there will also be lectures on historical improvisation and Alexander Technique. All sessions and concerts are open and free to the public. Our program is tuition free for our accepted students. Participants will receive free lodging, breakfast and lunches during the festival week. Experience with period instruments is not required for application, however, participants should be ready to play on a collection of historical keyboards, tune their instruments to A=430 and put gut strings on them while participating in CMC.

We look forward to receiving your applications!

A collective effort of the three members of Chamber Music Collective, Sezi Seskir, Keiran Campbell and Mark Ferraguto is out at last. Amazing to work with people who are also awesome human beings 💙

We had a great week filled with music making at Chamber Music Collective. What an excellent group of faculty and students to work with. Until next time 💙

An excellent evening of music by our CMC students and faculty 💙

We left behind three wonderful days of teaching, making music, a faculty concert and a picnic with this lovely group of people. Two more days and two more concerts to go!

Meet our talented Chamber Music Collective participants for 2025:

A native of Wuhan, China, Xiang Su is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance at Penn State University, studying with Melody Quah and Seulki Yoo. Xiang is active as a soloist and chamber musician, featuring solo performances at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., ensemble showcases with the Penn State Symphonic Wind Ensemble and the Penn State Glee Club, and chamber performances in university recital halls, local senior living communities, coffeehouses, and bookstores. Xiang was recently awarded in the Penn State Concerto Competition and had her concerto debut with the Penn State Campus Orchestra. Xiang's historical keyboard training include fortepiano, harpsichord, and organ. In the past months, she served as a harpsichordist in the Penn State Early Music Ensemble and performed regularly in State College and Philadelphia, PA. Her historical instruments mentors include Mark Ferraguto, Jonathan Oddie, and David Breitman. Xiang holds a Master of Music from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and a Bachelor of Music from Oberlin Conservatory. Outside of music, Xiang enjoys reading, jogging, and watching movies.

Meet our talented Chamber Music Collective participants for 2025:

Sebastian Stewart is a rising junior at Bucknell University studying Computer Science and Music in Performance. His main instrument is piano and he has been playing for sixteen years. He has participated in multiple competitions over the years such as the Golden Keys Festival and the Connie Murray Festival, achieving awards in both. He is a member of the Bucknell University's Rooke Ringers and Jazz Band. He has also taught piano for beginner pianists for Crescendo Music Academy. Outside of music, he enjoys playing with his six cats, playing board games, and coding computer games.

Meet the wonderful Chamber Music Collective participants for 2025:

A dynamic and passionate musician, violist Aram Bae graduated from the College of Music at Ewha Womans University in South Korea before relocating to the United States for her graduate studies at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She founded the Sonnet Ensemble, a conductor-less string orchestra based in the Bay Area, and has led numerous chamber orchestra performances at prestigious venues, including Herbst Theater, Caroline H. Hume Concert Hall, Dinkelspiel Auditorium, Trianon Theater, and Zipper Hall for over a decade. Aram has been actively engaged in chamber music, with a recent performance at the Covenant Chamber Music Concert Series in Palo Alto, California. She is currently pursuing a Professional Performance Certificate under Professor Tim Deighton at Penn State University.

Meet the Chamber Music Collective participants for 2025:

Willow Stracuzzi is a cellist and gambist originally from
Albuquerque, New Mexico. She began her undergraduate studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music, pursuing her bachelor's in cello performance with Melissa Kraut and taking viola da gamba lessons with Jaap ter Linden. This year marks her first venture into the world of period performance, taking part in multiple early music ensembles at Case Western, beginning lessons on the Gamba, and attending period-performance-based summer festivals. This coming semester, she will enter her third year of conservatory at the Jacobs School of Music, where she will finish her bachelor's in cello with Emilio Colón and begin a minor in Gamba and baroque cello with Joanna Blendulf.
Willow has attended various summer festivals, including the Wintergreen Music Festival, the Brevard Music Center, the Texas Strings Festival, and others. In addition, Willow also enjoys teaching. She is a Suzuki-trained cello teacher and recently traveled to Cuba with the Cuban American Youth Orchestra program in order to gain new and valuable teaching experience.

Meet the talented Chamber Music Collective participants for 2025:

Anson Chan is a pianist who recently graduated with a Master of Music in Piano Performance from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he studied under Chi Ho Han. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) in Music from Hong Kong Baptist University, receiving the Faculty of Arts Outstanding Achievement Award.

Anson has participated in masterclasses with renowned pianists including Jerome Lowenthal, Roberto Plano, Gabriel Kwok, and Danwen Wei. His accolades include second prize in the Chopin Avenue International Piano Competition and third place in the Japan Piara Hamamatsu Piano Competition.

Anson is active in historical keyboards and has had masterclasses with renowned fortepianists Audrey Axinn, Andrew Willis, Elizaveta Miller, and Bart van Oort. He is passionate about teaching and eager to contribute to the musical community through performances and collaborations.

Meet our talented Chamber Music Collective participants for 2025:

Brian Curtin has been playing the violin since age five. He has won numerous competitions, participated in the Boston University Tanglewood Institute String Quartet program 3 consecutive times, attended Rencontres Musicales Internationales des Graves in Bordeaux, France, and the Josef Gingold International Chamber Music Festival in Miami, Florida. He has performed alongside Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra, New Carolina Sinfonia, Johnstown Symphony Orchestra, Butler Symphony Orchestra, Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra, Chatham Baroque early music ensemble, and currently holds a position in the 1st violin section at the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra. He completed his Bachelors of Fine Arts degree at Carnegie Mellon studying under former Pittsburgh Symphony concertmaster Andrés Cárdenes and later completed an Advanced Music Studies certificate studying under William van der Sloot. Brian has recently accepted a position with the United States Air Force Band at Washington D.C.