Music, Memory & the Mind

How does music engage the brain and body, and what makes a shared musical experience meaningful? Join Sarah McKiddy, PhD, and the SCMS String Quartet-in-Residence, the Balourdet Quartet, for an exploration of music, memory, emotion, and social connection.

Building on her dissertation research and May community lecture, findings from the partnership with Seattle Chamber Music Society, the Balourdet Quartet, and the UW Memory Hub to co-design music programming for people living with memory loss and their care partners will be shared. This work will also be connected to broader research on how music engages neural, cognitive, and physiological processes that can support health and well-being across the lifespan.

Musical excerpts from the Balourdet Quartet and guided discussion will invite participants to consider how rhythm, texture, gesture, and interpretation shape our responses and how the setting and interactions surrounding a performance can deepen engagement. The lecture will also consider how these findings can inform community music programs, including how musicians and organizations can balance artistic goals with opportunities for participation and adapt to different interests and abilities.

This event is free and takes place in the Kennan Hollingsworth Living Room at the Center for Chamber Music. Registration is required.

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Amy Beach String Quartet in One Movement, Op. 89 (1921-29)
Maurice Ravel String Quartet in F Major, M. 35 (1903)
Amy Beach Theme and Variations for String Quartet and Flute, Op. 80 (1916) with Demarre McGill
Joan Tower Rising for Flute and String Quartet (2009) with Demarre McGill

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K. 488 with John Orlando
Ludwig van Beethoven String Quartet No. 15 in a minor, Op. 132 (1825)

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Come have a blast with us and Adam Sadberry in this thrilling program!

Ludwig van Beethoven String Quartet No. 15 in a minor, Op. 132 (1825)
Adolphus Hailstork Yuhwa for flute
Jonathan Bailey Holland Alchemy for alto flute and cello
Joan Tower Rising for Flute and String Quartet (2009)

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Giacomo Puccini Crisantemi, SC. 65 (1890)
Dmitri Shostakovich String Quartet No. 3 in F Major, Op. 76 (1946)
Ludwig van Beethoven String Quartet No. 15 in a minor, Op. 132 (1825)

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Clara Schumann Drei Romanzen ("Three Romances") for Violin and Piano, Op. 22
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Violin Sonata No. 18 in G major, K. 301/293a
Felix Mendelssohn Lieder ohne Worte ("Songs Without Words") (selections; arr. Carl Czerny for piano, four hands)
George Enescu Pastorale, menuet triste, et nocturne ("I. Pastorale")
Anton Reicha String Quartet in c minor, Op. 49/1 (1805)

Artist include
Alessio Bax, piano
Lucille Chung, piano
Daishin Kashimoto, violin

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Johannes Brahms String Quartet No. 3 in B-flat Major, Op. 67 (1875)
Paul Novak impossible inventions (Barlow Endowment Commission 2023)
Ludwig van Beethoven String Quartet No. 15 in a minor, Op. 132 (1825)

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Johannes Brahms String Quartet No. 3 in B-flat Major, Op. 67 (1875)
Paul Novak impossible inventions (Barlow Endowment Commission 2023)
Ludwig van Beethoven String Quartet No. 15 in a minor, Op. 132 (1825)

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Join us for an exclusive dive into the Balourdet Quartet's debut album Strange Machines! Featuring live conversation connecting the string quartet and technology to the human experience over six centuries of music!

Performance to include selections from:
Karim Al-Zand String Quartet No. 4 “Strange Machines” (Chamber Music America Commission 2022)
Nina C. Young "Memento Mori" (2013) 
George Antheil Sonatina 'Death of the Machines' (1923)
Paul Novak impossible inventions (Barlow Endowment Commission 2023)
Kyle Brenn Blossoming Like Crazy for String Quartet and Electronics (2019, rev. 2020) 
Guillaume Dufay Nuper Rosarum Flores
Isaac Smith Canetis Cathedrali (2025)

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Come help of kick off the season at COT with a fun night of Trivia, Jokes, and Music!

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Ludwig van Beethoven String Quartet No. 15 in a minor, Op. 132 (1825)
Osvaldo Golijov Ever Yours (2022) with the Durham Fellows

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Maurice Ravel String Quartet in F Major, M. 35 (1903)
Nicky Sohn Galaxy Back to You (2024)
Johannes Brahms String Quartet No. 3 in B-flat Major, Op. 67 (1875)

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Come hang out with us for an open rehearsal of pieces new and old!

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Maurice Ravel String Quartet in F Major, M. 35 (1903)
Johannes Brahms String Quartet No. 3 in B-flat Major, Op. 67 (1875)

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This August, Chicago’s music community is rolling out a red-carpet welcome—and we can’t wait to unite with hundreds of chamber music professionals from across the country to experience it all. Hope to see you all there!

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Program to be announced at a later date.‍ ‍

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart String Quartet No. 14 in G Major, K. 387 (1782)

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Two of today’s most exciting ensembles, Chamber Music America’s 2024 Cleveland Quartet Award winners, Balourdet Quartet and Viano Quartet—praised for their “virtuosity, visceral expression, and rare unity of intention” (Boston Globe)—join forces for a performance of Mendelssohn’s Octet, a work that remains one of the most exhilarating achievements in chamber music.

Mendelssohn wrote the Octet at the age of sixteen for the musicians closest to him—his friends, his teacher, and the circle that gathered in his family’s Berlin home. First performed in that setting, the piece carries the energy of those Sunday musicales, where music was part of daily life—played and shared among intimate friends and family.

The Octet moves with a kind of unstoppable momentum, its ideas passed between eight players with clarity, wit, and joy. In this performance, presented in the round, that sense of exchange is fully alive—music that feels immediate and generous, played in the spirit in which it was first imagined.

Felix Mendelssohn String Octet in Eb Major, Op. 20 (1825)

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Giacomo Puccini Crisantemi, SC. 65 (1890)
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky String Sextet in d minor Souvenir de Florence, Op. 70 (1892)

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Join us for a relaxed, FREE, open-air concert on the Village Green, where festival artists share music in an informal and spontaneous setting.

Bring a picnic, stretch out on the grass, and enjoy music that moves between solo moments and shared playing, with a few surprises along the way. Designed for all ages, this is a chance to experience these remarkable musicians up close, in a welcoming, bustling downtown setting.

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A grand opening concert featuring many of the performers appearing throughout the week including the Viano and Balourdet Quartets, oboist James Austin Smith, flutist Catherine Gregory, violinist Simone Porter, violist, Celia Hatton, percussionist Brian Shankar Adler, cellist Arlen Hlusko, pianists David Kaplan and Janice Carissa, Latin-jazz vocalist Magos Herrera with guitarist Vinicius Gomes as well as our esteemed resident ensemble, Palaver Strings.

This vibrant and welcoming launch of Screen Door 2026 offers a first glimpse into the range of artists who will define the week. Over the next 5 days, music becomes the place where we meet, and where, a sense of home takes shape.

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Elena Ruehr Duo for Violin & Cello (2026)
Ludwig van Beethoven String Quartet No. 11 in f minor, Op. 95 (1810)
Johannes Brahms String Sextet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 36 (1865)

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Anton Webern Langsamer Satz for String Quartet (1905)
Anton Webern Fünf Sätze for String Quartet, Op 5(1909)
Elena Ruehr Piano Trio (2026)
Arnold Schoenberg Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night), Op. 4 (1899)

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Ludwig Van Beethoven String Trio No. 1 in Eb Major, Op. 3 (1797)
Nicky Sohn Galaxy Back to You (2024)
Johannes Brahms String Sextet No. 1 in B-flat Major, Op. 18 (1860)

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Elena Ruehr Prelude Variations for Viola & Cello (2008)
Bedřich Smetana String Quartet No. 1 in e minor, "From My Life" (1876)
Felix Mendelssohn String Octet in Eb Major, Op. 20 (1825)

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Ludwig van Beethoven String Quartet No. 11 in f minor, Op. 95 (1810)
Nicky SohnGalaxy Back to You (2024) Canadian Premiere
Johannes Brahms String Quartet No. 3 in B-flat Major, Op. 67 (1875)

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Join us for a free, day-long celebration of live music, pop-up performances, and contemporary circus across Rockport.

12pm Circus 617 Mixtape featuring the Balourdet Quartet and Miles Wilder

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