Smithsonian Chamber Music Society concerts are held in the intimate Nicholas and Eugenia Taubman Hall of Music, American History Museum (Photo: Hugh Talman/Smithsonian)
The 49th season of the Smithsonian Chamber Music Society features musical masterpieces from the early 17th century to the middle of the 20th, played on some of the world’s most highly prized musical instruments. Concerts (except for the Saturday, February 21 Smithsonian Academy Orchestra program) take place in the National Museum of American History’s intimate Nicholas and Eugenia Taubman Hall of Music, with repertoire ranging from acclaimed masterpieces to undeservedly obscure gems by frequently overlooked composers. Veteran SCMS musicians will be joined on many of the programs by emerging artists.
Kenneth Slowik, SCMS artistic director and recipient of the Smithsonian Distinguished Scholar Award, again curates a series of pre-concert talks one hour prior to many of the programs (except February 21 concert), shedding light on the glorious music and the lives and times of the featured composers.
Concert Season Information
This chronologically wide-ranging eight-concert series begins in early October with the first of two appearances by the Smithsonian Consort of Viols, playing music by the Elizabethan composer Alfonso Ferrabosco the Younger and William Lawes, a favorite of Charles I. In November, the Smithsonian Chamber Players offer a program of German music from around the turn of the 18th century by Philipp Heinrich Erlebach, Dieterich Buxtehude, and Johann Sebastian Bach.
At the end of January, the four-hands fortepiano team of Naoko Takao and SCMS director Kenneth Slowik presents the first of the season’s two Schubertiads, and newly added on January 31, members of the Smithsonian Academy Orchestra celebrate Antonín Dvorák with two captivating works of 1878. In late February, the full Smithsonian Academy Orchestra ventures into the second half of the 19th century with the D Major Serenade of Johannes Brahms, plus Haydn’s ever-popular “Surprise” Symphony. The Smithsonian Consort of Viols returns in March with a concert of music by John Ward, revered until the time of Henry Purcell, and Purcell himself, who penned the last—and arguably some of the greatest—essays in the contrapuntal consort genre. Catherine Manson, concertmaster of the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, and Kenneth Slowik perform sonatas of J.S. Bach in mid-April. The season concludes in mid-May with Schubert’s magnificent String Quintet in C Major, played by the Smithsonian Chamber Players on five Stradivarius instruments from the museum’s rich collection.
Concert Season Repertoire
Sunday, October 5, 2025 at 6:30 p.m.
Music of Alfonso Ferrabosco the Younger and William Lawes
The Smithsonian Consort of Viols
Kenneth Slowik, Arnie Tanimoto, Ryan Cheng, Catherine Slowik, and Chelsea Bernstein, viols; with Webb Wiggins, organ
Sunday, November 16, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. - CANCELED
Music of Buxtehude, Bach, and Erlebach
The Smithsonian Chamber Players
Edwin Huizinga, violin; Kenneth Slowik, viola da gamba; Webb Wiggins, harpsichord
Sunday, January 25, 2026 at 6:30 p.m.
Four-hands Music of Franz Schubert
Naoko Takao and Kenneth Slowik, fortepiano
Saturday, January 31, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. - NEWLY ADDED
Dvorák: Serenade, Op. 44; Bagatelles, Op. 47
Winds of the Smithsonian Academy Orchestra
Natalie Kress and Freya Creech, violins; Titilayo Ayangade, cello; Kenneth Slowik, conductor and harmonium
Saturday, February 21, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
Music of Haydn and Brahms
The Smithsonian Academy Orchestra
Kenneth Slowik, conductor
Location TBA
Sunday, March 15, 2026 at 6:30 p.m.
Music of John Ward and Henry Purcell
The Smithsonian Consort of Viols
Kenneth Slowik, Arnie Tanimoto, Ryan Cheng, Catherine Slowik, and Chelsea Bernstein, viols
Sunday, April 19, 2026 at 6:30 p.m.
Sonatas of Johann Sebastian Bach
Catherine Manson, violin; Kenneth Slowik, harpsichord
Sunday, May 17, 2026 at 6:30 p.m.
Schubert: Arpeggione Sonata, D821; Quintet, D956
Edwin Huizinga and Natalie Kress, violin; Kyle Miller, viola; Rebecca Landell, cello; Kenneth Slowik, fortepiano and cello
8 concerts
General Information
- All programs and artists are subject to change.
- Most concerts will be held in person at Nicholas and Eugenia Taubman Hall of Music, National Museum of American History at 14th St. and Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC. Location TBA for the February 21, 2026 concert.
- If you are interested in additional Smithsonian Chamber Music Society in-person concert series, check out these 2025-2026 season options:
- Refer to our health and safety information for in-person programs.
