Announcements
CCMS Announces Its 2025-2026 Season
“Dear Friends,
We’re delighted to unveil the CCMS 2025–2026 season—a vibrant showcase of chamber music in all its depth and diversity.
This will be a journey that spans generations, stories, and soundscapes, from the deep, heart-wrenching beauty ofMessiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time
to the bold innovation of Sō Percussion, from the genre-defying brilliance of Time for Three to the intimate, soul-stirring poetry of Naomi Shihab Nye, and the exquisite artistry of the Takács Quartet.
This season is all about experiencing chamber music through different lenses—but most of all, it’s celebrating connection, creativity, and the human spirit. We can’t wait to share it with you. ”
Dear Friends,
We’re delighted to unveil the CCMS 2025–2026 season—a vibrant showcase of chamber music in all its depth and diversity.
This will be a journey that spans generations, stories, and soundscapes, from the deep, heart-wrenching beauty of Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time to the bold innovation of Sō Percussion, from the genre-defying brilliance of Time for Three to the intimate, soul-stirring poetry of Naomi Shihab Nye, and the exquisite artistry of the Takács Quartet.
This season is all about experiencing chamber music through different lenses—but most of all, it's celebrating connection, creativity, and the human spirit. We can’t wait to share it with you.
Jessica Bodner and Daniel Chong, Artistic Directors
Daniel Chong and Jessica Bodner to Lead CCMS as Artistic Directors Beginning With 2025-26 Season
An Announcement from CCMS Board President H. Nancy Sokol, MD
Our wonderful Founder and Artistic Director (AD) over the past 25 years, Wendy Putnam, will be stepping down at the end of this season. Though her shoes are difficult to fill, the Board and I are are thrilled to let you know that we have found the successor who we believe embodies everything we had hoped for to assure the robust future of CCMS, enhance our reach to new audiences and expand the boundaries of chamber music.
In fact, we found two such individuals with abounding musical excellence, communication skills, and vision who will share the position as Co-Artistic Directors. I am thrilled to let you know that Daniel Chong and Jessica Bodner, founding members of the outstanding Parker Quartet, have accepted our offer to lead CCMS, to start in the 2025–26 season.
Some of you may have heard them perform with the Parker Quartet at our first post-pandemic concert in Lincoln in 2022. If you were fortunate to have been there, you would have experienced the quartet’s beautiful music and Daniel and Jessica’s unique connection with the audience in the post-concert discussion they led.
Please read Daniel and Jessica’s letter and bios below, and join us in welcoming them to our CCMS community.
I look forward to seeing you at our concerts this season, and thank you for your support.
Best regards,
Nancy
September, 2024
Letter From Daniel Chong and Jessica Bodner
Dear CCMS Community,
We are thrilled to introduce ourselves as the new Co-Artistic Directors of the Concord Chamber Music Society. Stepping into this role at the end of this celebratory 25th season is both exciting and an honor. We cannot imagine a more fitting place to bring our passion for chamber music than to this outstanding organization.
As founding members of the Parker Quartet, we have dedicated over twenty years to performing chamber music around the world. For us, chamber music is not just a vocation; it is a way of life that embodies listening closely to diverse voices, collaborating with joy, and fostering spontaneity and creativity. These essential elements are fundamental to the transformative power of chamber music.
As CCMS begins its 25th season, there is so much to celebrate. From the unforgettable concerts and the impressive roster of artists who have graced the stage, to the meaningful interactions with young folks and the remarkable vision and leadership of Wendy Putnam – there is so much to honor. Looking ahead, we are eager to contribute to the growth of this vibrant community, to offer inspiring and innovative programming, and to continue introducing the voices of exceptional artists. Future plans also include expanding our reach through performances at non-traditional venues, deepening our community and educational engagements with partners throughout Greater Boston, and working towards establishing a dedicated concert venue for CCMS.
As painter and art critic John Berger wisely said, “The value of art resides in what it does, not what it is.” We look forward to embracing this belief through the music we will be sharing with you and to discovering the exciting possibilities that lie ahead for CCMS and its devoted community.
With warmest regards,
Daniel Chong and Jessica Bodner
September, 2024
“Chong and Bodner have served as founding members of the Parker Quartet since 2002. As part of the quartet and as individuals, both have made numerous performance appearances throughout the US and worldwide and received several awards and prizes, such as the Cleveland Quartet Award, plus top prizes at the Concert Artists Guild Competition and the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition.
The Parker Quartet has recorded for ECM Records, Zig-Zag Territoires, Naxos and Nimbus. The members serve as professors of the practice at Harvard University’s Department of Music in conjunction with the ensemble’s appointment as Blodgett quartet-in-residence.”
CCMS Announces 25th Anniversary Season
“I’m absolutely delighted to announce the Concord Chamber Music Society’s 25th anniversary season! With the generous support of a few core donors and a handful of local businesses in 2000, we presented our inaugural concerts at the First Parish of Concord to small but enthusiastic audiences. Since that time, CCMS has grown into a thriving organization that presents performances by some of the finest musicians in the world and offers valuable outreach initiatives to our schools and community. I am so proud of what we’ve achieved together.
In 2024–25 we will celebrate our accomplishments by welcoming back several familiar artists, including the Juilliard and Jupiter String Quartets, pianist/composer Marc-André Hamelin, and many others. We will also revisit some of the musical works we heard at memorable performances over these past many years. Additionally, CCMS will pay homage to the 250th anniversary of the Revolutionary War with a special concert in March featuring works by American composers.
I hope you will partake in this musical extravaganza and I look forward to seeing you at our 2024–2025 concerts at Concord Academy, the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library in Lexington, and the Groton Hill Music Center.”