Kalamazoo Chamber Music Workshop

We are excited to announce that the Kalamazoo Chamber Music Workshop will be welcomed into the Fontana Chamber Arts outreach program this coming season!

The Kalamazoo Chamber Music Workshop was founded in 1973 by Janet Bogart and Rosamond Robbert. Grace Field, a highly respected cello teacher, has served as the director since 1989. This week-long program welcomes middle school students whose instruments are brass, string, woodwind, piano, and percussion. It provides a unique opportunity for students to gain chamber and ensemble experience by working with professional musicians in Southwest Michigan.

Without a doubt, this has been an invaluable musical asset to aspiring young musicians in our community, including professional musicians such as trumpeter Brandon Ridenour of the American Brass Quintet and cellist Anne Francis Bayless of the Fry Street Quartet – both of whom were featured performers on the 2023-24 Fontana Mainstage Series.

Along with performance opportunities, this program also provides theory, composition, and music history classes. Most importantly, students learn life lessons through chamber music instruction such as the value of accountability and independent learning while building confidence through daily performance among their peers.

We are grateful for the opportunity to continue this program’s outstanding legacy and look forward to maintaining its tradition.

Tina Gorter (tgorter@fontanachamberarts.org) is the Kalamazoo Chamber Music Workshop Director.

More information about the Kalamazoo Chamber Music Workshop – including the 2025 application process – will be posted in the weeks to come.