The Asheville Chamber Music Series (ACMS) has sponsored over 280 concerts by some of the world’s finest classical musicians over the past six decades. One of the oldest chamber music organizations in the United States, ACMS continues to thrive and to bring world-class chamber music to Western North Carolina. Founded in 1952 by Joe Vandewart, a refugee from Nazi Germany and ten other music lovers,
the Asheville Chamber Music Series began modestly. After setting up a table in the lobby of the Battery Park Hotel, the group quickly found 800 people willing to pay the $4 price for a season subscription for “an unspecified number of concerts. ”The Alberni Trio gave the first concert on October 16, 1952. These include the Budapest, Emerson, Fine Arts, Juilliard, and Kodaly Quartets, along with trios, piano quartets, quintets and larger chamber ensembles as well as duos, such as the one featuring cellist Janos Starker and flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal. The legendary Amadeus Quartet performed in the first season and returned seven times, partly due to the friendship and hospitality of Mr. Vandewart, who was a leading force in the organization until his death in 1985. Each year, one concert is designated as the Joe Vandewart/Annie Westall Memorial Concert. Westall, an Asheville native and tireless supporter, served on the board from its second season until her death in 1984.) In keeping with its mission, the ACMS created a robust Educational Outreach Program in 2009 to reach out to the next generation, expand music education opportunities for area students and inspire a lifelong love of music. The Opal String Quartet has collaborated in this important effort. Rather than continuing to rent a concert grand piano for its concerts, and not being able to be assured of its quality, the ACMS raised funds to purchase its own Steinway grand piano in 2012. Formerly owned, it continues to receive high praise from our distinguished guest pianists. ACMS has participated in the bi-annual Amadeus Festival mounted by the Asheville Symphony Orchestra by presenting world-renown chamber groups in 2015, 2017, and 2019. Resuming after the pandemic cancellation in 2021. ACMS will feature banjoist Bela Fleck performing with the Opal String Quartet, in the 2023 Festival. Responding to the 2020-21 national COVID pandemic, the ACMS presented its first virtual season rather than go dark. It returned to in-person performances in 2022. In 2022 the ACMS launched its first Rising Star Series presented in collaboration with the Asheville Art
Museum. These recitals held in the atrium of the Art Museum feature promising North Carolina musicians
embarking on a concert career. Pianist Christopher Tavernier, Hendersonville native was the first young artist presented on August 30, 2022. In 2022, the ACMS applied for and received a competitive North Carolina Arts Council “Spark the Arts” grant to expand its marketing and communications objectives.
