The Miami String Quartet, standing, with Birmingham-Southern College faculty-composers

Dorothy Hindman and Charles Mason at the home of Jessica and Ben Johnson, BCMS Board President 2004-2007 for a BCMS fundraiser (photo by Stephen B. Curry)

Activities of the Birmingham Chamber Music Society

Education and Outreach Programs

For all Education and Outreach, the BCMS creates original pre- and post-event lesson plans and learning activities so students can benefit optimally, both in gaining appreciation of chamber music and in enriching core academics.

Alabama School for the Blind, Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind, Talladega: Annually since the 2006-2007 season, the BCMS sponsors two concert season ensembles in free outreach performances.

Alys Robinson Stephens Performing Arts Center, UAB - Meet the Artist: two to three BCMS ensembles give interactive, original educational programs that the ASC makes available free of charge to Greater Birmingham schools, both public and private. To build audiences, a disproportionate percentage of audience members are students who are people of color from underserved communities.  Students experience the same top quality music in the same world-class venues as the patrons who attend our public concerts. 

Public Concerts

Annually, four of the world's most brilliant rising and established chamber music ensembles come to Birmingham for public concerts in acoustically-excellent, handsome halls designed for such music. The ASC's Jemison Hall and Reynolds-Kirschbaum Hall typically earn praise from musicians who have played the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and the great venues of Europe, Asia, and Latin America. 

To include the widest possible audience, we keep ticket prices low compared to other cities and presenters, thanks to the generosity of private donors and sponsors including our Board of Directors, private foundations, and government entities - the Alabama State Council on the Arts (ASCA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEA)