About CMCA
MISSION
The Classical Music Consortium of Austin (CMCA) is a membership and service organization. It was founded in 1997 to promote high-quality classical, choral, chamber, orchestral, and early music in the Austin area and to provide a forum for mutual support of small and mid-sized classical music performance organizations through cooperative scheduling, collaborative publicity, and sharing of expertise and experience. Each member organization is committed to the highest standard of music making, presenting both traditional and innovative programming. The excellence and artistry of these ensembles contribute significantly to the rich musical community that makes Austin so unique.
Learn more about our current organizational members here.
SERVICES & ACTIVITIES
CMCA’s various forms of cooperative publicity include this website, a printed concert calendar produced three times a year and distributed free at members’ concerts and various public locations, and cooperative advertising in other publications.
The Consortium meets quarterly during the September-May performing season. Guest speakers are frequently invited to educate members on artistic and administrative subjects of mutual interest. The Administrative Manager also frequently attends seminars, webinars, and conferences to acquire knowledge and skills that can forward the missions of its members, and enable them to be more successful at reaching Austin audiences. Early each calendar year, member organizations compare their planned performance schedules for the following season and work together to avoid conflicts that would prevent interested audiences from seeing the concerts of their choice.
CMCA also provides marketing, fiscal, administrative, and financial sponsorship services to some of its organizations.
CMCA is currently looking into the possibility of accepting applications from individual artists and providing many of the same services to individuals in the Austin area.
MEMBERSHIP
CMCA organizational members are currently choral, chamber, and early music organizations that perform predominantly classical repertoire at a high level of artistic quality and present a full concert season each year.
CMCA has added a new category for membership, and will begin accepting applications from Orchestral classical music organizations beginning September 2010. Applications are accepted September through April. More info about organizational membership eligibility, benefits, and application is available here.
Individual contributor membership is open to any person who supports the aims and activities of CMCA. To join, or to find out more info about joining at this level, please visit our individual contributor membership page.
We are currently looking into the possibility of individual artist memberships and are researching which of our current services we might offer these potential members. For more info, please contact the Administrative Manager.
ORGANIZATION &
FUNDING
The Classical Music Consortium of Austin is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation governed by a volunteer board of directors. CMCA’s Administrative Manager, Jennifer C. Harlan coordinates Consortium activities and administers the organization with the help of the Board of Directors. CMCA is funded by membership dues, private donations, and the Kodosky Foundation. It is also funded in part by a grant from the City of Austin Cultural Arts Division, Texas Commission on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
YOU CAN SUPPORT CMCA!
CMCA welcomes contributions to help promote classical, choral, chamber, orchestral, and early music in the greater Austin area. Your gift supports our concert calendar, website, cooperative advertising, and administration. A tax-deductible donation may be made online via Paypal® here. Or if you prefer, write a check to Classical Music Consortium of Austin and mail to PO Box 270245, Austin, TX 78727.
MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS
Our member organizations are listed below and are linked to their respective external websites, which will open up in a separate window for your convenience.
Austin Chamber Ensemble: A non-profit organization since 1985, ACE has always had as major goals creative programming, performing new works, artist exchanges and educational presentations.
Austin Classical Guitar Society: The ACGS is a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering the awareness of the history and literature of the classical guitar and its music through a variety of community based programs.
Austin Handbell Ensemble: The AHE, founded in 1995 to establish a community handbell choir. AHE is dedicated to excellence in ringing and promoting musical education at all levels. AHE collaborates with other groups, performs solo concerts, and records new & classical music.
Austin Singers: The AS have gained a unique position among Austin-area performing groups with their innovative programming uniquely focused on choral works from different cultures and countries.
Chorus Austin: For more than forty years, CA has striven to "Build Community through Vocal Music" by providing excellent musical performances of quality choral literature throughout the Austin community and beyond.
Conspirare: Conspirare, inspired by the belief in music's power to change people's lives, seeks to draw all persons into the embrace of the musical arts by producing world-class choral and orchestral performances.
La Follia Austin Baroque: LFAB, founded in 1980 and based in Austin, TX, performs Baroque music using instruments and performance styles proper to the Baroque period (c. 1600-1750).
Salon Concerts: Founded in 1990 by violinist Robert Rudie, SC is dedicated to the performance of excellent chamber music in the intimate settings for which it was written.
Texas Choral Consort: The TCC sponsors a rich palette of vocal music events, including choral masterworks, voice recitals, and master classes.
Texas Early Music Project: Founded in 1987 by Daniel Johnson, the TEMP is dedicated to preserving and advancing the art of Midieval, Renaissance, Baroque, and early Classical music through performance, recordings, and educational outreach.
Members in Hiatus:
Austin Chamber Music Center: The ACMC is dedicated to serving Central Texans by expanding knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of chamber music through the highest quality instruction and performance.
Chamber Soloists of Austin: The city's first resident chamber ensemble, the CSoA has been generating interest in chamber music among local musicians and audiences since 1987 and creating an international reputation for itself.
Prospective Members:
REVEL: An Austin-based classical band devoted to presenting terrific chamber music concerts that move, delight and inspire––we call them revels. This means that the focus is on sharing and celebrating great music, not protocol. It means that you can come as you are, clap when you feel like it, and let yourself get caught up in the music like no one is watching. In an effort to cultivate both an understanding of classical music and an appreciation for its place in modern society as a relevant, living art from, REVEL’s mission is to bring an exceptional classical music experience to the community that is devoid of all pretension, and yet exhibits the highest artistic caliber.
Former Members:
Wild Basin Winds: Founded in 1996 by five talented musicians who have performed together for almost two decades, the WBW offer polished and imaginative concerts and educational presentations to audiences everywhere.
