2025 marks the 55th annual summer festival for Chamber Music Northwest (CMNW), taking place Saturday, June 28-Sunday, July 27. The Bach-inspired festival features some of his most dazzling works alongside dozens of other masterpieces by composers from Bach’s era to today, all echoing his timeless brilliance. More than 70 of the most exceptional chamber musicians from this region and around the world will be featured—from piano and strings to voice and even electronics.
Echoes of Bach inspiring through time…illuminates how the music of yesterday and today has continually drawn inspiration from and built upon Bach’s revolutionary ideas and sound—from Mozart and Brahms, Mendelssohn and Messiaen, to composers creating today’s chamber music. Summer Festival performances take place at locations across Portland. In SE, Kaul Auditorium at Reed College hosts mainstage concerts, picnics, open rehearsals and prelude performances.
Mainstage concerts start right off on the first day of the festival, Saturday, June 28, with Complete Brandenburg Concertos – Part I at 4 pm, followed by Complete Brandenburg Concertos – Part II at 8 pm. Nine additional concerts, primarily starting at 8 pm, take place before the Festival Finale: Mozart, Ngwenyama & Brahms Sunday, July 27, 4 pm. For all 8 pm concerts there will be a picnic beginning at 6 pm. Food and drinks will be available to purchase or bring your own picnic items. Details about the mainstage concerts and tickets are available at cmnw.org/concerts-events/2025-summer-festival.
Both the open rehearsals and prelude performances are free to attend. Open rehearsals take place Wednesdays, 11 am—June 25 (Brandenburg Concertos), July 9 (Kain Ravaei’s World Premiere), July 16 (Alistair Coleman “Ghost Art Canticles”) and July 23 (Brahms Sextet No. 1). All open rehearsals are graciously sponsored by Debbie and George Olsen.
The prelude performances feature students from the Young Artist Institute (YAI), a new intensive education program for 16 talented string players from around the world, ages 14-18. The Sunday, June 29, 2 pm performance will highlight the solo and quartet repertoire the students have been working on. The 2025 YAI Finale Concert Saturday, July 5, 7 pm offers the next generation of virtuoso musicians the opportunity to perform highlights of four string quarts and four world premieres of short Bach-inspired mini quartets by young composers from Portland. While the Finale Concert is free, tickets can be reserved on CMNW’s website and there is a “Give What You Can” option. Proceeds support the life-changing YAI experience for young musicians.