The Chicago Chamber Music Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering chamber music in our city, was founded in 1935 by a group of prominent women who were officers of a music group called The Russian Trio, to provide a venue for gifted Chicago musicians. As the Society’s first beneficiary The Russian Trio (renamed the Pro Musica Trio in 1948) performed several series of concerts into the late 1950s. Over time CCMS expanded its reach to include not only local groups but those of national and international renown.

CCMS Program Directors are key to the success of CCMS and have included Mrs. Moise Dreyfus, Ms. Rose de Moulin, Impresario Harry Zelser, Sara Zelser (his wife), Mrs. Frank Ruehle, and, since 2007, Ms. Gay Stanek.

To commemorate the Millennium, the CCMS Board of Directors, commissioned a chamber piece by Chicago journalist and composer, Dan Tucker, who set to music a short story by Carl Sandburg, “Up in Rootabaga County.” Performed by the Chicago Ensemble at the Chicago Cultural Center in September, 1999.

To celebrate its 75th season, CCMS invited graduate music composition students from Chicago universities to submit works from which a composer was selected to write a new composition for string quartet to be played at our evening concert.   Ben Hjertmann, a graduate student from Northwestern University, was commissioned. Mr. Hjertmann’s composition, “Eos”, was performed by the Borromeo Quartet at our celebratory concert in April, 2012.

To mark its 90^th anniversary, CCMS undertook a three-year initiative with DePaul University’s music’s department to help student performers with career development by providing cash prizes for winners of a student chamber music competition as well as underwriting production of quality video recordings of their off-campus concerts.

Now in its 91st season, CCMS reflects on the fact that it has hosted over 370 concerts at which 234 national and international chamber groups have performed.