The Seattle Sound: Seattle Chamber Music Society on Gramophone

Seattle Chamber Music Society, which brings world-class chamber music to Seattle and beyond, has a virtual concert hall for online viewing as well as extensive outreach programs, including a chamber music academy for younger players, masterclasses, lectures, and a concert truck that brings live performances out into the community. To this, the organization has recently added a record label, SCMS Records. “The creation of this label allows us to capture lightning in a bottle, as they say,” Artistic Director James Ehnes told Andrew Farach-Colton for a new Gramophone feature.

Advocacy for the art form is a huge part of who we are, so it's all about access. If we have a recording we really believe in, that we think is a special representation of a great work of art, and it’s ours — well, then if we want to press a button and send it to a school full of children, we can just do it. It was just too good an opportunity to pass up.

SCMS Records’ third release, recorded in summer 2025 and due out in September, features Cesar Franck’s Piano Quintet.

Read the full piece here.