Emerald City Music Announces Eleventh Season for 2026-2027 with Fourteen Concerts from October 2026 to May 2027
High resolution press photos available here.
A New Decade for Emerald City Music:
Announcing Eleventh Season for 2026-2027
Fourteen Concerts from October 2026 through May 2027
in Seattle and Olympia, WA
Late Night Sessions Concert Series Returns for Second Season
Violinist Kristin Lee, Artistic Director; Sean Campbell, Executive Director
Season Subscriptions on Sale Now
Single Tickets on Sale in August
Seattle & Olympia, WA – Artistic Director and violinist Kristin Lee and Executive Director Sean Campbell are thrilled to announce the eleventh season of Emerald City Music (ECM), with fourteen Mainstage performances from October 16, 2026 through May 15, 2027 in Seattle and Olympia, plus the continuation of ECM’s Late Night Sessions and Chamber Music Karaoke. Emerald City Music is the Pacific Northwest home for eclectic, intimate, and vibrant classical chamber music experiences. Known for a casual environment combined with award-winning artists, ECM has gained increasing recognition since its founding in 2016. Season subscriptions are on sale now and single tickets will be on sale in August.
Through thrilling performances, community events, late-night collaborations and pre-concert conversations, every part of the season is shaped by Emerald City Music’s mission: making world-class music approachable, social, and deeply human. The Seattle Times reports: "ECM isn’t falling back on the tried-and-true, under the assumption that a new listener is an unadventurous, easily frightened-off listener. Instead, they’re betting that the tried-and-true could be precisely one of the barriers to sparking interest that classical-music organizations need to overcome."
“Welcome to a new decade of Emerald City Music!” says ECM Artistic Director Kristin Lee. “This next chapter of ECM is an especially exciting one as we deepen our commitment to creating meaningful impact through more performances, more opportunities for engaging with our audience, and more ways for all of us to experience the transformative power of music.
The 2026–27 season will also be shaped by very meaningful celebrations, including the 200th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven’s passing and the 90th birthdays of two of America’s most influential composers. Through these, I look forward to exploring music on a deeper level while discovering human connections through the shared experience of live performance.”
“Every aspect of Emerald City Music’s eleventh season is centered around bringing audiences closer to the music, both as listeners and as participants,” says ECM Executive Director Sean Campbell. “Through impactful and intimate performances, thoughtful conversations, and opportunities for our communities to make music together, ECM continues to break down the barriers between artists and audiences, making world-class performance a personal and community-driven experience.”
ECM’s newest season explores a wide range of musical voices honoring major milestones including the 200th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven’s passing with special November performances focused on his piano sonatas, performed by Gilles Vonsattel. In honor of their 90th birthdays, the season also reflects on the lasting influence of Steve Reich and Philip Glass, focusing on the expansive ways they’ve transformed how we think about sound, structure, and what music can be. In December, that spirit of experimentation comes to the forefront in an immersive program that challenges the very act of listening. The Evolution Series returns this season, co-curated by violinist and scholar Aaron Boyd, with a March program tracing the evolution of violin technique. In April, ECM’s commitment to collaboration continues with Animal Fire Theater, bringing music and Shakespeare into conversation through a vivid exploration of storytelling across art forms. Mainstage performances throughout the season will be held at ECM’s signature venues – in Seattle at 415 Westlake and in Olympia at The Minnaert Center for the Arts or Capital High School Performing Arts Center. This season, ECM is also proud to have a new partnership with Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Olympia.
This season focuses on expanded ways to gather around music. Chamber Music Karaoke returns to Seattle and makes its way to Olympia, inviting community members to be a part of joyful music-making. In Olympia, a new community concert series before each performance will spotlight local students and community members, creating more space for shared creativity and artistic exchange. In addition, ECM’s Late Night Sessions are back for a second season, featuring three new performances. This series embraces an intimate concert experience and directly follows the conclusion of selected mainstage performances, keeping the music going well into the night. ECM’s new Late Night Sessions will spotlight outstanding local musicians and offer audiences an eclectic mix of genres. Dates for this season’s Late Night Sessions will be announced in August.
The concept of the concert series as a platform where artists and audiences transform one another breathes life into every element of what ECM does – from the casual open-bar setting of its flagship Seattle concert experiences, to the enthusiastic communities that faithfully assemble in its concert halls in Olympia and beyond. At Emerald City Music concerts, the audience’s presence matters, transforming the artists, the community, and the future of classical music.
Emerald City Music’s Season 11 Mainstage Performances
Rhapsodic Musings
Friday, October 16, 2026 at 415 On Westlake | Seattle, WA
Saturday, October 17, 2026 at Minnaert Center | 2011 Mottman Rd. SW | Olympia, WA
Kristin Lee, Rachel Lee Priday, James Garlick, Vanessa Moss, Blayne Barnes, violin | David Auerbach, Alexander Grimes, Katie Liu, viola | Efe Baltacigil, Christine Lee, Holly Reeves, cello | Will Langlie-Miletich, double bass
Emerald City Music’s 11th season opens with a vibrant, festive evening of string music, bringing together Seattle and Olympia’s most celebrated string instrumentalists. Featuring works by Grażyna Bacewicz, Antonín Dvořák, and Béla Bartók, the program showcases the virtuosity and power brought through the different formations of the string instruments. At its core is Elliott Carter’s short but electrifying work for solo violin, a striking centerpiece that gives the program its name.
Grażyna Bacewicz: Concerto for String Orchestra (1948)
Antonín Dvořák: String Quartet No. 14 in A-flat Major, Op. 105 (1895)
Elliott Carter: “Rhapsodic Musings” from Four Lauds for solo violin (2000)
Béla Bartók: Divertimento for String Orchestra Sz. 113, BB. 118 (1939)
Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas
Friday, November 13, 2026 at 415 On Westlake | Seattle, WA
Saturday, November 14, 2026 at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd | 1601 North St. SE | Olympia, WA
Gilles Vonsattel, piano
Over two evenings in Seattle and Olympia, pianist Gilles Vonsattel offers an intimate journey through nine of Ludwig van Beethoven’s most beloved works, his piano sonatas, in honor of the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s passing. Spanning his early, middle, and late periods, the two evenings will explore a distinct facet of his evolving voice, distilled through the singular presence of one artist at the piano. Each performance begins with a pre-concert lecture by Vonsattel, inviting audiences to listen more deeply and step inside the emotional and architectural world of these extraordinary works.
PROGRAM 1 (Seattle)
Ludwig van Beethoven:
Sonata No. 10 in G Major, op. 14, No. 2 (1798-1799)
Sonata No. 17 in D minor, op. 31, No. 2, The Tempest (1801-1802)
Sonata No. 15 in D Major, Op. 28, Pastoral (1801)
Sonata No. 22 in F Major, Op. 54 (1804)
Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57, Appassionata (1803)
PROGRAM 2 (Olympia)
Ludwig van Beethoven:
Sonata No. 19 in G minor, Op. 49, No. 1 (1797)
Sonata No. 3 in C Major, Op. 2, No. 3 (1794-1795)
Sonata No. 28 in A Major, Op. 101 (1816)
Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111 (1822)
Disassembly of Sound
Friday, December 4, 2026 at 415 On Westlake | Seattle, WA
Saturday, December 5, 2026 at Capital High School | 2707 Conger Ave. NW | Olympia, WA
Sooyun Kim, piccolo, flute, alto flute, bass flute | Ji Hye Jung, percussion, toy piano, steel pan | Jordan Dodson, ukulele, guitar, banjo, mandolin
What is music? When is sound considered music? This program explores the answers to these obscure questions through works that dissolve the boundaries between silence, gesture, dance, and theater. John Cage’s 4’33” reframes listening itself, while Vinko Globokar’s ?Corporel transforms the performer’s body into both instrument and stage. Marin Marais’s Les Folies d’Espagne anchors the program in Baroque variation and dance, leading into Mauricio Kagel’s Serenade, which satirically reimagines classical performance conventions through theatrical invention.
John Cage: 4’33” (1952)
Vinko Globokar: ?Corporel (1984)
Marin Marais: Les Folies d’Espagne (1700)
Mauricio Kagel: Serenade (1994)
Quartet in Spotlight: Poiesis Quartet
Friday, February 12, 2027 at 415 On Westlake | Seattle, WA
Saturday, February 13, 2027 at Minnaert Center | 2011 Mottman Rd. SW | Olympia, WA
Poiesis Quartet
Sarah Ma, Max Ball, violins | Jasper de Boor, viola | Drew Dansby, cello
The Poiesis Quartet, First Prize winner at the 2025 Banff International String Quartet Competition, makes its debut on Emerald City Music’s stage. Formed at Oberlin Conservatory in 2022, the ensemble has been praised for its “multifaceted artistry” and “bold, forward-thinking programming” (The New York Times). For their debut, they present a program that considers music as a response to the political and human conditions of our time.
Michi Wiancko: To Unpathed Waters, Undreamed Shores (2021)
Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson: String Quartet No. 1, “Calvary” (1956)
Jeff Scott: Tapestry of the Beloved Beatified* (2026)
Kevin Lau: String Quartet No. 7, “Surfacing” (2025)
Evolution Series: The Violin
Friday, March 12, 2027 at 415 On Westlake | Seattle, WA
Saturday, March 13, 2027 at Minnaert Center | 2011 Mottman Rd. SW | Olympia, WA
Aaron Boyd, co-curator, violin, viola | Kristin Lee, Sean Lee, Tianyou Ma, violin | Hana Coho, cello | Jennifer Godfrey, double bass | Oksana Ejokina, piano, harpsichord
The Evolution Series returns this season, focusing on one of music’s most celebrated instruments: the violin. Remarkably, the violin has retained its fundamental form since its earliest development. Instead, composers and performers have continually expanded its possibilities, driving innovation through new techniques and fresh modes of expression. Guided by violinist and lecturer Aaron Boyd, the evening traces four centuries of development, revealing how early breakthroughs continue to shape and challenge its musical language today.
Pietro Locatelli: Caprice in D Major “Labyrinth” (1733)
J.S. Bach: Adagio and Fugue from Sonata No. 3 for Solo Violin in C Major BWV 1005
Carlo Farina: Capriccio stravagante (1627)
Niccolo Paganini: Selections from 24 Caprices for Solo Violin (1802-1817)
John Cage: Selections from Freeman Etudes for Solo Violin (1977-1990)
Eugène Ysaÿe: Sonata for Solo Violin, Op. 27, No. 2, “Jacques Thibaud” (1923)
Ludwig Wilhelm Maurer: Concertante for Four Violins, Op. 55 (c.1831)
Inspired by Shakespeare
Friday, April 9, 2027 at 415 On Westlake | Seattle, WA
Saturday April 10, 2027 at Minnaert Center | 2011 Mottman Rd. SW | Olympia, WA
Tony Arnold, soprano | Michael Stephen Brown, piano | Kristin Lee, Susie Park, violin | Melissa Reardon, viola | Raman Ramakrishnan, cello | Animal Fire Theater, artistic partner
Shakespeare’s words have long shaped not only literature, but the broader landscape of human expression across the arts. This program explores how composers across time have drawn from his plays and poetry, using the themes of love, illusion, tragedy, and transform them into music. In partnership with Animal Fire Theater, an actor-driven, all-volunteer company based in Olympia, the evening bridges theater and music, allowing each form to illuminate and reshape the other.
Henry Purcell: If Music Be the Food of Love arranged for Soprano and String Quartet (1692)
Brett Dean: String Quartet No. 2 “And once I played Ophelia” (2014)
Felix Mendelssohn / Sergei Rachmaninoff: “Scherzo” from A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1842, arr. 1933)
Felix Mendelssohn / Franz Liszt: “Wedding March” from A Midsummer Night’s Dream (arr. Brown) (1842, arr. 2023)
William Shakespeare: Selected Readings from Romeo and Juliet (1597)
Sergei Prokofiev: Suite from Romeo and Juliet (arr. Lidia Baich / Matthias Fletzberger) (1935)
Ludwig van Beethoven: Adagio affettuoso ed appassionato from String Quartet No. 1 in F major (1797-1800)
Opus One
Friday, May 14, 2027 at 415 On Westlake | Seattle, WA
Saturday May 15, 2027 at Capital High School, 2707 Conger Ave. NW | Olympia, WA
Sahun Sam Hong, Wu Qian, piano | Kristin Lee, Chad Hoopes, violin | Matthew Lipman, viola | Nicholas Canellakis, cello
Every composer has a moment when they take the bold step of sharing their first work with the world- a gesture that is at once vulnerable yet defining. Even those we now revere as the “greatest” began with these early statements, testing boundaries, discovering their voice, and building the confidence to create what would follow. This program brings together such beginnings by Beethoven, Suk, Schumann, and Dohnányi, offering a glimpse into the origins of their artistic identities. Within these works, we encounter their imagination and individuality with each composer revealing a distinct voice already taking shape, even at the very start.
Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Trio in E-flat major, Op. 1, No. 1
Josef Suk: Piano Quartet in A minor, Op. 1
Robert Schumann: “Abegg” Variations, Op. 1
Ernő Dohnányi: Piano Quintet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 1
For Emerald City Music’s Complete Schedule and Concert Details, visit www.emeraldcitymusic.org.
Emerald City Music’s 2026-2027 concerts take place on Fridays at 415 Westlake in Seattle, WA and on Saturdays at The Minnaert Center for the Arts in Olympia (2011 Mottman Rd.), Capital High School Performing Arts Center (2707 Conger Ave NW) or Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd (1601 North Street SE). Season tickets and tickets to individual concerts are on sale now and in August respectively. Please visit www.emeraldcitymusic.org for more details.
About Kristin Lee, ECM Artistic Director
Kristin Lee is a violinist of remarkable versatility and impeccable technique who enjoys a vibrant career as a soloist, chamber musician, educator, and artistic director. “Her technique is flawless, and she has a sense of melodic shaping that reflects an artistic maturity,” writes the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and The Strad reports, “She seems entirely comfortable with stylistic diversity, which is one criterion that separates the run-of-the-mill instrumentalists from true artists.”
As a soloist, Lee has appeared with leading orchestras including The Philadelphia Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony, Hawai’i Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Ural Philharmonic of Russia, Korean Broadcasting Symphony, Guiyang Symphony Orchestra of China, and Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional of Dominican Republic. She has performed on the world’s finest concert stages, including Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, the Kennedy Center, Kimmel Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Ravinia Festival, the Louvre Museum, the Phillips Collection, and Korea’s Kumho Art Gallery. In 2026, she makes her solo recital debut at Carnegie Hall performing her program American Sketches with pianist John Novacek. An accomplished chamber musician, Kristin Lee is a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, performing regularly in New York at Lincoln Center and on tour. In addition to her prolific performance career, Lee is a devoted educator. She has served on the faculty of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and she has also been in residence with the Singapore National Youth Orchestra, the El Sistema Chamber Music Festival of Venezuela, and is a summer faculty member at Music@Menlo’s Chamber Music Institute. Lee is also the founding artistic director of Emerald City Music (ECM), a chamber music series that presents authentically unique concert experiences and bridges the divide between the highest caliber classical music and the many diverse communities of the Puget Sound region of Washington State.
Kristin Lee’s honors include an Avery Fisher Career Grant, top prizes in the Walter W. Naumburg Competition and the Astral Artists National Auditions, and awards from the Trondheim Chamber Music Competition, Trio di Trieste Premio International Competition, the SYLFF Fellowship, Dorothy DeLay Scholarship, the Aspen Music Festival’s Violin Competition, the New Jersey Young Artists’ Competition, and the Salon de Virtuosi Scholarship Foundation.
Born in Seoul, Lee moved to the United States and studied under prestigious teachers including Sonja Foster, Catherine Cho, Dorothy DeLay, Donald Weilerstein, and Itzhak Perlman. Lee holds a Master’s degree from The Juilliard School. Lee’s violin was crafted in Naples, Italy in 1759 by Gennaro Gagliano and is generously loaned to her by Paul & Linda Gridley.
For more information, visit www.violinistkristinlee.com.
About ECM
Emerald City Music (ECM) is the Pacific Northwest home for eclectic, intimate, and vibrant classical chamber music experiences. Deemed "the beacon for the casual-classical movement" (CityArts), ECM hosts world-renowned musicians in unique concert experiences across seven Mainstage productions annually. Each program visits Seattle in our home venue in South Lake Union (415 On Westlake, a chic contemporary venue with an open bar), and Olympia in a variety of modern concert halls.
Committed to deepening relationships through music, ECM hosts Late Night Sessions, a Seattle-based series that builds bridges across genres and cultivates new audiences. ECM also presents Chamber Music Karaoke, free events in Seattle and Olympia where community musicians gather to read chamber music and perform works they have been preparing, all centered around connection, collaboration, and the joy of music-making.
ECM gained recognition regionally and nationally as a major player in the chamber music scene. Artistic Director Kristin Lee –– a touring violinist awarded the Avery Fisher Career Grant and who is a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center –– is regarded for her innovative programming that both honors the tradition of chamber music while expanding the genre’s boundary past common limits.
Emerald City Music made a name for itself beginning in its second season with a national collaborative commission with Grammy-winning composer John Luther Adams, and has continued to push the boundaries of chamber music with accolades like Steve Reich’s iconic Music for 18 Musicians, Simeon ten Holt’s hypnotic Canto Ostinato, and the West Coast debut of the Danish folk group, Dreamers’ Circus. Recent highlights include partnerships with GRAMMY-winning Sandbox Percussion, Meany Center for the Performing Arts, University of Washington, Metropolis Ensemble, and East Coast Chamber Orchestra.
ECM values real, authentic connection and holds the belief that music possesses the innate power to bring people together from varying backgrounds and perspectives. Over the last decade, artists from every corner of the globe have visited Emerald City Music to prove just that: live performance centered around personal connection cultivates empathy, discovery, a sense of wonder, and community.
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