Newport Classical Announces 2025-2026 Chamber Series - A Dynamic Season of Twelve Concerts from September 2025-June 2026
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Newport Classical Announces 2025-2026 Chamber Series
Tickets on Sale July 29, 2025
Presenting a Dynamic Season of Twelve Concerts
from September 2025 through June 2026
"a thriving musical community, generously supported by locals whose love of the arts equals their pride in the town's elegant past." – BBC Music Magazine
Information & Tickets: www.newportclassical.org
Newport, RI – Following its successful 56th annual summer festival, Newport Classical presents its fifth full-season Chamber Series held on select Fridays at 7:30pm, featuring twelve concerts held between September 2025 and June 2026, at the organization's air-conditioned home venue, Newport Classical Recital Hall (42 Dearborn St.). Tickets will go on sale to the public on July 29 at www.newportclassical.org.
Newport Classical Director of Artistic Planning Trevor Neal says, "We are thrilled to be announcing our fifth Chamber Series, held in our intimate concert venue, the Newport Classical Recital Hall. Newport Classical is thriving, and we are proud to be bringing world-class musicians from around the world – both celebrated performers and rising stars – offering our community twelve evenings of extraordinary artistry, in addition to free community concerts, special events, and our holiday programming, to be announced later this year.”
Newport Classical's Chamber Series takes place at Newport Classical Recital Hall in downtown Newport, known for its striking architecture and excellent acoustics. The Chamber Series reaffirms Newport Classical's commitment to year-round classical music programming. Audiences are invited to enjoy performances by world-class classical musicians in a relaxed setting, with complimentary wine generously provided by Gold's Wine and Spirits served during intermission. Both performers and audience members alike have described these concerts as some of their favorites. “Beautiful concert, high artistry and exciting programming . . . a deeply moving and soulful experience, with a rousing and brilliant virtuosity that kept you on the edge of your seat,” raved one attendee.
As part of Newport Classical's desire to create connections between classical music, the artists who perform it, and the Newport community, all musicians performing on the Chamber Series will also go into the Newport-area public schools to perform for and speak with students, through Newport Classical's Music Education and Engagement Initiative.
Newport Classical's Chamber Series opens this fall on September 12 with the Poiesis Quartet, 2023 Grand Prize winner of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and lauded as "an ensemble to watch" by Hyde Park Herald. Their program features bold contemporary works including Kevin Lau's String Quartet No. 7, commissioned by the ensemble, alongside Prokofiev's vibrant String Quartet No. 2 and recent works by Michi Wiancko and Billy Childs. On October 3, celebrated violinist Blake Pouliot, praised for his "radiant sound and high-powered virtuosity" (Los Angeles Times), performs with acclaimed pianist Henry Kramer in a Romantic program featuring Schumann's stormy Violin Sonata No. 1, Chausson's sweeping Poème, and Dvořák’s spirited Ziguenerleider. Trio Zimbalist makes their Newport Classical debut on October 17 with what EfSyn calls "precision and feverish intensity," presenting Beethoven's beloved "Archduke" Trio alongside works by Smetana and George Xiaoyuan Fu. Taiwanese American pianist Charlotte Hu, celebrated as a "first-class talent" (The Philadelphia Inquirer) with "superstar quality" (Jerusalem Post), embarks on a compelling journey through Chopin's expressive world on November 7. Saxophonist Valentin Kovalev, Gold Medal winner at the Jean-Marie Londeix International Saxophone Competition, brings his electrifying technique and soulful depth to his Newport Classical debut on November 21 with a program culminating in Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition.
The Chamber Series continues in 2026 with cellist Jonathan Swensen making his highly anticipated return on January 23 following his memorable 2024 festival debut. Honored with the 2022 Avery Fisher Career Grant and joint First Prize at the 2024 Naumburg International Cello Competition, Swensen is described as "a musician of charisma and thrilling physicality" (BBC Music Magazine). The Verona Quartet, celebrated by The New York Times as an "outstanding ensemble... cohesive yet full of temperament," makes their Newport Classical debut on February 20 with a program tracing a vivid stylistic arc from Scarlatti to Beethoven. On March 13, baritone Benjamin Appl, whose voice “belongs to the last of the old great masters of song” (Süddeutsche Zeitung), whose artistry has been described as “unbearably moving” (The Times), presents Schubert's hauntingly beautiful Die Winterreise with his frequent collaborator, pianist James Baillieu. Ars Poetica, an ensemble of acclaimed musicians with a passion for historical music, explores "Dance and Transfiguration" on March 27 with their colorful array of Baroque instruments. Violinist Yevgeny Kutik, praised for his "dark-hued and razor-sharp technique" (The New York Times), makes his Newport Classical debut on April 10 alongside returning pianist Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner in works by Debussy, Prokofiev, and Grieg. Rising-star pianist James Zijian Wei, first-prize winner at the 2024 Cleveland International Piano Competition, makes his highly anticipated Newport debut on May 8 with a program featuring Ravel, Liszt, and more. The Chamber Series concludes on June 5 with flutist Amir Hoshang Farsi and pianist Chelsea Wang, both Carnegie Hall Ensemble Connect alumni, presenting a program of sparkling impressionism featuring works by Fauré, Lili Boulanger, and contemporary composers Reena Esmai, Ian Clarke, and Yuko Uebayashi.
Single tickets start at $45 and packages are available. AARP members and their guests receive discounts on Chamber Series tickets and packages, and thanks to a generous grant from the Gruben Charitable Foundation, a limited number of free student tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
During the 2025-2026 season, Newport Classical will also present several free family-friendly Community Concerts at neighborhood-centered locations, generously sponsored by BankNewport, and holiday programs, which will be announced later this year. The 2026 Newport Classical Music Festival will take place from July 2-19, 2026.
Newport Classical 2025-2026 Chamber Series Schedule At-A-Glance:
September 12: Opening Night with Poiesis Quartet
October 3: Blake Pouliot & Henry Kramer perform Schumann and Dvořák
October 17: Trio Zimbalist performs Beethoven
November 7: Pianist Charlotte Hu performs Chopin
November 21: Saxophonist Valentin Kovalev performs Pictures at an Exhibition
January 23: Cellist Jonathan Swensen Returns
February 20: Verona Quartet performs Scarlatti and Beethoven
March 13: Baritone Benjamin Appl and Pianist James Baillieu perform Schubert's Die Winterreise
March 27: Ars Poetica performs Dance and Transfiguration
April 10: Yevgeny Kutik & Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner perform Debussy and Grieg
May 8: Zijian Wei performs Ravel and Liszt
June 5: Chamber Series Finale: Amir Hoshang Farsi and Chelsea Wang
Complete concert details can be found at www.newportclassical.org/concerts. All Chamber Series concerts are held on select Fridays at 7:30pm at Newport Classical Recital Hall (42 Dearborn Street).
About Newport Classical
Newport Classical is a premier performing arts organization that welcomes people of every age, culture, and background to intimate, immersive musical experiences. The organization presents world-renowned and up-and-coming artistic talents at stunning, storied venues across Newport – an internationally sought-after cultural and recreational destination.
Originally founded in 1969 as Rhode Island Arts Foundation at Newport, Inc., Newport Classical has a rich legacy of musical curiosity having presented the American debuts of hundreds of international artists and is most well-known for hosting three weeks of concerts in the summer in the historic mansions throughout Newport and Aquidneck Island. In the 56 years since, Newport Classical has become the most active year-round presenter of live performing arts on Aquidneck Island, and an essential pillar of Rhode Island’s cultural landscape, welcoming thousands of patrons all year long.
Newport Classical invests in the future of classical music as a diverse, relevant, and ever-evolving art form through its four core programs – the one-of-a-kind Music Festival; the Chamber Series in the Newport Classical Recital Hall; the free, family-friendly Community Concerts Series; and the Music Education and Engagement Initiative that inspires students in local schools to become the arts advocates and music lovers of tomorrow. These programs illustrate the organization’s ongoing commitment to presenting “timeless music for today.”
In 2021, the organization launched a new commissioning initiative – each year, Newport Classical will commission a new work by a Black, Indigenous, person of color, or woman composer as a commitment to the future of classical music. To date, Newport Classical has commissioned and presented the world premiere of works by Stacy Garrop, Shawn Okpebholo, Curtis Stewart, Clarice Assad, and Cris Derksen.