If you are looking to spend some time listening to world-class chamber music, the Austin Chamber Music Festival is wrapping up its summer run this weekend. Presented by the Austin Chamber Music Center (ACMC), the 2026 festival season has been bringing a curated mix of international ensembles, emerging artists, and local talents to stages across town since mid-June. Whether you are a long-time follower of classical repertoire or just want an easy way to spend a quiet weekend afternoon, the final scheduled performances offer a great sampling of what this event is all about.
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Tonight, Saturday, July 25, features a couple of distinct options depending on what kind of setting you prefer. Earlier in the day, the festival’s Young Artists Division is taking over Bates Recital Hall, starting with chamber ensembles at 1:00 PM and moving into large ensemble pieces at 3:00 PM. Later this evening at 7:30 PM, the Galvin Cello Quartet performs at the Austin Chamber Music Center. Made up of cellists Sydney Lee, James Baik, Haddon Kay, and Luiz Fernando Venturelli, the group is tackling an opera-themed program titled "A Night at the Opera." Their set list rearranges classical orchestral pieces for four cellos, featuring works like Vivaldi’s "Summer" from The Four Seasons, Rossini’s The Barber of Seville overture, Massenet's Méditation, along with arrangements of Gershwin, Mozart, Schumann, and Johann Strauss II.
The festival closes out tomorrow, Sunday, July 26, with an afternoon performance by the Ariel Quartet at 3:00 PM at the First Unitarian Church (4700 Grover Avenue). The Ariel Quartet, formed back in 1998 at the Jerusalem Academy Middle School of Music and Dance, features violinists Alexandra Kazovsky and Gershon Gerchikov, violist Jan Grüning, and cellist Amit Even-Tov. For their Sunday program, they will be performing Mendelssohn’s Quartet in F Minor, Op. 80, Alban Berg’s String Quartet, Op. 3, and Beethoven’s String Quartet Op. 132. It serves as a solid capstone to the multi-week summer schedule.
Beyond the summer festival dates, ACMC also runs a regular season of Friday and Saturday Night Concerts that extend into the rest of the year. The Friday night shows take place at KMFA's Draylen Mason Music Studio—a 135-seat space named in memory of young local bassist Draylen Mason—where tickets come with complimentary drinks and light bites provided by Flavor Co. Catering + Events for a post-concert reception with the musicians. Saturday night concerts are hosted at First Unitarian Church with a similar reception layout. If you end up enjoying this weekend's classical offerings, keep an eye out for their package deals on upcoming concert series.
Published Date
25 July 2026
