Fontana Concert Society

Fontana Concert Society was incorporated in 1980 as a nonprofit organization governed by a volunteer Board of Directors. British hornist Neill Sanders, a founding member of the Melos Ensemble of London, was Executive and Artistic Director of the Society until his death in 1992.  Fashioned after Melos, the original Fontana comprised a string quintet, a wind quintet and piano. Fontana’s original focus was on a Summer Festival of Music and Art, featuring local and regional artists and musicians.  In its later years, Fontana Concert Society expanded its programming to include a winter series of concerts with area musicians and occasionally using touring ensembles.

Upon Neill’s death in 1992, pianist Paul Nitsch was named Artistic Director and artist/co-founder Ann Meade, Neill's wife, became the Executive Director. Upon Ann's retirement in 1995, Janet Karpus became the Executive Director. In the years prior to the merger, Fontana gained national and regional recognition and funding for its educational residency programs, including support from the Heartland Arts Fund and Chamber Music America/Lila Wallace Readers' Digest Fund. In 1998, Fontana was awarded second prize in the Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming. Fontana Concert Society commissioned three new chamber works with the establishment of the Neill Sanders Commissioning Fund: Duos for Horn & String Quartet by George Perle (1996), Dust by George Tsontakis (1998), and Les Adieux by WMU composer faculty member C. Curtis-Smith (2001).

Chamber Music Society of Kalamazoo
The first concert of the Chamber Music Society of Kalamazoo was performed by Mary Beth Birch, pianist, and Muriel Matthews, cellist, in May of 1955 at the Presbyterian Church House. Based on the enthusiastic response, Irving Gilmore, Al Connable, Lester Rosenbaum and Dr. William G. Birch underwrote the next season. 

Initially, the Society's purpose was to give local professionals a showcase. However, as support grew and the Society continued its success, and local professionals began to find increasing performance opportunities in colleges and elsewhere throughout the region, the Chamber Music Society came to concentrate more on bringing in well-known professional chamber groups.  Dorothy Connable was instrumental in this transition and she took on the job of managing the Society. Through her time, effort and financial support, the Chamber Music Society of Kalamazoo gained the love and respect of the music community, attracting nationally and internationally known chamber groups such as the Borodin Quartet, the Guarneri String Quartet, the Julliard String Quartet and the Smetana Quartet.  For forty-five years, the Chamber Music Society was an active, strong and highly respected contributor to the cultural life of Kalamazoo.

A Merger to Become One
Beginning in 1999, the two organizations began collaborating during their overlapping winter seasons.  In January 2001, the respective boards of each organization decided that the two organizations would merge and form Fontana Chamber Arts, committed to protecting the culture, values and programming of each existing organization, as embodied in the mission statement.  In July of 2001, Anne Berquist became the organization’s first executive and artistic director; she remained with the organization until January 2008.

Fontana Chamber Arts Today
Under the leadership of David Baldwin, Exeuctive and Artistic Director, who joined the organization in June 2013, Fontana Chamber Arts works to continue the traditions of its predecessor organizations while creating its own niche in the cultural life of our area.  A major contributor to the vitality of the Kalamazoo arts community, Fontana has also contributed significantly to the chamber music repertoire. Since 2001, Fontana has commissioned and premiered works by composers such as Paquito D’Rivera, Bright Sheng, Derek Bermel, Carter Pann, C. Curtis-Smith, Chen Yi, Victoria Bond, and others. In 2005, Fontana Chamber Arts was awarded the prestigious Chamber Music America/ASCAP First Prize for Adventurous Programming.  In 2006, the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs named Fontana an Anchor Organization, a designation reserved for major arts organizations widely recognized as hubs of significant arts and cultural activity.

Fontana Chamber Arts programming features an extensive array of world-renowned performers - both established and emerging - and diverse programming ranging from classical to contemporary to jazz. Delivered in traditional as well as alternative settings, Fontana presents a mainstage concert series from September through May, consisting of 8-10 performances held primarily at Dalton Recital Hall in Kalamazoo; and a new, more casual, Fontana Downtown series.  In mid-summer, Fontana presents a Summer Music Festival in various locations throughout the Kalamazoo area. Among its innovative and broad-based marketing strategies designed to diversify audiences, streamline programming, and increase accessibility are Fontana’s commitment to collaborations with other arts organizations as well as a new ticket pricing structure that includes substantial discounts for students as well as for young adults as well as for young adults age 25 and under.

Education and Outreach
Fontana Chamber Arts has an extensive community outreach program that provides Kalamazoo and the surrounding communities with the highest quality professional chamber music and jazz programming in area schools, universities and institutions. Activities are conducted by nationally recognized ensembles and focus on bringing chamber music to individuals who might not otherwise have the chance to experience it.  Fontana selects artists not only on the basis of their excellence as performers but also for their experience and commitment to education and outreach. Programs range from classroom presentations and masterclasses to daytime concerts performed in formal settings.