The Contemporary Music Forum is Washington, DC’s longest-running contemporary music ensemble. A group of professional performers and composers founded the CMF in 1973 to encourage the composition and performance of contemporary classical music. CMF began a subscription series at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1977. In 2003, CMF became the new music ensemble-in-residence at the Corcoran. The Washington Post recently wrote of the Forum: “It is no small achievement for a group uncompromisingly dedicated to contemporary chamber music to achieve such longevity.”
CMF has been a crucial forum for the development of new music in DC. It has premiered hundreds of new works and has performed pieces by more than 500 contemporary composers. Throughout its existence, the CMF has pioneered the performance of works by American women composers. CMF presents numerous concerts throughout the DC area and will be performing more than 75 modern works this season alone – many of them premieres, in 14 concerts.
Enjoying wide critical acclaim, CMF’s achievements have been recognized by grants from the NEA, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and foundations including the Cafritz, Dreyfus, Kiplinger, International Humanities and Copland Fund. Taking advantage of the international diversity in DC, CMF has collaborated with 20 embassies to perform works by composers of their countries. CMF has performed special programs at halls in DC, including the Kennedy Center, Wolf Trap, the Organization of American States, the Library of Congress and the National Cathedral. CMF concerts have been broadcast on WETA and WETA-TV and internationally on the Voice of America.
CMF has been successful in attracting a varied cross section of music lovers. Our concerts reach listeners ranging in age from high school and college students to older audience members. This coming season we anticipate performing before more than 1500 audience members in 14 concerts. Through the generosity of a donor, CMF regularly offers 25 tickets per concert to encourage attendance by students. The Washington Post wrote: “The Forum…attracts the sort of audience that makes large music organizations salivate. It’s wildly diverse with a good mix of young listeners.”
To fulfill our educational outreach mission, in 2004, CMF began collaborating with Loyola College, Baltimore as part of their “Open Ears, Open Minds” educational arts series. We perform before approximately 175 students in 3 concerts a year. To reach a broader audience, CMF will be presenting 3 concerts at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, including concerts for school children, featuring music by Native American composers. Last season, we began presenting new music at the Phillips Collection, expanding our audience base and the local modern music audience. This Spring CMF will travel to Paris to perform a series of collaborative concerts with Ensemble Aleph.
Most recently, the Contemporary Music Forum has joined forces with the Embassy of France to form the French-American Academy, a consortium of Institutions in Washington and France dedicated to the performance of French and American modern music and to the education of composers and performers from both nations, furthering the integration of our cultures. Washington consortium partners include the National Gallery of Art, the Library of Congress, The Corcoran Gallery of Art and the Phillips Collection.
