Since 2014 NOLA Chamber Fest has encouraged, inspired, and motivated by offering aspiring musicians access, performances, exposure, competition, and learning opportunities alongside their peers. COVID-19 brought significant hardships. We presented NCF virtually for two years and were inspired by the ways participants, students, and educators thought creatively and collaboratively to continue playing chamber music through such immense challenges. It was an unforgettable time and we were excited to look toward the future. 

Our 2022 hybrid festival was all about genre fluidity. We had new events, fantastic guest artists, and were so excited to welcome our 2022 Community Partners for our newest venture – Creativity Day! Creativity Day was a day dedicated to exploring chamber music, improvisation, and collaboration. NCF Director Ben Atherholt coached five student ensembles throughout the year to prepare them for the festival. To honor the contributions of musicians of color, ensembles were required to prepare two musical works, with one being written by an underrepresented composer. Creativity Day began with masterclasses led by Trenton Thomas and Tadeu Coelho on improvisation, and culminated in a chamber music showcase performance featuring the student ensembles representing our community partner institutions.