Header Image: BAMC Partners (left to right, photo by Meena Bhasin): Joanne DePhillips, Berkeley Chamber Players; William Horne, Mill Valley Chamber Music Society; Pamela Freund-Striplen, Gold Coast Chamber Players; Tiffany Loewenberg, Noe Valley Chamber Music
Partnership is at the core of all arts experiences – the maker of the work is in partnership with the audience to communicate a story, share an emotional experience, to start a conversation or power a movement. That exchange of ideas is a partnership; without the audience, the artist’s work exists but cannot fulfil its purpose.
There is an extraordinary amount of partnership that happens between artists and arts organizations as well. Through collaboration and sharing of ideas and resources, artists can push each other to achieve greater works, and can work more expansively, reaching broader audiences and lifting and celebrating one another in their pursuits.
The Bay Area Music Consortium (BAMC) is a visionary partnership between four distinct organizations dedicated to presenting the finest in chamber music experiences: Berkeley Chamber Performances, Gold Coast Chamber Players (Lafayette), Mill Valley Chamber Music, and Noe Valley Chamber Music (San Francisco). Funded in their inaugural year by a grant from the ZFF Community Arts program, they have chosen to collectively program the renowned St. Lawrence String Quartet for a series of concerts reaching all four of the members’ geographic areas and music-loving communities. “When BAMC was formed in Spring 2017, we knew the concept was innovative,” says Gold Coast Chamber Players’ Artistic Director, Pamela Freund-Striplen. “BAMC is a metaphor for chamber music itself – collaborating for the greater good without losing one’s individuality. We are deeply grateful to ZFF for embracing our vision!”
By utilizing combined resources, collective planning and a shared artistic vision, the Bay Area Music Consortium is able to present outstanding ensembles performing uniquely designed programs, like St. Lawrence String Quartet, that enrich each of the individual member communities, broaden audience engagement and deepen relationships between performing organizations and music enthusiasts across the Bay Area.
