Board of Directors

President: Christine Harada Li

Vice President: Nathaniel Pierce

Secretary: Danika Watson

Treasurer: Hiroko Harada

Board Members:

Beverly Beheim

Denise Brown-Chythlook

Sharon Davies

Maija Dreimane

Evelyn Rousso

MISSION AND BACKGROUND

Anchorage Chamber Music Festival seeks to inspire, engage, and enrich the Anchorage community through exceptional live performance and education in the art of chamber music.

EARLY YEARS

ACMF was born from the vision of its founder Christine Harada Li and co-founder Nathaniel Pierce. Growing up in Anchorage, Alaska, Christine drew on her musical experiences both at home and abroad, where she recognized the profound impact of chamber music on her own development as an artist. Seeking to pay forward that inspiration to students and audiences in her hometown, Christine partnered with Nathaniel and three fellow musicians—all fresh out of their undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan. Christine marshaled support from the Anchorage community to launch the first iteration of the Anchorage Chamber Music Festival (ACMF).

Key supporters in founding the Festival included Beverly and Chris Beheim, Helen Nielson, Rumi and Tim Smith, Margaret David, Hiroko Harada and Tai Wai Li, as well as local music and orchestra teachers. Beverly Beheim, the founder of the Anchorage Fine Arts Society, sponsored ACMF from its very creation. Beverly, a long-time violin teacher in Anchorage and childhood teacher of Christine of ten years, directed her own chamber music intensive in the 2000s, which Christine attended as her student. A huge advocate of Christine and her musical journey, Beverly and her husband offered tremendous support to ACMF and its vision.

ACMF was first held at Central Lutheran Church in 2013, with twenty students. That number grew to forty students in 2014. By the third year, ACMF moved to Alaska Pacific University (APU) to accommodate forty-five students and a growing audience. In 2016, ACMF moved to the Fine Arts Building at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA), where programming has taken place every summer since.

EXPANSION

ACMF continued to grow throughout its first decade. Primarily run and directed by Christine and Nathaniel in the early years (with much community support), the Festival was able to hire a Concert Coordinator and Stage Manager in 2016. In 2018, violinist Zachary Spontak joined the ACMF team as Education Director to oversee the student program.

Every summer, ACMF was made possible thanks to the generosity and hospitality of many in the Anchorage community. Supporters across Anchorage opened their homes to host Festival concerts, house artists and students, and help provide meals and transportation. A prominent advocate and patron of the arts, Sharon Davies joined the ACMF board in 2014, providing transformative support for the growing Festival. Through Sharon’s dedication and commitment, ACMF hired Pierre Derycz as its first Executive Director in 2022.

Under Pierre’s leadership, ACMF continued to broaden its audience, and deepen its partnerships with supporters across the community. It now operated as the sole program of the Anchorage Fine Arts Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation founded by Beverly Beheim in 2008. In 2022, the Anchorage Fine Arts Society formally renamed itself as the Anchorage Chamber Music Festival.

TODAY

In the decade since its founding, ACMF is a center of artistic collaboration every summer in Anchorage, Alaska. Over the course of two weeks, the Festival convenes professional musicians from all corners of the world to perform an exceptional Concert Series across Anchorage and teach a rigorous week-long Chamber Music Intensive course for aspiring young musicians. Under the guidance of the Festival’s guest artists and faculty, students develop their artistry, teamwork, and leadership skills through focused musical collaboration and engagement with the art of chamber music.

Anchorage Chamber Music Festival is made possible thanks to the community support it receives. We are grateful to our patrons, students, and community partners for sustaining exceptional chamber music in Anchorage.

SEASON 13 CONCERTS

Jul 23

Jul 25

Jul 26

Full season calendar