CMSM next

CMSM-Next strives to better the community through chamber music by focusing on education and community engagement. CMSM-Next will accomplish its mission by:

• Bringing educational and interactive Chamber Music performances* to school children in Minnesota with guest Teaching Artists

• Bringing chamber music to disadvantaged members of our society (ex. Autistic patients, visually impaired, homeless shelters)

*An interactive performance is a concert in which the artists engage the audience to be a part of the show by creating activities with an educational theme that go along with the music. No musical background needed!

The CMSM-Next is inspired by the Teaching Artists Method, a technique championed by the Ensemble ACJW in New York City.  According to the Association of Teaching Artists, "A teaching artist, by definition, is a two career professional: a working artist and a working educator.  As a working artist they are involved in an ongoing process of discovery, problem solving, discipline and refinement of skills in their discipline. As a working educator, it is essential that the artist is also developing a knowledge base and skills to be an effective partner in education."  The Teaching Artist Method allows for audience members and students to increase proximity to artists and great works in a way that no other education method has yet to accomplish. The method is a great complement to general music education programs, can be used as music therapy, and creates an interactive template in concert settings.  Although other local classical music organizations have education programs, non have a program as intimate and comprehensive as the Teaching Artist Method can provide.

CMSM Next Artists

Daniel Kim

Violist Danny Kim, a native of St. Paul, MN, earned his Master of Music degree in viola performance from The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Samuel Rhodes. He began his musical studies at a young age on the violin with his mother, Ellen Kim, and then transitioned to the viola in high school under Sabina Thatcher.  Danny completed his undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he studied with Sally Chisholm, and received a BA in viola performance and a certificate in East Asian Studies.

Kerry Smith

Kerry Smith developed a love for classical music as a child and began playing the viola in elementary school.  As a young person, Kerry was lucky enough to spend summers at the quartet focused Madeline Island Chamber Music Camp on Lake Superior and there acquired a passion for chamber music through the mentoring of Evelina Chao. Kerry went on to pursue a Bachelor of Music with Sally Chisholm at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Master of Music with Jutta Puchhammer at the Université de Montréal.

Tyler Wottrich

Recently appointed to the faculty at North Dakota State University, pianist Tyler Wottrich has developed a career spanning an unusually broad spectrum of musical genres including solo piano, chamber music, opera, and ballet. An alumnus of Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble ACJW, Wottrich performs frequently in such venues as Carnegie's Zankel and Weill Halls, the Chicago Cultural Center, and the Juilliard School.