UP CLOSE AND CLASSICAL

Our Mission is to make chamber music more accessible, by presenting professional chamber music concerts with free admission, by choosing repertoire that tells the story of this art form, and by giving “listening keys” so any audience member can be prepared for optimal appreciation.

Availability is not accessibility. The intimacy inherent to chamber music is ill-served by the digitalization of music, the loudness and the 3-minute formatting associated with it. Chamber music is accessible when it is live. Many professional classical musicians live in the Long Beach and surrounding communities. It is possible to bring people together to provide opportunities for shared experiences of music, fostering education and unity. UP CLOSE AND CLASSICAL can be the recognizable name where in concerts that are accessible to most in our communities, professional musicians share the chamber music they love while being fairly paid for their skills and preparation.

Chamber music is classical music performed by small ensembles. What is classical music?

In short, classical music is why concerts exist. Until the 17th century, music was to the service of other activities: dance, theatre, worship or war. Then, instrumentalists started to gather and play music for its own sake… And people came for no other purpose than listen to that music. Music without words. Music as its own language. The chamber music concert was born. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the size of ensemble grew into symphonic orchestras, new instruments were added, like the piano… There are many concerts now, but in most of them, music supports words, dance, or multi-media shows. Contemporary concerts also feature music which was first created in a studio as recordings. Classical music was created to be played and heard live, in a concert.