Telluride Chamber Music's early years — musicians in white tuxedos with their instruments, in a pasture below the Box Canyon

Since 1973

Telluride Chamber Music

Take a break from your busy life and enjoy one of life's gentler pleasures — chamber music at its best, in one of the most spectacular settings imaginable.

Where We Came From

Fifty years of music in the Box Canyon

The Telluride Chamber Music Association has been bringing exceptional classical music to Telluride since 1973. The Telluride Chamber Music Festival, founded by Roy Malan and the late Robin Sutherland, provided 47 years of engaging summer music events.

In 2021, TCM decided to build on this work by moving to a year-round concert series. Our program blends tradition with the fun and the contemporary, combining world-class musicians with talent from our own Box Canyon community.

Read about our 50th-year reimagining →

Making it happen

Steady growth, new opportunities.

We strive to serve enriching experiences for everyone. Locals and visitors, kids and grown-ups, classical fans and newcomers alike. Here's exactly what we are doing to serve the community, and to create new partnerships, programs, and capacity-building that makes the next decade of TCM possible.

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    Want to see more opportunities in the community? Your support is the reason it happens.

    Who We Are

    Run by locals. Beloved by world-class artists.

    This isn't Carnegie Hall. Telluride Chamber Music is a small nonprofit run almost entirely by board members and volunteers — moving pianos, setting up venues, playing alongside our guest artists in community concerts, even building this website. Concert venues are often donated. Musician housing comes from local families. The work happens because Telluride loves chamber music, and our musicians love Telluride right back.

    Many of the artists you'll hear on our stages return year after year. They come for the audiences, the long summer evenings, the views from the barn at 10,000 feet, and the kind of intimacy you can't get from a concert hall. We think that's worth holding onto.

    • Volunteer-run — board, volunteers, and locals do the lifting
    • Donated venues — including a private barn at 10,000 ft
    • Returning artists — many guests come back year after year
    • Box Canyon scale — Carnegie Hall caliber, small-town heart
    A young student learns trumpet from a New York Philharmonic Principal Brass Quintet musician
    A New York Philharmonic Principal Brass musician with a Telluride School District student — one of our Palm Theatre workshops.

    Music Education

    Beyond the concert stage.

    Concerts are only part of what we do. We bring world-class musicians into classrooms, libraries, and community spaces — frame drum workshops, brass lessons, free outdoor kids' concerts at Gondola Plaza. The goal is simple: music isn't something to watch from a distance. It's something to hold in your hands and try.

    More about our education programs →

    Mission

    Music that connects us.

    Our mission is to present exceptional musical performances, educational programs, and events that inspire people to connect to the arts and our community. We achieve this in intimate and welcoming environments that create transformational experiences for audiences and artists alike.

    Vision

    Beyond ourselves.

    A draw of Telluride is the feeling that the mountains give us — that there's something beyond ourselves. We mirror that experience in music. We envision a community where:

    • All of us are elevated from the ordinary to the extraordinary through live classical music.
    • Live classical music is a resource to process life's emotional experiences — from solace to celebration.
    • Shared live classical music is an antidote to social isolation and anxiety.
    • Music helps us understand our history and place in the world.
    • There are no barriers to entry — classical music is a universal experience.

    Values

    How we work.

    • Presenting the highest-quality, inspirational, and transformative artistic experiences.
    • Providing thoughtfully curated music education resources for youth.
    • Increasing accessibility by reducing barriers of entry.
    • Fostering lifelong learning and connection to the arts.
    • Sourcing artists locally and worldwide to create innovative programming.
    • Collaborating with community partners.
    • Celebrating the uniqueness of the Telluride community and its surroundings.
    • Creating an oasis where artists thrive and their careers are supported.
    • Establishing meaningful relationships between artists and TCM.

    Leadership

    Board & Staff

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