Ahead of its 18th concert season, concertnova is turning to local pianist and music educator Brianna Matzke to serve as its next executive director and lead the organization into the future.
Ixi Chen, CN’s longtime co-artistic director and a Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra clarinetist, called Matzke’s hiring a time of “incredible excitement” for the chamber music organization. She described Matzke as a “dynamic leader” and a “visionary” who shares “so much of concertnova’s artistic DNA.”
“Her proven record of bringing fearless, inspiring, creative, and innovative new programming to life here in Cincinnati and around the world makes her the perfect successor to lead concertnova into its next chapter,” Chen said.
As a result of Matzke’s arrival, Ted Nelson will transition from a co-artistic director to a board member for the upcoming season. The rest of the creative team consists of lead artist director Joseph Bricker and co-artistic director Hiro Matsuo and Joseph Morris.
‘Cincinnati’s chamber music playground’
Matzke described concertnova as “Cincinnati’s chamber music playground.” And that concept is on full display across the organization’s season 18 lineup.
The schedule includes four main stage concerts and two interactive “play-with-us” style events, including the addition of Concert Artists Guild prize-winning Poeisis Quartet as resident ensemble. In October, members of the group will team up with Columbus-based visual artist XUAN for “Echo Play,” a multi-day fusion of contemporary violin music and 360-degree visual projections, presented during BLINK.
concertnova’s season opens Sept. 29 at Rhinegeist Brewing with “Music for the Soul,” a play-with-us event featuring an hour-long guided mindfulness session with former NFL player Soul Cole. Guests will have an opportunity to co-create a new musical work, blending meditation, creativity and community.
The rest of the schedule, which runs through June 2025, is available below.
“We love our community because they are willing to push the boundaries of what’s artistically possible and know that our audiences come to our events with a spirit of adventure and playfulness,” Matzke said. “We hope to see you there – please come play with us.”
Season 18 schedule
- Music for the Soul w/NFL Legend Soul Cole – 2 p.m. on Sept. 29 at Rhinegeist
- Echo Play – Oct. 17-20 at Alice in Over-the-Rhine
- Memory Box w/ Sarah Hennies – 7:30 p.m. on March 18, 2025, at Contemporary Arts Center
- Meet in the Middle: Black Midwest Music and Photography – 7:30 p.m. on April 14, 2025, at Somerhaus in Over-the-Rhine
- Ysaÿe in Cincinnati w/ Ben Beilman – 7:30 p.m. on May 9, 2025
- High Notes: A Nature Walk Celebration of Cannabis Music – June 22, 2025
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