Protégé Project
Chamber Music Northwest’s Protégé Project is a world-class professional residency for emerging musicians—soloists, ensembles, composers—that cultivates and encourages the growth of chamber music’s rising stars. Protégé Project artists are featured in CMNW summer festival concerts, and present music engagements in the community.
Since its founding in 2010, Chamber Music Northwest’s Protégé Project has played a key role in launching the professional careers of dozens of America’s finest young chamber musicians including the now internationally renowned ensembles Dover Quartet, Jasper String Quartet, Akropolis Reed Quintet, Viano String Quartet, and Opus13 who we’ve delightedly brought back to Portland in later years.
Individual artists have earned impressive accolades since their protégé time with us, such as: violinists Diana Adamyan, Benjamin Beilman, Nikki Chooi, Bella Hristova, Anna Lee, and Claire Wells; pianists Yekwon Sunwoo, Yevgeny Yontov, Zitong Wang, Chloe Mun, and our own Artistic Director Gloria Chien*; cellist Zlatomir Fung; bassist Nina Bernat, composers Andy Akiho, Alistair Coleman, Kian Ravaei, Chris Rogerson, and Gabriella Smith; and many others.
The 2025 Summer Festival Protégé Project Artists are violinist Isabelle Ai Durrenberger, pianist Yutong Sun, and string quartet Opus13. These incredible artists will be with us for several weeks during the summer festival, do look out for them performing in several concerts, across multiple weeks.