The American Chamber Music Society arrives at Maverick with an approach Third Coast Review described precisely: chamber music performed to evoke “friends making music in the parlor after dinner.” It’s an aesthetic that travels without adjustment — from the 75-seat room at PianoForte Studios in Chicago’s South Loop, where ACMS holds its regular season, to the century-old wooden hall in Woodstock. The Family Saturdays audience is designed for children in grades K-6. The ensemble performs as though none of that were true.
About the Show
ACMS was founded in fall 2024 by violinist Eric Gratz, who assembled the ensemble around Grammy-nominated soloists, international competition laureates, and principal players from major orchestras. Their programming spans classical and contemporary repertoire, from Beethoven, Brahms, and Mozart to works by composers including Reena Esmail, Chester Biscardi, and John Novacek. Third Coast Review, reviewing ACMS’s 2025 season opener, called the ensemble “electric” and wrote that the performance “extracted all the tensions, fun, and charm that can be found.”
Gratz’s own background spans a similar range. He became the youngest concertmaster in North America at age 22 upon joining the San Antonio Symphony in 2013, a position he held for nine seasons. His debut album charted on the Billboard Classical chart; two more releases are scheduled for 2026 on the Centaur and Divine Art labels. He teaches at the Music Institute of Chicago and serves as faculty at Interlochen Arts Camp.
The Family Saturdays series presents short, interactive performances, a format Maverick describes as “long a Maverick tradition,” intended for children in grades K-6 and open to adults as well. The performance runs from 11:00 a.m. to noon and is supported by the Klock Kingston Foundation and De Sole Family Foundation.
Venue & Logistics
Maverick Concert Hall dates to 1916, when founder Hervey White, a utopian writer and philosopher, built the distinctive wooden structure as part of the Maverick Colony with a stated purpose: “I will build a hall for chamber music and guarantee a concert every Sunday afternoon.” The organization describes itself as the oldest ongoing summer chamber music festival in the United States. Its gambrel roof and wide-plank walls create acoustic conditions well suited to chamber music, which is precisely what ACMS brings from Chicago to the Hudson Valley.
Tickets
Admission is free for children and adults. For information, contact Maverick Concerts at info@maverickconcerts.org or 845-684-5527. Buy tickets