June 5, 2024
After an intense search with highly qualified candidates both locally and from around the country, the Austin Chamber Music Center (ACMC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Sandy Yamamoto as Artistic Director.
Violinist Sandy Yamamoto will assume the Artistic Directorship of ACMC in September 2024. She has dazzled audiences in concert performances around the globe for the past three decades as a soloist and as a member of the Miró Quartet. The New York Times describes her performance as playing with "explosive vigor and technical finesse." With the Quartet, she has performed on major concert stages worldwide, regularly giving concerts in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. She was a recipient of the Naumburg Chamber Music and Cleveland Quartet Awards, won First Prize at the Banff International String Quartet Competition, and was one of the first chamber musicians to be awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant. Currently, she is an Associate Professor of Practice in Violin Performance at the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas at Austin and was the recipient of the 2016 Butler School of Music Teaching Excellence Award.
"It is a privilege and an honor to become the new Artistic Director of the Austin Chamber Music Center. Chamber music, education, and performing are all very important in my life, and I am excited to combine my passions to serve the Austin community. I look forward to collaborating with my new team, meeting more people, sharing inspirational music from artists around the world, and making the Austin Chamber Music Center an even bigger hub for chamber music in Austin."
The search was led by a Board-appointed committee with Daryl Fox as the chair, along with Carl Caricari, Edwina Carrington, Eric Wittek, Ken Whiteside, and Michelle Schumann. "ACMC will have a strong and imaginative future, and we will continue to be a force in serving our community through chamber music performance, education, and community engagement," says Carl Caricari, ACMC Board President. Michelle Schumann, ACMC’s current Artistic Director until August 31, 2024, says, “I couldn’t be more pleased to welcome Sandy Yamamoto."