Press and Awards
Making Classical Music Inclusive
As a child, Marcus Pyle was a self-starter, taking up the viola in fourth grade, conducting home concerts in the tails his mother bought at his request, and creating his own orchestra. As an adult, his enterprising spirit endures, and in 2010 the Texas native, now a professor of humanities at Davidson College, founded the classical music institute ChamberWorks! He earned a PhD from the Graduate School of Arts and Science in historical musicology.
At ChamberWorks, a young Dallas-area musician gets a chance to create and teach
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"At the beginning of the camp’s first session, Pyle asks the experienced campers to tell the others what they should expect. Bloch balances his bass, looking around the group, trying to find the right words. If someone has thoughts on adding a decrescendo, for example, or hears another person out of tune, they should share it, he says."
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“Say that out loud,” Bloch says. “Make your thoughts heard.”
SMU Meadows Opens Doors to ChamberWorks Youth Orchestra
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Helping foster music and arts education for the community is one way that SMU Meadows contributes to the arts both locally and nationally.
“I’m delighted that the Meadows School can host ChamberWorks for a day this summer, and I look forward to more in the future,” says Sam Holland, dean of the Meadows School. “Marcus Pyle and his talented team are accomplishing what many thought was impossible: building a participatory classical chamber music program for underserved, ethnically diverse students in North Texas. I’m impressed at the quality, breadth and depth of the ChamberWorks curriculum.
ChamberWorks Founder awarded "Making a Difference" Award from NYU President
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ChamberWorks Music Institute, was honored for opening the doors of music and arts and culture to economically disadvantaged middle and high school students, enriching their lives and setting them on a promising path for success academically and in their future lives.
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“During a time of educational budget cuts and axed arts programs—especially in the wake of COVID-19—Marcus’s initiative works fearlessly to support students on a path of self-advocacy, joy, academic success, and informed citizenship. ChamberWorks serves as a model nation-wide at a time when questions of racial and economic inequality, education, and the crisis of the arts stand front and center.”
ChamberWorks Awarded Juilliard Grant
Juilliard’s summer grants are part of its extensive outreach program and have been given out since 1991. This year’s crop included grants to students doing work in, among other places, Japan, the West Bank, Texas, and Ohio—all of whom learned a great deal while bringing their art to diverse populations.
ChamberWorks Awarded GRANT from the Associated Chamber Music Players (ACMP) Foundation
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The ACMP Foundation awards grants to foster the playing of chamber music for pleasure by people of all ages and skill levels from all over the world. Since its founding in 1993, the ACMP Foundation has awarded over 3,000 grants totaling over $4 million dollars for ongoing programs and special projects promoting participatory chamber music activities worldwide. ACMP grant recipients include workshop presenters, nonprofit organizations, regional and national institutions, individuals, and ensembles.
Educating the Entire Musician at ChamberWorks
"At ChamberWorks, we provide students with individual attention while giving them a snapshot of what majoring in music would be like. Each day, students participate in chamber studio and chamber orchestra as well as courses on discussing music, ear training, music theory, and some other special-interest classes—it’s a jam-packed schedule that Juilliard students can empathize with."