A core element of CMA’s mission is enriching the community through music education. Every season, our guest artists deliver free educational events in the community. Students from local schools, colleges, and universities, as well as the general public, are invited to learn from some of the greatest musicians of our time. All CMA Studio programs are open to the public and offered at no cost to schools thanks to generous support from the community.
CMA Studio’s schedule was full this season! Since CMA turned 100 this year, the education events were very special and celebrated CMA’s long history of bringing musical opportunities to young local musicians.
Summer 2025: Belin Quartet Summer Concert Series
Thanks to the generosity of the Belin family, the Belin Quartet offers free performances for 10 weeks each summer at the historic Salisbury House & Gardens and other venues. People of all ages are welcome at these performances, and CMA offers activities for kids, such as free coloring pages, to encourage families to attend and enjoy the music. With seating offered and plenty of green space to lay out a picnic blanket, there were plenty of opportunities for families to have fun while exposing their children to great music this past summer! CMA is very excited for the Belin Quartet 2026 Summer Concert Series starting at the end of May!
October 2025-April 2026: Belin Quartet in Local Schools
The Belin Quartet serves the community every year by giving interactive performances in 10 local elementary schools. They continued this tradition this year, likely introducing kids to chamber music for the first time. Some students were even able to join the quartet onstage to try playing a few notes on the viola.
This year, over 1,000 students heard the Belin Quartet during their tour of schools. CMA and the Belin Quartet hope that this will spark a lifelong interest in music for these young students and will increase dedication to music curriculum and involvement in schools.
November 2025: Yo-Yo Ma
Legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma opened the CMA Centennial Season with a bang! Before the concert, a Midwest-area high school and collegiate-level honor cello choir performed in the Civic Center lobby. The cello choir rehearsed once at Drake University and gave an inspiring performance despite having met for the first time only hours earlier. Cellist Anthony Muñoz, conductor of the Ottumwa Symphony Youth Orchestra and student of CMA Executive Director Ashley Sidon, led the group. After the lobby performance, the students attended the Yo-Yo Ma concert together.
The lobby performance, combined with attendance of the Yo-Yo Ma concert afterwards, resulted in a very unique educational experience for these students that they are sure to remember for years to come. CMA is very grateful to our Executive Director, Ashley Sidon, and others for organizing this event!
December 2025: New York Voices
In December, Grammy Award-winning jazz vocal ensemble New York Voices worked with jazz choirs from Dallas Center Grimes, Roosevelt, and Valley high schools. These three jazz choirs each participated in a clinic at Valley High School, where they performed for each other and received live feedback from the members of New York Voices. After the clinic, the choirs watched the New York Voices concert. This was a great opportunity for the high school vocalists to witness the New York Voices putting into action what they taught.
Also, the Heartland Youth Choir caroled in the lobby of the Staplin Performing Arts Center before the New York Voices concert! The caroling and guests milling about with free warm drinks made for a cozy atmosphere for those waiting for the concert to start. The evening of the New York Voices concert was all around a magical evening of music, perfect for the Holiday Season.
February 2026: Emanuel Ax
World-renowned pianist Emanuel Ax gave a live Q&A at Sheslow Auditorium to local pianists. These pianists were able to ask him questions about his career, his artistry, his practice, and his day-to-day life while enjoying the camaraderie of being surrounded by other pianists. Questions ranged anywhere from “What is it like to play in Carnegie Hall?” to “Do you use your Grammy Awards as paper weights?”
Before the concert began, the winners of the Des Moines Music Teachers Association Student Competition performed on the Sheslow Auditorium stage. Sitting at the piano where Emanuel Ax would sit just minutes after them, the students gave impressive performances before joining the crowd to watch the concert. Performing in the same space as Emanuel Ax is sure to be an experience these students will never forget!
March 2026: Bria Skonberg
An all-female honor jazz ensemble comprised of students from West Des Moines, Pella, Ankeny, Norwalk, and Winterset high schools participated in an honor jazz band clinic with Bria Skonberg. The ensemble joined Bria Skonberg to open the evening concert. Dubbed “the Fine Nine” by Skonberg, the ensemble gave a successful performance after having only met once to rehearse before the concert. Each member of the ensemble had a featured solo, showcasing the skill of every individual onstage. The future is bright for these students!
Before the honor jazz ensemble played, a display for the Violins of Hope was open for concert-goers to browse. Organized by the Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines, this exhibition showcased the world-renowned Violins of Hope, a collection of string instruments connected to Jewish musicians and the Holocaust. Many of these instruments were played during the Holocaust, including in ghettos and camps, under unimaginable conditions. Today, they are carefully restored and returned to the stage to share stories of memory, resilience, and hope. A couple of musicians played the violins as guests entered the Sheslow Auditorium lobby.
April 2026: Fred Hersch
Era-defining jazz pianist Fred Hersch gave an interactive lecture and performance at Drake University and Roosevelt High School. The event at Drake University was open to the public, and so many local musicians and music lovers attended to hear Hersch play in a more intimate setting. These events offered students and community members alike a rare opportunity to observe his artistry and insight up close and were a perfect way to close the CMA Studio 2025-2026 Season. It exemplified CMA’s mission to offer unique opportunities for students and community members to learn from artists like Fred Hersch, whose legacy has shaped the music world as we know it today.
CMA plans to have another year of meaningful educational events in the upcoming 101st Season. With an amazing list of artists coming to Des Moines, the events will not disappoint. Be on the lookout for CMA Studio news about the 101st Season! Learn more about CMA’s 101st Season >>
