ChamberPalooza! 2025
An Iridescent Fantasy
ChamberPalooza!
October 18, 2025 | 11 am to 3 pm
Cincinnati Art Museum, Lower Level
953 Eden Park Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45202
Many thanks to the magnificent performers, volunteers, staff and sponsors of this year's ChamberPalooza! Ten different groups of musicians from the greater Cincinnati area performed, and composer Lauren Spavelko spoke and answered questions after the World Premiere performance of her piano quartet “An Iridescent Fantasy”, commissioned by Chamber Music Network. This commissioned world premiere was sponsored by Western & Southern Financial Group.
An "Instrumental Petting Zoo" was presented by Antonio Violins and volunteers from the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and many gift baskets were raffled off throughout the event.
Our generous sponsor of this event was Western & Southern Financial Group.
Our Performers
11:00 am - Peter Boylan, Opening Fanfare
11:05 am - Moyen Age, music of the 13th - 15th centuries
11:25 am - Liberty Arts Duo: Jean Shim violin; Steve Tedesco, piano
11:50 am - Cincinnati String Trio: Michael Ronstadt, cello; Doug Hamilton, violin; Rose Reidmiller Gowda, viola/violin
12:15 pm - Jorge and Lauren, Brazilian music with guitar and vocals
12:40 pm - World Premiere: “An Iridescent Fantasy” Piano Quartet by Lauren Spavelko, commissioned by Chamber Music Network. Performed by Gayna Bassin, violin; Melissa Gray, viola; Damon Gray, cello; Sonya Szabo Reynolds, piano.
1:05 pm - James Meade, classical guitar
1:55 pm - Vince Phelan and Stephen Phillips, piano, and students of the Corryville Suzuki Project
2:25 pm - Jazz Quartet: Becki Chesnes, flute; Davis McKinney, piano; Tim Cornelius, bass; Drew Konrady, drums
About Lauren Spavelko
Lauren Spavelko (b. 1989) is a composer, educator, performer, and visual artist whose work invites deeper connection—both within ourselves and with one another. Her music draws on personal stories to reflect the range of human experience, inviting play, joy, resilience, and catharsis.
She has received commissions from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Johnstone Fund for New Music, the Central Ohio Symphony, and many individual artists and organizations. Her compositions have earned national and international recognition, including the Spoleto Festival’s Young Composers Prize (Italy, Baby Book), the American Prize in Vocal Chamber Music: The Charles Ives Award (From Edna, with Love), and the Ruth Anderson Commission Prize (IAWM, Black Box 2.0). She has also been a finalist for the NATS Art Song Composition Award and the American Prize in Orchestral Music. Her music has reached audiences in the U.S., Italy, Singapore, Vietnam, and Canada.
Notable works include Baby Book, a song cycle exploring miscarriage, pregnancy, and motherhood; Kéyah, a symphonic collaboration with National Parks Eminent Photographer Frank Lee Ruggles; and Grit, a string orchestra piece frequently performed at honor and all-state festivals.
An active educator, Spavelko operates her private studio, Musical Life, and teaches at Otterbein University. She holds an M.M. in Composition from the University of Louisville and a B.M. in Music Education from Ohio Wesleyan University, and studied composition with Steve Rouse, Clint Needham, and Jason Bahr.
Lauren lives and creates in Columbus, Ohio. You can hear her laughing through the city while swing dancing, singing, fiddling, practicing yoga, and making a joyful noise with her circle. Learn more: www.LaurenSpavelko.com
