Dear Eastern Shore Community Member,

Thank you for the warmth, support and excitement you have shown us over the first two years of our festival. Initially, the Eastern Shore Chamber Music Festival was a pipe dream for us; seeing it come to life over the past few years has been absolutely incredible to witness.

Since January of 2022, ESCMF has presented twenty-four concerts along the Eastern Shore in Fairhope, Point Clear, Gulf Shores, Magnolia Springs, Bay Minette and Mobile; some of the programs we have presented have been "Cacao-phony" concerts pairing desserts with music at Fairhope Chocolate, folk-music readings at The Kiln during Art Walk, and chamber music performances in the beautiful sanctuary spaces of the Fairhope Unitarian Fellowship and the St. Francis at the Point Church. ESCMF has fostered relationships with hundreds of amazing classical music supporters, like yourself, and has been SO, so fortunate to have been welcomed with open arms by a community of kindred, chamber-music-seeking spirits.

In January of 2023, ESCMF began partnering with the Fairhope Public Library Youth Department and, since then, we have presented four different youth-focused programs in their beautiful Atrium space. Each concert showcased a different aspect of music-- i.e. music history, rhythm, dance, and melody. ESCMF encouraged and furthered youth involvement in classical music and chamber performance for all who attended; thank you to everyone who came out for those concerts!

Working with local student musicians was an absolute highlight of this past 2024 festival season. Through a partnership with Mobile Symphony Education, ESCMF Musicians worked closely with local student string players during the final week of the festival via three intensive chamber music coaching sessions at the ESCMF Rehearsal House which culminated in two performance opportunities at the end of the season. The students did an absolutely incredible job!!! Our goal was to inspire local musicians to be interested in playing music together, and it was evident that every student left the final concert feeling proud and excited to be a chamber musician!

Through incredible donor support and involvement, we were able to make each ESCMF concert during our three-week-long 2024 Season free of charge! Thank you to our amazing and generous donors who believe in the power of live music! Thank you to our volunteers who cook us meals, house our musicians and volunteer at events; you all make this possible! ESCMF cannot exist without you...!

We need your help this year to make our fundraising goal for our 2025 festival season! We need to raise $8,000 this Winter to make our goal by next summer. All of your donations go directly towards paying our musicians, paying for their travel to the Gulf Coast, and administrative fees to make these concerts free for audiences along the eastern shore. This next year, we have hired a new cast of musicians from around the world who will be helping us to expand into new and exciting venues along the Eastern Shore. ESCMF will be joined by familiar faces, like clarinetist, Chad Thomas, pianist, Yujin Lee and violist, Kayla Patrick; we are so excited to bring new faces to ESCMF as well, including, (but not limited to), violinist, Katherine Baloff, harpist, Johanna Weinholts, cellist, James Waldo, and pianist, Aubrie Jacobsen.

Browse our different donor levels, starting at a $50 donation you will receive a homemade ESCMF 2024 ornament. With higher donation levels, you will receive exclusive concert footage, ESCMF merchandise and an invitation to our exclusive donor events next summer... like our Opening-Week House Concert and Coffee & Classics the final Friday morning of the season. 

Join us! Be part of this extraordinary journey with us. Support ESCMF today and, together, we’ll keep the music alive and thriving along the Mobile Bay. See you at a concert soon!

Let’s make 2025 our most exciting year yet!

With gratitude and thunderous applause,

Sahada & Trace
ESCMF Artistic Directors