Festival Celebrates 20 Years of Artistic Leadership from Jon Manasse and Jon Nakamatsu
Free Community Concert in Hyannis Open to All
The Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival today announced the 2026 summer concert season, running from July 31 to August 21, 2026. The Festival will present eleven live performances in five venues across Cape Cod. Tickets will go on sale in early April. The season features a free community concert by the GRAMMY®-winning Imani Winds, open to all on August 3 at 5:30 PM at the Federated Church of Hyannis, 320 Main Street, Hyannis. The 2026 Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival will also celebrate 20 years since Jon Manasse and Jon Nakamatsu joined as Artistic Directors.
The 2026 Festival begins in Wellfleet with a special performance by the prestigious Danish String Quartet on July 31. The season includes the return of the award-winning Borromeo String Quartet, performing in Hyannis and Wellfleet on August 6 and 7. The GRAMMY-winning Harlem Quartet also returns to the Festival, performing in Chatham on August 10.
Steve Wilson, called “one of the finest alto and soprano saxophonists of our time” by Jazz Times, will appear in Cotuit with award-winning pianist and composer Renee Rosnes and bassist David Wong on August 11. The Harlem Quartet will then perform with Wilson, Rosnes, and Wong in Falmouth and Wellfleet on August 13 and 14 in two concerts fusing classical and jazz forms. Together, they will perform the world premiere of a new work commissioned by the Festival and written for them by Rosnes, as well as the world premieres of two new arrangements, also commissioned by the Festival, of compositions by GRAMMY-winning composer and orchestra leader Maria Schneider.
The Festival will celebrate Artistic Directors Manasse and Nakamatsu with an anniversary party at the Belmont Beach Club in West Harwich on August 9. Clarinetist Manasse and pianist Nakamatsu will perform at the event, a fundraiser for the Festival. The pair, who appear together as the Manasse/Nakamatsu Duo, will also give a full concert in Chatham on August 17.
Executive Director Andrea Meagher said, “We’re excited to celebrate two decades of excellent artistic leadership from Jon Manasse and Jon Nakamatsu. Every summer, they inspire us with their creative programming and their own outstanding performances, bringing a unique energy to Cape Cod that we are so lucky to share.”
“I can’t believe it’s been twenty years since Jon and I joined Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival,” said Artistic Director Manasse, principal clarinetist of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the American Ballet Theatre Orchestra, and the Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center. “We both love spending time on Cape Cod every year and it’s a thrill to create the programming for the Festival.”
Artistic Director Nakamatsu, winner of the Gold Medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and guest soloist with over 150 orchestras worldwide including Berlin, Boston, Cincinnati, and San Francisco, said, “That twenty years flew by! Jon and I appreciate the fact that we can bring first-rate musicians to the Cape Cod community, and we also love performing for audiences all across the Cape.”
The exciting young Renaissance String Quartet will debut with the Festival in Cotuit on August 18. The quartet includes violinist Randall Goosby, winner of the Sphinx’s Isaac Stern Award. The Festival wraps up in Wellfleet on August 21 with members of the Renaissance String Quartet joined by Manasse and Nakamatsu.
“Hosting our annual free community concert is a priority for us, and we’re really happy to offer it in downtown Hyannis again this year,” Meagher noted. “In addition to this concert, we are presenting a family-friendly performance on August 12 and an open rehearsal on August 20. Thanks to generous community support, we can continue our mission to make chamber music accessible to everyone.”
The Festival will once again offer post-concert dinners after three of the Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival concerts. These private buffet-style dinners will be held in the homes of Festival friends.
All concerts begin at 5:30 PM. Performances are approximately 75 minutes in length with no intermission. The complete concert schedule is below.
Concert Schedule:
Danish String Quartet
Friday, July 31, 2026 at 5:30 PM
First Congregational Church of Wellfleet, 200 Main Street, Wellfleet
Performance will include Maurice Ravel’s String Quartet and original works, based on Nordic folk music, composed and arranged for and by the Danish String Quartet.
Imani Winds
A Free Community Concert
Monday, August 3, 2026 at 5:30 PM
Federated Church of Hyannis, 320 Main Street, Hyannis
Performance will feature works by Felix Mendelssohn, Elliot Carter, Pacquito D’Rivera, Shawn Okpebholo, and Lalo Schifrin.
The Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival will present this concert free to the community. All are welcome.
Borromeo String Quartet
Thursday, August 6, 2026 at 5:30 PM
Federated Church of Hyannis, 320 Main Street, Hyannis
– and –
Friday, August 7, 2026 at 5:30 PM
First Congregational Church of Wellfleet, 200 Main Street, Wellfleet
Performances will feature Ludwig van Beethoven’s String Quartet in F Major, Op. 59, No. 1 and Antonín Dvořák’s String Quartet No. 14 in A-flat Major.
Harlem Quartet
Monday, August 10, 2026 at 5:30 PM
First Congregational Church of Chatham, 650 Main Street, Chatham
Performance will feature Ludwig van Beethoven’s String Quartet in A Major, Op. 18, No. 5 and works by Guido López-Gavilán, William Bolcom, and Aldo López-Gavilán.
Jazz at the Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival: Steve Wilson, Renee Rosnes, and David Wong
Tuesday, August 11, 2026 at 5:30 PM
Cotuit Center for the Arts, 4404 Falmouth Road, Cotuit
Selections will be announced from the stage.
Harlem Quartet with Steve Wilson, Renee Rosnes, and David Wong
Thursday, August 13, 2026 at 5:30 PM
Simon Center for the Arts, Falmouth Academy, 7 Highfield Drive, Falmouth
– and –
Friday, August 14, 2026 at 5:30 PM
First Congregational Church of Wellfleet, 200 Main Street, Wellfleet
Performances will feature the world premiere of a new work commissioned for the Festival and composed by Rosnes for classical string quartet and jazz trio, the world premieres of two new commissioned arrangements of her work by Maria Schneider, as well as works by Fanny Mendelssohn and Aldo López-Gavilán.
Manasse/Nakamatsu Duo
Monday, August 17, 2026 at 5:30 PM
First Congregational Church of Chatham, 650 Main Street, Chatham
Performance will feature works by Leonard Bernstein, Felix Mendelssohn, Lowell Liebermann, Gordon Goodwin, and three former Festival commissions by Pacquito D’Rivera, Vivian Fung, and John Novacek.
Renaissance String Quartet
Tuesday, August 18, 2026 at 5:30 PM
Cotuit Center for the Arts, 4404 Falmouth Road, Cotuit
Performance will feature String Quartet No. 2 in A minor by Florence Price, Adagio and Fugue in C minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and String Quartet No. 1 in A minor by Béla Bartók.
Jon Manasse and Jon Nakamatsu with members of the Renaissance String Quartet
Friday, August 21, 2026 at 5:30 PM
First Congregational Church of Wellfleet, 200 Main Street, Wellfleet
Performance will feature Ludwig van Beethoven’s Trio in B-flat Major for Piano, Clarinet, and Cello, Gabriel Fauré’s Quartet No. 1 in C minor for Violin, Viola, Cello, and Piano, and The Gork for Solo Piano by Elena Ruehr.
Festival Information
Tickets for the 2026 Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival will go on sale in early April. All tickets are general admission. Price: $40. Students: $20. Children 14 and under: Free. Special concert with the Danish String Quartet: $55.
The Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival is supported in part by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency. The Festival is also supported by Cape Cod 5 and South Shore Playhouse Associates/Cape Cod Melody Tent, and by generous individuals and businesses.
For more information on the Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival, please visit capecodchambermusic.org, call 508.247.9400, or email info@capecodchambermusic.org. Follow the Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival on Facebook and Instagram.
About Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival
Every summer, the Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival presents the finest classical and contemporary chamber music performed by both world-class ensembles and exceptional young emerging artists to Cape Cod audiences. Hailed by the New York Times as “a triumph of quality,” the Festival was founded in 1979 by late pianist Samuel Sanders, a longtime collaborator with Itzhak Perlman. Among today’s most well-known classical musicians, Artistic Directors Jon Manasse and Jon Nakamatsu are dedicated to bringing extraordinary talent and first-rate entertainment to the Cape Cod community.