Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Extends Leadership of Artistic Directors David Finckel and Wu Han Through 2032

Since 2004, Finckel and Wu Han have guided CMS, America’s preeminent chamber music organization, through a period of artistic expansion and national prominence

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS) announced Sunday night, from the stage of a sold-out concert at Alice Tully Hall, that artistic directors David Finckel and Wu Han, who were appointed co-artistic directors beginning with the 2004-2005 season, are renewing their contract and will continue through 2032;^[1] their artistic leadership throughout their tenure has been marked with incomparable success. Over the course of more than two decades, Finckel and Wu Han have advanced, expanded and strengthened the Chamber Music Society, driving the organization’s growth, global reach, and digital footprint. They have also created a thriving ecosystem for chamber musicians, providing substantial career opportunities for hundreds of artists dedicated to the art of chamber music and nurturing the next generation of musicians and entrepreneurs. Their impact on classical music in North America and beyond cannot be overstated. 

Highlights, 2004-2026: 

• CMS expanded both its audience and impact under Finckel and Wu Han’s leadership. In a post-pandemic era when many arts organizations continue to struggle, CMS now exceeds its pre-pandemic attendance at Lincoln Center and has ended every season with a surplus. Programming has grown to more than 80 events a season, including new curated series such as Sonic Spectrum, Art of the Recital, and the String Quartet Series. 
   
• CMS has commissioned or co-commissioned 78 new pieces of music since 2004, adding the voices of living composers to the vast chamber music repertoire that has been created over the last 300 years. 
   
• Financial support for CMS and the artistic directors’ vision has grown dramatically during their tenure. Annual contributed income alone has more than quadrupled since 2003, the year before their arrival.  
   
• Committed to accessibility, Finckel and Wu Han launched the hugely successful, sold-out “Summer Evenings” series, bringing CMS concerts to Lincoln Center in the summertime. Created as a low-cost, accessible concert series, all tickets are priced at $20, with 100 free tickets for each performance offered via lottery. The lottery attracted 37,000 entries in 2025, demonstrating the enormous demand for CMS concerts. CMS launched the Diamonstein-Spielvogel free community concert series and provides educational programs to New York City students; these programs reached 16,000+ people this season.
  
  
• With a mandate to bring the highest quality chamber music performances to audiences at Lincoln Center and beyond, Finckel and Wu Han have established a growing number of recurring annual residencies and chamber music series outside New York City, in addition to individual touring concerts. These include series that CMS presents itself such as those in Vero Beach, FL, and Madison, NJ, as well as residencies in partnership with existing venues, including the Harris Theater in Chicago, IL; St. Cecilia Music Center in Grand Rapids, MI; Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, KY; Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach, FL; Tilles Center for the Performing Arts on Long Island; Saratoga (NY) Performing Arts Center; and SUNY Purchase, among many others.  International destinations have included Canada, Europe, the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, and Colombia. During their tenure, CMS’s performances outside of New York have more than tripled, up to 73 in 2025-26 from just 23 in 2003-2004.

• Finckel and Wu Han have dramatically elevated the quality and quantity of CMS’s digital offerings through partnerships with platforms like NPR, Medici TV, All Arts and the Chinese streaming giant Tencent Music. CMS is in its second year partnering with Apple Music Classical, where CMS custom-curated albums have garnered more than 2 million streams to date, with more albums in the pipeline. And nearly 2,000 videos from its archive of beautifully produced, full-length performances are available for free on its website through the Hauser Fund for Media and Technology. 

• Through CMS’s Bowers Program for outstanding musicians in the early stages of major careers, world-renowned mentors Finckel and Wu Han have shepherded a new generation of artists and ensembles into major careers since their arrival at CMS in 2004.  Just a partial list of Bowers alumni shows how these young artists have become today’s leading artists^[2]and entrepreneurs, many of whom have launched their own concert series and festivals.^[3]

• Finckel’s and Wu Han’s leadership during the COVID shutdown positioned CMS for a strong recovery:
  —  CMS quickly pivoted, creating 183 digital programs that combined archival performances with new livestreams and recordings that kept audiences engaged worldwide.
  —  CMS continued paying its musicians throughout the shutdown.^[4]
  —  In December 2020, CMS undertook a widely noted 10-day tour of Taiwan, earning coverage in The Wall Street Journal.

CMS‘s commitment to our services for another term is a blessing but even more of a challenge,” said David Finckel and Wu Han. “While CMS is in good health, this is not a moment to coast on its accomplishments. What CMS can do for chamber music goes far beyond presenting successful concerts. Our organization is in a position of leadership, and today, we are working not only for our musicians and concerts but for the health and vitality of chamber music everywhere. There is much to be done, and we are eager to move forward, inspired and guided by the unassailable greatness of our art form.”

CMS Executive Director Suzanne Davidson said, “David and Wu Han have been a hugely influential and significant force in so many ways since they joined us in 2004. During their tenure, they have taken an extraordinary organization to new heights – growing it into the largest international chamber music producing and presenting organization in the world. Our Lincoln Center season is flourishing, filled with sold-out concerts and cheering audience members, our artists perform on tour in more cities than ever, we’ve added free community concerts and low-cost summer series, and our Bowers artists and alumni – whom David and Wu Han and the CMS community have mentored with high expectations and a supportive environment – make us proud every day. We can’t wait to see what they have in store for us over the coming years.”

Chair of the CMS Board of Directors Robert Hoglund said, “We are thrilled that David and Wu Han are continuing their tenure at CMS for another five years. Their indefatigable dedication, laser-focused insight, visionary artistic leadership and unbounded commitment to the art of chamber music and the artists who create and perform it, have been invaluable to the success of CMS. They continue to bring CMS to new places around the globe and increase our presence in the digital world, and we know they will continue to be ambitious stewards for CMS.”