Founded in 1994, the Portland Chamber Music Festival is now a top chamber music event in New England featuring acclaimed performers from the United States and abroad. Festival concerts are broadcast regionally and nationally on Maine Public Radio, WGBH Radio in Boston, and American Public Media’s “Performance Today.”

Since 2007, the festival has made its home at the Abromson Community Education Center at the University of Southern Maine’s Portland campus. Known primarily for its five-concert summer season, the festival is also known for its community outreach. PCMF’s events include periodic chamber music workshops for adult string players, an annual Children’s Concert and “Free Family Fun Day,” and a recently established Young Artist Apprentice Audition program.

Strongly committed to the performance of contemporary music, PCMF has received two grants from the Aaron Copland Fund for Music in recognition of its “contribution to furthering public interest and appreciation of contemporary American music.” Resident Composers at PCMF have included Pulitzer Prize winner Melinda Wagner and Grammy Award winner Osvaldo Golijov.

In 2011, the Maine Public Broadcasting Network chose PCMF to inaugurate its new “Maine Arts Live” initiative, featuring a live broadcast of PCMF Opening Night 2011 throughout the state and streaming on the web. The festival was also featured on WGBH Radio Boston’s 2011 “New England Summer Festivals” series, which highlighted PCMF’s work in an hourlong broadcast.

PCMF has been awarded grants from the Quimby Family Foundation, the Maine Arts Commission, the Roy A. Hunt Foundation, the UNUM Foundation, the Sam L. Cohen Foundation, the Margaret Burnham Charitable Trust, the Maine Community Foundation, RBC Wealth Management, the Mattina R. Proctor Foundation, the Davis Family Foundation, and the Amateur Chamber Music Players.

PCMF’s summer concerts are held at the Abromson Center at the University of Southern Maine’s Portland Campus, an easily accessible, modern, air-conditioned venue close to downtown Portland.