About Us
Who We Are
Located in Ames, Iowa, the Ames Town & Gown Chamber Music Association hosts exceptional artists who give world-class performances in intimate settings, and who also interact with our community, especially with our young people.
Town & Gown performers share more than their wonderful onstage talents. Through workshops, master classes, and lecture-demonstrations, students and others in the central Iowa community enjoy the musicians' rich knowledge and generous personalities.
The Ames Town & Gown Chamber Music Association brings great music and musicians to all of us — both the city of Ames and the academic community. In this spirit, Town & Gown presents chamber music in four venues — Martha-Ellen Tye Recital Hall in Iowa State's newly named Simon Estes Music Hall; City Auditorium in downtown Ames; First United Methodist Church; and St. John's by the Campus Episcopal Church.
Our Mission
The mission of the Ames Town & Gown Chamber Music Association is to enrich the quality of life in central Iowa by presenting world-famous musical ensembles as well as brilliant emerging artists, in intimate concert settings. Equally important is the commitment to share our artists’ enthusiasm for chamber music with people of all ages and needs through educational outreach activities.
Toward these ends, Ames Town & Gown:
Presents five chamber music concerts each season.
Introduces young people to the joys of fine music by providing free concert tickets for students of all ages.
Sponsors a variety of educational outreach activities such as master classes and interactive presentations by the musicians, involving the schools, the public library, senior centers, and others.
Encourages informal exchange between audience and performers at post-concert gatherings.
Brings concerts to listeners throughout the state of Iowa via broadcasts of the series on NPR station WOI-FM and local station KHOI-FM.
Our History
The Ames Town & Gown Chamber Music Association (then the Ames Concert Association) presented its first concert on November 26, 1950. It was reorganized as the Ames Town & Gown Concert Association in 1969 in recognition of the relationship that had been established with Iowa State University. At that time the decision was made to concentrate on chamber music. In 1977 the name was changed again to Ames Town & Gown Chamber Music Association in recognition of this focus.
The Ames Town & Gown Chamber Music Association is run by a board of directors. Each director, except for the Artistic Director, is a volunteer with a three-year term.
Visit our Archives page for complete programs from 2012-2020.
Policy Statement on Persons with Disabilities
Ames Town & Gown Chamber Music Association believes that exposure to the arts is an essential factor in leading a full life and reaffirms its commitment to making our chamber music events available to all people, including those with physical and cognitive disabilities. The Association will continue to enhance opportunities for enjoyment of chamber music by people with disabilities and will use best efforts to assure that their needs are taken into account in its programs, activities, and facilities.
All our events are held in handicap-accessible buildings.
