Honoring Connie Cooper

Dear Friends of Seattle Chamber Music Society,

As many of you know, Connie Cooper will be moving on from SCMS at the conclusion of this summer festival after 25 wonderful years as Executive Director. For two and a half decades, Connie’s exemplary leadership has guided Seattle Chamber Music Society from strength to strength and through multiple changes and challenges, leaving us as one of the strongest organizations of our kind in the world.

Under Connie’s guidance, SCMS began the Winter Festival (1999), expanded to the East Side with the festival at Overlake School and later consolidated our presence at Benaroya Hall, ushered in the new Center for Chamber Music, and produced our first three streamed Festivals in response to the COVID pandemic. SCMS has never once finished the year with a deficit, which is a credit not just to her budget management but also to her ability to bring out the best in her exemplary staff. She is beloved by the musicians, the audience, and her innumerable friends in the Pacific Northwest arts world. 

It is difficult for me to express how much Connie has meant to me personally. Virtually my entire experience with Seattle Chamber Music Society has been linked with Connie, and through the years she has been not just an ideal partner at SCMS, but also a very dear friend, someone who will remain an important part of my life forever. 

As we celebrate another wonderful Summer Festival as well as our long-awaited return to live performances, we will also be celebrating the career of this extraordinary woman, whose contributions to Seattle Chamber Music Society and the arts scene of the Pacific Northwest will resonate for years to come.

On behalf of the musicians, staff, board, and supporters of Seattle Chamber Music Society, thank you, Connie!

James Ehnes
Artistic Director

If you would like to make a gift in honor of Connie Cooper, please visit our donation page or call 206-283-8710.