Based in the Capitol City of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Market Square Concerts is dedicated to the presentation of a wide repertoire of chamber music performed by distinguished professional musical artists, both established and emerging. Market Square Concerts presents premieres of newly composed music as well as monumental works by revered composers from the past in six season concerts and a summer festival. 

 

Over the years, Market Square Concerts has developed an international reputation in classical music circles. In fact, together with Carnegie Hall, Market Square Concerts is one of only eight presenters in the country which bestows the prestigious Chamber Music America Cleveland Quartet Award to a promising young string quartet. All past winners have developed major international careers and have been recognized with multiple honors including the Grammy award.

 

Many of the artists Market Square Concerts presents have won Grammy and Tony awards, MacArthur Fellowships, Kennedy Center Honors and world-wide press accolades. Thanks to Market Square Concerts, local audiences can experience musical luminaries like violinist Midori, pianist Stephen Hough, clarinetist David Shifrin and the eminent Emerson Quartet - many of the same ensembles that perform in Carnegie Hall - in intimate spaces close to home.

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Market Square Concerts is also committed to making sure children in our area have access to the same quality of classical music performances and educational programs as their peers in large metropolitan areas. Through our Soundscape Educational Outreach program, thousands of students and young people have attended presentations by world-class musicians.

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Market Square Concerts is a resident company at Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts, and regularly collaborates with other arts organizations and educational institutions in the region including Harrisburg Symphony, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Messiah University, and Hershey Medical Center.

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The organization was founded in 1981, by Lucy Miller Murray, a nationally recognized music annotator, poet and novelist, In 2008, Lucy Miller Murray was succeeded by Ellen Hughes, who expanded Market Square Concerts by founding the Soundscape Educational Outreach program. Since 2011, MSC has been led by Ukrainian-born violinist Peter Sirotin, concertmaster of Harrisburg Symphony, and his wife, Taiwanese pianist Ya-Ting Chang, as co-directors.