Welcome!
News
June 1, 2026
Introducing – Queen City Chamber Music
Queen City Chamber Music is a new concert series in Charlotte, created to bring virtuosic chamber music ensembles from around the world into an intimate, engaging, and community-centered setting.
Curated by the award-winning wind quintet, ZaRiah, the series presents programs that place music by living composers in conversation with beloved standard repertoire, creating concerts that feel both familiar and adventurous.
September 25, 2026
7:00 – 8:30pm EST
From Court to Café: A Musical Journey – Queen City Chamber Music
Charlotte, NC
Check out ZaRiah!
A world-class emerging ensemble, ZaRiah is a collaboration of multifaceted artists passionate about creating performances that are both artistically compelling and deeply human. ZaRiah is the Grand Prize winner of the 2026 Fischoff National Chamber Music competition, an honor that has not been won by a wind quintet in nearly three decades.
Biography
Originally from Monroe, Georgia, Ben Smith is an orchestral flutist, chamber musician, and writer. As a soloist and chamber musician, Ben has performed on major stages across France, Italy, Germany, Canada, and South Korea. Ben is founding member of the award-winning wind quintet, ZaRiah, the 2026 Grand Prize winner of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Ben has performed on concert series presented by the Ladies Musical Club of Seattle, Bang on a Can, and Friends of Chamber Music Kansas City. His past festival engagements include the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, National Orchestral Institute, Festival International de Musique Classique à Puget, and Orford Musique. This summer, he will be in residence as a fellow at the Bowdoin International Music Festival.
Ben Smith - Flutist • artistic director • Writer 