Celebrating our 98th Season

Since 1927 Carmel Music Society has presented more than 600 major artists and ensembles from around the world.

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The CMS story begins in the early 1920s. Dene Denny and Hazel Watrous had recently moved to Carmel and established themselves as architects and decorators. To enhance the cultural life of the Monterey Peninsula they created a concert series.

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At that time in Carmel, local amateurs and professionals gave occasional classical music concerts in small private and public venues. Less frequently there were concerts by touring professionals, often sponsored by metropolitan booking agents and underwritten by wealthy patrons. Although several local groups had tried, no one yet had established a concert series of dependable schedule, venue, or artistry.

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Dene and Hazel experimented by booking a few of their own concerts and events in 1925 and 1926 in their home on North Dolores Street, and also in Carmel's original Golden Bough Theatre. By producing these early events, the two visionary women laid the path for a rich tradition of classical music in Carmel.

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Their initial concerts were so successful that in the fall of 1927 Hazel and Dene helped organize a group of local music lovers to establish Carmel Music Society — a non-profit organization devoted to bringing the finest talent in the classical music world to Carmel.

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Incorporated in 1927, Carmel Music Society is the oldest non-profit arts organization in California.

In 1935, Carmel Music Society co-sponsored the establishment of the Carmel Bach Festival.