Convergence: The Founding of Queen City Chamber Music
September 21, 2026
By Ben Smith
“Hey! A couple of my friends and I are putting together a woodwind quintet next semester. Would you be interested in joining?”
While it may sound cheesy, the truth is I remember being asked this question so vividly. It was spring of 2021, and I had just walked off the stage of my first Contemporary Music Ensemble concert at Oberlin, alongside clarinetist Katelyn Poetker, who approached me with that very question.
I found out this wind quintet was composed of upperclassmen at Oberlin, so for 19-year-old me, there was a mix of excitement, nervousness, and awe that I was asked to join. Our first rehearsal later that fall was where I met bassoonist AJ Neubert, who now serves as the Principal Bassoon of The Charlotte Symphony.
We were not yet called ZaRiah back then, but I always felt that what this group had was rare. There was a bond, a respect, and a commitment to one another that made us strive to do our very best–of course, alongside a lot of fun.
In 2023, the Charlotte Symphony introduced two new members to their wind section: AJ Neubert, Principal Bassoonist, and Jamison Hillian, Acting Second Oboist. Jamison grew up in Chesterfield, South Carolina, where Charlotte was the nearest big city. Charlotte was a place Jamison saw as a musical outlet, starting in his teenage years with the Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra. Years later, he and AJ found themselves sitting a few chairs apart in the same orchestra.
By 2025, Jamison was a member of ZaRiah. Together, we went on national tours, won prizes at competitions, and began to really dream about what our future would look like. Some may call it fate, but with AJ and Jamison being in the same orchestra, ZaRiah had all the more reason to come to Charlotte for rehearsals, and that’s when something in all of us clicked. We decided to relocate ZaRiah to Charlotte, and it was Katy who turned our dreams into a tangible mission: to found a new chamber music series.
Looking back, that bond from Oberlin ended up building two things: ZaRiah, the ensemble itself, and, once we landed in Charlotte together, Queen City Chamber Music, the series Katy’s idea turned into. The first had already given us a family. The second gave that family a purpose.
And so, Queen City Chamber Music was launched this year.
As ZaRiah toured across the country, we performed at different schools, community spaces, and retirement homes. It was through this work that we felt a desire to give back to the musical community. The goal of our series is to present chamber music concerts that are both exceptional and accessible. By bringing in guest artists for concerts, we hope to provide a truly meaningful contribution to Charlotte’s arts community. After all, chamber music is a special way we can reach people in places across the city. Paired with an established classical music community and the curiosity of newcomers, Charlotte is the perfect home for QCCM.
If you have read this far, I hope you feel even a fraction of what we feel every time we step on stage together. Queen City Chamber Music exists because a group of friends fell in love with making music together, and wanted to share that love with a city that brought us together. We’d love for you to be part of it–whether that means attending one of our upcoming concerts, bringing a friend who’s never heard live chamber music before, or just following along as we build this series together. Charlotte gave us a new home, and we’re hoping to return the favor, one concert at a time.
