Professional classical music performance began at the University of Chicago with the opening of Mandel Hall, a gift from Chicago merchant and philanthropist Leon Mandel. The celebration of Mandel Hall's formal opening took place on December 21, 1903. It was marked by the first performance at the University of Chicago by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (then known as the Theodore Thomas Orchestra). The program consisted of works by Mozart, Beethoven (the Leonore Overture No. 3), Wagner and Strauss (Death and Transfiguration). The Chicago Symphony Orchestra continued its association with the University until the mid-1970s, performing in both its full-size incarnation, and in the form of smaller wind and string ensembles.

In the mid-1940s, professional classical music performance at the university was organized under the auspices of the "University Concerts" series, numbering a dozen or more concerts each year. It was this organization that presented a twenty-four-year-old violinist Isaac Stern in March of 1944 (and twice more in the 1940s), the Chicago debut of classical guitarist Andres Segovia and the Juilliard String Quartet's Chicago debut thirteen months after the ensemble's creation. Other noteworthy performances were given by the Budapest String Quartet, pianists Grant Johannesen, Eugene Istomin, Artur Schnabel, cellist Gregor Piatigorsky and harpsichordist Ralph Kirkpatrick.

Chamber Music Series
One of the city’s oldest and best-loved cultural treasures, the University of Chicago Presents Chamber Music Series (CMS) was founded in 1943. Its mission was and remains to offer world-class music and music education to metropolitan and suburban Chicago audiences. To this end it introduced stars in the making like Igor Stravinsky, Artur Schnabel, Isaac Stern, Arnold Schoenberg and Andres Segovia to local audiences. These soon-to-be-giants not only performed but also offered public master classes and lectures on music and composition to Windy City residents. In the 1960's, the series came under the stewardship of the Department of Music, where it continues to reside. Today, the six to seven concert-series presents a range of ensembles and composers spanning the Classical period through the end of the 20th Century. It continues to host the Chicago debuts of such artists as singers Ian Bostridge, Cecilia Bartoli, Andreas Scholl and Susan Graham, violinist Hilary Hahn, flutist Emmanuel Pahud and chamber groups like the Brentano and Prazak Quartets.

Renovation of Mandel Hall
The years 1980-1981 were of fundamental importance for the future of professional music at the University. Mandel Hall underwent a $2 million renovation - the only renovation since its opening. This building renewal improved the hall's acoustics and stage lighting, provided an enlarged stage and expanded the backstage and dressing room areas. A week-long celebration of Mandel Hall's re-opening featured concerts by the Contemporary Chamber Players conducted by Ralph Shapey, the University's own student orchestras and pianist Peter Serkin.

Early Music Series
The International Early Music Series (EMS) was founded in 1981 by Howard Mayer Brown (1930-1993), the University’s celebrated Renaissance scholar, in response to public interest in period music performances by internationally known ensembles. The EMS brings to Chicago acclaimed artists from around the world who would otherwise be known only to local audiences through recordings. As part of its educational mission, the EMS seeks to offer one Medieval, one Renaissance and one Baroque concert each season, performed by ensembles dedicated to historical performance practice, often on period instruments. Concerts sometimes include free, pre-concert talks. The EMS has recently presented the Academy of Ancient Music; Italian madrigalists, La Venexiana; and the Scandinavian voices of trio medieval. Because of its preeminent role as purveyor and preserver of early music, the EMS attracts audience members from many states, including Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and Michigan, and from as far away as Washington State, Washington D.C., New York, Connecticut and Ontario, Canada.

Regents Park Discovery Concert
Through the generous support of Regents Park by The Clinton Companies, the Regents Park Discovery Concert was added to the series during the 1998-1999 season. It is offered free to series subscribers each year as a thank you for their patronage. It has become a place for burgeoning artists to make their Chicago debut. The concert reaches out to the local community by involving the artists in outreach to the local schools and offering single tickets at a fraction of regular ticket prices ($10, $5 for students) to encourage new and young classical concert-goers. Last year, for example, the male vocal ensemble Cantus presented the Discovery Concert, with a program featuring everything from African-American spirituals to Chinese love songs. The group performed and led a discussion about music in two neighborhood public schools. This year, pianist Jonathan Biss, played and spoke to students at Kenwood Academy. The first four Discovery Concerts featured the Duke Trio, pianist Stewart Goodyear, percussionist Colin Currie, and violinist Henning Kraggerud with pianist Helge Kjekshus.

Expansion
Two years ago, The University of Chicago Presents officially added the Artists-in-Residence Series, featuring the Pacifica Quartet, and the Contemporary Chamber Players (CCP), featuring eighth blackbird, to its roster. Both groups share residencies on the campuses of the University of Chicago, teaching and performing for audiences and students alike. The Contemporary Chamber Players are also in residence at Northwestern University and the Pacifica is in residence at the University of Illinois at Champaign Urbana. Pacifica is comprised of four young Illinois artists who have won numerous prizes, most recently Chamber Music America’s prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award. In 2002 they were appointed Resident Quartet of Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society Two. Last season they performed all five Elliott Carter quartets in one concert for UCP, a feat described as a musical marathon by the press and broadcast live on WFMT. The Pacifica also provides two interactive concert-demonstrations for school children in Mandel Hall and visits neighborhood schools to show how music relates to other subjects in the curriculum. eighth blackbird is also garnering awards and recognition for their dedication to new classical music. The sextet recently won the Naumburg Chamber Music Award and the first BMI/Boudleaux-Bryant Fund Commission. The ensemble claimed the 1998, 2000 and 2002 CMA/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming. It was also the first contemporary group to win first prize at the Concert Artists Guild International Competition. They have been profiled in The New York Times and appeared on CBS “Sunday Morning.” In 2003-2004, they will make their Carnegie Hall debut, performing with the American Composers Orchestra. When not touring, these young Illinois artists work with music students whose compositions they critique and perform.

Education Outreach
The educational outreach efforts of UCP are sponsored by the Regents Park Fine Arts Partnership, founded in 1998 to expose students to the riches of classical music. The Partnership believes that the interaction between professional musicians and students will expose young lives to the enabling possibilities of classical music and provide role models and mentors in the arts to children in need. Each year, through this program, hundreds of students in the Hyde Park neighborhood schools are exposed to the work of the musicians appearing on the Chicago Presents' series.