CMSA 2026 Convention, Minnesota

November 3rd – 7th, 2026

Join us at the Doubletree by Hilton Minneapolis in Bloomington, Minnesota, for the annual CMSA convention. This event promises a rich program of workshops, performances, and networking opportunities for plucked-string enthusiasts and professionals alike.

In 2004, Chris won the Wolfsan Foundation Music Award and was awarded the TCM TrustSilver Medal for String Studies in 2006. He performs across Europe and America, both in a solo and chamber-music capacity. He has concertized as a soloist & orchestral musician with various orchestras & ensembles throughout the world such as Duo Acquavella, Dartington Festival Orchestra, Detmold Landestheater, Ensemble Lippe Barock, GER Mandolin Orchestra, Bach Collegium San Diego, San Diego Opera, and the San Diego Symphony.

His recordings include Letter from London, Duo LaRé: In Other Words, Praeludium, Duo Acquavella & Bach Collegium San Diego: Gimo-Samling,18th Century Sonatas and Triosonatas for Mandolin, and Recording of the Dawn, The Kensington Etudes Vol. 1.

Chris Acquavella is the Artistic Director of the San Diego Classical Mandolin Camp. He has also performed and taught workshops at the CMSA Conventions, River of the West Camp, the David Grisman & Mike Marshall Mandolin Symposium, the annual course of the Austrian Federation of Amateur Musicians (VAMÖ), and the Summer School of the British BMG Federation.

Mandocello Section Leader

Ashley performs with the folk quartet The Syncopaths, the boundary-blurring trio Fire, Grace & Ash, and the accordion/mandolin duo Sam ’n Ash. Her all-original trio, Long Story Short, continues to explore the evolving genre of chamberfolk.

An avid composer, Hoyer’s works have echoed through Davies Symphony Hall, where the San Francisco Girls Chorus premiered a recent choral piece. Her mandolin concerto Bloom garnered international recognition, earning third place in a global composition competition. Her catalog also includes larger-scale works such as the eight-movement Channel Islands Orchestral Suite.

In addition to performing and composing, Ashley is a dedicated educator. She teaches privately and at music gatherings such as Chris Thile’s Acousticamp, where she serves on the founding faculty. When not on tour, she tends her own creative garden at home — composing, teaching, and nurturing the growth of new music.

Guitar Section Leader

René’s style has been praised by Classical Guitar Magazine as “unforgettable versatility, sensitivity and sublime musicianship.” He is a professor of classical guitar at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and has performed world-wide from Carnegie Hall in New York, Manaus Opera House in Brazil, and National Recital Hall in Taiwan.

He is the Artistic Director of the Bonne Amie Musical Circle, which performs as the Milwaukee Mandolin Orchestra, the oldest fretted-instrument music organization in the United States.