Taking it’s name from the French word for “crossroads”, Carrefour Collaborative Music Project is an arts organization based in Shreveport, Louisiana, once a geographical crossroads where river traffic once connected to land routes and now at the intersection of two major interstates. It came into being during a historical crossroads filled with turbulence and uncertainty and focuses on chamber music, a musical crossroads that falls between solo and orchestral music. But the greatest passion of CCMP is the crossroads between performer and audience, a critical communal partnership . This passion drives the CCMP to bring compelling programs featuring local performers to an engaged audience.

In March of 2020, as cancellations of live performances began to pile up in the accelerating Covid-19 pandemic, Robert Cruz and Brett Andrews sensed an urgent need to come up with ways to continue bringing live performances to Shreveport audiences. The Carrefour Chamber Music Project was born. 

After reaching out to several local musicians, CCMP’s first online concert series began to take shape. Sadly, four days before the first concert, Louisiana was was placed under a shelter-in-place order and that concert series had to be canceled. 

But the belief that audiences deserve access to live music refused to wither in the face of the challenges of the moment. So during the shelter-in-place order CCMP started laying the groundwork to build on that belief and on June 25th, with Louisiana well into the initial phase of reopening, we hosted our first livestream concert through our Facebook page. From there we launched a series of Beethoven’s complete works for cello and piano; cabaret featuring performers associated with the various theatre companies of Shreveport; and a program of piano quartets.

Each of those programs reinforced CCMP’s resolve to continue making the music happen, giving audiences in Shreveport and beyond an opportunity to experience that deep communal experience that is live performance. And it reinforced our belief that such a communal experience has an enduring effect after the moment of performance ends, strengthening an awareness of our shared humanity and instilling a sense of pride in communal accomplishment.

And that was just the beginning.

 After a year of sharing music with our local community through online and eventually in-person performances, it became clear that re-organization was needed for CCMP to realize it’s full potential. And so in the Fall of 2021 we re-formed as a non-profit organization with a fabulous board of directors to provide guidance and a diversity of viewpoints.

You won’t want to miss what comes next!

The Carrefour Collaborative Music Project is committed to fostering a vibrant and sustainable cultural life in the Shreveport area through connecting audiences with local artists, intentionally programming repertoire that is inclusive, and cultivating pride in what we as a community can achieve together.

CCMP is based in Shreveport, Louisiana and its main focus is to serve the surrounding area by connecting audiences with local performers, passionately educating about amazing music, and encouraging a sense of pride in what we as a community can accomplish together.

But our reach extends far beyond the 318 area code and we are fortunate to have collaborative partnerships with national and international organizations, another of the “crossroads” hinted at in our name. And that’s exciting to be a part of bolstering Shreveport’s global reputation as a place where the arts are alive and vibrant. 

CCMP’s vision is to be a catalyst in growing a healthy, vibrant, and sustainable artistic ecosystem in Shreveport that has a positive ripple effect throughout the community at large.

An artistic ecosystem in any community has layers similar to those in the rainforest: a canopy of large organizations like symphonies and opera companies, an understory with educational institutions and churches, and a forest floor with concert series and initiatives like CCMP. All three levels must be strong for the artistic ecosystem to flourish as a whole. And when that artistic ecosystem is flourishing it ripples outward to the overall civic ecosystem, engendering a sense of local pride and strengthening community. 

The artistic ecosystem in Shreveport is filled with the powerful memories of truly staggering local accomplishments: a long-running symphony and opera, a vibrant theatre scene, and active local musicians. But we are at a critical historical moment when celebration of our legacy must not detract from a commitment to nourishing a flourishing future.

CCMP is here to roll up our sleeves and join in the work of building that future.

Here at CCMP we’re all about dreaming big and forging ahead. And we’re really excited about the future.

In that future we see a Shreveport arts scene where exciting collaborative music making is the order of the day: formal concerts (in person!), online events, outreach to underserved communities, pop-up performances in non-traditional venues, and more. 

With it’s small ensemble size and staggeringly varied repertoire, chamber music has the flexibility to go anywhere and reach anyone and so connect us all. And that connection in the moment of performance has a ripple effect through the community at large, cultivating an awareness of a shared humanity and a pride in what we as a community can accomplish.

Come and join us.