Arts-in-Education Residencies
Overview
Through partnerships with Fischoff Competition alumni, Fischoff’s Arts-in-Education Residency programs bring exceptional free educational activities to more than 6,000 community children annually. Since 1995, Fischoff’s outreach programs have reached over 49,000 children and youth throughout Northern Indiana and Southwestern Michigan, placing a particular emphasis on underserved and at-risk communities.
Fischoff’s educational programs enrich the musical and cultural life of the community through personal interaction with musicians of the highest caliber. Artists perform for and interact with children, creating an open educational environment for those who may have limited experience in classical music. The programs are taken directly to audie
nces in familiar environments – in schools, libraries and community centers. For many, the programs are their first exposure to a live performance of classical music by professional musicians.
All of Fischoff’s educational programs are offered at no cost to participants.
S.A.M. I Am (Stories & Music), the flagship program of Fischoff’s Arts-in-Education residencies, reinforces the importance of reading through the power of music. S.A.M. I Am programs allow children, ages 5-10, to hear books transformed with flair and imagination by nationally-recognized musicians, all of whom are Fischoff Competition alumni. The program integrates music with literacy, storytelling and drama. Musicians often perform in costume, and instruments and melodies may represent characters, themes, and moods from the story. Programs are offered in school settings, and all classroom teachers receive a free copy of the book in advance of the program to incorporate the story into their curriculum. Over 26,000 children have been served by this program.
Peer Ambassadors for Chamber Music (PACMan) pairs the Fischoff Competition's younger ensembles with area schoolchildren, to offer a friendly introduction to chamber music.
Master classes and music workshops are presented by residency ensembles to middle- and high-school-aged students.
What's In Store for 2010-2011
In 2010-2011 the Fischoff Residency will take a different and exciting turn. Both Gold Medal winners from the Senior Division of the 2010 Fischoff Competition, the Old City String Quartet and the Angeles Brass Quartet, will be invited back for a new Double Gold Tour. This is an enlargement of the annual Grand Prize Winner's Midwest Tour and will include concerts, masterclasses, workshops and children’s programs for both the top Fischoff winners. The Old City String Quartet outreach will concentrate on high school string programs in the area, while the Angeles Brass Quartet will present music workshops and feature Niki Daly’s book, Ruby Sings the Blues, for Fischoff’s S.A.M. I Am programs to several elementary schools in our community.
A Recent Review: 2009-2010
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Euclid Quartet in Mishawaka Schools
During the 2009-2010 academic year, Fischoff again joined forces with the Euclid Quartet of Indiana University South Bend and School City of Mishawaka. Throughout this unprecedented two-year collaboration, these organizations accomplished something new and lasting within the Mishawaka community:
- Fischoff and the Euclid Quartet presented 14 programs in all of Mishawaka’s 9 public schools.
- Student participation in strings were tracked statistically to monitor program growth and retention over two years. These statistics helped evaluate the validity of the project.
- S.A.M. I Am (Stories & Music) programs targeted young readers in grades K-4 through a musical re-enactment of a children’s book. The book was given to 106 classrooms.
- Middle and high school orchestras received master-classes and workshops to improve musical skills and artistry as well as boost self-confidence among students.
- The two-year project forged lasting relationships between Mishawaka’s students and the Euclid Quartet. As role models, the quartet encouraged students to pursue music, take private lessons, and to think about a better future.
An article in the March 2010 issue of Arts Everywhere magazine highlighted this unique partnership. Click here to read the full article text.
Quintet Attacca in South Bend Schools
The Fischoff was delighted to welcome the Quintet Attacca to South Bend for a Residency during the week of November 9-13, 2009. Previous Fischoff Competition Grand Prize winners, the quintet presented music workshops in area middle schools, and performed Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf in several South Bend area elementary schools as well as a free community concert at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center on November 11. Each instrument presented the classic characters of the story with the music of Prokofiev arranged for a wind quintet. Peter, the cat, the duck, the bird, Grandpa, and even the Wolf appeared in costume!
Red Line Sax Quartet at St. Joseph County Public Library
The Red Line Sax Quartet, Gold Medal winners in the Wind division at the 2009 Fischoff Competition, presented a Peanut Butter and Jelly Jam family concert on Saturday, January 30, 2010 at the Main Library in downtown South Bend. From 1:00 - 2:00 p.m., the quartet introduced chamber music to families with young children in an open, public setting. Children were encouraged to dance, touch the instruments, and ask questions, creating a musical experience to remember.
Recent Awards
Fischoff’s educational programs have received the following local, state and national recognition and awards:
- 2009 National Endowment for the Arts Access to Artistic Excellence Grant
- 2009 National Endowment for the Arts American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Grant
- 2009 Indiana State Senate Resolution Sixty-Four: Honoring the Fischoff National Chamber Music Association for its innovative programs that introduce children to the beauty of chamber music.
- 2007 Indiana Governor’s Arts Award
- 2005 Indiana Achievement Award for Nonprofit Excellence
- 2004 Leighton Award for Non-Profit Excellence Special Recognition Award
Program History and Impact
Since its inception, the Fischoff Residency programs have worked with a wide variety of talented chamber ensembles presenting creative programs of the highest caliber. We are proud to share the following information representing the Residency's history and impact:
| Year | Ensemble | Book Title | Author |
Number of Children Served |
Total Attendees |
| 1996 | Eaken Piano Trio | N/A | N/A | 400 | 900 |
| 1997 | Rackham | Berlioz the Bear | Jan Brett | 675 | 2000 |
| 1998 | Cavani String Quartet | Goldilocks & the Three Bears | Jan Brett | 500 | 500 |
| 1999 | Manhattan Brass | The Mitten | Jan Brett | 520 | 520 |
| 2000 | Fry Street Quartet | Extraordinary Egg | Leo Lionni | 450 | 1400 |
| 2000 | Prism | Annie & the Wild Animals | Jan Brett | 400 | 1900 |
| 2001 | Ninth Circle Sax Quartet | Miss Spider's New Car | David Kirk | 300 | 500 |
| 2001 | Imani Winds | The Big Red Barn | Margaret Wise Brown | 500 | 1500 |
| 2002 | Quintet Attacca | Wind Says Goodnight | Kay Rydell | 350 | 400 |
| 2002 | Imani Winds | I Wish Tonight | Louis Rock | 500 | 1500 |
| 2002 | Imani Winds | Moon Rope | Lois Ehlert | 500 | 1500 |
| 2003 | Chiara String Quartet | Mole Music | David McPhail | 525 | 1500 |
| 2003 | Imani Winds | Anasi the Spider | Gerald McDermott | 550 | 1650 |
| 2003 | Fry Street Quartet | Night Cat | Margaret Beames | 560 | 1600 |
| 2004 | Manhattan Brass | Cuckoo | Lois Ehlert | 475 | 1200 |
| 2004 | Corky Siegel's Chamber Blues | The Jazz Fly | Matthew Gollub | 1625 | 2502 |
| 2004 | Imani Winds | When it Starts to Snow | Phillis Gershator | 804 | 1774 |
| 2005 | Marian Anderson String Quartet | The Bat Boy & His Violin | Curtis Gavin | 725 | 1437 |
| 2005 | Imani Winds | Ruby Sings the Blues | Niki Daly | 1368 | 2101 |
| 2005 | Triton Brass Quintet | Where There's A Bear, There's Trouble | Michael Catchpool | 1205 | 1327 |
| 2006 | Fry Street Quartet | Shy Charles | Rosemary Wells | 542 | 880 |
| 2007 | CINCO Brass Quintet | Rose Meets Mr. Wintergarten | Bob Graham | 1079 | 1956 |
| 2007 | Jupiter Quartet | The Bat Boy & His Violin | Curtis Gavin | 1519 | 1694 |
| 2007 | CINCO Brass Quintet | Elena's Serenade | Campbell Geeslin | 1833 | 2200 |
| 2008 | Fry Street Quartet | Max | Bob Graham | 510 | 2908 |
| 2008-09 | Euclid String Quartet | Sebastian's Roller Skates | Joan de Deu Prats | 2589 | 4127 |
| 2009 | Quintet Attacca | Peter and the Wolf | Sergei Prokoviev | 2542 | 3285 |
| 2009-10 | Euclid String Quartet | The Bee Tree | Patricia Polacco | 2500 | 3078 |
| Total | 26046 | 47839 |
2010 - 2011 Sponsors
- Community Foundation of St. Joseph County
- Crowe Horwarth
- Indiana Arts Commission
- Georgina Joshi Foundation
- University of Notre Dame
- Frederick S. Upton Foundation
2009 - 2010 Sponsors
Fischoff's Arts-in-Education Residency programs would not be possible without the generous support of the following:
- AM General
- David & Nellie Aranowski
- ArtsEverywhere Fund of the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County
- Arts Midwest
- Barnes & Thornburg LLP
- Edward & Heidi Bradley
- Burkhart Advertising, Inc.
- Florence V. Carroll Charitable Trust
- Don and Nancy Crawford Fund for Fischoff in Mishawaka Schools
- Cressy Foundation
- D'Addario Music Foundation
- DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, University of Notre Dame
- Frederick S. Upton Foundation
- Tracy & Kerie Graham
- Alfred J. Guillaume Jr. and Melanie Smith-Guillaume
- Gurley Leep
- H.Q. Investments
- Henkels Lecture Series and the Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts, University of Notre Dame
- Indiana Arts Commission
- IOI Payroll Services
- Junior League of South Bend
- Jurgonski & Fredlake CPAs
- Bob Kill & Dean Goodwin
- Lexus of Mishawaka
- Mishawaka Lions Club
- Mishawaka Public Education Foundation
- Nanovic Institute for European Studies
- National Endowment for the Arts, Access to Artistic Excellence Grant
- National Endowment for the Arts, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Grant
- Kathleen & Mark Neal
- Notre Dame Federal Credit Union
- Old National Bank
- Press Ganey Associates, Inc.
- Raclin School of the Arts, Indiana University South Bend
- Teresa & Jack Roberts
- Vincent & Robin Rougeau
- St. Joseph Regional Medical Center
- Jeny and John Sejdinaj
- Teachers Credit Union
- University of Notre Dame
- Wilma & Peter Veldman
- Barbara & Reg Wagle
- WSBT Radio Group (in-kind)
- WVPE Radio (in-kind)
This presentation is supported by the Performing Arts Fund, a program of Arts Midwest funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts with additional contributions from Indiana Arts Commission, General Mills Foundation, and Land O'Lakes Foundation.