We are honored to have received the prestigious Leighton Award for Nonprofit Excellence from the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County. The award recognizes and celebrates the organization’s achievements and comes with a $100,000 endowment challenge grant. This means Fischoff must raise $100,000 to match the award grant. We ask you to consider helping us reach this goal, and strengthen Fischoff’s programming throughout the nation. All gifts are deeply appreciated.
From the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County, South Bend, IN:
The Community Foundation of St. Joseph County has named Fischoff the winner of its 2014 Leighton Award for Nonprofit Excellence. The Fischoff National Chamber Music Association has an outstanding track record of challenging and encouraging gifted young musicians with the world-class Fischoff Competition. The organization also introduces many of our community’s young children to the joy of classical music through its Art-in-Education Residencies.
“Without question, the Fischoff competition is the most prestigious competition of its kind in the world,” said Nancy King, chairwoman of the award committee and of the foundation’s board. King pointed out that more than 6,600 musicians have competed in Fischoff’s 40 years, including noted violinist Joshua Bell and the last four Grammy Award winners in the classical ensemble category.
“Winning this award is both heart-warming and heart-stopping,” said Ann Divine. “We have had wonderful feedback and encouragement from the community and that is helping embolden us as we begin work on securing the endowment match. It is set to be quite an adventure.”
Reinforcing the importance of reading through the power of music.
Through Fischoff’s Arts-in-Education Residency and the S.A.M. I Am program, we are offering an opportunity for area 3rd graders to participate in a creative writing contest! The winner will be honored on Monday, November 11th at Aeolus Quartet’s performance at Barnes & Noble in Mishawaka.
Entry forms can be picked up at Barnes & Noble or downloaded. Forms are due October 30th.
The 2013 Senior Wind Division Gold Medalist, Project Fusion, return to the site of their Gold Medal triumph. Come see them on Thursday, September 26, 7:00 p.m. at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center.
Project Fusion currently studies at the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, NY. Members include Dannel Espinoza (soprano saxophone), Matt Amedio (alto saxophone), Michael Sawzin (tenor saxophone), and Matt Evans (baritone saxophone)
As winners of the 2012 Grand Prize, Barkada Quartet performed at the Emilia Romagna earlier this month!
“Powering through a one day trip to Rome on 3 hours of sleep, Italian espresso, & pizza slices was THE best idea ever. Tomorrow–Pisa…Our first performance as part of the Emilia Romagna Festival was last evening (July 31) and was a great success!”
To see more photos of their trip, visit their Facebook page.
NOTRE DAME, IN (May 12, 2013) – Out of 48 competing ensembles from across the nation and around the world, the Omer Quartet has won the coveted Grand Prize of the 2013 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition ($7,500.00) and the Gold Medal ($3,500.00) in the Senior String Division. The Project Fusion captured the Gold Medal ($3,500.00) in the Senior Wind Division. In addition to prize money, both ensembles will participate in a Winner’s Tour of the Midwestern United States this fall, and the Omer Quartet will perform several concerts in the Emilia Romagna Festival in Italy in 2014. Omer Quartet members Mason Yu (violin), Erica Tursi (violin), Joseph Locicero (viola) and Alexander Cox (cello) currently study at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Cleveland, Ohio. Project Fusion members Dannel Espinoza (soprano saxophone), Matt Amedio (alto saxophone), Michael Sawzin (tenor saxophone) and Matt Evans (baritone saxophone), currently study at the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, New York.
In the Senior Wind Division, the Silver Medal ($3,000) was awarded to the Kenari Quartet of Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. Members include Robert Eason (soprano saxophone), Durand Jones (alto saxophone), Corey Dundee (tenor saxophone) and Steven Banks (baritone saxophone). The Senior Wind Division Bronze Medal ($2,000) was awarded to the The Midic Winds, who currently study at the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, New York. Ensemble members include Johanna Gruskin (flute), June Kim (oboe), Rebecca Tobin (clarinet), Russell Rybicki (horn) and Quinn Delaney (bassoon).
The Senior String Division Silver Medal ($3,000) went to the Wasmuth String Quartet, whose members Brendan Shea (violin), Jonathan Ong (violin), Abigail Rojansky (viola) and Warren Hagerty (cello) study at Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. The Senior String Division Barbara Shields Byrum Bronze Medal ($2,000) went to the Trio Concorde of the New England Conservatory of Music, Boston, Massachusetts. Members include Zenas Hsu (violin), Yina Tong (cello), and Livan (piano).
In the Junior Division (for musicians eighteen and under), the First Place Medal and Scholarship of $2,300 was won by the Quartet Lumiére of The Academy of the Music Institute of Chicago, Illinois. Members include Rebecca Benjamin (violin), Gallia Kastner (violin), Mira Williams (viola) and Josiah Yoo (cello). The Second Place Medal and Scholarship of $1,800 was won by the Mazel Trio of the Interlochen Arts Academy, Interlochen, Michigan. Members include Dylan Naroff (violin), Daniel Blumhard (cello) and Ariela Bohrod (piano). The Third Place Medal and Scholarship ($1,300) went to the Quartet Morina of Midwest Young Artists, Highwood, Illinois. Members include Rachel Stenzel (violin), Genevieve Smelser (violin), Aidan Perreault (viola) and Chris Gao (cello).
Join us in congratulating the finalists in the Senior Wind, Senior String, and Junior Divisions! The following ensembles will vie for gold tomorrow, May 12:
It’s almost here! The 2013 Fischoff Competition is scheduled for May 10 – 12 on the campus of the University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana, USA. Join us!
Did you know?
130 ensembles applied and 48 ensembles were accepted
26 countries are represented in the entries
Youngest entry: age 13
Live streaming of the 2012 competition reached 6,784 global viewers
Recent Grammy Award winners in Classical ensemble music have been Fischoff alumni
Friday, Saturday and Sunday Competition rounds are free and open to the public. Tickets are required for the Sunday afternoon Awards and Gold Medalist Concert, and are available from the DeBartolo Ticket Office (phone 574-631-2800).
WHAT TO EXPECT AT THE COMPETITION
Expect to hear extraordinary music performed by young people who will knock your socks off! This unique weekend features remarkable young musicians from around the world in three divisions: Juniors, Senior Strings and Senior Winds. Ensembles may include brass quintets, string quartets, woodwind quintets, piano trios, saxophone quartets, string sextets, percussion ensembles, wind trios and an eclectic mix of winds and strings.
Attending the Performances
The Competition weekend features Quarterfinal Rounds on Friday, Semifinal Rounds on Saturday and Final Rounds on Sunday. Each round consists of 20 minutes (Seniors) or 15 minutes (Juniors) of music per ensemble. Each round of the Competition is free and open to the public. Audiences have 81 brilliant performances to select from throughout the weekend. Come for one performance or all 81!
Before you enjoy these breathtaking performances, please remember to turn off all cell phones and pagers.
When entering a venue, please follow the directions of DeBartolo ushers. If a performance has already begun, ushers will ask you to wait in the lobby until you can enter between movements. If ushers are not present, television monitors in the lobby will help you know when to enter the hall without disrupting the performance.
Audiences are encouraged to show their appreciation at the conclusion of the performance. Ensembles will stand and bow when they conclude, or a juror may indicate the conclusion of the performance by clapping (see below).
Audience attire generally ranges from informal to business casual during Competition rounds, and business casual to business attire for the Finals and Award Presentation on Sunday.
Families are most welcome and encouraged to attend the Competition; however, in fairness to the competitors and jurors, we do ask that children sit quietly throughout each performance.
Competition Format
Ensembles submit their repertoire prior to the Competition. From this submitted repertoire, the jurors select the particular program for each round of the Competition. If an ensemble’s performance exceeds 20 minutes (Seniors) or 15 minutes (Juniors), the jurors will stop the performance by clapping. Audiences are encouraged to clap and show support at the conclusion of the performance.
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