Double Gold Tour
2021 Tours
Sponsored in part by the Florence V. Carroll Charitable Trust
Fischoff is delighted to present live music again! This year's Senior Division Gold medal winners will resume their annual tour concerts and outreach programs in our community. This year's tour will include mainstage performances across the Midwest as well as outreach programs reaching nearly 1,000 area student music makers.
September 15 - 23, 2021
Aero Quartet, Gold Medal Winner, Senior Wind Division
Salvador Flores (soprano saxophone), Walt Puyear (alto saxophone), Matthew Koester (tenor saxophone), Brian Kachur (baritone saxophone)
Winner of the 2021 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition Gold Medal and praised by Pulitzer Prize finalist and Grammy award winning composer Augusta Read Thomas for their “nuanced, colorful, artfully sculpted” performances, the Aero Quartet is committed to promoting new and traditional repertoire for the saxophone quartet. Most recently, the ensemble has collaborated with world-renowned American composer Jennifer Higdon on a new work for saxophone quartet to be recorded and released later this summer. They were also named first prize winners in the 2021 Music Teachers National Association Chamber Music Competition and the New Orleans Chamber Music Competition.
Press Release (September 15, 2021)
Concerts
| Thursday, September 16 | Con Spirito Chamber Music Series, Thiel College, Greenville, PA | 7:00 pm (eastern) | ||
| Friday, September 17 | Valparaiso Community Concert Association, Valparaiso, IN | 7:00 pm (central) | ||
| Saturday, September 18 | Music @ the Fort Concert Series, Midwest Young Artists Conservatory, Highwood, IL | 7:00 pm (central) | ||
| Wednesday, September 22 | The Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts, Chicago, IL. Broadcast live on WFMT 98.7 and streamed live at wfmt.com | 12:15 pm (central) | ||
| Thursday, September 23 | Merrimans' Playhouse Chamber Arts Series, South Bend, IN | 7:00 pm (eastern) |
Masterclasses & Outreach
| Saturday, September 18 | Masterclass at Midwest Young Artistis Conservatory, Highwood, IL | |
| Sunday, September 19 | Notre Dame Saxes, Notre Dame, IN | |
| Monday, September 20 | Band outreach at LaSalle Intermediate Academy, South Bend, IN & John Young Middle School, Mishawaka, IN | |
| Tuesday, September 21 | Band outreach at St. Joseph High School and Upton Middle School, St. Joseph, MI | |
October 1 - 10, 2021
Risus Quartet, Grand Prize & Gold Medal Winner, Senior String Division
Haeni Lee (violin), Jieun Yoo (violin), Mary Eunkyung Chang (viola), Bobae Lee (cello)
The Risus Quartet is comprised of accomplished musicians who studied at Seoul National University, Yale School of Music and the Jacobs School of Music Indiana University. Now pursuing professional degrees at the University of Texas at Austin Butler School, they came together in 2020 in Seoul, South Korea during the pandemic. The quartet was trained remotely over the past year by Butler School Violin Professors Sandy Yamamoto and Daniel Ching (Miro Quartet) and were recently selected as finalists in the Trondheim International Chamber Music Competition in Norway this September.
Concerts
| Saturday, October 2 | Music @ the Fort Concert Series, Midwest Young Artists Conservatory, Highwood, IL | 7:00 pm (central) | ||
| Sunday, October 3 | Holy Cross Village, Notre Dame, IN | |||
| Tuesday, October 5 | Video recording project, Guarneri Hall, Chicago, IL | |||
| Wednesday, October 6 | The Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts, Chicago, IL. Broadcast live on WFMT 98.7 and streamed live at wfmt.com | 12:15 pm (central) | ||
| Saturday, October 9 | Howard Center Presents Series, Howards Performing Arts Center, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI | 8:00 pm (eastern) | ||
| Sunday, October 10 | DeBartolo Performing Arts Center Presenting Series, LaBar Recital Hall, O'Neill Hall of Music, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN | 4:00 pm (eastern) | ||
Masterclasses & Outreach
| Saturday, October 2 | Masterclass at Midwest Young Artistis Conservatory, Highwood, IL | |
| Monday, October 4 | Education outreach at Upton Middle School, St. Joseph, MI | |
| Masterclass with Fischoff Academy Students, South Bend, IN | ||
| Thursday, October 7 | Education outreach in South Bend, IN | |
| Friday, October 8 | Education outreach in Goshen, IN |
Sponsors
The Double Gold Tour is possible with support from the following:
Estate of Shirley and Jack Appleton, Arts Everywhere Initiative of the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County, Barnes & Thornburg LLP, Cressy & Everett Real Estate, Don and Nancy Crawford Fund for Fischoff in Mishawaka Schools, Florence V. Carroll Charitable Trust, Frederick S. Upton Foundation, Indiana Arts Commission, Miller Poultry, Old National Bank, PNC Financial Services Group, Jeny & John Sejdinaj, University of Notre Dame, WFMT, Chicago and the Joseph E. Fischoff Society.
Double Gold Tour Accolades
"The inspiration from this performance will carry us through the rest of the school year."
Orchestra teacher, LaSalle Intermediate
"Loved the Addis Ababa! I can get down with classical music like that."
Band teacher, St. Joseph High School
The Balourdet String Quartet was excited to "share how amazing our experience has been since last May We look forward to all the things we will continue to do as a part of the Fischoff family. Joining this amazing team was really one of the best things that happened to us last year. Thank you for everything you've done for us!"
I know that the Fischoff tour this fall significantly increase our morale and gave us something to look forward to. We fell incredibly lucky that we still got to meet with the kids and hopefully sparked in them an interest in chamber music."
Elissa Kana, Colere Quartet
Susan Walker, Band Director, LaSalle Academy
Recap: 2020 Tours
In a typical year, Fischoff's gold medalists participate in a whirlwind week of concerts and outreach programs across the Midwest. This year, with no live concerts to perform, the Balourdet String Quartet and Colere Quartet put all their energy into outreach and helping inspire the next generation of music makers.
This virtual outreach tour turned into a tour of epic proportions: between October and February, the Balourdet String Quartet and Colere Quartet led workshops and masterclasses in a total of 30 classrooms in 10 schools and afterschool programs. In addition to sharing their music and stories, they connected with area orchestra and band students about life in the pandemic and how to keep making music.
Thank you to the Colere Quartet and Balourdet String Quartet for your humor, insight, phonomenal music and incredible inspiration!
Colere Quartet, Gold Medal Winner, Senior Wind Division
John Cummins, soprano saxophone; Elissa Kana, alto saxophone; Greg Rife, tenor saxophone; Dennis Kwok, baritone saxophone
Virtual Performance
Fischoff on Tour - Colere Quartet
Colere Quartet Pre and Post Visit Activities
Masterclasses & Workshops
| St. Joseph High School, St. Joseph, MI | ||
| Canterbury School, Fort Wayne, IN | ||
| Penn High School, Mishawaka, IN | ||
| WNIT - Interview & Performance | ||
| LaSalle Intermediate Academy, South Bend, IN | ||
| Holy Cross Village, South Bend, IN | ||
| John Young Middle School, Mishawaka, IN | ||
| Boys & Girls Club St. Joseph County, South Bend, IN |
Balourdet String Quartet, Gold Medal Winner, Senior String Division
Angela Bae, violin; Justin DeFilippos, violin; Benjamin Zannoni, viola; Russel Houston, cello
Virtual Performance
Fischoff on Tour - Balourdet String Quartet
Balourdet Quartet Pre and Post Visit Activities
Masterclasses & Workshops
| Fischoff Chamber Music Academy, South Bend, IN |
| Upton Middle School, St. Joseph, MI |
| St. Joseph High School, St. Joseph, MI |
| Penn High School, Mishawaka, IN |
| Goshen Middle School, Goshen, IN |
| LaSalle Intermediate Academy, South Bend, IN |
| Clay Intermediate, South Bend, IN |