In supporting their mission of enhancing student learning and academic achievement through increased exposure to – and participation in – music, the Griffon String Quartet, hailed for their “superb playing, palpable chemistry, spirit, and emotional connection,” will visit three Door County schools on November 12.
The schools participating in this series of residency activities currently do not have a strings program, making this experience a significant opportunity to build relationships with these local music programs. The Griffon Quartet will perform in classrooms and in school assemblies at Southern Door Middle School and High School, working with members of the Middle School choir under the direction of Bonnie Weydt, and the High School band under the direction of Naomi Files. They will also appear at Sturgeon Bay High School, working with members of the concert band under the direction of Heidi Hintz, and at Sunrise Elementary for an assembly for students in grades 3 – 5 with Cheryl Pfister.
The Quartet programs bring the excitement of live performance to school audiences. The Quartet’s programs combine performances, demonstrations and participation elements. The teaching artists weave interactive learning opportunities and educational substance in to 45-minute performances. Each workshop introduces the string instrument family, which allows students to have an opportunity to hold and “play” the instruments, and explore concepts of teamwork, communication, and problem-solving. The students will be introduced to composers including Smetena, Schubert, Beethoven, and Shostakovich.
The Griffon String Quartet will continue their outreach programs with concerts at Sunrise House and the Aging and Disability Resource Center in Sturgeon Bay on November 18, and Winter Community Concerts at locations throughout Sturgeon Bay, Green Bay and Egg Harbor in December. Visit www.midsummersmusic.com for a complete schedule.
One of the most vibrant and engaging quartets of their generation, the Griffon String Quartet was formed in the fall of 2018 as a collaboration between Midsummer’s Music, the Fine Arts Institute at East High in Green Bay, and St. Norbert College in De Pere. The GSQ is a groundbreaking project to enrich the lives of children and adults throughout Northeast Wisconsin through concerts, workshops, and music education outreach. Members of the Quartet include violinists Roy Meyer and Vinicius Sant’Ana, violist Blakeley Menghini, and cellist Ryan Louie. Extraordinary musicians who have performed with orchestras and ensembles around the globe in the finest halls from Carnegie Hall and Brazil’s Teatro Municipal de São Paulo to Japan’s Suntory Hall, and won prestigious music competitions and awards, they are equally dedicated to music education and inspiring the next generation of music lovers. Each member of the Griffon String Quartet has advanced degrees and significant professional experience, both as educators and performers, and have been recognized for “their youthful vigor, which is absolutelyinfectious!”
Midsummer’s Music was co-founded in 1990 by Jim and Jean Berkenstock, long-time Door County summer residents and principal orchestral players with the Lyric Opera of Chicago. What began as two concerts among friends has become one of the Midwest’s most anticipated chamber music series, bringing thousands of chamber music enthusiasts from around the globe to the magical Door County Peninsula. This summer will mark the 30thanniversary of Wisconsin’s oldest summer chamber music series.