Supporting music-based outreach for seniors living with Alzheimer’s and dementia
Sister Bay, Wis. (October 16, 2025) – The Little Eddie Big Cup Mental Health Awareness Fund of the Door County Community Foundation awarded a $2,500 grant to the Griffon String Quartet in recognition of its compassionate and impactful work with seniors – particularly those living with Alzheimer’s and dementia – and their caregivers.
Through its B Double Sharp program, the Griffon String Quartet creates a welcoming and inclusive space where seniors and their support networks can gather to experience live music, connect with others on similar journeys, and reflect on the challenges of aging and memory loss. The interactive miniconcerts are designed to foster a sense of community and emotional well-being, offering moments of joy, comfort, and connection through the shared experience of music.
With support from the Little Eddie Big Cup Fund, the Griffon String Quartet will be able to:
· Reach more seniors across Door County
· Purchase sheet music for performances
· Enhance marketing and public outreach
· Produce concert videos for shut-ins and long-term care residents
· Rent performance venues
· Strengthen collaborations with local community partners
“Music has a unique power to touch the heart and mind, even when words and memories begin to fade,” said Allyson Fleck, Executive Director of Midsummer’s Music. “Thanks to the generosity of the Little Eddie Big Cup Mental Health Awareness Fund, we can continue to bring comfort, connection, and joy to seniors and caregivers across our community.”
An affiliate of Midsummer’s Music, the Griffon String Quartet is dedicated to using the power of music to uplift, heal, and connect people. Through innovative community engagement and education programs, the Quartet helps reduce isolation and strengthen the bonds that hold our community together.
For more information about the Griffon String Quartet and its B Double Sharp programming, visit midsummersmusic.com.
One of the most vibrant and engaging quartets of its generation, the Griffon String Quartet was formed in the fall of 2018 as a collaboration led by Midsummer’s Music. GSQ enriches the lives of children and adults throughout northeast Wisconsin through concerts, workshops, and music education outreach. The extraordinary musicians, who have performed with orchestras and ensembles around the globe, 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 they have been recognized for “their youthful vigor, which is absolutely infectious!”
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.
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