Seventeen strings students demonstrate their remarkable achievements with Griffon strings lessons.
Seventeen students who study with the Griffon String Quartet to learn to play violins, violas, and cellos will perform a family-friendly group student recital concert to demonstrate their remarkable achievements with strings lessons.
The performers range in age from seven to 30 and come from Green Bay and Door County. Some students are from Green Bay schools: Webster Elementary School, Washington Middle School, Green Bay East High School (Fine Arts Institute), and Preble High School; and Door County schools: Gibraltar School, Sevastopol School, St. John Bosco Catholic School, and Sawyer Elementary School; one student is home schooled. Students also come from the Boys & Girls Club of Door County and the Door County YMCA. Approximately 36 students are currently enrolled in the strings lessons program studying under the supervision of violinist Roy Meyer. Pianist Sara Bong will accompany students.
Lessons are fun and informative, allowing students to progress at a steady rate. Beginners learn the basics, sing, play games, and learn how to practice, while more advanced students gain a sense of responsibility, performance experience, and a knowledge of music history.
Founded in 2018, the Griffon String Quartet members work with children in northeast Wisconsin via its Einstein Series, a highly interactive program for school-age children. Students participate in private or group lessons or educational outreach programs. The quartet visits schools and classrooms to perform and discuss string quartet music, relating it to relevant topics in the students’ studies and lives. The Griffon’s mission is to be actively embedded in the community, captivating every generation through music.
The recital concert is at 2:00pm on May 20 at Hope United Church of Christ in Sturgeon Bay. The event is free and does not require attendees to reserve tickets.
One of the most vibrant and engaging quartets of their generation, the Griffon String Quartet was formed in the fall of 2018 by Midsummer’s Music. The quartet is a groundbreaking project to enrich the lives of children and adults throughout northeast Wisconsin through concerts, workshops, and music education outreach. Extraordinary musicians who have been Griffon members 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. All are equally dedicated to music education and inspiring the next generation of music lovers. Members of the Griffon String Quartet have advanced degrees and significant professional experience, both as educators and performers, and the ensemble has 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.