The Griffon String Quartet, an affiliate of Midsummer’s Music, was awarded three generous grants totaling $14,116 from the Classics for Kids Foundation, Wisconsin Public Service, and the Wille Legacy Fund, which will provide funding to support the ensemble’s mission to captivate northeast Wisconsin residents and visitors of all ages through music.
The Classics for Kids Foundation grant matches an equal sum of donations to provide instruments to Griffon String Quartet students. The foundation’s mission is “to empower young people to shape positive futures through music, build sustainable stringed instrument programs, and provide grants for high-quality instruments.”
The grant from Wisconsin Public Service provides funds for the Griffon’s program services – including concert expenses, fundraising expenses, and donor relations – contracted personnel, education and outreach, professional services, and advertising and promotion.
The philanthropic Wille Legacy Fund, administered through the American Endowment Foundation, provides general support for the Griffon String Quartet.
The Griffon String Quartet members currently 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’s B Double Sharp programs present miniconcerts for the aging or disabled, as well as their caregivers. Targeting people with Alzheimer’s and dementia, in association with the Door County Medical Center, Scandia Village, and others, the quartet creates a welcoming atmosphere where people can share their observations and feelings about the journey of aging or memory loss.
Additional Community-Embedded programs are all-inclusive for families. The community performances strengthen the musical infrastructure by demystifying chamber music and creating an experiential bridge from short presentations to full classical concerts. The quartet also performs pop-up programs in restaurants, coffee shops, businesses, art galleries, museums, and various other spaces.
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.
For more information visit www.midsummersmusic.com.
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For calendar listings:
Autumn Music Fest
Brahms and Beethoven
David Perry, violin, and Jeannie Yu, Piano
Violin Sonata in G Major, No. 1 • Johannes Brahms
Midsummer Moon • Rebecca Clarke
Piano Sonata No. 20 in G Major, Op. 49, No. 2 • Ludwig van Beethoven
October 19, 7:00pm: St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Sister Bay
October 20, 3:00pm: Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor
Gather with the Griffon
“Gather with the Griffon” miniconcerts are designed for midday audiences. B Double Sharp programs engage the mind and spirit through music and conversation.
Program: Selections from the Griffon’s October concerts
Roy Meyer and Alex Norris, Violins, Oyrann Tsaig, Viola,Jesse Nummelin, Cello
October 17, 12:00pm: First Presbyterian Church, Green Bay
October 22, 1:00pm: MUSE, Sturgeon Bay
Griffon String Quartet Concert
String Quartet in G Minor, Op. 74, No. 3 “Rider” • Joseph Haydn
Ritornello • Caroline Shaw
String Quartet No. 1 • Alberto Ginastera
October 26, 7:00pm: Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Green Bay
Early to Moderate Stages of Dementia
Griffon String Quartet
Midsummer’s Music and Third Avenue PlayWorks in Sturgeon Bay will host Clara Takarabe, violist and clinical music researcher with the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, for a series of clinical music performances and talks throughout Door County. The Musical Museum is a dementia-informed life-enrichment program featuring musical performances by Takarabe and the Griffon String Quartet intertwined with commentary and discussion around sound, music and poetry. The program takes care to acknowledge intellectual and social needs of this stage of life.
November 13, 2:00pm: Third Avenue PlayWorks, Sturgeon Bay
November 14, 2:00pm: Peninsula School of Art, Fish Creek
Gather with the Griffon
“Gather with the Griffon” miniconcerts are designed for midday audiences. B Double Sharp programs engage the mind and spirit through music and conversation.
Program: Selections from the Griffon’s repertoire
Roy Meyer and Alex Norris, Violins, Oyrann Tsaig, Viola,Jesse Nummelin, Cello
October 21, 12:00pm: First Presbyterian Church, Green Bay
December 10, 1:00pm: St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Sister Bay
Griffon String Quartet Holiday Concerts
A selection of holiday favorites
String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor • Ralph Vaughan-Williams
String Quartet Op. 131, No. 14 in C-sharp Minor • Ludwig van Beethoven
Enjoy light seasonal refreshments at the post-concert reception.
Roy Meyer & Alex Norris, violins, Oryann Tsaig, viola, Jesse Nummelin, cello
December 12, 6:30pm: Belgian Heritage Center, Brussels
December 13: 5:00pm: Hope United Church of Christ, Sturgeon Ba
December 14: 3:00pm: Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Green Bay
December 15: 3:00pm: Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor