Ji-Yeon Lee completes the ensemble.
Sister Bay, Wis. – June 11, 2021 – Midsummer’s Music’s resident string quartet, the Griffon String Quartet, has chosen a new violinist: Ji-Yeon Lee, an award-winning chamber musician and educator will join the quartet for the first time in a special summer concert on June 25.
Ms. Lee was awarded the title of laureate of the II Oleh Krysa International Violin Competition in Lviv, Ukraine. Her solo appearances include performances on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center, Kodak Hall at the Eastman Theater, and Lviv Philharmonic Hall in Lviv, Ukraine. She has held associate positions with several orchestras including the Rochester Philharmonic, Buffalo Philharmonic, and Columbus Symphony. As an avid chamber musician, she has received numerous awards and has had opportunities to perform in Carnegie Weill Recital Hall and Seiji Ozawa Hall. Ji-Yeon is also a dedicated teacher and has been invited to teach and coach chamber music for various private studios and chamber music programs including Cord Studios in Gettysburg, City Strings, and Chamber Music Connection in Columbus, Ohio. Ji-Yeon received her bachelors and masters degrees at the Eastman School of Music under Oleh Krysa and a Professional Studies Diploma at the Cleveland Institute of Music under Stephen Rose.
Ms. Lee replaces a previous violinist, who left the quartet in 2020 to pursue other opportunities. Griffon violinist Vinicius Sant’Ana, who is very pleased with the selection, said, “Playing with Ji-Yeon is amazing! When I play by her side, I feel like I become a better violinist.” Violist Blakeley Menghini expressed her delight, “Finding the right person was suddenly so easy when we played our first few notes with Ji-Yeon. Her personality and musicianship instantly drew us in and excited us for our future together!”
Ryan Louie, the Griffon’s cellist, summed it up for the group: “We are so happy that Ji-Yeon will be joining the Griffon String Quartet and Midsummer’s Music this year. Her beautiful playing and natural musicality will truly help us enrich our community. We are truly excited for what’s in store in the near future.”
As a Griffon String Quartet member, Ji-Yeon will participate in the group’s programs throughout Northeast Wisconsin: the Einstein Series of highly interactive programs for school-age children, including private and group lessons and educational outreach; the B Double Sharp program presents mini concerts for the aging and disabled, targeting people with Alzheimer’s and dementia; and Community-Embedded programs strengthen the musical infrastructure by demystifying chamber music and creating an experiential bridge from short presentations to full classical concerts.
Ji-Yeon’s premiere performance with the Griffon String Quartet will be at the Donald & Carol Kress Pavilion in Egg Harbor, Wisc., at 7:00pm on Friday, June 25. The concert repertoire includes Joseph Haydn’s String Quartet No. 53 in D Major, Op., 64/5, “the Lark,” Jessie Montgomery’s Strum, and Antonín Dvořák’s String Quartet No. 12 in F Major, Op. 96, “American.”
Tickets for all Midsummer’s Music concerts are $30 for adults and can be ordered at www.midsummersmusic.com or by phone at 920-854-7088. All programs are subject to change.
Reservations for all concerts must be made at least 24 hours in advance. Before making concert plans or purchasing tickets, concertgoers should review Midsummer’s COVID-19 policy at midsummersmusic.com.
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 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 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 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.
For more information visit www.midsummersmusic.com.
Ji-Yeon Lee’s high-resolution photo can be downloaded at https://midsummersmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/ji-yeon-lee-rgb.jpg.
Additional high-resolution photos can be downloaded at https://midsummersmusic.com/photos/
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For Calendar Listings:
All Paths Lead Through Beethoven
Music by Ludwig van Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Camille Saint-Saëns
June 18, 2021, 7:00pm – Barbara and Spencer Gould Theater, Fish Creek, WI
June 20, 2021, 3:00pm – SWY, Sturgeon Bay, WI
June 22, 2021, 7:00pm – Door Community Auditorium, Fish Creek, WI
Crossing Borders
Music by Rebecca Clarke, Adela Maddison, and Ernst von Dohnányi
June 23, 2021, 7:00pm – Barbara and Spencer Gould Theater, Fish Creek, WI
June 29, 2021, 7:00pm – Door Community Auditorium, Fish Creek, WI
July 1, 7:00pm – Donald and Carol Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor, WI
Creative Crisis
Music by Johann Baptist Vanhal, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Sergei Liapunov
July 2, 2021, 7:00pm – Donald and Carol Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor, WI
July 3, 2021, 7:00pm – Hope United Church of Christ, Sturgeon Bay, WI
July 6, 2021, 7:00pm – Door Community Auditorium, Fish Creek, WI
Kreutzer Connotations
Music by William Grant Still, Will Healy, and Ludwig van Beethoven
July 9, 2021, 7:00pm – Donald and Carol Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor, WI
July 10, 2021, 7:00pm – Old Gibraltar Town Hall, Fish Creek, WI
July 11, 2021, 7:00pm – Woodwalk Gallery, Egg Harbor, WI
Respect and Revelation
Music by Pedro (Pere) Tintorer, Paul Frucht, and Robert Schumann
July 16, 2021, 7:00pm – SWY, Sturgeon Bay, WI
July 20, 2021, 7:00pm – Door Community Auditorium, Fish Creek, WI
Diversions and Excursions
Music by Katherine Hoover, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
July 23, 2021, 7:00pm – Donald and Carol Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor, WI
July 25, 2021, 4:00pm – Woodwalk Gallery, Egg Harbor, WI