This week and next mark an important, pivotal point for Midsummer’s Music and its Griffon String Quartet program. The four current members of the Griffon will be playing their final performances for us from Friday, June 24 (at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Sister Bay), through next Thursday when they will be at the Kress Pavilion in Egg Harbor. At the same time, two of the new members who will be part of the Griffon starting in September are playing with the Midsummer’s ensemble in our English Connections program, which has its final performance this Thursday, June 23, at Kress. Though unplanned, we have a sort of musical Changing of the Guard playing out before us in real time.

The Griffon Program idea stemmed from an unexpected situation several years ago when one of our regularly scheduled presentations of the Pro Arte Quartet, the resident faculty quartet at UW–Madison, had an emergency. One of its players had an injury, and the group couldn’t fulfill its planned appearance for us. At the suggestion of its violinist David Perry, we turned to the graduate resident quartet at UW–Madison, known as the Hunt Quartet. The Hunt performed as a stand-in and was a big hit. We had them back two more times, and they continued to endear themselves with our audiences.

That got Allyson and me to start thinking. We knew that the members of the quartet were about to graduate from the University, which would prompt their going in different directions. It is exceedingly difficult to maintain a professional quartet independent of some kind of sponsorship or residency. We wondered if the members of the Hunt would want to continue as a group if they had such support. At the same time, we had been thinking about the need for a special kind of string residency for northeastern Wisconsin. This seemed like it might be the golden opportunity—at least worth a try. We put out inquiries to the players. Only two decided they would take the offer, but they formed the core around which we eventually engaged, with their input, the remaining two players. The Griffon was born!

We always thought of this as both a professional situation but also as a kind of apprenticeship. We thought this would be an opportunity for the players to bridge the gap between academia and the professional world while creating a unique and valuable resource for northeastern Wisconsin. Having played in the Chicago Lyric Opera Orchestra for decades, I was aware of Lyric’s Center for Young Artists. This program hosted young, post-graduate singers for a period of intense immersion in the Lyric season, where they would get high level, real-world experience that would carry them into their own independent careers.

After the first year, violinist Roy Meyer left the initial Griffon group and needed to be replaced. Now, the other players are seeking their fortunes in different venues, and we will follow their progress with great interest. In the meantime, we find ourselves with two outstanding players who will form the nucleus of the new Griffon membership, much like we did in the original formative period. Maynie Bradley and James Waldo – both distinguished graduates of UW–Madison who are displaying their outstanding professional experience in their performances this week with Midsummer’s Music – will be a significant part of the process of identifying the other two new members of the Quartet in the coming months. It is an exciting time, both as we celebrate the accomplishments of the current members who will be leaving us, and the exciting promise we see in our new formation of the Griffon.

The current members of the Griffon have made a major contribution to the cultural vitality of our area. They have filled a deep need for a professional ensemble that could perform for all ages in a wide variety of places with great skill and attractiveness and to teach and recruit young players within and beyond the school system. We are extremely grateful to Ryan, Blakely, Vini, and Ji-Yeon for showing us that they could make such an impact and to demonstrate emphatically that a group like the Griffon is not only needed, but necessary. With Maynie and James and their yet-to-be-named colleagues, we will be working to build upon that foundation and success to an even greater degree.

 In the meantime, please hear our current members of the Griffon in their final program featuring two extraordinary works: the Eighth String Quartet in C Minor by Dmitri Shostakovich and the Quartet #2 in A Minor, Op. 13, by Felix Mendelssohn at any (or all) of the following performances:

• Friday, June 24, 7:00 pm, St Luke’s Episcopal Church, Sister Bay
• Saturday, June 25, 7:00 pm, Hope United Church of Christ, Sturgeon Bay
• Sunday, June 26, 3:00 pm, Sister Bay Moravian Church
• Thursday, June 30, 7:00 pm, Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor

Please call 920-854-7088 or visit www.midsummersmusic.com for tickets or more information. Let’s celebrate the current players of the Griffon and demonstrate our thanks and good wishes by joining them for these special performances. They deserve it!