NOTRE DAME, IN (May 16, 2011) – Out of 48 competing ensembles from across the nation and around the world, the Calidore String Quartet has won the coveted Grand Prize of the 2011 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition ($7,500.00) and the Gold Medal ($3,000.00) in the Senior String Division.  Woodwind quintet The City of Tomorrow captured the Gold Medal ($3,000.00) in the Senior Wind Division.  In addition to prize money, both ensembles will participate in a Winner’s Tour of the Midwestern United States in October, and the Calidore String Quartet will perform several concerts in the Emilia Romagna Festival in Italy in 2012.  Calidore members Jeffrey Myers and Pasha Tseitlin (violin), Jeremy Berry (viola) and Estelle Choi (cello) currently study at the Colburn School, Los Angeles, California.  The City of Tomorrow is based in Evanston, Illinois.  Members include Elise Blatchford (flute), Andrew Nogal (oboe), Lauren Cook (clarinet), Amanda Swain (bassoon) and Leander Star (horn).   

The Senior String Division Silver Medal ($2,000) went to the Aeolus Quartet, whose members Nicholas Tavani (violin), Rachel Shapiro (violin), Gregory Luce (viola) and Alan Richardson (cello) study at the Butler School of Music, University of Texas, Austin and the Cleveland Institute of Music, Cleveland, Ohio.  The Senior String Division Barbara Shields Byrum Bronze Medal ($1,000) went to the Persinger String Quartet, also of the Colburn School, Los Angeles, California.  Members include Stephen Tavani (violin), Ryan Meehan (violin), Arianna Smith (viola) and Allan Steele (cello).

In the Senior Wind Division, the Silver Medal ($2,000) was awarded to the Blue Static Saxophone Quartet of the University of Houston, Moores School of Music, Houston, Texas.  Members include Robert Eason (soprano saxophone), Lee Redfearn III (alto saxophone), Justin Neumann (tenor saxophone) and Elizabeth Ambs (baritone saxophone). The Senior Wind Division Bronze Medal ($1,000) was awarded to Arundo Donax of Bloomington, Indiana.  Ensemble members include Lindsay Flowers (oboe), J.J. Koh (clarinet), Zachary Shemon (saxophone), Ashley Booher (bass clarinet/basset horn), and Dewayne Jerome Pinkney (bassoon).

In the Junior Division (for musicians eighteen and under), the First Place Medal and Scholarship of $2,000 was won by the Polaris Quartet of the Starling Program at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music.  Members include Jenny Lee (violin), Billy Fang (violin), Demi Fang (viola), and Josh Halpern (cello).  The Second Place Medal and Scholarship of $1,500 was won by the Milo Quartet of the Community Music School of Webster University, Saint Louis, Missouri.  Members include Jecoliah Wang (violin), Emily DeBold (violin), Charles  Longtime (viola), and Richard Mazuski (cello).  The Third Place Medal and Scholarship ($1,000) went to the Tropical Trio of the New England Conservatory, Boston, Massachusetts.  Members include Ingrid Yen (violin), Madeleine Tucker (cello) and Jinsoo David Lim (piano).

About Fischoff
Founded in 1973 in South Bend, Indiana, the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition has grown to become the largest chamber music competition in the world, and one of the most prestigious classical music prizes attainable today. Since its founding, more than 5,000 musicians have participated, many of whom have gone on to distinguished careers in music performance and education.