Fischoff Chamber Music Academy

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The Fischoff National Chamber Music Association is committed to inspiring the next generation of chamber musicians through our annual Fischoff Competition and community outreach programs. Established in 1999, the Fischoff Chamber Music Academy, formerly known as the Fischoff Mentoring Project, is helping to create a chamber music community among local area high school musicians who are dedicated to digging deeper into the challenging repertoire of chamber music.

Each year, string, piano, woodwind, brass, and mixed ensembles of three to six musicians in Northern Indiana and Southwestern Michigan are selected to participate. This program provides merit-based scholarships covering 100% of the tuition costs thanks to the generous support of community organizations and donors.

Applications are open for the 2024-2025 Academy program. The deadline to apply is July 31, 2024.

You can apply as an individual or as a pre-formed ensemble.

2023-2024 Ensembles

Three Musicteers
Coach: Geena Kam, piano
- Annabelle Huebner, flute (Discovery Middle School)
- Abigail Kang, violin (Discovery Middle School)
- Xiaohe Wang, piano (Discovery Middle School)
Sonorous Sisterhood
Coach: Jameson Cooper, violin
- Catherine Lutz, violin (St. Joseph High School, South Bend)
- Isabelle Lutz, violin (St. Joseph Grade School, South Bend)
- Alexa Morel, viola (Adams High School, South Bend)
- Rosa Morel, cello (Adams High School, South Bend)
Music For
Coach: Luis Enrique Vargas, viola
- Felix Zhang, violin (Penn High School)
- Suzana Josenhans, violin (Penn High School)
- James Pennix, viola (Penn High School)
- Jayden Wang, cello (Penn High School)
- Cameron Poznanski, bass (Penn High School)
Goshen Trio
Coach: Luke Norell, piano
- Anton Alstrom, piano (Goshen High School)
- Theresa Nicole Fussner, viola (Homeschooled)
- Audriana Grace Stanley, violin (Homeschooled)
Variance Quintet
Coach: Patrick Yim, violin
- Hannah Kang, violin (Penn High School)
- Fiona Kennedy, viola (Penn High School)
- Zach Jabian, viola (Penn High School)
- Mahima Vinay, violin (Penn High School)
- Michael Jana, cello (Penn High School)
The Stormchasers
Coach: Cynthia Katsarelis, violin
- Dario Albahari, violin (St. Joseph High School, South Bend)
- Anthea Economakis, violin (Stanley Clark School, South Bend)
- Joshua Jong, viola (Penn High School)
- Sophie Krahn, cello (Penn High School)
Elkhart HS Blue String Quartet
Coach: Lara Turner, cello
- Paige Collins, violin (Elkhart High School)
- Salah Ali, violin (Elkhart High School)
- Lillian Howard, viola (Elkhart High School)
- Silas Hunt, cello (Elkhart High School)
Elkhart High School Gold String Quartet
Coach: Lara Turner, cello
- Erick Becerra Valdez, violin (Elkhart High School)
- Kalani Harada, violin (Elkhart High School)
- Fatimah Chong, violin (Elkhart High School)
- Emanuel Galvan Flores, cello (Elkhart High School)
Cecilia Quintet
Coach: Patrick Yim, violin
- Ignatius Caro, piano (Kolbe Academy)
- Sejune Kang, violin (Discovery Middle School)
- Reah Frydrych, violin (Penn High School)
- David Polaniecki, viola (Saint Joseph High School, South Bend)
- Ian Parrott, cello (Warsaw Community School)
String Quartet 1
Coach: Jaesung Lee, violin
- Rebecca Ramirez, viola (Penn High School)
- Pita Villanueva, violin (Penn High School)
- Tegan Sagarsee, violin (Trinity School at Greenlawn)
- Elizabeth Muller, cello (Trinity School at Greenlawn)
Con Fuoco Quartet
Coach: Jaesung Lee, violin
- Kent Kain, violin (Homeschooled)
- Harrison Kain, violin (Homeschooled)
- Faith Kain, violin (Homeschooled)
- James Philpott, piano (Trinity School at Greenlawn)
Ascending Trio
Coach: Emilie Grondin, cello
- Aidan Ganser, piano (St. Pius X Catholic School)
- Karen Allen, violin (Trinity School at Greenlawn)
- Declan LaReau Schmiedeler, classical guitar (St. Joseph Grade School, South Bend)
Trout Quartet
Coach: Denise Kuehner, cello
- Sam Connor, violin (Schmucker Middle School)
- Lucille Strait, violin (LaSalle Academy)
- Charles Raybin, piano (St. Pius X Catholic School)
- Raelyn Judge, violin (Trinity School at Greenlawn)
Discrepancy
Coach: Megan Simmons, violin
- Sam Rossow, violin (Penn High School)
- Bella Grove, violin (Penn High School)
- Johnathan Iwaniec, viola (Penn High School)
- Kyra Hillsdon-Smith, cello (Penn High School)
- Lillian Gregory, cello (Penn High School)
Pentatonic Palette
Coach: Emilie Grondin, cello
- Nathan Chung, violin (Discovery Middle School)
- Joanna Jong, violin (Schmucker Middle School)
- Thaelia Schommer-Pries, cello (Stanley Clark School)
- Preston Grimmer, piano/viola (LaSalle Academy)
- Simeon Wilson, violin (St. Thomas More Academy)
Sunshine Quartet
Coach: Aleksandra Kemble, flute
- Emma Barkley, flute (Adams High School)
- Ellie Schulte, clarinet (Clay International Academy)
- Julia Kopacz, piano (Adams High School)
- Charlotte Denman, violin (Clay High School)
SBYSO Trumpet Quartet
Coach: Craig Heitger, trumpet
- Cole Parrott, trumpet (Edgewood Middle School)
- Poyraz Kilic, trumpet (La Lumiere School)
- Hayden Grindle, trumpet
- Sean Kubsch, trumpet
St. Joseph High School String Quartet
Coach: Steve Reed
- Grace Yuan, violin (St. Joseph High School, MI)
- Chloe Nicholson, violin (St. Joseph High School, MI)
- Lorenzo Pimental, viola (St. Joseph High School, MI)
- Braden Miesse, cello (St. Joseph High School, MI)

2023-2024 Schedule

FALL SEMESTER

Academy Performance at Art Beat, South Bend Saturday, August 19

2023-2024 Academy Kickoff Meeting on Zoom Saturday, October 2

Workshop with Kenari Quartet, Little Theater, Moreau Center for the Arts, St. Mary's College, Notre Dame Thursday, November 30 @ 5:30 pm

Holiday in the Gallery, South Bend Museum of Art Friday, December 1 @ 5:30 pm

Hubbard Hill Holiday Concert, Hubbard Hill, Elkhart Sunday, December 3 @ 2:00 pm

Holiday Concert, Dujarie House, Holy Cross Village, Notre Dame Saturday, December 9 @ 1:30 pm

SPRING SEMESTER

Masterclass with Euclid Quartet, Indiana University South Bend Monday, February 12 @ 4:00 pm

Masterclass with Euclid Quartet, Indiana University South Bend Wednesday, February 21 @ 4:00 pm

Masterclass with Alexander Korsantia, Professor of Piano, New England Conservatory. Location: Indiana University South Bend, Joshi Performance Hall Wednesday, March 20 @ 5:30 pm

Spring Recital, Joshi Performance Hall, Indiana University South Bend Sunday, March 24 @ 6:30 pm

51st Annual Fischoff Competition *Chamber Music Academy students are required to volunteer a minimum 2 hours at the competition Friday - Sunday, May 10 - 12

Pam & Dan Chipman Year-End Recital, LaBar Recital Hall, O'Neill Hall of Music, University of Notre Dame Sunday, June 2 @ 2pm

2024-2025 Underwriters

1st Source Foundation
Anonymous
Barnes & Thornburg LLP
Community Foundation of Elkhart County
Community Foundation of St. Joseph County’s ArtsEverywhere initiative
Cressy & Everett Real Estate
Dan & Pam Chipman
Deb Hershey-Miller & Jeff Miller
Everwise Credit Union
Gail English & Nels Leininger
Gurley Leep Automotive Family
Harriet Hamer & Abram Bergen
Jeny & John Sejdinaj
Jim & Holly Harris

John De Souza & Maggie McShane
Kruggel Lawton CPAs
Lake City Bank
Miller Poultry
National Endowment for the Arts
Navarre Hospitality Group & The Hibberd
Pat & Bob Kill
PNC Financial Services Group
Elnora Hartman Stickley Scholarship Fund
Teresa Roberts
The Estate of Shirley & Jack Appleton
The John Jessen Family & Bradley Company
The Stscherban Everett Group – Baird Private Wealth Management
University of Notre Dame

Special thanks to Dan & Pam Chipman for their transformational gift benefitting the Fischoff Academy.

Activities are made possible in part by the Indiana Arts Commission, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.