Local Music Students Win Silver at National Music Competition

The Music Institute of Chicago Academy's Dasani String Quartet received the Silver medal in the Junior Division of the 2020 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, which culminated on May 9. Based in South Bend, Indiana, Fischoff is the nation's largest chamber music competition and is regarded as America's premier educational chamber music competition. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the competition, which included multiple rounds, took place virtually this year. Chamber groups from 24 states and 27 countries and territories were among the 130 competition entries.

Since its inception in 2006, the Academy has produced strong competitors, and its chamber groups have won 15 medals at Fischoff. Of the 48 ensembles who qualified for the quarterfinal competition round this year, five were from the Academy program:

Dasani String Quartet (Silver medalists in the finals) | Coach: Mathias Tacke

• Isabella Brown, 17, violin, Gurnee, Illinois

• Katya Moeller,16, violin, Coralville, Iowa

• Zechary Mo, 18, viola, Rolling Meadows, Illinois

• Brandon Cheng, 17, piano, Chicago, Illinois

Insieme Piano Trio (semifinalists) | Coaches: Abraham Stokman and Sang Mee Lee

• Sonya Jones, 15, violin/viola, Chicago, Illinois

• Abigail Park, 16, violin/viola, Northbrook, Illinois

• Ashley Kim, 16, piano, Wilmette, Illinois

Primavera Piano Trio (semifinalists) | Coaches: Mark George and Rodolfo Vieira

• Esme Arias-Kim, 14, violin, Hoffman Estates, Illinois

• Jan Nedvetsky, 13, cello, Wilmette, Illinois

• Yerin Yang, 17, piano, Mount Prospect, Illinois

Aurora Piano Quartet (quarterfinalists) | Coaches: Elaine Felder and Sang Mee Lee

• Sidney Lee, 16, violin/viola, Arlington Heights, Illinois

• Elinor Detmer, 15, violin/viola, Chicago, Illinois

• Amelia Zitoun, 14, cello, Shorewood, Wisconsin

• Colin Song, 17, piano, Glenview, Illinois

Gemini String Quartet (quarterfinalists) | Coach: Jasmine Lin

• Noelle Naito, 17, violin, Elkridge, Maryland

• Isabel Chen, 17, violin/viola, Northbrook, Illinois

• Jonah Kartman, 18, violin/viola, Glendale, Wisconsin

• Cameron Chiu, 18, cello, Palatine, Illinois

The Dasani String Quartet is coached by Mathias Tacke, former violinist of the world-renowned and Grammy-nominated Vermeer Quartet. All four students are Merit Scholarship Fellows at the Music Institute of Chicago Academy, a training program for advanced pre-college students. While the coronavirus pandemic unfortunately shortened the competition season, the group performed as part of two Chicago community events, "Melodies on Canvas" and the Chicago Botanic Gardens Orchid Show, and was one of only two Junior Finalists in the 2020 WDAV Young Chamber Musicians Competition. Individually, their experience includes performances at prestigious venues around the world, many competition wins, and solo appearances with orchestra and on radio.

Isabella Brown, (Gurnee, Illinois) a violin student of Academy artist faculty Almita Vamos, soloed with the Cleveland Orchestra as a top prize winner of the 2019 Cooper International Violin Competition, will solo with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra next season as the winner of the 2020 Crain-Mailing CSO Young Artist Competition, and has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Chicago Symphony Center, and Cleveland's Severance Hall.

Katya Moeller (Coralville, Iowa), also a violin student of Almita Vamos, was the 2019 Grand Prize winner of the ENKOR International Music Competition - Violin, was a finalist at the Ysaye International Violin Competition in Belgium and the National MTNA Competition, and recently performed in Brazil, Singapore, Thailand, and Hong Kong as part of the Avita Duo.

Zechary Mo (Rolling Meadows, Illinois), a viola student of Academy artist faculty Roland Vamos and Davis King, was a semifinalist in the 2019 Klein International String Competition, won Grand Prize in the 2019 Illinois ASTA Competition, and has won several concerto competitions that led to solo performances with several Illinois orchestras as well as the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra in Wisconsin.

Brandon Cheng (Chicago, Illinois), a cello student of Academy artist faculty Richard Hirschl, serves as the principal cellist for the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra and has received honorable mentions at the Merit School of Music's Conservatory Concerto Competition and the Society of American Musicians Cello Competition. He has performed for and with musicians including Yo-Yo Ma, Emilio Colon, Rachel Barton Pine, and Mihai Marica.

Academy

The Academy of the Music Institute of Chicago is a nationally recognized training center for highly gifted pre-college pianists and string players. The Academy provides a comprehensive musical education for students who aspire to be professional musicians. Located 30 minutes north of Chicago on the Ravinia Festival grounds, the Academy is a musical community of faculty, staff, and students who come together for an intensive 30-week Saturday program. Pre-college string and piano students who aspire to be professional musicians participate in a comprehensive program that includes private instruction, chamber music, orchestra, multiple levels of music theory, regular master classes, and a variety of performance opportunities. All Academy students experience a broad range of teaching styles, like-minded peers, and renowned conservatory faculty. Because of the Academy's small size (approximately 30 young musicians ages 13 to 19), the program provides each student individual attention while nurturing and inspiring musical growth. The Academy also offers unique support for students and builds life-long friendships.

Music Institute of Chicago

Founded in 1931, the Music Institute of Chicago leads people toward a lifelong engagement with music by providing widely accessible resources for high-quality music teaching, performing, and service activities-and harnessing the power of music to educate, inspire, and bring comfort to the communities it serves. Each year, the Music Institute provides personalized music instruction to more than 2,000 students, regardless of age, level of experience, or financial means, across eight Community Music School locations in Chicago, Downers Grove, Evanston, Lake Forest, Lincolnshire, and Winnetka. In addition, the Music Institute brings music education, arts curriculum integration, and professional development as well as music performance and engagement opportunities to thousands; offers scholarship opportunities to students in the Academy, a nationally recognized training center for highly gifted pre-college pianists and string players; and inspires more than 15,000 visitors annually at Nichols Concert Hall through performances, master classes, and special events.