Music Institute of Chicago Presents the Barkada Quartet Today, 10/21

The Music Institute of Chicago presents the Barkada Quartet, winner of the coveted 2012 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition Grand Prize and the Senior Wind Division Gold Medal. Only the fourth non-string ensemble to take top honors at Fischoff, the Barkada Quartet performs today, October 21 at 3 p.m. at Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Avenue, Evanston. As a Fischoff Winner's Tour presenting partner, Nichols is a key stop on the Barkada Quartet's Midwestern tour, which spans the month of October.

Barkada's program includes "Arrival of the Queen of Sheba" by George Frideric Handel; Introduction et variations sur une ronde populaire by Gabriel Peirné; Six Bagatelles by Gyorgy Ligeti; Quartets per a saxos, volum 1 by David Salleras Quintana; Italian Concerto, BWV 971 by Johann Sebastian Bach; String Quartet No. 3 "Mishima" by Philip Glass; "They Might Be Gods" by John Leszczynski; and Recitation Book by David Maslanka.

BARKADA QUARTET
Comprising current and former students at the renowned Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, the Barkada Quartet blends the colors and subtlety of traditional chamber ensembles with the flexibility and power of the saxophone. The ensemble, which formed in the fall of 2011, took the 2012 Fischoff Competition by storm. Only the fourth time in 39 years that a non-string ensemble earned top honors, the quartet was selected from a field of 48 top competing ensembles from around the world.

Indiana University Associate Professor of Music Dr. Otis Murphy commented, "The Barkada Quartet exhibits a unique sense of respect, trust and camaraderie that defines its sense of oneness as a chamber ensemble. Its success at the Fischoff Competition is a major feat."
The quartet's soprano saxophonist Christopher Elchico suggested the name "barkada," which signifies "a group of friends" or "a form of family" in the Filipino language Tagalog, as a reminder to listeners of all ages that chamber playing began to give friends and family a chance to share the beauty of music with one another. See below for individuals musician bios.

In addition to the Fischoff Winner's Tour of the Midwest, the Barkada Quartet will perform several concerts in the Emilia Romagna Festival in Italy in 2013.

FISCHOFF NATIONAL CHAMBER MUSIC COMPETITION

Founded in 1973 in South Bend, Indiana, the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition has 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 continuing to establish distinguished careers in music performance and education.

The Music Institute of Chicago has had a strong presence at Fischoff throughout the years. Students from the Music Institute's prestigious Academy for gifted pre-college musicians earned first and third place in the Junior Division of the 2012 Fischoff competition, and Academy students have taken first place in the Junior Division in four of the past five years, as well as earning five additional top medals:
2012 – 1st, Quartet Stracciatella; 3rd, Quartet Ardella
2010 – 1st, Quartet Danae; 2nd, Emerald String Quartet
2009 – 1st, Aurelia String Quartet; 3rd, Quartet Danae
2008 – 1st, Quartet Polaris; 2nd, Ridere Quartet; 3rd, Aurelia String Quartet
In addition, Music Institute ensembles in residence Quintet Attacca and Axiom Brass have received awards at the competition.

NICHOLS CONCERT HALL
The 2012–13 season marks the 10th anniversary of Nichols Concert Hall, originally designed by noted architect Solon S. Beman as the architecturally and acoustically magnificent First Church of Christ, Scientist, located at 1490 Chicago Avenue in Evanston, in 1912 (celebrating its centennial). Restored in 2003, the building has become Nichols Concert Hall, a state-of-the-art, 550-seat performance space and music education destination, which annually reaches approximately 15,000 people and hosts a world-class chamber music series, workshops and master classes, student recitals, and special events.

Other highlights of the Music Institute's 10th anniversary season at Nichols include a Billy Strayhorn festival featuring jazz great Terell Stafford in late October, the internationally acclaimed Pacifica Quartet in February, and pianist Sergei Babayan in April. Noteworthy annual events include Family Concerts in December and March; the Martin Luther King, Jr. concert with the Brotherhood Chorale in January; the Four Score Festival of contemporary music in March; and the third annual Emilio del Rosario Distinguished Alumni Concert, this year featuring violinist Rachel Barton Pine and pianist Matthew Hagle in May.

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