Music Institute of Chicago's The Academy Launches 20th Anniversary Season

The Music Institute of Chicago's Academy, a nationally recognized pre-college conservatory program for gifted high school pianists and string players, will kick off its 20th anniversary with a performance by the Academy Orchestra and special guests on Saturday, May 30, at 7 p.m. at Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Avenue, Evanston.
 
Conducted by Academy Director James Setapen, the celebration brings together performances from among the more than 300 current and former students, including members of the 2018 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition Junior Division Gold Medal-winning Kairos String Quartet (Joshua Brown and Thompson Wang, violins, and Lydia Rhea, cello, along with Academy alum Vivian Van de Sype Cucu, viola) performing a movement by Mendelssohn; violinist Karisa Chiu (below L), performing Camille Saint-Saens' Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso; and cellist Alexander Hersh (below R), performing Antonin Dvorak's Silent Woods. The concert concludes with current and former Academy members joining together to perform Beethoven's spectacular 7th Symphony. 
 
The Academy has provided a comprehensive musical education for those who aspire to professional careers for nearly 20 years. With the goal of creating musicians for the 21st century, the Academy provides gifted students with the tools, knowledge, and inspiration to be leaders in classical music performance and education. Academy alumni consistently become successful ambassadors for music, excelling as solo artists, chamber musicians, orchestra members, and educators. 

The Academy's robust and nationally known chamber music program has resulted in consistent gold, silver, and bronze medals in the Junior Division of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and St. Paul String Quartet Competition. Soloist awards include winners at the Irving M. Klein International String Competition, Stulberg International String Competition, International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, and the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, in addition to countless Laureates at the Sphinx Competition.

In addition, six Academy alumni have received the highly coveted Avery Fisher Career Grant, including Benjamin Beilman, violin; Joshua Brown, violin; Gabriel Cabezas, cello; Matthew Lipman, viola; Calidore String Quartet (Ryan Meehan, violin); and Julian Rhee, violin.

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