Community Foundation grant to bolster Music Festival

Addicott Summer Chamber Music Festival poised for big second year

Thanks to a grant secured by IU South Bend from the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County’s ArtsEverywhere initiative, the Louise E. Addicott Summer Chamber Music Festival has picked up momentum heading into its second year.

The festival is hosted at IU South Bend, and it is spearheaded by the Euclid Quartet, the campus quartet-in-residence. The Euclid Quartet has performed prestigious world premieres and has garnered international acclaim for its albums and concerts. The members – violinists Jameson Cooper and Aviva Hakanoglu, violist Luis Vargas and cellist Justin Goldsmith – all hold faculty positions at IU South Bend.

Last year’s inaugural festival welcomed two dozen musicians, including high school and college students, for ten days of coaching, masterclasses, and concerts. The musicians live at the River Crossing Campus Housing Facility.

In addition to working with the Euclid Quartet, the students worked with three guest quartets. The Euclid Quartet invited three of the world’s elite chamber ensembles – the Calidore, Dover, and Erinys Quartets. Each of the quartets gave concerts, held public masterclasses, and worked with student participants in individual coachings. In addition, the students played their own participant showcase performances at two public library branches and at the Civil Rights Heritage Center. The final participant showcase concert was held at the Louise E. Addicott and Yatish J. Joshi Performance Hall on campus.

This year’s festival, spanning from July 8 to 19, will have a similar format, with the addition of a participants concert to be held at Howard Park Event Center in South Bend. Last year’s library concerts were at full capacity, prompting the addition of a further public performance. The forward-facing, easily accessible Howard Park Event Center allows for attracting and accommodating a vast additional variety of new listeners.

This year’s visiting ensembles include the Verona Quartet, currently the quartet-in-residence at the Oberlin College and Conservatory, and the Viano Quartet, which is serving from 2024-2027 as Bowers Program Artists at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

“The ArtsEverywhere initiative is really trying to get music into our community, making it accessible,” said Euclid violinist Aviva Hakanoglu. “Any way of bringing music to public spaces, so that anyone can come hear it, is a good thing. We’re excited about this partnership.”

“Last year, we had high-level students from all over the country. Many of them came from top music programs such as the University of Michigan, Curtis, Oberlin, Eastman, and Yale,” Hakanoglu said. “The two biggest draws of this festival are that it’s a chance to study with professional groups and it offers a full scholarship for all the students. Finances are often a huge barrier, and we want to get rid of that.”

The fact that the festival lasts for ten days makes the experience much more immersive than a mere weekend of workshops.

“When we asked for feedback last year, many of the students said that they felt like they had made some lifelong friendships,” Hakanoglu said.

The performance on July 12 at Howard Park reflects the ArtsEverywhere emphasis on making high-quality art available to all in a setting that people can engage with on their own terms. The musicians and the public benefit mutually from the experience.

To find out more about the Louise E. Addicott Summer Chamber Music Festival and to see the full schedule of events, visit addicottchambermusicfestival.com.