Three Music Programs, One Goal

Griffon String Quartet performs for Sunrise Elementary School in Sturgeon Bay. During the Q&A, one boy in this class said he wanted to learn the cello because of their performance, according to Russ Warren. Photo courtesy of Midsummer’s Music.

The Griffon String Quartet aims to make classical music accessible to all

Community outreach wasn’t always a top priority for Midsummer’s Music. That changed in 2018 when the Griffon String Quartet came together.

“Since this group has been formed, [community involvement] has really just skyrocketed,” said Russ Warren, who handles marketing and media for Midsummer’s Music.

Though the Griffon String Quartet residency program was created four years ago, higher-ups at Midsummer’s Music had been tossing around the possibility of starting such a program long before then. So when the Hunt Quartet, a group of graduate students from UW-Madison, came to play for Midsummer’s Music in 2017, the staff took it as an opportunity to start a resident quartet.

After going through several membership changes, the quartet now consists of violinists Roy Meyer and Alex Norris, violist Erin Rafferty and cellist Nomin Zolzaya. 

For the four musicians, outreach comes in three different forms: the B Double Sharp program for elders, the Einstein Series for children and the community-embedded program for everyone in between.

Different Programs for Different Demographics

According to Allyson Fleck, the executive director and assistant artistic director of Midsummer’s Music, the goal of the Griffon String Quartet is to be “embedded in our community in every possible place.” That’s why Midsummer’s Music decided to put together the Griffon String Quartet residency program: they wanted a core of musicians that could be part of the community, not just traveling artists who only stop in Door County for a day or two.

“It doesn’t work if you have a group that comes in day-by-day, because while it’s wonderful to expose kids and seniors to music, this [the quartet] is an ownership,” Fleck said. “This is a community effort. This belongs to Northeastern Wisconsin.”

By being so engaged in the community, the Griffon String Quartet can bring live music performances to people who might not have access to it, like the elderly. 

In collaboration with the Door County Medical Center and Scandia Village, the quartet’s B Double Sharp program brings condensed concerts to seniors. For elders who can’t make it out of the house, Meyer, one of the group’s two violinists, performs virtually twice a week.

Many of the seniors the quartet plays for have Alzheimer’s or dementia, and the group doesn’t always catch these patrons on their good days. Fleck remembers one concert when the Griffon String Quartet performed for a Memory Cafe (a meetup for people with memory loss and their caregivers) in Sturgeon Bay. One audience member was completely non-communicative, acting out as her caregiver struggled to calm her down.
But then the music started.

“As soon as they started to play, she started to tap her foot,” said Fleck. “As soon as she started to tap her foot, there was no more vocal aggravation. Now she was calm, and then it turned into pure joy. You could just see the response as the event went on, just a complete transformation.”

On the other side of the age spectrum, the Griffon String Quartet works with school-age children through the Einstein Series. During the interactive program, the Griffon String Quartet visits schools to perform and discuss their music. 

Student outreach is one of Meyer’s favorite parts of the job – especially because it gives many lower-income students an opportunity to experience classical music.

“So often, in an orchestra, we’re reaching a certain income level of audience,” Meyer said. “But here, I’m reaching all these students that might not have the privilege to have lessons, or have the privilege to see world-class classical musicians.”

With one program for the young and one for the old, the quartet’s third program focuses on everyone in between. These community-embedded programs involve pop-up concerts in restaurants, businesses and museums, with the goal of demystifying classical music in the eyes of the community, as well as bringing it to people who might not be in the income bracket for concert tickets.

“Lots of times, people assume classical music is meant for an elite, but it’s not,” said Fleck. “Music is for everyone.”

Defying Expectations

The group got its title from the bottom of Death’s Door, where a sunken ship of the same name lies. The ship was a vessel of exploration, said Meyer, so it seemed a fitting mascot for their new program.

Meyer’s own career track was something of an exploration too.

“There’s this part of the classical musician regimen that you’re going to go to school, you’ll practice really hard, and then you’ll get a job in an orchestra, and then you’re going to be happy,” Meyer said. That’s the path he assumed he would travel down, but making a direct impact on his own community with the Griffon String Quartet, he’s even happier. 

Griffon String Quartet Concerts

Want to experience the Griffon String Quartet firsthand? Catch one of these upcoming concerts. Donations accepted at every show.

Dec. 11, 11 am

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Door County

10341 Hwy 42 in Ephraim

Dec. 11, 3 pm 

Church of Christ the King

512 Michigan St in Sturgeon Bay

Dec. 16, 5 pm

Hope United Church of Christ

141 S 12th Ave in Sturgeon Bay

Dec. 18, 3 pm

Donald and Carol Kress Pavillion

7845 Church St. in Egg Harbor