GREENVILLE, Pa.-- Thiel College will host the saxophone group Aero Quartet, the 2021 Senior Wind Division winners of the Fischoff Competition, at 7 p.m. September 16, 2021, at David Johnson Memorial Chapel as part of the college’s Con Spirito Chamber Music Concert Series.
Aero consists of members Salvador Flores, Walter Puyear, Matthew Koester, and Brian Kachur, all from the University of Michigan School of Music, Theater, and Dance in Ann Arbor, Mich. They were awarded gold medal prize in the Senior Wind Division of the competition. The group will also perform for the campus community at 11 a.m. Sept. 16.
The Fischoff Competition is the largest chamber music competition in the nation and its longest consecutively running competition. Each year, an average of 125 ensembles, representing 22 nationalities, enter in either the wind or string categories. Since its founding, more than 6,800 musicians have participated, many of whom have gone on to distinguished careers in music performance and education.
“Music brings together the community, it elevates us and shows us what is possible,” Vice President for College Advancement Roberta Leonard said. “We are blessed to have the Con Spirito Concert Series and to have the opportunity to welcome the community to our campus.”
Annually, the winner of the Fischoff Competition performs in the Glenn Johnson Memorial Chapel as a part of the Con Spirito series.
In 2007, the tradition of musical excellence started when LaVonne H’16 and the late Glen R. Johnson H’88, in honor of their late daughter, created the series to bring top musical talent to Thiel College and the region. Con Spirito is just one of the offerings at Thiel that connects the college to the regional arts community.