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