Winner Announced at Fischoff National Chamber Music Association 

The Fischoff National Chamber Music Association's Ann Divine Educator Award – established in honor of longtime Fischoff executive director Ann Divine, who retired in 2018 – recognizes the educational outreach of Fischoff Competition alumni for America’s youth and honors those who have established chamber music careers alongside educational projects.

The winning WindSync ensemble comprises flutist Garrett Hudson, oboist Emily Tsai, clarinetist Elias Rodriguez, bassoonist Kara LaMoure, and horn player Anni Hochhalter.

“Winning gold at the 2016 [Fischoff] competition was instrumental to the success of WindSync’s career as touring concert artists and Ann Divine quickly became one of our most important mentors as community-driven teaching artists,” said Hochhalter.

For their most recent award, WindSync will receive endorsement from Fischoff, a cash prize, plus a weeklong residency in St. Joseph and Elkhart Counties in November this year to perform interactive concerts in schools, community centers, libraries, and direct workshops and masterclasses.

The residency will include performances of Fischoff’s noted Stories and Music: S.A.M. I Am program in schools, where WindSync will musically reenact childrens’ books. This will be featured as part of the St. Joseph County Library’s Explore-A-Story initiative.

In November 2021, over 650 students participated in Fischoff’s S.A.M. I Am program. “Teachers have reported that after participating in our fun musical reenactment, students were genuinely excited to re-read the story on their own, devouring [the story] during independent reading time and sharing the book with their families,” said Fischoff Board member and Education Committee Chair, Lisa Casey in the press release. “We can’t wait to present S.A.M. I Am again with WindSync.”

WindSync will also work with students of Fischoff’s Chamber Music Academy and Elkhart County’s El Sistema (ECoSistema) to further introduce chamber music to young people who would otherwise not have such opportunities.

WindSync’s educational work includes collaborations with the social music programs such as Sistema Ravinia and Houston Youth Symphony Coda Music Program. Their concerts for young people reach over 5,000 students annually. They have appeared in recital at the Met Museum, Ravinia, Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.

“WindSync took Fischoff by storm in 2016 with their unforgettable performances garnering them our Gold Medal,” stated Fischoff executive director Kara Kane. “The past five years they have grown both in breadth and depth…We are thrilled to be able to share the talents of WindSync…They are an ensemble who perfectly epitomizes the creative power Fischoff’s chamber music ambassadors live and breathe,” Kane added.

“We are honored to have been selected by the Fischoff National Chamber Music Association for this award and look forward to creating and presenting new programming in the fall inspired by Ann’s vision for education and community engagement,” Hochhalter said.

The 49th Annual Fischoff Competition will be held at Indiana’s University of Notre Dame from May 20-22, 2022.