The Fischoff competition alumni receive the award in recognition for their outstanding educational outreach work for children and youth in the US
The Fischoff National Chamber Music Association announced that the Verona Quartet has been selected as the winner of Fischoff’s 2025 Ann Divine Educator Award.
The national award recognises the educational outreach work of Fischoff Competition alumni who have demonstrated outstanding and imaginative programming for children and youth in the United States.
The quartet, consisting of violinists Jonathan Ong and Dorothy Ro, violist Abigail Rojansky, and cellist Jonathan Dormand, won the Fischoff Competition in 2013. The award honours the musicians who have established professional careers in chamber music, and have proven their ability to successfully build a career in both chamber music performance and educational outreach.
The award is named after retired executive director, Ann Divine, in recognition of her leadership cultivating community outreach through chamber music, and is made possible in part by the Moore Fund. As winners of the Ann Divine Educator Award, the Verona Quartet will receive endorsement from Fischoff, a cash award and a weeklong residency in St. Joseph and Elkhart Counties in Indiana.
Taking place in autumn 2025, Verona Quartet will conduct workshops and perform interactive concerts in schools, community centers, and libraries. The week will include multiple performances of Fischoff’s flagship programme, Stories and Music: S.A.M. I Am, which musically reenacts a children’s book and will be featured as part of the St. Joseph County Public Library’s Explore-a-Story festival.
Verona Quartet will also work with Fischoff’s Chamber Music Academy and Elkhart County’s El Sistema (ECoSistema) students to dig deeper into the art of chamber music with children and teens who would otherwise not have access to these opportunities.
Past education successes for the quartet include active community engagement through its work with K-12 students. Its outreach performances and masterclasses throughout schools in Danville, IL, resulted in an increase of K-12 music class enrollment to almost double the Illinois state average.
The Verona Quartet has held residencies at Caramoor Center for Music and Art, Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Indiana University Summer String Academy and the ENCORE Chamber Music Institute.
’We are thrilled and deeply honored to receive the 2025 Ann Divine Educator Award from the Fischoff National Chamber Music Association,’ said the quartet’s violinist, Dorothy Ro.
’Fischoff has been a cherished part of our quartet’s journey, and this recognition energises our ongoing commitment to music education and community engagement. We believe wholeheartedly in the power of chamber music to inspire, spark connection, and uplift lives.
’We’re excited to return to Indiana this November to share that joy with students and communities throughout St. Joseph and Elkhart Counties.
’Our sincerest thanks to Fischoff and to Ann Divine for their unwavering dedication to education in the arts. We are grateful for the opportunity to carry their mission forward.’
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