Fischoff Chamber Music Competition

In 1973, Joseph E. Fischoff and fellow members of the South Bend Chamber Music Society sought an innovative way of encouraging young people to pursue chamber music study and performance. The idea of a competition arose, and that first year, six ensembles participated. Little did the society members know how their idea would grow. 47 years later, 130 ensembles competed, representing 25 different states and 27 nationalities. Today, still at home in South Bend, Indiana, the Fischoff Competition is the largest and longest running chamber music competition in the nation. Mr. Fischoff and his friends could not have known that their experiment, and abiding passion for teaching young students the fine craft of chamber music, would launch the careers of hundreds, and enhance the lives of thousands of aspiring musicians.