DOWAGIAC — Thursday evening, during hours the Dowagiac Train Depot is typically empty and quiet, a small room within the depot was filled with a small crowd as they were serenaded to the sound of trilling violin strings by a group of nationally renowned artists.

Friday evening, the Dogwood Fine Arts Festival hosted the Callisto Quartet from the Cleveland Institute of Music as part of a series of Fischoff Soirees. A second Fischoff Soiree took place Friday evening at the Dowagiac History Museum. The event featured a quarter finalist ensemble of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, the largest and oldest chamber competition in the United States.

The Callisto Quartet is made up of Rachel Stenzel, Paul Aguilar, Hannah Moses and Eva Kennedy, a group of string musicians under the age of 35. For Thursday’s performance, the group placed a selection of pieces that ranged from classical music from the time of Beethoven to more modern pieces, composed as late at 2010.

The members said they were both excited to take part in Thursday’s event, as well as be quarter finalists in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition.

“It’s great to be here and to be part of such a big event,” Kennedy said.

Though the Dogwood Festival is a smaller venue than some that the Callisto Quartet plays, a long list that includes concert venues in London, England, the group said they appreciated the festival and the fact that it offered them a change of pace.

“It’s really cool to be here in such an intimate space. For us, as musicians, that is really cool,” Stenzel said. “Because this is such an intimate space, we get to present our music in a special, almost private way.”

A member of the Fischoff Board of Directors, Teresa Roberts was likewise excited about the partnership between the Fischoff and The Dowagiac Fine Arts Festival, saying that she was glad the Fischoff was able to take part in the festival for the first time in years.

Roberts added that she appreciates the Dogwood festival, because it allows local people to experience world class musicians like the Callisto Quartet.

“You can go to London to hear this music or you can go to London,” she said. “It’s great the Dogwood offers this locally.”

The feeling between the Fischoff and The Dowagiac Fine Arts Festival is mutual according to Jim Benedix, a chair with the festival.

“It’s a great event,” Benedix said of the Fischoff Soirees. “We are very excited to have these musicians here with us.”