Midsummer's Music announces 34th season of intimate Door County chamber music concerts

Christopher Clough, Green Bay Press-Gazette

SISTER BAY - Midsummer’s Music announced the schedule for its 34th season of chamber music concerts in intimate locations across Door County, making it Wisconsin’s longest-running summer chamber music series.

As the term "chamber music" indicates, the programs for these concerts feature works played by small groups, from trios to octets, in interesting cultural and scenic sites that include art galleries, museums, churches, historic sites and private homes, with several offering views of Lake Michigan and the bay of Green Bay.

Violinist David Perry performs in a Midsummer's Music concert during its 2023 season, Perry is among the many professional musicians playing in Midsummer's 2024 season of 38 chamber music concerts.
Violinist David Perry performs in a Midsummer's Music concert during its 2023 season, Perry is among the many professional musicians playing in Midsummer's 2024 season of 38 chamber music concerts.

The composers range from famed classical composers – Beethoven, Mozart, Bach and Dvorak are among the many that will be heard this season – to female, lesser-known and contemporary classical composers, including Sakari Dixon Vanderveer and Midsummer's composer-in-residence, Will Healy. The musicians playing them hail from professional orchestras such as the Chicago Symphony, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Milwaukee Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, China National Symphony, Ravinia Festival and the Pro Arte Quartet, among others.

This year's season is held in memory of Midsummer's co-founder Jean Berkenstock, the world-class flutist and behind-the-scenes mover and shaker of the organization who died Oct. 3 at age 89. It features 11 different programs to be heard in a total of 38 concerts from June 13 to Labor Day weekend.

Following the official season are a couple of mid-September concerts and the second annual Autumn Music Fest in October, those including appearances by Memphis-based string instrumentalist Eric Lewis, Midsummer's Griffon String Quartet and the world-renowned Pro Arte Quartet.

Among the highlights of the season are the traditional Opening Night Gala concert with special guest emcee Norman Gilliland of Wisconsin Public Radio, taking place at the Kress Pavilion in Egg Harbor.

The program featuring composer-in-residence Healy, "Back to the Future," has selections from J.S. Bach's "The Musical Offering," Healy's arrangement of Bach's "Wachet auf ruft uns die Stimme" and "Root Position," a Healy composition inspired by Bach and commissioned by Midsummer's that pianist Healy will perform with violinist George Meyer.

The "Bastille Day Celebration" features works by French composers Vincent d’Indy, Charles Bordes and Claude Debussy, with three of the four concerts of this program giving concertgoers the option of tasting three wines cosen by sommelier Jay Hutchinson to pair with the music. Hutchison will be on hand to explain the pairings, which might be by the geographic regions of France or the moods created by the music.

Two special concerts take place at private residences, as chamber concerts were held back in the day. The "Dvorak and Brahms" program has a June 29 concert with dinner at the Wilson/Beck residence in Fish Creek, and the "Bruch and Brahms" program includes an Aug. 2 salon concert with a grand gourmet reception at the Courtney/Reschka residence in Sister Bay.

And, just like a gala opens the season, a gala closes it as well, with the Sept. 2 Labor Day Gala at Bjorklunden in Baileys Harbor featuring longtime Midsummer's and Pro Arte violinist David Perry and pianist Jeannie Yu playing Ernest Chausson's Concerto for Violin, Piano, and String Quartet, Op. 21, along with a quintet by Théodore Dubois.

Tickets are $39 for adults, $19 for students, free for ages 12 and younger when accompanied by a paying adult. Premium prices apply for opening night, the dinner and salon/home concerts, the wine pairing concerts and other special events. Flex-packs of six tickets for the price of five are also available. For tickets or more information, call 920-854-7088 or visit midsummersmusic.com; a season brochure can be downloaded from the website.

The Midsummer's Music 2024 season (all times 7 p.m. unless noted otherwise):

  • "Mozart, Mendelssohn, and Magic," with works by Alice Verne-Bredt, Mozart and Mendelssohn: June 13, Opening Night Gala with emcee Norman Gilliland, Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor; June 15, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Sister Bay; 5 p.m. June 16, Hope United Church of Christ, Sturgeon Bay; June 18, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Ephraim.

  • "David Perry Leads Mendelssohn Octet, and More!" with octets by by Woldemar Bargiel and Mendelssohn: June 19, Björklunden, Baileys Harbor; June 21, Sister Bay Moravian Church; 5 p.m. June 23, Woodwalk Gallery, Egg Harbor; June 27, Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor.

  • "Dvořák and Brahms" with quintets by Dvorak and Brahms: June 22, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Sister Bay; June 28, Shepherd of the Bay Lutheran Church, Ellison Bay; June 29, dinner concert at the Wilson/Beck residence, Fish Creek; 5 p.m. June 30, Hope United Church of Christ, Sturgeon Bay.

  • "Beethoven, Haydn, and Schumann: Fairy Tales and Ghosts": July 5, Shepherd of the Bay Lutheran Church, Ellison Bay; July 6, Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor; 5 p.m. July 7, Hope United Church of Christ, Sturgeon Bay.

  • "Bastille Day Celebration," with works by Vincent d’Indy, Charles Bordes and Debussy: July 11, music/wine pairing concert, Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor; July 12, Sister Bay Moravian Church; July 13, music/wine pairing concert, Björklunden, Baileys Harbor; 5 p.m. July 14, music/wine pairing concert, Woodwalk Gallery, Egg Harbor.

  • "Bach to the Future," with works by J.S. Bach and Midsummer's composer-in-residence Will Healy: July 18, Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor; July 19, Shepherd of the Bay Lutheran Church, Ellison Bay; 5 p.m. July 21, Hope United Church of Christ, Sturgeon Bay.

  • "Grieg Piano Concerto and Jeannie Yu," with works by Puccini, Emilie Mayer and Mendelssohn's Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16: July 20, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Sister Bay; July 25, Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor; 5 p.m. July 26, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Ephraim; July 27, Muse, Sturgeon Bay.

  • "Bruch and Brahms" with a quartet by Adalbert Gyrowetz and quintets by Max Bruch and Brahms: 5 p.m. July 28, Woodwalk Gallery, Egg Harbor; Aug. 2, salon concert with grand gourmet reception, Courtney/Reschka residence, Sister Bay; Aug. 3, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Sister Bay; 5 p.m. Aug. 4, Hope United Church of Christ, Sturgeon Bay.

  • "Romance and Rapture," with works by Sakari Dixon Vanderveer, Mélanie Bonis and Ernst von Dohnányi: Aug. 27, Birch Creek Music Performance Center, Egg Harbor; Aug. 28, Björklunden, Baileys Harbor; 3 p.m. Aug. 31, The Clearing Folk School, Ellison Bay.

  • "Beethoven Septet," also with John Ireland's Sextet: 5 p.m. Aug. 29, Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor; Aug. 30, Sister Bay Moravian Church; 5 p.m. Sept. 1, Woodwalk Gallery, Egg Harbor.

  • "David Perry, Jeannie Yu: Chausson Concerto!" with a quintet by Théodore Dubois and concerto by Ernest Chausson: 5 p.m. Aug. 25, Hope United Church of Christ, Sturgeon Bay; 3 p.m. Sept. 2, Labor Day Gala, Björklunden, Baileys Harbor.

Contact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 or cclough@doorcountyadvocate.com.

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This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Midsummer's Music brings 34th season of chamber music to Door County

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