Birch Creek Music Performance Center is happy to present the 2020 season of summer concerts, with tickets going on sale March 1. Tickets may be purchased online at birchcreek.org/tickets or by calling the Birch Creek office at (920) 868-3763.
Opening night for the 2020 season will take place in the historic Dutton Concert Barn on Thursday, June 18 with a Percussion & Steel Band concert, “Walking in Rhythm, Moving in Sound.” Six more Percussion & Steel Band concerts will follow on June 19-20 and June 24-27, showcasing performances by faculty performing artists and students led by Program Director Dan Moore, Professor of Music and Director of Percussion at the University of Iowa. Birch Creek’s Percussion performances feature a diverse range of styles, from Caribbean grooves with internationally known Steel Pan virtuoso Liam Teague, Professor of Music and Head of Steelpan Studies at Northern Illinois University, to percussive jazz, authentic world music, original compositions, and more.
Symphony session concerts, under Program Director Ricardo Castañeda, Principal Oboist, Lake Forest Symphony and Chicago Sinfonietta, and Conductor Brian Groner, will be presented on July 2-4 and July 9-11. The Birch Creek Symphony Orchestra will perform works by Beethoven, Dvorák, Mendelssohn, Mahler, Mozart and more. Concerto Competition winners will be featured in solo performances on the Symphony session’s opening night on July 2.
Special events include Birch Creek’s Annual Independence Day Concert, “The Star Spangled Fourth” on Saturday afternoon, July 4 at 4:00pm with a pie and ice cream social before the concert as well as free entry for children under 11.
The lush and vibrant sounds of Big Band Jazz classics will be performed in concert during two sessions from July 15-18, July 22-25, July 29-August 1 and August 5-8. Program Director Jeff Campbell, Professor and Chair of Jazz Studies & Contemporary Media at the Eastman School of Music, and the Birch Creek Jazz Faculty Orchestra return for sixteen nights of the best, most authentic big band jazz around, with faculty performers from across the country playing favorites by Ellington, Basie, Miller and more. Students will be featured in pre-show combo performances and big band numbers as well. Vocalists Katie Ernst and Mardra Thomas will perform during the Jazz I and Jazz II sessions respectively.
Summer concerts begin at 7:30pm with pre-show music at 7:00pm, unless otherwise noted. Ticket Prices are $29 adults, $10 students and $6 children, with premium seating available for $34.
“3/4 Time” promotion—buy 3 concert tickets and get a 4th ticket free. Group rates available for parties of 15 or more.
Prelude music is held 30 minutes before every performance in the courtyard gazebo. For a full concert schedule and online ticket purchases, visit birchcreek.org/tickets. Tickets can also be ordered by calling the box office at (920) 868-3763, between Monday–Thursday, 9am – 4pm, and Friday, 9a.m – 2pm.
Birch Creek Music Performance Center is Door County’s Residential Summer Music Academy in Egg Harbor, WI, for advanced young musicians. With a performance emphasis, students are taught by nationally known performers and educators during the day and perform alongside them in concerts at night. Four sessions focus on Percussion & Steel Band, Symphony, and Big Band Jazz.