Evening Concert Fundraiser Supports Students
Egg Harbor, Wis. (January 5, 2022) – Birch Creek Music Performance Center celebrates the Valentine’s weekend with an evening concert of classic love songs and jazz standards from the Great American Songbook. On Saturday evening, February 19th, Katie Ernst (Birch Creek Jazz Faculty, vocals and bass) will perform in the sparkling setting of Birch Creek’s Juniper Hall along with Neil Hemphill (drums), Tom Vaitsas (piano), and Dustin Laurenzi, (tenor saxophone).
The evening begins at 5:30 PM with social time followed by delectable heavy hors d’oeuvres and light desserts prepared by Culinaria, served at 6:00 PM. A cash bar is open throughout the evening. The concert begins at 7:00 PM and will showcase favorite romantic songs such as “I Love Being Here With You,” “Moonglow,” and “Love is Here to Stay,” just to name a few.
“Birch Creek is the place that I learned about many of the Great American Songbook tunes and where I got my start as a jazz vocalist almost 20 years ago. I return every summer to sing with the Jazz I faculty big band and work with the next generation of jazz musicians,” says Ernst. “I am excited to be returning to Egg Harbor a few months early to bring my quartet to Juniper Hall. I’ll be singing, playing my double bass, and leading us through a program of songs about LOVE: songs for when you’re in love, when you’re out of love, when you’re dreaming of love, or fed up with love.”
As both a bassist and vocalist, Ernst has performed at the Chicago Jazz Festival, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Hyde Park Jazz Festival, and Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival, among others. The Chicago Reader identified her as “one of the brightest lights on Chicago’s jazz scene, and she isn’t close to hitting her creative ceiling.”
Tickets for the Valentine’s Concert are $80 per person and may be purchased online at www.birchcreek.org/tickets. You may also purchase tickets by phone at (920) 868-3763 or in person at the Birch Creek office at 3821 County Rd E, three miles east of Egg Harbor. Birch Creek’s winter office hours are Monday-Thursday, 9AM-4PM and Friday 9AM-2PM. Juniper Hall is a UV ventilated venue. There will be limited seating for this event and distanced tables. Masks are required when not actively eating or drinking, regardless of vaccination status.
This event is generously sponsored by the Birch Creek Board of Trustees, Mike and Connie Glowacki and Door County Medical Center. Because of their sponsorship support, all proceeds from this event will benefit Birch Creek students.
Birch Creek Music Performance Center celebrates its 47th year as 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.