The Midsummer’s Music 2019 summer concert series presented 41 powerful concerts showcasing 29 works – including a breathtaking world premiere by Composer-in-Residence Jacob Beranek – played by 20 brilliant, world-class musicians at 16 intimate venues throughout the Door County Peninsula. Tickets are now available for the final concerts of the Midsummer’s Music 2019 season, as well as the annual Labor Day benefit.
Profound Piano Quartets, the first of two final programs of the season, highlights Brahms’ Quartet in C Minor, No. 3, Op. 60, Schubert’s Adagio and Rondo Concertante in F Major, D. 487, and Robert Kahn’s Quartet in A Minor, No. 2, Op. 30. Midsummer’s musicians include Ann Palen, violin, Sally Chisholm, viola, Walter Preucil, cello, and Jeannie Yu, piano.
Following are the remaining Profound Piano Quartets program concerts:
- Thursday, August 29, 7:00pm, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church
- Friday, August 30, 7:00pm, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
- Sunday, September 1, 3:00pm, Juniper Hall, Birch Creek
The second program features Felix Mendelssohn’s Octet in E-flat Major, Op. 20, Bohuslav Martinů’s Serenade III, H 218, Ignaz Lachner’s Quartet, Op. 107, and Jay Unger’s Ashokan Farewell (Ken Burns’ Civil War Theme), showcasing the talents of Midsummer’s artists Margaret Butler, oboe, JJ Koh, clarinet, John Macfarlane, Karyn Macfarlane, Ann Palen, Stephanie Preucil and Vinicius Sant’Ana, violins, Sally Chisholm and Allyson Fleck, violas, and Walter Preucil and Zachary Preucil, cellos.
Following are the Mendelssohn Octet program concerts:
- Wednesday, August 28, 7:00pm, Woodwalk Gallery with optional BYO picnic at 5:00pm
- Saturday, August 31, 3:00pm, The Clearing Folk School with optional post-concert dinner at The Shoreline (advanced reservations required for dinner)
Midsummer’s Music celebrates the conclusion of their 29th season with a magical concert featuring the glorious Mendelssohn Octet. The event includes a lavish hors d’oeuvres reception by Fresh Chefs, plus the excitement of a live auction and a silent auction, a wine pull, and more. Door County radio celebrity Nick Freimuth will emcee this exhilarating program. The annual Labor Day Benefit is on September 2 from 3:00-6:30pm at Björklunden, 7590 Boynton Lane, Baileys Harbor, WI. Tickets for this event are $95 for adults and $75 for students.
Following are just a few of the items available at the wine pull and silent auction:
- Private performance by the Griffon String Quartet
- Restaurant Gift Basket from Chop/Pasta Vino
- Art from the Margaret Lockwood Gallery
- Art from Woodwalk Gallery
- Golf outing at Bay Ridge Golf Course
- Tom Pappas Tickets from the Door County Auditorium
Tickets for concerts are $29 for adults, $10 for students, and children 12 and under are free. Premium prices apply for optional dinners, wine-pairings and other special events. BYO picnic time at Woodwalk Gallery is free and open to concert ticket buyers; call the gallery at 920-629-4877 in advance to reserve a picnic table. Flex-packs of six or eight tickets are available. Tickets and flex-packs can be ordered online at midsummersmusic.com or by phone at 920-854-7088.
Midsummer’s Music draws on the extraordinary talent of musicians from the Chicago Symphony, Chicago’s Lyric Opera, Milwaukee Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony, Aspen Music Festival, China National Symphony and the Ravinia Festival, among others.
Midsummer’s Music was co-founded in 1990 by Jim and Jean Berkenstock, long-time Door County summer residents and principal orchestral players with the Lyric Opera of Chicago. What began as two concerts among friends has become one of the Midwest’s most anticipated chamber music series, bringing thousands of chamber music enthusiasts from around the globe to the magical Door County Peninsula.