The Peninsula Music Festival will present three concerts in three weeks during the month of February. The annual February Fest will feature members of the Festival’s orchestra in the intimate setting of Shepherd of the Bay Lutheran Church, Ellison Bay. The 2:00 p.m. concerts will take place on Saturday, February 10, 17 and 24. All three concerts can be purchased for just $60 or purchased individually at $25 each. Students and children are just $5. Concert sponsors for February Fest are Roger Bergen & Sharon Grutzmacher, Door County Medical Center and Gen Follingstad. The PMF Sustaining Committee is providing additional financial support.
PMF clarinetist David Bell will be joined by Patty Holland, the Festival’s bassoonist, Amy McCann, clarinet and Judith Jackson piano for the February 10 concert. The program will feature solo and chamber works that take their melodies and inspiration from some of the world’s most familiar operatic melodies. Composers include Verdi, Rossini, Mozart and more.
The second concert of the 2018 February Fest on Saturday, February 17, will feature PMF trumpets Bruce Briney and Dan Grantham. They will be joined by pianist Judith Jackson and Greg Beem who is the organist at Shepherd of the Bay. This is the first time that Mr. Briney and Mr. Grantham have returned to Door County for a February Fest. The program features the music of Bernstein, Rachmaninoff, Prescott and a piece composed by the Festival’s principal trumpet, Terry Everson
The 2018 February Fest will come to a close on Saturday, February 24 with a return appearance by the low brass of the PMF orchestra. Tenor/alto trombones, Paul Bellino and Brad Ward will be joined by Terry Leahy on bass trombone and Charlie Schuchat on tuba. A fun and eclectic program is planned. Their appearance in 2017 was one of the most popular February Fest concerts ever. It is sure to be a hit again this year.
There will be a silent auction at the February Fest concerts that will include a chance to have lunch with pianist Andrew Armstrong in August. Mr. Armstrong is a Festival favorite and is the featured soloist on the August 18, 2018 concert. Also available is a chance to golf with the Festival’s concertmaster Igor Yuzefovich and other exciting items. All proceed will support the ongoing programs of the Peninsula Music Festival.
Brief receptions will follow each concert and full program details can be found on the Peninsula Music Festival website: www.musicfestival.com. Reservations can be made by calling the Festival office at 920-854-4060 or securely through the website. The Peninsula Music Festival is a fully professional symphony orchestra that presents nine concerts in three weeks each August. The 66th season will take place August 7 – 25, 2018 at the Door Community Auditorium.