By Jim Berkenstock I recently looked at the date when I wrote the last Coffee Chat and was astounded at how much time had gone by. How time flies when you are having fun (in quarantine). So, with apologies, I would like to return to the subject of the last Chat, which was entitled “Secret Sauce.” […]

It is hard to believe that it has been 30 years since we started Midsummer’s Music. I remember the first concert at Dianne and Peter Trenchard’s in 1991 (I still have the attendance list), along with so many milestones and minor steps since then. I estimate that we have performed more than 600 concerts in […]

I’ve often referred to cooking when talking about music. We use some of the same words to describe music and foods — words like “sweet,” “sharp,” “dry,” “complex,” etc. Frequently, an audience member tells me after the concert that they liked a certain piece, but they don’t know for sure why they did … or […]

I was going to devote this Coffee Chat to another subject, but then I got something in the mail that made me change my mind. It has to do with the drastic disruption in our normal lives that is taking place … and specifically with regard to our livelihoods. Everyone who has a job has […]

Last week, for our first Coffee Chat, I focused on one of the two parts of our big celebration this summer – Beethoven’s 250th birthday. Today, I thought I would go to the other half, which is the 30th anniversary for Midsummer’s Music. In addition to the works we are featuring by Beethoven, we are […]