The final 2022 summer season program features French composers Louise Farrenc and Edouard Destenay, along with Belgian composer César Franck, concluding with a Labor Day fundraising gala. Sister Bay, Wis. (August 30, 2022) – Midsummer’s Music’s 2022 summer concert series concludes with a celebration of César Franck’s 200th birthday and a Labor Day Gala dedicated to supporting […]
Compelling Quintet Stories
By Jim Berkenstock, Midsummer’s Music Artistic Director From the very beginning, Midsummer’s Music has made a point of presenting programs featuring pieces with varied instrumentation. We have done this for the sake of variety and interest. We sometimes say that the sounds on our programs are something like the Door County weather—constantly changing. It’s a […]
Midsummer’s Music Performs English, German Quintets
Sister Bay, Wis. (August 22, 2022) – Midsummer’s Music continues its ambitious 2022 summer concert series with a program entitled “Quintet Elegance,” featuring works by Dame Ethel Smyth and Franz Schubert, starting with an exclusive Salon Concert sponsored by Nicolet National Bank at the Courtney/Reschka residence in Sister Bay on the evening of August 27. Musicians […]
Midsummer’s Music Musicians Housing Needed
Sister Bay, Wis. (August 19, 2022) – Right now, two Midsummer’s Music musicians need housing. Others will need housing at times during the next three programs – ending on Labor Day – from generous, gracious hosts who will welcome them into their homes. Hosts receive complimentary tickets to a regular performance as a thank you. Additional […]
What We All Need
By Jim Berkenstock, Artistic Director, Midsummer’s Music Musical Fireworks, Passionate Outbursts, Stunning Virtuosity …. Only a few performances remain until our early August break, but Jeepers—are they dynamite! I just came from a rehearsal of our Lush and Thrilling Romantic Poetry program that opens Wedneday evening at Sister Bay Moravian Church. J.J. Koh was rehearsing the Weber Clarinet Quintet […]
Midsummer’s Music Presents Three German Romantic Masters
Sister Bay, Wis. (July 19, 2022) – As much as today, during the Romantic period from approximately 1800 to 1850, music and poetry went hand-in-hand. Music often inspires poets, and poetry often inspires composers. It is this symbiotic relationship that Midsummer’s Music explores in its Lush & Thrilling Romantic Poetry program, with concerts running from July […]
Midsummer’s Music Performs Scintillating Summer Serenades
Sister Bay, Wis. (July 8, 2022) – Midsummer’s Music continues its extensive 32nd concert season with a program featuring works by composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, his contemporary Paul Wrantizky, and Bernard Molique. Entitled Scintillating Summer Serenades, the thrilling program consists of a quartet, a quintet, and a sextet that – as serenades – are stylistically midway between […]
Midsummer’s Music’s Griffon String Quartet Plays Mendelssohn and Shostakovich Cyclical Works
Sister Bay, Wis. (June 21, 2022) – The Griffon String Quartet, Midsummer’s Music’s engaging resident ensemble, headlines the third program of Midsummer’s 2022 exciting summer season with four dynamic concerts from June 24 through June 30. Chosen by Griffon members as personal favorites, the quartet will perform two cyclical pieces by Felix Mendelssohn and Dmitri Shostakovich. […]
English Connections and a Close Call
By Jim Berkenstock Our English Connections program, which starts with the first of four concerts this Thursday, is “connected” largely by one person—Charles Villiers Stanford. Stanford and Edward Elgar were the two greatest English composers at the turn of the 19th into the 20th century. However, Stanford was also a great teacher who thereby connected with a large group […]
Midsummer’s Music Performs 20th Century Composers with English Connections
This program includes an unpublished quintet from Charles Villiers Stanford. Sister Bay, Wis. (June 14, 2022) – Midsummer’s Music continues its exciting 2022 concert season with an inspiring program featuring 20th century English classical composers Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, Ralph Vaughn Williams, and Charles Villiers Stanford, including a rarely heard, unpublished quintet. Over the past several years, Midsummer’s […]
