Following their intense Midsummer’s Music Festival schedule that concluded July 15th, violinist David Perry and Artistic Director/bassoonist Jim Berkenstock were looking forward to a bit of free time before the Labor Day Concert Series begins. However, a call from Itzhak Perlman and the Chicago Philharmonic changed all that.
On August 18th, just a week before Midsummer’s Music concerts resume here in Door County, Perry and Berkenstock will join Perlman and the CPO for a concert at the famed Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois, that will feature Perlman and Cantor Yitzhak Meir Helfgot in a program entitled “Eternal Echoes.” Perlman and Helfgot have performed this program to rave reviews and sold-out houses in Boston, Long Island, Toronto, and Los Angeles. Perry and Berkenstock will be part of that nationwide tour when the program is presented in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park. The Ravinia Festival is home to the Chicago Symphony and in recent years has been a venue for the Chicago Philharmonic as well. David Perry is the concertmaster of the CPO and Berkenstock is principal bassoon.
“I’m sure David has worked with Itzhak on numerous occasions and probably knows him pretty well, but for me, this is my first time to perform with him, so I really look forward to it. Although David doesn’t seek the demands of an international travel schedule, I’m sure Perlman knows of David’s fabulous career and has the greatest admiration for a fellow violinist of David’s pedigree,” said Berkenstock.
Following this concert, Midsummer’s Music will immediately begin rehearsals for seven performances here, beginning on August 26th, with the climax being a Labor Day joint benefit for Midsummer’s Music and Write-On Door County at the Alpine Resort in Egg Harbor. Other concerts are in a variety of venues and feature two different programs in multiple performances. Program G, which begins on Tuesday, August 26th, features works by French composers for violin, cello, flute, and piano by St. Saens, Lalo, and Gaubert. Program H presents pieces by Brahms, Mozart, and Eberl for strings, oboe, and piano. 