Governor Tony Evers announced that $15 million in COVID-19 Cultural Organization Grants has been awarded to 385 cultural organizations across Wisconsin. Midsummer’s Music, Wisconsin’s oldest summer chamber music series, was included among 385 recipients across the state. Presenting concerts hailed as “exciting, pulse-pounding, and riveting” Midsummer’s reimagined its 30th anniversary season in 2020 by streaming 30 concerts online at midsummersmusic.com, Facebook, YouTube, and the Violin Channel’s Facebook page, allowing more than 85,000 viewers across the globe to enjoy the free performances in the comfort of home.
“Just like small businesses, cultural organizations have taken a major financial hit,” said DOA Secretary Joel Brennan. “We’re all in this together. We hope that these funds will make it possible for us to be able to enjoy the museums, theaters, and music from these organizations once it is safe to do so again.”
Administered by the Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA), the COVID-19 Cultural Organizations Grant program provides grants to nonprofit organizations whose primary missions are to produce, present, or exhibit cultural disciplines such as music, dance, theater, literature, and the visual arts, or items of environmental or scientific interest. Grant awards can be used to cover pandemic-related impacts such as lost revenue, increased workers’ compensation costs, cleaning and sanitization, and purchases of services or equipment to facilitate telework by employees.
Midsummer’s Music Executive Director Allyson Fleck stated, “Midsummer’s Music is proud and grateful to have been awarded Governor Evers’ COVID-19 Cultural Organization Grant. The Arts are more important than ever! In addition to covering funds lost preparing for our original 2020 schedule and helping us make the myriad technical changes from live concerts to virtual concerts, this grant will assist Midsummer’s Music programming, including performances by the Griffon String Quartet, and the many programs we continue to present via our website and social media outlets. Fulfilling our mission to serve northeastern Wisconsin communities with world-class performances, retaining our staff, and engaging our musicians is a dream come true for Midsummer’s Music during the COVID-19 pandemic. This grant makes it possible for us to see a brighter future for Midsummer’s Music and our services to our communities.”
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.