Midsummer’s Music, Shepherd of the Bay Lutheran Church, and First Presbyterian Church present Franz Joseph Haydn’s Seven Last Words of Christ, featuring the legendary Pro Arte Quartet, along with respected Door County and Green Bay area clergy and community leaders.
Haydn’s masterpiece was commissioned in 1786 by Father Don José Sáenz de Santa María for the Good Friday service at Oratorio de las Santa Cueva in Cádiz, Spain. Originally an orchestral work, Haydn adapted it in 1787 for string quartet. It focuses on the biblical account of Christ’s crucifixion and explores each of Christ’s seven last words through seven sonatas. While the first sonata begins slowly, the final sonata is a vivid musical depiction of the earthquake described in the Gospel of Matthew.
Pro Arte Quartet musicians are violinists David Perry and Suzanne Beia, violist Sally Chisholm, and cellist Parry Karp. Speakers leading the meditations include Reverend Katie Estes, Tonya Fehlhofer, Reverend Brit Bjurstrom Frazier, Pastor Jim Honig, Reverend Kerry Krauss, Michelle Lawrie, Cari Lewis, Reverend Mark Stephen Richards, and more.
The performances are 5:00pm, Friday, March 8, 2024, at Shepherd of the Bay Lutheran Church in Ellison Bay, and 3:00pm, Saturday, March 9, 2024, at First Presbyterian Church in Green Bay. Tickets are free and can be reserved at midsummersmusic.com or 920-854-7088. Donations will be accepted at the door.
Midsummer’s Music celebrates 34 years of bringing chamber music to Door County in 2024. The summer season of concerts begins June 13 and runs through September 2. Additional concerts are scheduled for September, and Autumn Music Fest returns in October. Visit www.midsummersmusic.com as schedule details are updated.
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.
Photos:
Pro Arte Quartet (credit Rick Langer): https://www.midsummersmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/paq-photo-by-rick-langer-scaled.jpg
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For Calendar Listings:
Name: Gather with the Griffon
Description: The miniconcerts are designed for midday audiences. B Double Sharp programs engage the mind and spirit through music and conversation. Programs are funded in part by grants from Bader Philanthropies, the Door County Community Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Wisconsin Arts Board. Programs in Green Bay are funded in part by grants from the Green Bay Packers Foundation and the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation.
Dates: March 7, 2024, April 11, 2024, May 9, 2024
Time/Location: 12:00pm, First Presbyterian Church, 200 S Ashland Ave., Green Bay, WI 54303
Name: Seven Last Words of Christ
Description: The Seven Last Words of Our Savior on the Cross (German: Die sieben letzten Worte unseres Erlösers am Kreuze) is an orchestral work by Franz Joseph Haydn, commissioned in 1786 for the Good Friday service at Oratorio de la Santa Cueva (Holy Cave Oratory) in Cádiz, Spain.
Midsummer’s Music presents the Pro Arte Quartet along with community speakers at Shepherd of the Bay Lutheran Church in Ellison Bay and First Presbyterian Church in Green Bay for this moving piece.
David Perry and Suzanne Beia, violins
Sally Chisholm, viola
Parry Karp, cello
Date 1: March 8, 2024
Time/Location: 5:00pm, Shepherd of the Bay Lutheran Church, 11836 WI-42, Ellison Bay, WI 54210
Date 2: March 9, 2024
Time/Location: 3:00pm, First Presbyterian Church, 200 S Ashland Ave., Green Bay, WI 54303
Name: Griffon String Quartet Outreach
Description: The Griffon String Quartet presents a special performance at the Aging & Disability Resource Center in Sturgeon Bay.
Date: March 13, 2024
Time/Location: 1:00pm, 916 N 14th Ave., Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
Name: Griffon String Quartet Outreach
Description: The Griffon String Quartet presents a special performance at the Green Bay Botanical Gardens for the Brain Center of Green Bay.
Date: March 13, 2024
Time/Location: 5:00pm, 2600 Larsen Rd., Green Bay, WI 54303
Name: Griffon String Quartet Spring Concert
Description: The Griffon String Quartet plays music by Amy Beach, Nikolai Kapustin, and Alexander Von Zemlinsky.
Date 1: March 15, 2024
Time/Location: 5:00pm, Hope United Church of Christ, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
Date 2: March 16, 2024
Time/Location: 3:00pm, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 1313 Main St., Green Bay, WI 54302
Date 3: March 17, 2024
Time/Location: 3:00pm, Donald & Carol Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor, WI 54209
Name: Griffon String Quartet Outreach
Description: The Griffon String Quartet performs for clients and staff at Pinecrest Assisted Living.
Date: April 12, 2024
Time/Location: 11:00am, Pinecrest Assisted Living, 1241 N 18th Ave., Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
Name: Griffon String Quartet Outreach
Description: The Griffon String Quartet presents a special performance at the Green Bay Botanical Gardens for the Brain Center of Green Bay.
Date 1 : April 15, 2024
Time/Location: 10:30am, 2600 Larsen Rd., Green Bay, WI 54303
Date 2 : April 16, 2024
Time/Location: 10:30am, 2600 Larsen Rd., Green Bay, WI 54303
Name: Griffon String Quartet Students Recital
Description: Students of the Griffon String Quartet perform their annual recital concert.
Date: May 12, 2024
Time/Location: 3:00pm, Hope United Church of Christ, 141 S 12th Ave., Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
Griffon String Quartet Season Finale Concert
Date 1: May 24, 2024
Time/Location: TBD, TBD
Date 2: May 25, 2024
Time/Location: TBD, TBD
Date 3: May 26, 2024
Time/Location: 3:00pm, Donald & Carol Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor, WI 54209