Midsummer’s Music excels in pairing celebrated composers with diverse, lesser-known composers, but its Bastille Day Celebration program creates a new pairing: French composers and French wines. The program’s four performances run July 11 through July 14, and the three pieces being performed represent three different visions of France.
Charles D’Indy brings us his Suite en parties, Op. 91 (1927), a French postcard painted by harp, flute, and strings. Charles Bordes uses flute and strings to transport us to the Basque region with his Suite Basque, Op. 6 (1901), and Claude Debussy enchants us with an impressionistic vision straight from the Louvre with his evocative String Quartet in G Minor, Op. 10.
At the July 11, 13, and 14 concerts, Sommelier Jay Hutchinson shares some of his favorite appellations for this special occasion. He will offer verbal commentary on the wines, explaining why they were selected and drawing connections to the music. Wines might be paired based on shared historical, cultural, regional, or geographic connections, or interpretive connections based on the style, tone, or timbre of a given composer or composition. An additional $20 above the concert ticket price will be charged for anyone participating in the optional wine pairing experience. Must be 21 or older.
Bastille Day Celebration program musicians are flutist Heather Zinninger, harpist Rebecca Royce, violinists David Perry and Eleanor Bartsch, violist Allyson Fleck, and cellist Mara McClain.
Concerts are at 7:00pm, July 11 at the Donald & Carol Kress Pavilion in Egg Harbor, sponsored by Arlene Johnson and Chris Weidenbacher; 7:00pm, July 12 at Sister Bay Moravian Church, sponsored by the James & Nancy Huebner Charitable Fund, and without the optional wine pairing experience; 7:00pm, July 13 at Björklunden in Baileys Harbor, sponsored by an anonymous donor in celebration of James Ingwersen’s artistic legacy, and including a commissioned work of art by Jen Polster; and 5:00pm, July 14 at Woodwalk Gallery in Egg Harbor, sponsored by Beverly Ann & Peter Conroy. The 2024 concert series is sponsored by the Jean Berkenstock Family Fund and the Susan DeWitt Davie Legacy Fund, and the season is dedicated to the memory of Jean Berkenstock.
A complete 2024 summer brochure can be downloaded at www.midsummersmusic.com.
Tickets are $39 for adults, $19 for students, and children 12 and under are free with an adult. Premium prices apply for special events. Flex Packs of six tickets for the price of five tickets are also available. Order tickets at www.midsummersmusic.com or by phone at 920-854-7088.
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.
For more information visit www.midsummersmusic.com.
Heather Zinninger (credit Margaret Butler): https://midsummersmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/h-yarmel-7.jpg
Bastille Day Celebration program graphic: https://www.midsummersmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/bastille-day-celebration-calendar-featured-image.png
Other high-resolution photos can be downloaded at https://www.midsummersmusic.com/photos/.
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For Calendar Listings:
Dvořák and Brahms
Quintet No. 1 in A Major, Op. 5 Antonín Dvořák
Quintet in F Minor, Op. 34 Johannes Brahms
June 22, 7:00 pm: St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Sister Bay
June 28, 7:00 pm: Shepherd of the Bay Lutheran Church, Ellison Bay
June 29, 7:00 pm: Wilson/Beck Residence Dinner Concert, Fish Creek
June 30, 5:00 pm: Hope United Church of Christ, Sturgeon Bay
Beethoven, Haydn, and Schumann: Fairy Tales and Ghosts
Märchenerzählungen (Fairy Tales), Op. 132 Robert Schumann
Trio in C Major, Hob. XV:27 Franz Josef Haydn
Trio No. 5 in D Major, Op. 70, No. 1 (“Ghost”) Ludwig van Beethoven
July 5, 7:00 pm: Shepherd of the Bay Lutheran Church, Ellison Bay
July 6, 7:00 pm: Donald & Carol Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor
July 7, 5:00 pm: Hope United Church of Christ, Sturgeon Bay
Bastille Day Celebration: Join the party at each concert!
Suite en parties, Op. 91 (1927) Vincent d’Indy
Suite Basque, Op. 6 (1901) Charles Bordes
Quartet in G Minor, Op. 10 Claude Debussy
July 11, 7:00 pm: Music/Wine-paring concert—Donald & Carol Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor
July 12, 7:00 pm: Sister Bay Moravian Church, Sister Bay
July 13, 7:00 pm: Music/Wine-pairing concert—Björklunden, Baileys Harbor
July 14, 5:00 pm: Music/Wine-pairing concert—Woodwalk Gallery, Egg Harbor
Bach to the Future
Selections from The Musical Offering, BWV 1079 Johann Sebastian Bach
Wachet auf ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140 [Will Healy, arr.] Johann Sebastian Bach
Root Position (MM Commission, 2023/2024) Will Healy
Selections Featuring Will Healy and George Meyer
July 18, 7:00 pm: Donald & Carol Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor
July 19, 7:00 pm: Shepherd of the Bay Lutheran Church, Ellison Bay
July 21, 5:00 pm: Hope United Church of Christ, Sturgeon Bay
Grieg Piano Concerto and Jeannie Yu
Crisantemi Giacomo Puccini
Quartet in G Minor, Op. 14 (1860) Emilie Mayer
Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16 [Per Tengstrand, arr.] Edvard Grieg
July 20, 7:00 pm: St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Sister Bay
July 25, 7:00 pm: Donald & Carol Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor
July 26, 5:00 pm: Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Ephraim
July 27, 7:00 pm: Muse, Sturgeon Bay
Bruch and Brahms
Quartet in D Major, Op. 11, No. 1 (1795) Adalbert Gyrowetz
Quintet in E-flat Major, Op. Posthumous (1918) Max Bruch
Quintet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 111 Johannes Brahms
July 28, 5:00 pm: Woodwalk Gallery, Egg Harbor
August 2, 7:00 pm: Courtney/Reschka Salon Concert with Grand Reception, Sister Bay
August 3, 7:00 pm: St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Sister Bay
August 4, 5:00 pm: Hope United Church of Christ, Sturgeon Bay
Romance and Rapture
Obsidian, rippled, moonlight, gleams (2019) Sakari Dixon Vanderveer
Quintet No. 2 in C Major, Op. 124 Mélanie Bonis
Sextet in C Major, Op. 37 (1935) Ernst von Dohnányi
August 27, 7:00 pm: Birch Creek Music Performance Center, Egg Harbor
August 28, 7:00 pm: Björklunden, Baileys Harbor
August 31, 3:00 pm: The Clearing Folk School, Ellison Bay
Beethoven Septet
Sextet (1898) John Ireland
Septet in E-flat Major, Op. 20 Ludwig van Beethoven
August 29, 5:00 pm: Donald & Carol Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor
August 30, 7:00 pm: Sister Bay Moravian Church, Sister Bay
September 1, 5:00 pm: Woodwalk Gallery, Egg Harbor
David Perry, Jeannie Yu: Chausson Concerto!
Quintet in F Major (1905) Théodore Dubois
Concerto for Violin, Piano, and String Quartet, Op. 21 Ernest Chausson
August 25, 5:00 pm: Hope United Church of Christ, Sturgeon Bay
September 2, 3:00 pm: Labor Day Gala, Björklunden, Baileys Harbor
Coffee Talks: Free, engaging, informal lectures on music topics by Midsummer’s Music ensemble members, staff, and friends.
July 11, 1:00pm, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Ephraim: Impressionism and Depression: Music and Society in France 1870–1914 with Peter Conroy, PhD
July 19, 1:00pm, Shepherd of the Bay Lutheran Church, Ellison Bay: J.S. Bach Reimagined: Generations of Transcriptions with Will Healy, Composer-in-Residence