Sister Bay, Wis. – August 9, 2018 – Midsummer’s Music Composer-in-Residence, Jacob Beranek, recently attended the Talis Festival and Academy as a Composition Fellow in Saas-Fee, Switzerland. There, he joined 15 other young Composition or Instrumental Fellows from around the world for two weeks of intensive study and performance, including a portion of a piece he composed for Midsummer’s 2018 season was premiered.
This is the second summer that Midsummer’s Music has commissioned 19-year-old Beranek, with support from the MMG Foundation, to write a piece. Last year, his Death’s Door quintet received wonderful responses from Door County audiences.
This year, Beranek’s piece, Partita melodica, a three-movement work, features English horn, violin, viola, cello, and double bass. The world premiere will be held in Door County on August 26 as part of Midsummer’s “A Czech Life” program at the Kress Pavilion in Egg Harbor, with three additional performances that week. This program also features works by renowned Czech composers Antonín Dvořák and Bedřich Smetana, two heroes for Beranek because of his Czech heritage.
“From the moment I met Jacob, I was excited to create our first-ever Composer-in-Residence position for this emerging, talented Wisconsin composer,” said Jim Berkenstock, founder and Artistic Director of Midsummer’s Music. “Jacob is certainly one to watch on the classical music scene for many years to come and it’s a delight to see his music evolve from year to year.”
The Swiss premiere featured the middle movement of the Midsummer’s piece, with different instrumentation: oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon, and double bass. “I’m so excited for such a great opportunity at this fellowship in Switzerland. I can’t wait to hear how the nature of the piece will change with the different instrumentation,” said Beranek.
Jacob Beranek hails from Oconomowoc, WI, and has won many state, regional, and national awards for his compositions. Currently, he is studying music composition at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music in Nashville, TN. His world-wide travels don’t end with Switzerland this year. His wind band piece, Památník (“Memorial”), will receive its European premiere by the Band of the Castle Guard & Czech Police at Prague Castle in November.
Tickets for Door County’s world premiere of Beranek’s Partita melodica are now available online at midsummersmusic.com or by calling (920) 854-7088. Prices for the August 26, 28 and 29 concerts are $29 for adults, $10 for students, and free for children 12 and younger. A salon concert in a private home in Sturgeon Bay is on August 27, and tickets for this performance are $60 for adults and $20 for students.