Sister Bay, Wis. – January 4, 2019 – In the fall of 2018, Midsummer’s Music Ltd. in Door County, the Fine Arts Institute at East High in Green Bay, and St. Norbert College in De Pere launched a ground-breaking project to enhance student learning and academic achievement through increased exposure to—and participation in—music. The result is a three-year program to embed a professional resident string quartet ensemble into the classrooms of schools throughout Door and Brown Counties.
Midsummer’s Music President and Artistic Director, Jim Berkenstock, along with Executive Director and Assistant Artistic Director, Allyson Fleck, carefully considered musicians to fill the four spots. Ryan Louie, cello, has toured extensively and has degrees from Carnegie Mellon University and the Cleveland Institute of Music. Blakeley Menghini, viola, is a 2018 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she earned her Doctoral of Musical Arts. Roy Meyer, violin, has a Bachelor of Music in violin performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Masters of Music degree from the University of South Florida in Tampa. Vinicius Sant’ Ana, violin, earned his Masters of Music degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
On October 13, the quartet played their premiere concert at the Miller Art Museum, where the performed Joseph Haydn’s Quartet, Op. 20, No. 2, Felix Mendelssohn’s Quartet No. 2, Op. 13, and Blueprint by Pulitzer Prize winning composer Caroline Shaw. The quartet has gone on to work with children at the Boys & Girls Club of Door County, and plans are set to work with seniors in the new year. They toured businesses in Door County and Brown County in December with mini caroling concerts.
The quartet has remained nameless, though, and Midsummer’s Music has entertained many ideas. Ultimately, the members of the quartet narrowed many options to just a few and chose the Griffon String Quartet as the name.
On January 16, Midsummer’s Music will host an event at the Door County Maritime Museum in Sturgeon Bay in celebration of the quartet’s name, which comes from the 17th-century sailing vessel Le Griffon, the largest ship on the Great Lakes at that time. The Maritime Museum was chosen as the venue because of the Great Lakes connection.
Maritime Museum Executive Director Kevin Osgood said, “It’s exciting for The Door County Maritime Museum to be a part of the Midsummer’s Music announcement event. Music has long been a part of life aboard ships, and in maritime communities like ours it’s been a part of life for centuries. We’re looking forward to sharing in this experience with Midsummer’s Music and our community.”
The party, which is free and open to the public, will run from 4:00 to 6:00 pm and will include refreshments, a toast, and a performance by the Griffon String Quartet.
Midsummer’s Music was co-founded in 1990 by Jim and Jean Berkenstock, long-time Door County summer residents and, until retirement, principal orchestral players with the Lyric Opera of Chicago. The organization has drawn on the extraordinary talent of professional musicians and artist/faculty of universities throughout the Midwest. Offering chamber music for winds, strings, and piano performed in intimate settings throughout Door County, venues include art galleries, churches, and private homes. From such masters as Mozart, Schubert, and Dvořák to some lesser-known but very accomplished composers, each concert is an unforgettable musical experience.