The Griffon String Quartet, hailed for “superb playing, palpable chemistry, spirit, and emotional connection,” will perform two pay-what-you-can holiday concerts and a special Music for Food benefit concert in Green Bay and Door County.
Spicing up the repertoire and injecting some Brazilian warmth into a cold, Wisconsin mid-December is Heitor Villa-Lobos’ String Quartet No. 1, consisting of six short movements, including the lively and humorous second movement, Brincadeira (Joke). Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 8 in E Minor, Op. 59, No. 2, was commissioned by County Rasumovsky and makes profound demands on the musicians, being a complex and difficult piece on multiple levels. Rounding out the concerts, the quartet will play a selection of well-loved holiday pieces to put everyone in a festive spirit to begin and end the performances.
The December 16 concert at 5:00pm at Hope United Church of Christ in Sturgeon Bay is a “Music for Food” concert to benefit Feed & Clothe My People. Feed and Clothe My People is a charitable organization formed in 1982 by Bev Hogan, Bev Knutson, and Rev. Burke Johnson for the purpose of providing sustenance to local residents in need. The program was initially designed to meet emergency needs only. As the number of residents in need of food and clothing increased, so did the scope of required services. The thrift store and food pantry serve the public without discrimination based on age, gender, race, or religious affiliation. Attendees are asked to bring food or monetary donations for Feed & Clothe My People.
The December 17 concert will be at 2:00pm at First Presbyterian Church in Green Bay, and the December 18 concert will be at 3:00pm at the Donald & Carol Kress Pavilion in Egg Harbor. Attendees to these concerts are asked to pay what they can.
While tickets are free to all three concerts, advance reservations can be made at midsummersmusic.com.
One of the most vibrant and engaging quartets of their generation, the Griffon String Quartet was formed in the fall of 2018 as a collaboration between Midsummer’s Music and the Fine Arts Institute at East High in Green Bay. The GSQ is a groundbreaking project to enrich the lives of children and adults throughout Northeast Wisconsin through concerts, workshops, and music education outreach. Extraordinary musicians who have performed with orchestras and ensembles around the globe, they are equally dedicated to music education and inspiring the next generation of music lovers. Each member of the Griffon String Quartet has advanced degrees and significant professional experience, both as educators and performers, and they have been recognized for “their youthful vigor, which is absolutely infectious!”
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.