In the summer of 2011, Midsummer’s Music Festival returned to the Boathouse on Rock Island for their 2nd annual chamber music concert, a very popular event that rapidly sold out.
I was fortunate to be aboard the ship in 2010 and had a chance to film the entire event. It was also my privilege to know in advance that Jean Berkenstock would open the evening with a surprise solo flute performance delivered from a spot high up in the rafters of the colossal stone Boathouse on Rock Island. It was a spooky opening, perfect for the great collection of intimate ensemble pieces to follow.
In 1910 wealthy inventor Chester Thordarson purchased 775 acres of Rock Island. A decade later, 30 acres on the southwest side of the island were cleared and Thordarson began construction of a summer estate. His large boathouse is decorated with characters from the Norse Runic alphabet.
The following video features individual performances by Midsummer’s Music Festival co-founder Jean Berkenstock and Door County’s favorite folk musician Gerhard Berhhard.
