Peninsula Music Festival

Through the Years

Now celebrating its 71st Anniversary Season, the Peninsula Music Festival is nestled along the beautiful shores of Wisconsin’s famed Door Peninsula. Concertgoers enjoy world-class performances year-round with three exciting and unique Series to explore:

  • The Symphony Series: Presented during the month of August, performances feature world-renowned conductors, acclaimed guest artists, and a Festival Orchestra of eighty musicians who represent leading symphonic and operatic orchestras from around the world including those of Calgary, Toronto, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Boston, Milwaukee, Omaha, St. Louis, Houston Grand Opera, The Dallas Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago. Concerts are held every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 7:30pm in the state-of-the-art Door Community Auditorium in Fish Creek. Built and designed specifically as a performance venue for the Festival Orchestra, the 750-seat Concert Hall is equipped with a rich acoustic and open sight lines so that patrons can enjoy unobstructed views of the stage.
  • A Chamber Music Series: Presented throughout the season with featured performances by members of the Festival Orchestra, and special guest artists, in solo and small ensemble repertoire.
  • Recital Series: Presented throughout the season with featured performances by luminaries from the worlds of classical music, opera, and Broadway.
1953 Festival Orchestra - Thor Johnson, Conductor

But in order to celebrate where we are, we must first understand how it all came to be…

In 1951, Thor Johnson [Founder and Conductor], had an idea and dreamt of organizing a Festival built around a Chamber Orchestra, and the rich repertoire written for smaller Orchestras that is seldom ever heard. He shared his idea with Mr. and Mrs. Lorenz Heise, who were extremely interested in the idea due to their love for classical music. After a few years of budget planning and committee meetings, the organization was formed, and the Peninsula Music Festival’s inaugural performance was heard on Thursday, August 6, 1953.

Initially, a budget of $10,000 was proposed but needed to be secured prior to the start of the festival. Though there were mixed feelings about the likelihood of being able to raise that amount of money, an eager team of volunteers went fundraising door-to-door to help fund Thor’s musical dream. Plans were made to start the first Festival performances in August of 1953, with eight Chamber Orchestra concerts including one that was especially geared towards children.

The first Festival performances, held in the Gibraltar School Gymnasium, were a great success and paved the way for future development efforts. Thor Johnson, Lorenz Heise, and Kay Wilson of Ephraim continued to lead the Festival during its formative years.

Up until his death in 1975, Thor Johnson had been at the helm with pride for 22 years, guiding it along the way as it became an established Door County institution. The loss of its Founder was particularly difficult, but new leadership was established, and carried on that which Thor Johnson had begun in 1951. In 1978, Michael Charry was appointed Music Director, and following his resignation in 1982, Byron Hanson became the Festival’s Music Coordinator, bringing in many Guest Conductors to help lead the Festival Orchestra, and bridge the gap until the next Music Director could be named.

It wasn’t until 1985 that the Festival’s Board of Directors moved to appoint Victor Yampolsky as its new Music Director and Conductor. Under Maestro’s 34yrs of leadership (1985-2019), the orchestra grew from a chamber ensemble into a full Festival Orchestra with a roster that will proudly showcase eighty orchestral musicians during The Symphony Series August 2-20, 2022.

Victor Yampolsky in Concert

Since the summer of 1991, symphonic concerts have been held at the Door Community Auditorium. Praised as a, “uniquely intimate, and acoustically outstanding jewel box of a Concert Hall” - the DCA was built specifically for the Festival Orchestra and is ideal for symphonic music. Although long-time Festival patrons may have nostalgic memories of un-airconditioned summer nights on folding chairs in the Gibraltar Gymnasium, all now greatly appreciate the comfortable seating, air-conditioning, and ideal acoustics that make PMF so proud to be in residence at the Auditorium every summer.

In 1998, PMF added some small chamber music concerts to its offerings during the winter that were performed by members of the orchestra. Now called February Fest, these boutique events bring members of the Festival Orchestra back together, along with some special guest artists, so that patrons can enjoy specialized concerts in a more intimate setting at the Kress Pavilion in Egg Harbor.

Upon the retirement announcement of Maestro Yampolsky in the spring of 2019, a special committee was formed, and the international search began to name PMF’s next Music Director and Conductor of The Symphony Series. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic of March 2020 not only halted this process, but was responsible for the decimation of multiple PMF seasons. With a renewed sense of hope and excitement, the Festival looks forward to resuming the selection process when the Festival Orchestra returns for its residency at the Auditorium this August.

In celebration of its extraordinarily high standard of artistic excellence, and the presentation of unparalleled musical experiences in near perfect settings, Festival administration, staff, and countless volunteers continue to dedicate themselves to assuring the great success of this “Tradition of Distinction”!

Victor Yampolsky, Conductor Emeritus