Beaver Island, the most remote inhabited isle in the Great Lakes, is widely known as a prime destination for nature lovers. But for the past 25 years, Baroque on Beaver Music Festival has established the “Emerald Isle” as a summer haven for classical music devotees.
The festival celebrates its 25th anniversary season from July 23 through Aug. 2. Forty professional instrumentalists and vocalists from across the Great Lakes region will descend upon the charming historical isle for a series of concerts. Bach and Haydn masterpieces, jazz, pop and innovative sounds will reverberate from community-based venues and outdoor settings alongside Lake Michigan’s lapping waves.
“When I first went to Baroque on Beaver, I was blown away. This was a Chicago-level program,” said Sally Rehkopf. “I’ve seen it get better and better, which I didn’t think was possible.” Rehkopf is board chair of Beaver Island Performing Arts Alliance. The festival is the nonprofit’s signature event.
The island’s classical music tradition began in 2002 in the small log chapel of St. James Episcopal Church. Fourteen local musicians and 16 choir members performed a single concert, then named “Bach on Beaver.” It turned out that the tiny isle of 600 residents was ripe for a new cultural showcase. One concert evolved to two, then four and then to the multiday event presented today.
“There were lots of changes in those first six or seven years that helped the event grow.,” said music director and conductor Robert Nordling. “I started in 2010 and was given a mandate to help develop the festival further into a fully professional, high-quality event for the island.”
Nordling, who also serves Shoreline Music Society and is Music Director Emeritus for Bandung Philharmonic, Indonesia, bids farewell to Baroque on Beaver in 2026. He passes the baton to Maestro Nathan Bieber after a final festival characterized by the creativity and energy he brought to the event for more than a decade.
“Robert Nordling brings the highest professionalism, and enthusiasm, excitement, diverse and innovative programming,” said violist Kim Teachout, a nine-year veteran of Baroque on Beaver.
Teachout is a member of the Traverse City Symphony Orchestra, principal violist for the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra and is an instructor at Traverse Area Public Schools and Northwestern Michigan College.
The annual festival kicks off July 23rd at Beaver Island Historical Society Museum when Nordling will lead a retrospective look at the event’s legacy. The official opening of Baroque on Beaver’s 25th season on July 25 features cocktails at Beaver Island Community Center and a performance by acclaimed soprano Martha Guth, accompanied by Erika Switzer, joined by cellist, Andrea Yun.
Audiences are encouraged to bring their own chair and cooler to enjoy Brass on the Grass at Whiskey Point Lighthouse on July 27. The performance is one of three free concerts taking place during the week. They include Chamber Music al Fresco: Donegal Bay Winds at the Gallery on July 29 and Brass on the Bay at Donegal Bay Pavilion on August 2.
Central Michigan University Biological Station on Beaver serves as muse for a new work.
On July 27 audiences at the Community Center will experience the premiere of a newly commissioned piece by Dr. Zachary Boyt created for the Beaver Island Performing Arts Alliance. The work fuses live performance, electronic media, and interactive elements exploring connections between science, art, and the natural world of Beaver Island.
“Zac takes data from the CMU Biological Station to create a piece linking the cosmos to the soul of music,” Rehkopf said.
The Baroque on Beaver Orchestra presents orchestral masterworks on July 30 at the Community Center in a concert merging professional artists and new talent. The concert showcases Baroque on Beaver’s Young Soloist Competition winner celloist Bhargava Kulkarni from Okemos.
“The program provides young musicians with a professional performance experience that many students don’t receive until much later in their careers,” Rehkopf said.
Chamber ensembles feature prominently during festival with performances by string quartets, woodwind quintets, brass quintet, with vocal and other mixed ensembles.
For the artists, the musical celebration offers a unique opportunity.
“It’s a bit like a working vacation,” Teachout said. “To be able to travel every summer to an island in Lake Michigan and create beautiful concerts with wonderful musicians is a gift.”
Audiences as well as musicians find Baroque on Beaver provides rare opportunity – the ability to meet and interact with performers on a casual basis at restaurants and other island sites which both frequent throughout the 10 days. The intimate island environment and festival inspire lasting bonds. “As you return year after year, so do audiences,” Teachout said. “Connections are made and friendships built – community happens.”
While the event has evolved through the years, it remains true to its founding intentions. “At its heart,” Rehkopf said, “it’s still about bringing people together through extraordinary music in an extraordinary place.”
Explore the complete concert schedule and purchase tickets at baroqueonbeaver.org.
INFOBOX
Getting to Beaver Island
Beaver Island Boat Company, www.bibco.com
Fresh Air Aviation, 231-237-9482
Island Airways, www.islandairways.com