CULTURE CLUB: Peninsula Music Festival: Balancing the Baton

by LISA HARPER, Peninsula Music Festival executive director

The 73rd Peninsula Music Festival (PMF) season is a wrap. The light stands and props are stored, Esther, our gorgeous Steinway, is back at Shepherd of the Bay church under Judith Jackson’s caring eye, and the musicians are playing in their home orchestras. 

Maestro Rune Bergmann and I are talking via Zoom, our calendars, notepads and old program books spread out on our desks. We are finalizing the project we started last February, creating the 74th season’s program. Every Music Director is a storyteller, and Maestro Bergmann’s story has five requirements. His programs must:  

• Blend different musical genres, usually Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Modern/Pops that center around a theme.

• Utilize both talented up-and-coming and well-known soloists to perform.

• Challenge and develop the orchestra.

• Deliver what the patrons expect: the highest quality musical experiences that generate deep emotions in response to the music.

• Stay within the PMF’s financial guidelines. (OK, maybe that’s my part of the story!)

If that sounds difficult, it is! How does he do it?