Newswise — Grander than ever! The nation's two oldest Bach festivals are combining forces and pulling out the stops in celebration of the 75th Annual Bach Festival at Baldwin-Wallace College April 20"22. The B-W festival, the oldest collegiate Bach Festival in the United States, is a three-day festival celebrating the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and his contemporaries.
Established in 1932 by Albert Riemenschneider, first director of the Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory, and his wife Selma, the B-W festival was patterned after the Bethlehem, Pa. Bach Festival which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. In celebration of both anniversaries, the Bethlehem Bach Choir will join with the B-W Bach festival ensembles in a performance of Bach's Mass in B Minor, Saturday, April 21, 2:30 p.m. in Severance Hall in Cleveland. In May, B-W will go to Bethlehem, Pa. to repeat the performance during that organization's 100th celebration.
"The Bethlehem Festival was the genesis of our Bach Festival," said Kent Cleland, interim director of the Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory of Music. "A 75th and a 100th anniversary are significant occasions. When you celebrate occasions like that, you should do something extraordinary. We're convinced that combining these two exceptional programs will deliver a special moment for lovers of J.S. Bach's music."
Preceding that concert, on Saturday morning a panel of esteemed music critics from across the country will discuss the relevance of Bach in modern times. The panelists include: Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News; David Mermelstein, Los Angeles Daily News; Anne Midgette, The New York Times; Tim Page, The Washington Post; and Donald Rosenberg, The Plain Dealer. The event is sponsored by B-W's chapter of Mu Phi Epsilon music honorary.
Another special addition to this year's Baldwin-Wallace Bach Festival is a concert by pianist and composer, Dave Brubeck and the Dave Brubeck Quartet, Sunday, April 22, at 2 p.m. in Kulas Musical Arts Building on the Baldwin-Wallace campus. A jazz legend, Brubeck has acknowledged Bach's influences on his own work. Among Brubeck's many honors are a National Medal of the Arts and a Jazz Master's Award, both from the National Endowment for the Arts. He received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for his musical contributions as both pianist and composer.
Each year, the B-W Bach Festival features internationally known soloists who perform with B-W student musicians and area professionals in a series of concerts. This year's soloists include Tamara Matthews, soprano; Jennifer Lane, mezzo-soprano; Stanford Olsen, tenor and Christopheren Nomura, baritone. Dwight Oltman, celebrating his 31st year as music director of the Festival, has established a reputation as one of America's leading interpreters of the music of J.S. Bach. Stuart Raleigh, directs the Baldwin-Wallace College and Motet Choirs and has been the chorus master of the Bach Festival since 1974.
The B-W Bach Festival will begin on Friday, April 20 at 3:15 p.m. with the Festival Brass Choir, under the direction of John Brndiar, as they perform from the tower of Marting Hall preceding the first concert at 4 p.m. Friday evening's concert brings organist Ulrich Böhme back to campus. Böhme has been the organist at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig since 1985—the same church where Bach worked for the last 27 years of his life. Böhme's concert will be held at the United Methodist Church of Berea, 170 Seminary St.
For more information about Bach Festival subscriptions or tickets to individual concerts, go to www.bw.edu/bachfest or call 440-826-2207. Tickets for the April 21 concert also are available at Severance Hall - (216) 231-1111
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