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Mission: |
The mission of the Bach Festival Society is to bring excellent vocal, choral and instrumental music to the widest possible audience in southwest Michigan through performances of major works by the Bach Festival Chorus and orchestra, the sponsorship of renowned vocal artists and choral groups and educational outreach activities. The Bach Society focuses on the music of J.S. Bach and composers from the Renaissance to the contemporary era. |
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History: |
One of Kalamazoo’s oldest musical organizations, the Bach Festival Society was founded in 1947 by Henry Overley, Professor of Music at Kalamazoo College, who wanted to bring “town and gown” together to experience the joy of making music and to create something sublime - in particular, to recreate the choral and instrumental music of J.S. Bach and his contemporaries.
Participants included visiting artists, local professional musicians, college and high school students, and many amateur performers. A performance of J.S. Bach's St. Matthew Passion (BWV 244) inaugurated the Festival in March 1947. In its early years, the season consisted of a Christmas concert and a spring festival week, featuring many distinguished guest artists.
In the past 59 years, the Festival has grown and expanded, due to the active involvement of the community: now year-long, it includes “Bach-to-School” educational programs, Bach Legacy Lectures, a “Bach-Around-the-Block” organ crawl, a Young Artist Competition and Concert, a High School Choral Festival, master classes for young singers, and performances with the Kalamazoo Symphony, as well as our traditional Christmas concert and gala finale concert.
The Festival’s repertoire has expanded to include not only the music by J.S. Bach and his contemporaries, but also 19th-and 20th-century composers. The Festival concludes its season each year with the performance of a major symphonic choral work of Bach or another master composer (Felix Mendelssohn’s Elijah in 1998, Mozart’s Requiem in 1999 and 2006, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass in 2000, Johannes Brahms’ German Requiem in 2002, J.S. Bach's B Minor Mass (BWV 232) in 2003 and 2007, Mozart’s Solemn Vespers in 2004, George Frideric Handel’s Messiah, Parts II and III in 2005 and Sergei Rachmaninov's Vespers in 2008). |
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Recent Festivals: |
63rd Season: May 8-16, 2010
64th Season Apr 30-May 4, 2011
65th Season: Apr 22-25, 2012
66th Season: Apr 21-24, 2013
67th Season: May 18-21, 2014
68th Season: Apr 19-22, 2015
69th Season: Apr 10-16, 2016 |
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