May 7-10, 2026
The 118th Bethlehem Bach Festival is the culminating celebration of our season – a cherished homecoming that brings audiences together in the heart of historic Bethlehem. Continuing the new four-day Festival format we introduced last year, this expanded celebration marks the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding by honoring the Moravian musical heritage that helped shape the Bach Choir. With performances of music from the Moravian archives, insights from distinguished scholars, and collaborations with Moravian partners both in the Lehigh Valley and abroad, this year’s Festival invites us to reflect on where we came from and why it matters. With all beloved traditions – plus a few exciting new additions – this milestone Festival offers a powerful tribute to legacy, community, and the enduring joy of Bach.
THU MAY 7
Well Being Concert: Joshua Roman
In collaboration with Zoellner Arts Center
4pm
Location: Fowler Black Box Theatre, Zoellner Arts Center, Lehigh University
Have you ever heard a piece of music that puts your mind at ease and softens the rough edges of an aching soul? Or one that lifts you out of your chair and into movement? A song that brings you back to the joyful satisfaction of childhood? The healing power of music is well documented. Research continues to affirm that music can reduce stress, alleviate anxiety, and help us reconnect with ourselves and one another. At Zoellner Arts Center, we are proud to introduce Well-Being Concerts, a transformative concert experience inspired by a pioneering program from Carnegie Hall.
Imagine a concert that invites you to fully relax with no expectation to sit still or remain silent. Instead, you will find yourself onstage with the musicians, seated in a comfortable chair, resting on a cushion, or lying on a yoga mat. Guided by a facilitator/host (Khalid Taylor or Sara Jane Black), you will be gently led through mindfulness practices designed to open your senses and deepen your connection to the music.
Joshua Roman is a cello soloist and composer, hailed for his “effortlessly expressive tone… and playful zest for exploration” (The New York Times), as well as his “extraordinary technical and musical gifts” and “blend of precision and almost improvisatory freedom… that goes straight to the heart” (The San Francisco Chronicle). His genre-bending programs and wide-ranging collaborations have grown out of an “enthusiasm for musical evolution that is as contagious as his love for the classics” (The Seattle Times).
Committed to bringing classical music to new audiences, Roman opened the acclaimed 2017 TED Conference — and his performance of the complete Bach Cello Suites after the 2016 U.S. presidential election was the most-viewed event in the history of TED’s social channels, with nearly a million live viewers. Roman has collaborated with world-class artists across genres and disciplines, including Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, DJ Spooky, Tony- winner/MacArthur Genius Bill T. Jones, GRAMMY®-winning East African vocalist Somi, and Tony-nominated actor Anna Deavere Smith.
Outside the Bachs: Time for Three
7pm
Location: Musikfest Cafe at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks
Our Outside the Bachs series reimagines the boundaries of Bach’s legacy – where Baroque meets bold, and tradition inspires innovation. These concerts push beyond expectation, inviting audiences to hear Bach’s spirit in new and surprising ways. As a self-described “classically trained garage band,” Time for Three is a GRAMMY Award-winning trio that defies categorization and delights audiences with a genre-bending fusion of classical, Americana, rock, and jazz. The Philadelphia-based group’s signature style reimagines what classical music can be and has landed them performances everywhere from NPR and the Oregon Bach Fest to NHL games and the Indianapolis 500.
Violinists Charles Yang and Nick Kendall, and bassist Ranaan Meyer exude raw energy, with inventive arrangements and original orchestrations that create moments of joyful surprise and musical fun. Come ready for a night of Bach meets Americana that crosses boundaries and brings us together.
FRI MAY 8
Films from the Archives
11am
Location: Room 145, Zoellner Arts Center, Lehigh University
Take a cinematic journey through the history of the Bach Choir with Archivist Cory Dieterly as he presents a curated selection of rare and treasured films from the Choir’s archives – featuring behind-the-scenes moments, landmark performances, and glimpses into the people and passion that have shaped our story for over 125 years.
Free lecture, no tickets required!
The Barnette Distinguished Scholar Lecture with Dr. Sarah Eyerly
2pm
Location: Room 145, Zoellner Arts Center, Lehigh University
Building on her groundbreaking book Moravian Soundscapes: A Sonic History of the Moravian Missions in Early Pennsylvania, Dr. Eyerly explores how sound shaped colonial encounters and spiritual life in the 18th Century. Eyerly delves into the rich interplay between J.S. Bach’s musical legacy and the early Moravian traditions transplanted to Pennsylvania. You’ll discover how Bach’s compositions resonated with Moravian communal singing practices, and her lecture highlights how Bach’s influence traveled not only through text but also in the act of listening and living within complex acoustic environments. Eyerly is a Professor of Musicology, Director of the Early Music Program, and Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development at Florida State University’s College of Music.
Free lecture, no tickets required!
Chorale Sing
3:30pm
Location: Incarnation of Our Lord Church
Join Conductor Christopher Jackson and members of the choir to sing Bach chorales prior to the Bach at 4 concert. Singers of all levels welcome, sheet music provided, and no German language skills necessary!
Bach at 4
4pm
Location: Incarnation of Our Lord Church
Featuring guest artists from Synnet, our world-class vocal soloists, and a select group of Bach Choir members, this intimate program highlights music by Heinrich Schütz, earlier Bach family relatives, and the polychoral styles of Dresen and Venice to take audiences on a chronological tour of the music that helped shape Johann Sebastian Bach.
Dinner & Discussion with Dr. Larry Lipkis
5:45pm
Location: Butz Lobby, Zoellner Arts Center
Enjoy an evening of food, fellowship, and fascinating insights before our 8pm concert kicks off. Dinner includes a buffet alongside fellow concertgoers, followed by an illuminating talk by Dr. Larry Lipkis, Professor of Music and Composer-in-Residence at Moravian University. Lipkis offers a lively insight into the evening program, enriching your concert experience and deepening your connection to the music.
Bach at 8
8pm
Location: Packer Memorial Church, Lehigh University
An evening of grandeur and grace, Bach at 8 pairs two masterful settings of the Mass from luminaries of the Baroque and Classical eras. Bach’s radiant Mass in A Major displays his hallmark clarity and devotion, while Mozart’s Great Mass in C Minor – unfinished but monumental – pays homage to Bach and offers its own unique drama and brilliance.
SAT MAY 9
Ifor Jones Memorial Chamber Music Concert
10:30am
Location: Baker Hall, Zoellner Arts Center, Lehigh University
The Musical Offering – One of the most remarkable stories in Bach’s life occurred in 1747, when, despite his declining health, he traveled to visit Frederick the Great, King of Prussia. The King, knowing of Bach’s legendary skills at improvisation, presented to Bach an infamous fugue theme and asked him to compose a three-part setting of the theme on the spot. Not only did Bach excel in that moment, he then took the theme home and created a monumental offering to Frederick, setting the theme in creative canons and various musical puzzles, culminating in a massive six-part fugue.
This tremendous display of compositional skill forms the backbone of our Ifor Jones concert. Joined by the period wind and brass musicians of SYNNET and the Bach Festival Orchestra, we explore this incredible masterwork and intersperse it with other instrumental gems of the Baroque era. Come witness Bach in one of his finest displays of genius.
The Bel Canto Youth Chorus
11:45am
Location: Lobby, Zoellner Arts Center, Lehigh University
Talented Bel Canto Youth Chorus singers showcase season accomplishments for Festival audiences directly following the conclusion of the Ifor Jones concert.
Festival Luncheon
12:30pm
Location: Butz Lobby, Zoellner Arts Center
Gather with fellow music lovers for a midday pause filled with food and festival spirit. This Festival Luncheon offers a respite to reflect on the morning’s performances and meet up with friends old and new.
This event is sold out.
Chorale Sing
2pm
Location: Outside of Packer Memorial Church
Friends and choral enthusiasts gather outdoors near Packer Memorial Church to sing Bach chorales for 20 minutes with Conductor Christopher Jackson and members of the Bach Choir, accompanied by the Festival Brass Choir. Join us in this beloved tradition!
Mass in B Minor
Part 1 – 2:30pm | Part 2 – 4:30pm
Location: Packer Memorial Church
In performing a word that transcends time and place, the Bach Choir continues its century-long tradition offering Bach’s monumental Mass in B Minor. For some, it’s a cherished reunion with old friends and familiar faces; for others, it’s a first encounter with soul-stirring music that fills Packer Memorial Church with awe and wonder. Whether you come from across the street or across the ocean, we invite you to be a part of this extraordinary and time-honored experience.
Zimmerman’s Coffee House
7pm
Location: Peter Hall, Moravian University
The legendary Zimmermann’s Coffee House comes to life with an evening of Baroque chamber music inspired by the Leipzig cafe where Bach and his contemporaries once gathered. Set in the intimate Peter Hall with cafe-style seating, hear vibrant performances by talented young musicians chosen by audition in a relaxed and casual atmosphere. Light refreshments will be available for sale.
SUN MAY 10
Chamber Music in the Saal
11am
Location: Saal of the Moravian Museum, Church Street
J.S. Bach wrote for the viola da gamba throughout his career, using the instrument’s unique sound to elevate moments in his cantatas and passions. But what music shaped Bach’s conception of the instruments? Viol virtuoso and music researcher Loren Ludwig offers a program of music that imagines how Bach might have heard the viol, including works by Carl Frederich Abel, Marin Marais, Dietrich Buxtehude, Georg Philipp Telemann, and more.
The Testament to Freedom
2:30pm
Location: Levitt Pavilion at SteelStacks
In a landmark collaboration for America’s Semiquincentennial, two of the Lehigh Valley’s most storied musical institutions – the Allentown Band, under the direction of Ron Demkee, and the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, under the direction of Conductor Christopher Jackson, join forces for a powerful musical tribute to freedom, heritage, and service.
Featuring Randall Thompson’s stirring The Testament to Freedom, inspired by the words of Thomas Jefferson and other significant American texts, the program also includes selections from Bethlehem’s Moravian musical tradition – curated by the Moravian Music Foundation – which anchor the concert in the Lehigh Valley’s own rich musical legacy. Presented outdoors at the Levitt Pavilion at SteelStacks, this program invites audiences to rejoice in the music that gives voice to the American spirit as we close out our 118th Festival.
Free performance, no tickets required!
