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May 2023

Ifor Jones Chamber Music Concert

May 20, 2023 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Zoellner Arts Center, Bethlehem, 420 E. Packer Ave.
Bethlehem, PA 18015 United States
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$25

Baker Hall | Zoellner Arts Center · Lehigh University, Bethlehem

The Bel Canto Youth Chorus
Artist-in-Residence Loretta O'Sullivan will accompany Bel Canto Concert Choir on "Wir eilen mit schwachen, doch emsigen Schritten" from Cantata 78 , Jesu der du meine Seele
Antonio Vivaldi - Concerto for 2 Cellos in G minor, RV 531
J. S. Bach - Orchestral Suite in D Major, BWV 1068

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Festival Luncheon

May 20, 2023 @ 11:00 am - 12:15 pm
Zoellner Arts Center, Bethlehem, 420 E. Packer Ave.
Bethlehem, PA 18015 United States
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$27 – $34

  Butz Lobby, Zoellner Arts Center Limited seating is available for this full-course, served luncheon which includes comments from one of acclaimed Festival soloists. Conveniently located in Zoellner Arts Center and open to the public. Members of the Heritage Society and Guarantors in the top 3 giving circles ($750+) attend as our guests.  Tickets / Advance registration required. No tickets available at the door. Guarantors: $27 Public: $34  

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The Mass in B Minor

May 20, 2023 @ 1:00 pm - 3:30 pm
Packer Memorial Church, 18 University Drive
Bethlehem, PA 18015 United States
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$25 – $68

Our treasured tradition, attended and warmly received by thousands of people from around the country and around the world since the American premiere of Bach’s monumental Mass at the very first Bethlehem Bach Festival in 1900.  You may want to plan a picnic on the lovely grounds of the church between Parts 1 & 2…another treasured tradition!

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June 2023

Bach at Noon | June 13

June 13, 2023 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
St. John’s Lutheran Church, 37 S. 5th Street
Allentown, PA 18101 United States
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Free Admission! Join us for a breathtaking afternoon of music! Our 125th anniversary season continues with the Summer Bach at Noon Series in Allentown on June 13th. Artistic Director and Conductor, Christopher Jackson lead members of The Bach Choir, Bach Festival Orchestra, and much-loved soloists! This free concert promises to bring to life the works of some of the greatest composers in history. We look forward to welcoming you! PROGRAM: Click here for the digital program. Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741) From The…

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July 2023

Bach at Noon | July 11

July 11, 2023 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
St. John’s Lutheran Church, 37 S. 5th Street
Allentown, PA 18101 United States
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  FREE admission! Join us for the 25th Allentown Bach at Noon on July 11 at St. John's Lutheran Church. Artistic Director and Conductor, Christopher Jackson lead members of The Bach Choir, Bach Festival Orchestra, and much-loved soloists! This free concert promises to bring to life the works of some of Bach's greatest influences. We look forward to welcoming you! Click here for the digital program PROGRAM: Soloists Katelyn Grace Jackson – soprano Margot Rood – soprano Hannah Baslee –…

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August 2023

Bach at Noon | August 8

August 8, 2023 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
St. John’s Lutheran Church, 37 S. 5th Street
Allentown, PA 18101 United States
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FREE admission! Join us for the Allentown Bach at Noon Summer Series on August 8 at St. John’s Lutheran Church. Artistic Director and Conductor, Christopher Jackson lead members of The Bach Choir, Bach Festival Orchestra, and much-loved soloists! This free concert features Bach’s impassioned solo Cantata 199, Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut, beloved choral works by Mendelssohn, Brahms, and hymns from the American Shaker tradition. Nationally renowned soprano and featured soloist on our upcoming world-premiere recording, Clara Rottsolk joins us for this…

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September 2023

Bach at Noon | September 12

September 12, 2023 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Central Moravian Church, 73 West Church St.
Bethlehem, PA 18018 United States
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We're thrilled to return to Central Moravian Church in Bethlehem! Join us for the season opener, Bach at Noon, on September 12, 2023. Delight in insights from Christopher Jackson as he leads The Bach Choir, Bach Festival Orchestra, and our esteemed soloists. Soloists: Clara Rottsolk, soprano James Reese, tenor William Marshall, baritone Nobuo Kitagawa, oboe Can't make it in person? Click here to listen live on WWFM.  PROGRAM:  Click here to view or print the program.  

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Zimmermann’s Coffee House: Oktoberfest Edition

September 30, 2023 @ 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Peter Hall, Moravian University, 348 Main Street
Bethlehem, PA 18018 United States
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Mark your calendars and join us on September 30, 2023, as we present Zimmermann's Coffeehouse FIRST-EVER Oktoberfest Edition — a celebration of German culture and music! We return to the exquisite Peter Hall at Moravian University, adorned with stunning 19th-century stained glass windows and superb acoustics. Immerse yourself in the ambiance of Bach's Leipzig as you indulge in delicious light fare, authentic German beer, and captivating music, performed by talented students, chosen by audition. Ticket sales begin on August 1,…

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October 2023

Bach at Noon | October 10

October 10, 2023 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Central Moravian Church, 73 West Church St.
Bethlehem, PA 18018 United States
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Join us in celebrating our 130th Bethlehem Bach at Noon on October 10, 2023, at Central Moravian Church! Enjoy an all-Bach program presented by Christopher Jackson, The Bach Choir, and Bach Festival Orchestra. We look forward to sharing this afternoon delight with you! Soloists: Kim Leads, mezzo-soprano  Lawrence Jones, tenor David Newman, baritone   Can't join us in person? Join us virtually! Click here to live-stream on YouTube  PROGRAM:  Click here to view or print the program.

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November 2023

Gala Concert and World Premiere Recording

November 4, 2023 @ 2:30 pm - 5:30 pm
Packer Memorial Church, 18 University Drive
Bethlehem, PA 18015 United States
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Mendelssohn’s Reconstruction of Bach’s Saint Matthew Passion PLAN TO JOIN US FOR THIS WORLD-PREMIERE PERFORMANCE & LIVE RECORDING OF THE NEW SCHOLARLY EDITION! The Bach Choir invites you to attend the world premiere performance and LIVE scholarly edition recording of Felix Mendelssohn’s version of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, in celebration of our 125th Anniversary. Led by Artistic Director and Conductor Christopher Jackson, our Bach Choir singers, Bach Festival Orchestra and national soloists will perform this work, the first published scholarly edition of this…

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"From anguish to elation, and just about everything in between, pretty much describes the vast emotional landscape covered in Friday evening’s concert at Packer Memorial Church presented by the Bach Choir of Bethlehem. Splendid musicianship, rousing choruses, and the sublime voices of the soloists turned grief into joy and sorrow into triumph."

—The Morning Call, May 2018

"The oft-quoted phrase 'a drumroll, please' aptly applies to the opening of Rutter’s exultant Gloria, which provided a dramatic finale to the program. What a thrill to hear those punchy, syncopated brass lines accompanying some really polished and vibrant singing. The “Domine Deus” section sported some lovely soprano voices in addition to many demanding, multi-part choruses –— some with up to eight parts. There was a miraculous blend of tone and balance throughout."

—The Morning Call, March 2018

"The performance was one of integrity, movement, passion and weight. The effortless virtuosity and stylistic homogeneity of the combined forces in the chapel's stone sanctity, allowed Bach's music to sing out with infectious, exhilarating enthusiasm."

—The Huffington Post, 2017

"The audience was thrilled by this outstanding performance of a Bach Cantata by seasoned experts immersed in the composer and informed by Greg Funfgeld's wisdom and enthusiasm...The Bachs [J.S.B and C.P.E] could not have been better served, not to mention two English Renaissances, as well as our own time. It went beyond mere intelligent programming and committed performance, enriched by a deep sense of the mutual nourishment of music and faith."

—New York Arts, 2015

"Nestled in the Pennsylvania countryside, on and around the bucolic campus of Lehigh University, the Bethlehem Bach Festival, under the artistic direction of conductor Greg Funfgeld, is in its 108th season and going strong. If it has flaws, they are like those that distinguish a fine emerald from the perfect clarity of a fake...their choral sonority is so rich you can feel it in your bones."

—The Wall Street Journal, May 2015

"Two days later I am Newark bound again, with a head full of the history of a town I previously had no awareness of, and with a heart full of the music of Bach, presented in a context that felt less like a festival than a glorious friendship between a great composer and the orchestra, conductor and choir at the heart of an extraordinary town."

—The Whole-Note - Toronto, June 2015

"The Bach Choir of Bethlehem, founded in the 19th century, has gained international recognition through its annual Bach Festival, tours and recordings. The more than 100 vocalists displayed clean tone, excellent pitch and blend, and kept good tempo even in the most stressful numbers…outstanding, energetic and crisp. The orchestra was a collection of top freelancers from around the Eastern Seaboard including several from Washington… baritone Dashon Burton, was the standout. He has a clarion instrument that projects well throughout his range…a splendid dramatic performance. Soprano Rosa Lamoreaux was also excellent, expertly modulating her silvery tone for the various roles she took…This was the choir’s big night, though, and it gave great pleasure…”

—The Washington Post, March 2013

“A handsome account of Bach’s St. John Passion on this new release confirms that the Bach Choir of Bethlehem doesn’t rest on anything resembling laurels. Greg Funfgeld has trained his singers to articulate words crisply, dance lightly when the music must move and blend elegantly. Funfgeld brings a sure sense of phrasing, texture and pacing to the narrative, and the Bach Festival Orchestra—mostly modern instruments, with viola da gamba, violas d’amore and portative organ supplying period flavors—are cohesive and nimble. Charles Daniels stands out as a poetic and powerful Evangelist, William Sharp as a warmly inflected Jesus and Julia Doyle as a shining champion of the soprano arias.”

—Gramophone, November 2012

“The Bach Choir of Bethlehem sang a Brahms motet (“Lass Dich Nur Nichts”) with all the polish and fervor it brought to cantatas by its namesake.”

—New York Times, September 2011

“..inspired program of hope, optimism and comfort …disarmingly powerful…overflows with jubilation”

—The Morning Call, October 2011

“America’s venerable Bach Choir of Bethlehem makes its Analekta debut on a disc brimming-over with festive D major trumpets-and-drums brilliance…Julia Doyle and Daniel Taylor heading up a distinguished solo line-up.”

—BBC Music Magazine, May 2010

“Conductor Greg Funfgeld coaxed a lovely rich chamber orchestra sound from the Bach Festival Orchestra strings...The hauntingly beautiful voices of Taylor and Zsigovics—she in her festival debut—melted together like two precious metals, hers of bell-like clarity, his a more complex alchemy, with a sheen like liquid mercury.”

—The Morning Call, May 2010

“As I listen to The Bach Choir of Bethlehem with Greg Funfgeld conducting…I find it hard to believe this is an all-volunteer choir but it’s true…a well polished vocal ensemble, and a true level of musicianship and understanding of the choral music of Bach.”

—Minnesota Public Radio Review, December 2009

“…an American musical treasure… they sing with a fervor and a level of musicianship that carries one away—from bass to soprano, the supple strength and solidly integrated tone of this amateur choir reflects the most admirable qualities of the European-American tradition of choral song.”

—Wall Street Journal May, 2007

“By all accounts the chorus remains as vital an institution as ever…The B-Minor Mass performance was rousing, committed and touching…Bach’s ‘St. Matthew Passion’ too was ardently and lovingly performed…”

—New York Times, May 2007

“This is Bach at its finest. The conductor, orchestra, soloists, and chorus are eminently capable of the nuances of the rich harmonic texts …spirited and vivacious…It is not likely to get any better than this on this side of the Atlantic.”

—The American Organist, January, 2004

“America’s venerable Bach Choir of Bethlehem sang Bach and Mendelssohn with good-natured and ruddy-cheeked elation. And their centerpiece was a BBC/Bach Choir co-commission, the world premiere of Libby Larsen’s I It Am, a jubilant cantata based on the writings of Julian of Norwich…this highly coloured and disarmingly unsophisticated work came from, and went straight to, the heart.”

—The Times, London, July 2003

“The Bach Choir of Bethlehem…had their audience enthralled…The choir knows and loves this work – and it shows…transatlantic magic.”

—The Scotsman, Edinburgh, July 2003

“Nearly one hundred strong, the Bach Choir of Bethlehem tempers its power and energy with the intimacy of a much smaller group. It also blends seamlessly with the excellent modern-instrument Festival orchestra which Greg Funfgeld conducts with an obvious knowledge of, and sensitivity to, modern performance practice.”

—Early Music News, California, October/November 2002

“…the Choir and Festival Orchestra, under their director, Greg Funfgeld, perform these three cantatas beautifully and convincingly. The work of the soloists is excellent, too…Excitement, dedication, power—all things that we hear more and more seldom in Bach cantatas—lend distinction to this beautiful and well-produced recording.”

—American Record Guide, November/December 2002

“Sheer jubilance…exceptional elegance and grace…radiant performance…Having heard the Bethlehem Bach Choir pour its heart into the master’s vocal music, one will never listen to it in quite the same way again.”

—Musical America, May 2001

“The Bethlehem Bach Festival is one of the most venerable musical institutions in the USA, with an unmatched tradition of introducing Bach’s music to our shores. Greg Funfgeld…has revitalized this Pennsylvania institution, and Dorian is doing well to document its vibrancy in a recording series… genuine honesty and intelligence informs this performance…Funfgeld has forged a fine body of singers and players…tightly disciplined ensemble …rousing spirit and sacred joy aplenty. This recording will not disappoint.”

—American Record Guide, November/December 2000

“…intoxicating but precise choral sound that reminds you why choruses grew this large in the first place. The elemental power is startling…the Bethlehem approach under Greg Funfgeld isn’t anachronistic, but meets the historically enlightened approach halfway…We know from Bach’s often irritable correspondence that he campaigned for more singers. The Bach Choir of Bethlehem gives him all he could have wanted. Maybe this is “in-his-dreams” Bach.”

—Philadelphia Inquirer, December 2000

“…a performance that confirmed my belief that this is one of the finest large amateur choruses in the United States.”

—The Washington Post, May 1999

The Bach Choir gratefully acknowledges and thanks our sponsors and media partners for supporting our organization and the arts.
The Choir is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.

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