[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ueh-ZuQnYf4&w=560&h=315]
If, like me, you’re beginning to feel a little bit of Bach Choir withdrawal (it’s been slightly more than two months since our last performance), there are two ways you can give yourself an infusion of Bach Choir magic. The first is easy: watch the beautiful, short film above. If you were at the 2014 Festival, you likely saw Anisa and Bill George (daughter and husband, respectively, of our fabulous Executive Director, Bridget George) weaving in and out of the action with video cameras. Anisa is an accomplished actress and filmmaker, and she’s responsible for the insightful, impressionistic, humorous, and visually poetic video. Enjoy!
The second way requires a little bit more doing, but the rewards will be great. On Saturday, August 16th, beginning at 7:00 pm, Hermann Wiemer Vineyards, perched high on a hillside above Seneca Lake in New York state’s bucolic Finger Lakes region, is hosting a fundraising event, entitled “Music for a Sparkling Summer Evening.” Set in their scissors-trussed barn, the menu for the evening includes a delightful collection of musical bonbons featuring Greg Funfgeld on piano, Rosa Lamoreaux, one of our wonderful soprano soloists, and instrumentalists Robin Kani, Chris Hanning, and Dan McDougal. The event also includes tastings of Wiemer’s exceptional wine (including rieslings that are consistently rated among the best produced in America) and delicious treats, both sweet and savory. I’ll be attending for the first time this year (this is the third summer of this auspicious event), but we’ve been to the vineyard before, and the setting (and their wine) is exceptionally lovely. The vineyard recently renovated their facilities, and, judging from a gallery on their website, things look even more posh than they did when we visited. The proceeds will benefit our ambitious and award-winning educational outreach programs, which include Bach to School, the annual Family Concert, and the Choral Scholars program.
In other news, I’ve seen a draft of the upcoming season brochure and chatted with our intrepid leader about programming for the coming year, and, though some details are still to be cemented, I can guarantee you that we’re in for a stunning year of music. We’re hosting the American Boychoir for our Gala concert, we’re offering Christmas Concerts that explore the Nativity through the lens of Mary, the Mother of God, and we’re collaborating with the Lehigh University Philharmonic, the Lehigh Valley Charter School for the Performing Arts, as well as the dance program at DeSales University. There will be fresh programming combined with cherished traditions at the 108th Bethlehem Bach Festival, including a reprisal of the Bach Chaconne Project, a new venue, and a rollicking Zimmerman’s Coffee House, MCed by our good friend, Larry Lipkis, and much, much more. As the theme of the season invites, be prepared to “be surprised by joy!” Once the details are finalized, and the brochures are in the mail, I’ll be blogging again to preview all of the upcoming season.
