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112th Bethlehem Bach FestivalBach at NoonGala Concert & FundraiserChristmas ConcertsFamily ConcertsSpring Concerts
Please see our Festival pages for complete information on our glorious performances and making the most of your Festival visit.
We look forward to seeing you in May!
Our Allentown summer series returns on June 11, when we’ll celebrate our 10th Bach at Noon in Allentown!
Always free and open to the public, this concert series offers the perfect opportunity to enjoy midday spiritual and musical refreshment – treat yourself and a friend!
Please go the “Jump to” box for the repertoire and details for each Bach at Noon concert! For directions and parking, click here. (Choose St. John’s Lutheran Church from the list of locations.)
Bach and Handel CDs make cherished gifts, for any occasion!
Recorded in Bethlehem in May, 2018, these CDs include:
2-CD Set: J.S. Bach, Cantata BWV 21 and George Frideric Handel, Ode for Saint Cecilia’s Day
$30
Greg Funfgeld conducts The Bach Choir of Bethlehem and Bach Festival Orchestra, with featured soloists:
Cassandra Lemoine, soprano
Rosa Lamoreux, soprano
Daniel Taylor, countertenor
Benjamin Butterfield, tenor
William Sharp, baritone
Single CDs are also available for $17 each.
Treat yourself and friends and family to this exquisite music! Place your order by clicking our “Shop” page or calling 610-866-4382.
And to hear from our wonderfully dedicated Choir members, explore the links below!
⇒ VOICES from the CHOIR
- To take a peek at rehearsal for the Festival: click here!
- “A gift I did not ever see coming” : click here!
- “…for people to feel what we feel!” : click here!
- “…more down-to-earth than people think.” : click here!
- “…in our own backyard!” : click here!
112th Bethlehem Bach Festival
Our largest event of the year takes place in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on the campus of Lehigh University and on the historic grounds of the Moravian community. The Festival is a glorious tradition treasured by thousands of people from throughout the United States and beyond since the American premiere of Bach’s monumental Mass at the first Bethlehem Bach Festival in 1900. The Festival is presented each year over two weekends in May, and includes guest artists-in-residence, featured young musicians, lectures and chorale sings with the audience.
Bach at Noon
Initiated in 2005, this free concert series was designed as a community and economic development initiative educating new audiences about Bach’s music. It includes seven performances throughout the year at Central Moravian Church in Bethlehem and three summer concerts at St. John’s Lutheran Church in downtown Allentown. Greg Funfgeld introduces each program with an engaging, informal talk. Bach at Noon has been a phenomenal success attracting audiences of all ages totaling more than 8,000 a year. A frequent response from audience members is, “This is such a blessing!”
This season, we’re thrilled to announce that our Bach at Noon concerts will be broadcast by WWFM, the Classical Network. This award-winning classical music station is listener supported, and has offered a number of Bach Choir concerts in previous seasons. We’re delighted that they’ll be sharing our joyous Bach at Noon concerts with listeners near and far each month!
The schedule for the WWFM broadcasts is shown below, listing the concert, followed by the broadcast date. Note that each month, the broadcasts take place at 1 PM on the second Monday of the month.
2018:
September 11 Bach at Noon / Broadcast on Monday, October 8
October 9 Bach at Noon / Broadcast on Monday, November 12
November 13 Bach at Noon / Broadcast on Monday, January 7
2019:
January 8 Bach at Noon / Broadcast on Monday, February 11
CANCELLED: February 12 Bach at Noon / no broadcast scheduled
March 12 Bach at Noon / Broadcast on Monday, April 8
April 9 Bach at Noon / Broadcast on Monday, June 10
June 11 Bach at Noon / Broadcast on Monday, July 8
July 9 Bach at Noon / Broadcast on Monday, August 12
Gala Concert & Fundraiser
Peter Serkin
Building on the successful presentation of such high profile artists as Yo-Yo Ma, Dave Brubeck, Emma Kirkby, Tiempo Libre, Hilary Hahn, the Swingle Singers, Eliot Fisk, the American Boychoir, Bach Collegium Japan, Roomful of Teeth and Thomanerchor, the annual Gala is a fundraiser and a fun musical and social event featuring Bach connections in different genres with guest artists at the top of their field.
Download Gala Concert Ticket Order Form
The Gala Committee is working very hard to present an inviting and eclectic selection of of Auction items at this year’s event! Click the button below for a peek at the items up for bid. We’ll continue to update this over the next few weeks – so check back before November 3rd!
Don’t miss your chance to make a contribution and take home an outstanding item! (Can’t attend the Gala but would like to bid on one of our Live Auction items? Send an email to cheryl@bach.org with your bid! We’ll notify you if you’ve won following our event. )
Download 2018 Auction Item List
Christmas Concerts
The Choir’s long tradition of offering Christmas music concerts began with the first complete performance of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio in the United States in 1901. Since then, the Choir has continued to bring Bach’s music, along with the sacred Christmas music of other composers, including more contemporary pieces, to the community with its annual December concerts in Allentown and Bethlehem.
Family Concerts
Initiated in 2000, the annual Family Concerts are imaginative, collaborative, interactive concerts that feature professional and student artists in the fields of music, dance, theater, visual arts, and poetry, performing with the full Bach Choir and Bach Festival Orchestra. For many parents, the Family Concert offers the perfect opportunity to introduce their children to Bach, classical music and a live performance.
Spring Concerts
Welcoming the spring and celebrating the sacred Easter season with the music of J.S. Bach has been a long been a tradition of The Bach Choir of Bethlehem. Centerpieces of these performances over the years have included Bach’s Jesu, meine Freude and The Passion According to Saint John, along with the works of more contemporary composers including Leonard Bernstein, Benjamin Britten and Morten Lauridsen.
