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Choir LeadershipChoir StaffBoard of ManagersBoard MembersChoir MembersBach Festival OrchestraChoir History and ArchivesThe Mission of The Bach Choir of Bethlehem and its Bach Festival Orchestra is to perform the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and to promote and encourage appreciation of the aesthetic and spiritual value of Bach’s music, while striving for the highest standards of musical excellence. We achieve this mission by engaging our audience – locally, nationally, and internationally – through education and performance, including works by composers who influenced Bach and were influenced by him, and through the programs of our Bel Canto Youth Chorus. Together, we cultivate a lifelong passion for the choral arts.
THE OLDEST AMERICAN BACH CHOIR, The Bach Choir of Bethlehem gave the first complete American performances of Bach’s Mass in B Minor in 1900 and Christmas Oratorio in 1901. Since its founding in 1898, the now-famous Choir has been attracting thousands of visitors from across the United States and beyond to the annual Bethlehem Bach Festival in Pennsylvania. In 2022, Dr. Christopher Jackson became the seventh Artistic Director and Conductor of the Choir. The 90 dedicated volunteer singers of The Bach Choir of Bethlehem, performing with the Bach Festival Orchestra and distinguished soloists, have received international acclaim. Programming includes 40 concerts and educational programs per year for an audience of more than 22,000. Venues have included the Herkulessaal at Munich’s Royal Residence and the Thomaskirche, Bach’s church in Leipzig, as part of the 1995 Germany tour; The Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall as part of The Choir’s Centennial Celebration in 1998–2000; the BBC Proms in London’s Royal Albert Hall as part of an eight-concert tour of the United Kingdom in 2003; and Severance Hall, Cleveland, for the 75th anniversary of the Baldwin Wallace Bach Festival in 2007. In September 2011, The Bach Choir represented the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in a 10th anniversary musical observance of 9/11 in New York City, giving concerts in Saint Paul’s Chapel and Trinity Church, Wall Street. In 2013, The Choir performed Mendelssohn’s Elijah at Strathmore in the Washington, D.C., area, and in 2014, the new opera Young Meister Bach for the 250th anniversary of the German Society of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. The Choir has released 11 recordings on the Dorian and Analekta labels, including most recently Bach’s Cantata 21 and Handel’s Ode for Saint Cecilia’s Day (2018), A Child’s Christmas in Bethlehem (2013), and Saint John Passion (2012). The Choir has been featured on National Public Radio’s Performance Today and Prairie Home Companion, Deutsche Radio, the BBC World Service, CBS Sunday Morning, and the Emmy award-winning PBS documentary on The Choir, Make a Joyful Noise. It has been recognized for its outstanding educational outreach programs (Bach at Noon, Bach to School, and interdisciplinary Family Concerts) by annual awards from the National Endowment for the Arts (2011–2020). The J.S. Bach Foundation in Switzerland named The Bach Choir of Bethlehem as the first American recipient of its annual award to a single Bach organization, recognizing The Bach Choir’s outstanding work in Bach performance and education for young people (2012). Mr. Bach Comes to Call, a film based on the acclaimed Classical Kids CD, was co-produced by The Bach Choir of Bethlehem and is distributed internationally by the Children’s Group. Our affiliated Bel Canto Youth Chorus is currently celebrating its 30th year under the direction of founder Dr. Joy Hirokawa. Both organizations are looking to increase their impact in training the next generation of choral singers.
Choir Leadership

Christopher Jackson, Artistic Director & Conductor
Dr. Jackson will lead The Bach Choir in its 125th Anniversary year, the 2022-2023 Season, following the retirement of Greg Funfgeld, Artistic Director and Conductor Emeritus.
He begins his tenure having worked for 15 years as a conductor, educator, professional singer, and scholar. Throughout his career he has led numerous collegiate, professional, and amateur ensembles across the United States and works frequently as a guest conductor for orchestras, choirs, and festivals. His ensembles have toured China, Canada, and the continental United States and have been selected to perform at multiple Pennsylvania ACDA (American Choral Directors Association) conferences. During his tenure at Lycoming College in Williamsport, PA, he co-founded the Lycoming Baroque Choir and Orchestra and designed academic courses that allowed students to travel to Germany and explore links between Baroque music, art and architecture. He has taught courses and masterclasses in conducting, music theory, music history, vocal methods and pedagogy, and Baroque performance practice and has been a guest artist and lecturer at the San Juan Conservatory, the Coro de Niños de San Juan, and the Baldwin Wallace Bach Festival. He was recently nominated as a finalist for the American Prize in Virtual Performance for his work with the Muhlenberg choral ensembles during the pandemic.
Dr. Jackson remains an active professional choral singer and soloist, with focuses in Baroque, Renaissance, and Modern eras. As a core member of the Boston-based chamber choir, Skylark, he has appeared on three GRAMMY nominated albums (Best Choral Performance), and also serves as the ensemble's Director of Education. In that position, he helped design free materials for music educators across the country to use for virtual music-making. He has performed with GRAMMY Award-Winning ensemble, Roomful of Teeth, the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Artefact Ensemble, Les Canards Chantants, and Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity Lutheran, in New York City.
Dr. Jackson received his Bachelor of Arts in Vocal Performance from Oklahoma State University, studying conducting under Dr. Dirk Garner (Baldwin Wallace Bach Festival). He received his Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Westminster Choir College, and was the graduate assistant conductor of the Westminster Symphonic Choir under Dr. Joe Miller and Dr. Amanda Quist, as well as studying with Dr. Andrew Megill (Carmel Bach, Illinois Bach Academy). He earned his Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting from the University of North Texas, studying with Dr. Gerry McCoy and Dr. Richard Sparks. His areas of research include the programming and performance of Baroque and Renaissance Music for choirs of all ages and levels of experience, as well as the choral music of Benjamin Britten.

Leela Breithaupt, Executive Director
LEELA BREITHAUPT is Executive Director of The Bach Choir of Bethlehem. A dynamic nonprofit arts administrator, Leela combines her experience as internationally successful performer with skills in executive leadership. As President and CEO of IndyBaroque Music until 2021, Ms. Breithaupt built strong collaborative relationships with several choirs to present the music of J.S. Bach, including The Bach Institute at Valparaiso University, Indianapolis Symphonic Choir, Beecher Singers of Second Presbyterian Church, and Spire Ensemble that included performances of Bach’s Mass in B Minor, St. John Passion, St. Matthew Passion, and Weinachtsoratorium. She managed two Indianapolis International Baroque Competitions, secured funding and a Naxos sponsor partnership, and managed a global team of industry leaders on 3 continents as Executive Producer for 6 full-length Naxos CD recordings, 4 for Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra and 2 with Les Ordinaires Baroque Ensemble, which she founded in 2014.
As a flute soloist and guest artist on modern and traverso (baroque flute), she has performed nationally and internationally at Carnegie Hall, in Europe, including St. László Festival (Hungary), La Côte Flûte Festival (Switzerland), and Nymphenburg Palace (Munich), and in Hong Kong and South Korea. She was the main substitute with Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and flutist with the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra.
Ms. Breithaupt has published in Flute Talk Magazine in addition to teaching masterclasses in the US and Germany. Deeply immersed in the music of Bach and the German culture, she is multi-lingual and a near-native German speaker who studied both in the US and in Germany and has lived and worked in Germany regularly for the past 25 years. She is well connected with musicians and arts administrators in Europe.
Ms. Breithaupt earned her Bachelor of Music and her Master of Music degrees with a Major in Flute Performance from Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, and her Artist Diploma (Konzertexamen) with Summa cum laude (mit Auszeichnung) from the Berlin University of The Arts (UDK) where she studied under Karlheinz Zoeller. She holds an MBA (2020) from the 2021’s top-rated MBA program in the U.S., The Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, where she also taught Leadership and Organizational Behavior Management.

Harold G. Black, President of the Board
Hal Black has been President of The Bach Choir since 2014 and a member of the Board of Managers since 2003. During his tenure, on the Board he has served as chair of the Guarantor Committee. Marketing Committee, the re-Imagining the Bach Festival Task Force, and co-chair of the 2013 Gala, as well as assistant treasurer on the Finance Committee. Hal has one of the highest records of board members for attending The Choir’s concerts and social events and bringing friends to experience The Choir for the first time. He also likes to listen in on The Choir’s Monday night rehearsals and he and his wife Allison have been generous supporters of The Choir in countless ways.
Mr. Black was an executive at Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., where he held various positions in commercial development, strategic planning, and mergers and acquisition during his 30-year career. Prior to that he worked in research and development and engineering for DuPont de Nemours and Co. and the Uniroyal Chemical Company. He retired in 2011. He holds degrees in Chemical Engineering, Spanish, and Business from Bucknell University and the University of Delaware. In retirement, Mr. Black has been active in the field of mergers and alliances among non-profit organizations, has lent his skills managing programs for the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley and serving on the Board of Habitat for Humanity, and has helped Trout Unlimited form a fly-fishing club at Lehigh University. He has also begun the study of piano and music composition and has had original compositions performed in recital at the Community Music School. He and his wife Allison, who is an avid equestrian, enjoy travel and attending live performances of music in all genres.
Choir Staff
Artistic Director & Conductor
Executive Director
Assistant Conductor & Accompanist
Orchestra Personnel Manager
Vocal Coach
Development Officer
Marketing Manager
Finance and Business Manager
Administrative Assistant
Choir Manager
Archivist
Production Manager
Bel Canto Founder & Artistic Director
Bel Canto Administrative Manager
Collaborative Pianist
Vocal Coach
Board of Managers - Officers
Retired Director of Mergers & Acquisitions
Air Products, Bethlehem, PA
Senior Pastor, Central Moravian Church
Bethlehem, PA
Vice President and Vice Provost for International Affairs
Lehigh University, Bethlehem PA
Vice President, PNC Institutional Advancement
Attorney-at-law
Law Offices of Anthony Thompson, Bethlehem, PA
Muhlenberg Elementary School,
Allentown PA
Board of Managers - Members
Retired School Principal
Bangor, PA
Partner, King, Spry, Herman, Freund & Faul LLC
Bethlehem, PA
Retired President & CEO
Health Network Labs, Bethlehem, PA
Community Leader
Bethlehem, PA
Owner of Cardstock Warehouse Paper Co., Inc.
Bethlehem, PA
Retired/Global Corporate Communications Strategist
Deputy Chief | Fire Service, City of Easton
Retired Vice President
City Center Investment Corp., Allentown PA
Retired Sr. VP – Administration
Bethlehem Steel, Bethlehem, PA
Retired President
Rexroth Corporation, Bethlehem, PA
Professor of Music and Composer in Residence,
Moravian College, Bethlehem, PA
Professor of History Emeritus of Moravian College
Bernardsville, NJ
Community Leader
The Century Fund
Chief Marketing and Operations Officer
Community Health & Dental Care, Pottstown, PA
Retired Senior Manager at the World Bank;
Sovereign Debt Risk Management Consultant
Washington, DC
Chief Executive Officer, Lehigh Valley Community Foundation
Allentown, PA
Music Director
Trinity Lutheran Church, Bethlehem, PA
President, Thiel Strategic
Allentown, PA
Retired Chief Operating Officer
Seedway, Hall, NY
Kurt Anchorstar
Carrie Nedick
Kate Racculia
Peter Young
Choir Members
Members of the all-volunteer choir come from all walks of life and collectively donate over 10,000 hours annually for rehearsals and performances. To learn more about how to become a choir member, please see Auditions below.
Kayla Alderfer
Shannon Aloise
Elizabeth Campbell
Madelyn Dundon
Rebecca Erhardt
Abriana Ferrari, Choral Scholar
Bridget George
Roberta George
Emily A. Gross
Nancy Williamson Hooke
Deborah Ihling
Taylor Kendall, Choral Scholar
Erynn R. Mann*
Carrie Krug Nedick
Lucy Perusse
Martha Cox Popichak
Amy Ruhf
Roberta Wagner
Patty Alercia
Beverly Bailey
Wendy E. Borst
Hailey Falzone, Choral Scholar
Stacy Gabel
Jesse Gehman*
Katherine Kaiser
Roberta Kasmirski
Tina M. Lebrecht
Michel Lloyd
Lynn German Long
Meg McKenna
Marie Miller
Kelly Seims
Grace Adele Spruiell
Victoria Spruiell
Anna Soldano
Lynn Whitehouse Birney
Laura Carlson
Jean Donegan-Vrabel
Linda Lipkis
Christina Lamonica
Johanna Pearson
Kate Racculia
Kelly Schmidt
Jean Anne Shafferman
Christina Shoemaker
Genevieve Terpstra*
Annette Thiel
Lynne Beck
Nicole Brennan
Dorothy Z. Cockrell
Jennifer Hay
Leah Kun
Jennifer Marriaga
Karen Miller
Mary Zsido Paini *
Beverly Rumble
Patti Sakdiponephong
Debbie Turton
Kurt C. Anchorstar *
Kevin Cone
Luke DiGiacinto
Brendan D. James
Lane Conklin McCord
Kelly R. Miller
Guy Rauscher
Andrew Roberts
Dominic Behe
Jesus Castillo
Alan Ganun
Dustin Hartman
Jamie Henry
Dave Mentzer
Michael Miller
Anthony R. Villani*
Christopher T. Wagner
Tony W. Austin
Jason Dietrich
Joseph Fink
John Hare
Dodd Lamberton
John Nedick
Craig Peters
David Ruhf
Brian C. Snyder
John L. Sullivan
David R. Umla
Peter Young
Todd Fennell
Bryan K. Gerhab*
Bryan Hay
James W. Rowland
John Sauter
Phil Turton
Miles Weber
Members of the Bach Festival Orchestra
Elizabeth Field, Concertmaster
Claire Bright
Stephani Bell
Rebecca Brown
Inna Eyzerovich
Nina Falk
Linda Kistler
Fiona Murray
Mary Ogletree
Paul Miller, Principal
Akhmed Mamedov
Lucy Windt
Loretta O’Sullivan
Noelle Grande
Debbie Davis
Stephen Groat, Principal
Daniel McDougall
Robin Kani
Linda Ganus
Lynne Cohen
Nobuo Kitigawa
Mary Watt
Charles Holdeman
Robert Skoniczin
Lawrence Wright
Steven Heitzer
Anthony Cecere
Christopher Hanning
Charlotte Mattax Moersch
Thomas Goeman
Choir History and Archives
The roots of The Bach Choir of Bethlehem, the oldest Bach Choir in America, go back to Colonial times and to the Moravians who settled Bethlehem in 1712. The Choir was founded in 1898 by its first conductor John Frederick Wolle, an organist at Central Moravian Church, and gave the first complete performances in America of the Mass in B Minor (1900) and Christmas Oratorio (1901). Since its founding in 1898, The Choir has been attracting thousands of visitors to the annual Bethlehem Bach Festival, now held on the campus of Lehigh University and in and around the historic Bethlehem neighborhood. Greg Funfgeld, the sixth conductor of The Choir, has been artistic director and conductor since 1983 and is now in his 39th and final season with The Choir. He has expanded the programs of The Bach Choir beyond the annual Bach Festivals to become a year-round season of 31 concerts and educational programs with an audience of more than 20,000.
Historical Archives
The Archives of The Bach Choir of Bethlehem preserves documents related to the activities
of The Choir, making them available for study. To schedule an appointment to view the Archives, contact Joyce Hinnefeld, Archivist.
If you have photos or clippings to share with us, please contact Kate and she will be happy to coordinate that! We would love to add images – no matter how new or old – that will help illustrate the spirit of our Festival to our web visitors. Thank you!
Telegram, dated April 5, 1927
To: Fred Wolle
From: Edith Roosevelt
“Happy returns of the day which brought happiness to the listening world.”
Documents Available by Appointment:
- Board and Committee Minutes
- Discography
- Festival Offerings: Compiled and Annotated
- Individual Festival and concert programs
- Lists and Dates of Works Performed
- Vocal scores of J. Fred Wolle and Ifor Jones
- Orchestral scores of Wolle and Jones
- Orchestral parts of Wolle and Jones
- Manuscript writings of Wolle and Jones
- Short Histories of The Choir
- Wolle Correspondence
- Scrap books by year, 1900-present
- Images and archival photos