82nd Annual Bach Festival, April 25-27, 2014
For 82 years, the Baldwin Wallace Bach Festival has inspired the imagination, passion and intellect of scholars and music lovers the world over. The first collegiate Bach festival in America was founded in 1932 by music educator Albert Riemenschneider and his wife Selma. The couple had a noble mission: to enrich the lives of Northeast Ohio residents by bringing the world's greatest Bach soloists to the stage of Baldwin Wallace University, while offering the school's Conservatory students an unparalleled opportunity to experience the highest performance standards of their day. Albert and Selma succeeded. To this day, the annual Baldwin Wallace Bach Festival has come to symbolize artistic and academic excellence.
As Albert conceived it, the festival would rotate Bach's four major works ~ the B-Minor Mass, the St. John Passion, the St. Matthew Passion and the Christmas Oratorio ~ every four years in sequence. Much to the joy of audiences, this year's Bach Festival showcases the St. John Passion. Since the inception of the Festival, Baldwin Wallace students perform the major choral and orchestral works with a cast of internationally renowned vocal soloists, faculty and local professionals.
At the helm is Dwight Oltman, Festival Music Director and Conductor, who will lead his 39th and final Bach celebration this year. Maestro Oltman will retire at the conclusion of the 2013-2014 academic year. Other noted Bach Festival participants are Baldwin Wallace's Dirk Garner, Director of the Festival Choir;Dr. Marc Weagraff, Director of the BW Singers; and John Brndiar, Director of the Festival Brass. The Festival will feature the Baldwin Wallace Festival Brass Choir, and the Festival Chamber Orchestra and Chorus.
Click the link for more information, including the full schedule of events.