| The Bach Festival Society of Winter Park presents its 87th Annual Bach Festival February 4 through February 27, featuring seven ticketed concerts and five community events, as well as free recitals and master classes. Programs will take place on the campuses of Rollins College and Trinity Preparatory School and at Dr. Phillips Center’s new acoustically remarkable Steinmetz Hall.
The Festival schedule highlights the Bach Festival Choir and Orchestra beginning with two performances of Spiritual Spaces (Feb 5) in the calming and peaceful atmosphere of Knowles Memorial Chapel, including familiar works by J.S. Bach, John Rutter, and John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Approximately 60 minutes in length, these concerts appeal to festival newcomers and classical music aficionados alike. Continuing a beloved tradition, audience-favorite Concertos by Candlelight (Feb 11 & 12) presents internationally renowned pianist Olga Kern and principal violinist and co-concertmaster Routa Kroumovitch Gomez performing with the Bach Festival Orchestra by the glow of hundreds of candles in Knowles Memorial Chapel.
The Festival continues with a Bach Festival Choir and Orchestra performance of Mendelssohn’s Elijah at Steinmetz Hall on Sunday, February 20. Featured soloists include soprano Mary Wilson, mezzo-soprano Meg Bragle, tenor Robert Breault, and bass-baritone Dashon Burton.
On Saturday, February 26, the Bach Festival Choir and Orchestra offer an inspiring program of Mozart’s Requiem and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 in the auditorium at Trinity Preparatory School. The final performance of the Annual Bach Festival in Knowles Memorial Chapel is a carefully curated program of our namesake, titled Bach and More Bach (Feb 27), featuring Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, Orchestral Suite No. 2, Harpsichord Concerto No. 4, and Cantatas No. 18 and No. 165. The program spotlights harpsichordist Joanne Kong, soprano Clara Rottsolk, mezzo-soprano Amanda Crider, tenor John Grau, and baritone Brandon Hendrickson.
In addition to the Bach Festival Choir and Orchestra programs, this year’s Festival brings to Winter Park internationally recognized visiting artists, including world-renowned organist Ken Cowan and violinist Lisa Shihoten in Knowles Memorial Chapel on February 6 and mother–son piano partners Olga Kern and Vladislav Kern showcasing their unique talents in Tiedtke Concert Hall on Rollins College campus February 13.
No-charge community events will also be offered, including an organ recital by Ken Cowan (Feb 4) in Knowles Memorial Chapel and performances of Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier by harpsichordist Joanne Kong in Tiedtke Concert Hall (Feb 23 & 25). Master classes by Robert Breault (Feb 17), Joanne Kong (Feb 22), and Clara Rottsolk (Feb 24) round out the Tiedtke Concert Hall schedule.
Tickets and information for these events are available by visiting BachFestivalFlorida.org or by calling the Box Office at 407-646-2182.
Founded in 1935 in Winter Park, Florida, the Bach Festival Society is one of the longest continuously operating Bach Festivals in the country and is well ranked among America’s great oratorio societies. The Bach Festival Choir and Orchestra bring the highest caliber of classical music to Central Florida in the intimate settings of Tiedtke Concert Hall and Knowles Memorial Chapel on the Rollins College campus for the Society’s Annual Bach Festival, Choral Masterworks, and Visiting Artists performances. It presents a variety of educational and community outreach programs year-round. More information is available at BachFestivalFlorida.org.
The 87th Season is supported by many generous individual donors as well as the Jessie Ball duPont Fund; Winifred Johnson Clive Foundation; Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation; Joe & Sarah Galloway Foundation; Elizabeth Morse Genius Foundation; Orange County Government through the Arts & Cultural Affairs Program; United Arts of Central Florida, host of OrlandoAtPlay.com and UAArtsEd.com; the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture; City of Winter Park’s Community Redevelopment Agency; and Rollins College. |
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