About the Festival & Symposium
The UMass Amherst Bach Festival and Symposium was launched in April 2015. The biennial event attracts exceptional musicians and scholars of international stature to UMass Amherst, connects them to our students, alumni and faculty, and through robust collaboration, creates an event of artistic and academic excellence that enriches all who come in contact with it.
April 25-27, 2025 at UMass Amherst and Grace Church in Amherst
Don’t miss the Prelude Events this week:
Tuesday, April 8: Bach at the Drake – From Regal to Rustic
7:30pm, Drake Theater, 44 N. Pleasant St, Amherst
More info and tickets (Free for students!)
Includes the Trio Sonata from Musical Offering & Peasant Cantata
Friday, April 11: Hindemith’s Ludus Tonalis (free)
5 pm, UMass’ Bezanson Hall
Philip Solomonick, piano
Hindemith’s answer to Bach’s Well Tempered Clavier
Sunday, April 13: Alumni Concert (free)
3 pm, Grace Church, 14 Boltwood Ave., Amherst
Includes Bach’s Mass in G minor, Prelude & Fugue in E flat Major, & more
FESTIVAL WEEKEND PERFORMANCES
OPENING CONCERT
Friday, April 25, 4:00 pm
Bezanson Recital Hall, UMass Amherst
Free Admission
Watch Live Stream
- J.S. Bach: “Goldberg Variations”, BWV 988
Steven Beck, piano
FEATURE CONCERTS
Saturday, April 26, 7:30 pm
Sunday, April 27, 3:00 pm
Grace Episcopal Church, 14 Boltwood Ave, Amherst
Guest Conductor
Tickets on sale Feb.1 online or at Box Office, 413-545-2511
$25 general; Free for students w/ ID & children under 18
- J.S. Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, BWV 1050.2
Steven Beck, harpsichord; Cobus du Toit, flute; Elizabeth Chang, violin - J.S. Bach: Christmas Oratorio 1-3, BWV 248
Richard Sparks, guest conductor; Lindsay Pope, chorus master
UMass Bach Festival Orchestra & Chorus
Jamie-Rose Guarrine, soprano; Ifeanyi Epum, countertenor;
Jonas Budris, tenor & Dana Whiteside, bass
COFFEE CANTATA
Sunday, April 27, 12:00 pm
Amherst Coffee, 28 Amity St., Amherst
Free Admission. Please note: Space is limited.
- J.S. Bach: Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht, BWV 211
Corrine Byrne, soprano; Brendan Buckley, tenor; John Salvi, baritone
With alumni singers and instrumentalists in an informal setting
See the Festival Concerts and Prelude Events pages for further details. All programs are subject to change.
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SCHOLARLY SYMPOSIUM
PANEL DISCUSSION
Friday, April 25, 7:30 pm
Bezanson Recital Hall, UMass Amherst
Watch Live Stream (Friday night)
Free Admission. Please note: Space is limited.
- “J.S. Bach and the 21st Century Canon”
Moderated by Evan MacCarthy (UMass Amherst)
Panelists: Walter Frisch (Columbia University), Wendy Heller (Princeton University), Christoph Wolff (Harvard University), Daniel R. Melamed (Indiana University)
SCHOLARLY SYMPOSIUM & KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Bezanson Recital Hall, UMass Amherst
Saturday, April 26, 8:30 am – 6:30 pm
Watch Livestream (Link will be active throughout Saturday)
Saturday Symposium fee: $25 in-person attendees; $5 students (lunch included); cash or check accepted at the event. Free for Remote participants. Registration form
- “Why Bach?: Navigating 21st Century Scholarship, Performance, and Pedagogy”
Contemporary critiques of the Western musical canon, and renewed calls for its expansion, deconstruction, reimagination, or abrogation, invite reflection upon the functions, meanings, and value of Johann Sebastian Bach’s music in the twenty-first century. Evolving aesthetic and cultural ideals reflecting efforts to promote a global perspective in classical music invite dialogue about Bach’s continued significance today, including with regard to performance repertoire, scholarly methodologies, and pedagogical practices. This symposium seeks to reflect upon the continuing contributions of Bach’s life and works in twenty-first century culture.
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Media Sponsor: New England Public Media, www.nepm.org
