Prelude Events

Department of Music & Dance

Bach Festival Prelude Concert: Exploring Bach’s Voices

There is a Bach Festival prelude concert at the Drake in Amherst on Wednesday, April 5, 2023 at 7:30pm. Hosted by UMass music history professor Evan MacCarthy, it features selections from Bach’s vast output, including music from the Mass in B Minor, the highlight of the 2023 Festival. Tickets are $20 general admission; students/children free.

Bach in the Subways performances
March 31 – April 2, 2023

Since 2015, local western Massachusetts musicians, professionals and students alike, have participated in the international Bach in the Subways (BitS) movement, which celebrates Bach’s birthday, as a prelude to the UMass Amherst Bach Festival. In 2023, free “BitS” performances in downtown Amherst include (times subject to change):

Friday, 3/31: Collective Copies @ 12:30pm; Unnameable Books @ 1:30pm; Amherst Books @ 3pm
Saturday, 4/1: Amherst Books @ 11:15am; Stamell Strings @ 1pm; Unnameable Books @ 2:15pm
Sunday, 4/2: The Drake @ 4pm featuring musicians from the area and a performance of Bach’s Concerto in C Minor for Violin and Oboe and Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major

Additional Prelude Concerts:

Bach in Bezanson – Violin Studio
Elizabeth Chang, faculty coordinator
Sunday, March 26 @ 7:30pm in Bezanson Hall, Free

Bach in Bezanson – Cello Studio
Edward Arron, faculty coordinator
Sunday, April 9 @ 9pm in Bezanson Hall, Free

Five College Early Music Collegium
Michael Barrett, director
Thursday, April 20 @ 5:30pm in Bezanson Hall, Free
Altbach: J.S. Bach’s 17th-century predecessors and influences