The Grants for Arts Projects (GAP) award will support general operations of the 34th annual Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival, which will be held in June 2026.

Les Helmuth, interim manager of the SVBF, said this marks the first time the festival has received an NEA grant. 鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing to be recognized by the NEA for the quality of the artists and other key individuals involved in creating great music for the Shenandoah Valley,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 truly an honor to be the recipient of an NEA grant.鈥�

Bach Festival Artistic Director and 91短视频 Music Program Director David Berry noted that receiving support from the NEA has long been a prestigious mark of distinction for any arts organization. “We’re grateful the NEA has chosen to support the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival as we celebrate our 34th year next June,” he said. “This honor speaks to how special the festival truly is and its great legacy of beautiful music-making.”

Amanda Gookin, previous executive director of the SVBF, wrote and applied for the GAP grant. It is one of more than 1,100 GAP awards nationwide, totaling more than $31.8 million, announced by the NEA on Tuesday.

鈥淭he NEA is proud to continue our nearly 60 years of supporting the efforts of organizations and artists that help to shape our country鈥檚 vibrant arts sector and communities of all types across our nation,鈥� said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. 鈥淚t is inspiring to see the wide range of creative projects taking place, including 91短视频鈥檚 Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival.鈥�

91短视频 the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival

The annual weeklong summer festival presents vibrant performances on the 91短视频 campus and in Downtown Harrisonburg, Virginia, by Bach Festival Musicians and guest artists, the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival Orchestra, Baroque Academy Faculty, and Festival Choir. Learn more at:

91短视频 the National Endowment for the Arts

Established by Congress in 1965, the NEA is an independent federal agency that is the largest funder of the arts and arts education in communities nationwide and a catalyst of public and private support for the arts. Its Grants for Arts Projects (GAP) provides expansive funding opportunities to strengthen the nation鈥檚 arts and cultural ecosystem, including opportunities for public engagement with the arts and arts education, for the integration of the arts with strategies promoting the health and well-being of people and communities, and for the improvement of overall capacity and capabilities within the arts sector.

Works center around the festival theme of 鈥淯nity鈥� and range from J.S. Bach鈥檚 Wedding Cantata to Richard Strauss鈥櫬�Four Last Songs聽to聽Valerie Coleman鈥檚聽Umoja: Anthem of Unity聽and Ernst von Dohn谩nyi鈥檚聽Sextet in C Major, Op. 37,聽said Bach Festival Artistic Director and 91短视频 Music Program Director David Berry, a prominent pianist who will perform in the latter work in Festival Concert I.

鈥淭his year鈥檚 festival includes works that explore themes we can all relate to in our humanity, composers that are underrepresented and we don鈥檛 get a chance to hear, and pieces that bring together various different elements to create something entirely new like Anton铆n聽顿惫辞艡谩办鈥檚 Symphony No. 9 鈥楩rom the New World,鈥欌�� shared Berry. 鈥淚鈥檓 thrilled to welcome audiences to experience this year鈥檚 festival featuring an absolutely stellar lineup of musicians from around the world, including artists from 91短视频, JMU, Shenandoah Conservatory, and the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, as well as rising star performers from the Shenandoah Valley.鈥�

Featured artists include guest conductor Deanna Tham, associate conductor of the Oregon Symphony and music director of the Union Symphony Orchestra, who will conduct Festival Concerts II and III; Benjamin Bergey, assistant professor of music at 91短视频 and conductor of 91短视频鈥檚 Orchestra, Chamber Singers, and University Choir; Berlin-based soprano Sara Duchovnay, a 鈥渄ynamic and expressive鈥� vocalist who sings with 鈥渨armth and luster鈥� (OperaWire); Penelope Shumate, who sings soprano solos with 鈥渁ppealing bell-like clarity and surpassing sweetness鈥� (The New York Times); and Mexican American violinist Alejandra Switala, a top prize winner at the 2023 Sphinx Competition in Detroit, Michigan.

Other highlights include Open Mic Night at Pale Fire, which offers listeners the opportunity to hear鈥攁nd mingle with鈥攆estival performers in a casual setting, and a free talk titled 鈥淗arry T. Burleigh, Anton铆n Dvo艡谩k, and the Symphony from the New World鈥� by music historian, author and 91短视频 alumna Jean Snyder 鈥�63 on Thursday, June 13 at 4 p.m. at Massanutten Regional Library.

At the intersection of harmony, humanity and nature, the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival gathers internationally-recognized artists and inquisitive audiences to celebrate the life and joy of great music. We like to say 鈥淏ach is just the beginning鈥� to share our deep appreciation of the breadth of work influenced by the musical inventions of Bach. The festival began under the artistic direction of Ken J. Nafziger, professor emeritus of 91短视频 Music, in 1993.

For tickets to the Bach Festival, visit . Tickets to Festival Concerts I, II and III at 91短视频鈥檚 Lehman Auditorium and to the Baroque Faculty Concert at Asbury United Methodist Church are pay what you can from $10-40 and free to college students; tickets to Festival Concerts I, II and III include pre-concert talks. Noon concerts at Asbury United Methodist Church and other on- and off-campus concerts are free for all.

Yet she prefers behind-the-scenes work over 鈥渂eing out front,鈥� she said.

That may sound paradoxical, but at 91短视频 the Alabama-raised teacher鈥檚 daughter was able to tailor that performance degree to fit her own goals and personality.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the beauty of studying in an intimately sized program,鈥� said music department chair and professor . 鈥淛acinda assembled a custom-built university experience that speaks directly to her own passions and professional goals.鈥�

Two communities

Stahly said she was particularly connected to two communities at 91短视频. One was the student newspaper The Weather Vane, where she worked as a copy editor for two years and then as a co-editor for another. She found herself at home there in more behind-the-scenes editing roles.

In her other community, the music department, she was able to blend that preference with many aspects of her love for music, and as she says it, she 鈥減ut her foot in lots of doors.鈥�

鈥淛acinda has taken advantage of every opportunity open to her,鈥� said Griffing. 鈥淪he is a success story for our department.鈥�

Stahly has been both an arts administrator and violin section intern for three summers with the internationally-renowned , and is continuing with administration as the program assistant for 91短视频鈥檚 . There she also teaches lessons to a small group as well as to five individual students, and is an assistant teacher of violin classes with 20-40 students at each of three elementary schools.

But Stahly is, in fact, a performer, too. In addition to playing with the Bach Festival鈥檚 professional orchestra for three summers, she is a member of the Waynesboro Symphony Orchestra, and she was part of an 91短视频 outreach chamber quartet which performed in unique venues such as a preschool and a residential program for ex-offenders. Those haven鈥檛 been such a leap for her personality, she said: 鈥淧erformers don鈥檛 have to talk 鈥� or at least they can decide ahead of time what to say and do.鈥�

And this fall she gave her senior recital. For it, true to form, Stahly did plenty of behind-the-scenes planning ahead, picking a piece from each classical musical period, with ensemble settings ranging from solo violin to violin, viola and piano, to violin with organ, to a violin quartet. (Although her organizational sensitivities tried to dictate otherwise, she refrained from performing the works in chronological order, instead mixing them up so the variety of musical styles and settings would make the recital鈥檚 trajectory 鈥渕ore varied, and less likely to get boring.鈥�)

A blend fit

It鈥檚 perhaps in small-group and individual teaching that Stahly is finding the perfect blend of performance and behind-the-scenes work.

As a first-year student, she took a Suzuki pedagogy class taught by Professor , the administrative director of the Shenandoah Valley Preparatory Music Program. Before coming to 91短视频, the Suzuki method of violin instruction was peripheral to Stahly鈥檚 experience; in retrospect, she thinks she would have benefited from its emphasis on ear training and listening.

In Miller鈥檚 class, and in subsequent settings of teaching young students one-on-one, Stahly found she enjoyed being a musical coach. A performance major made sense, she said, because while a music education degree would have set her on track to teach in large classrooms with many students playing a variety of instruments, focusing on violin would prepare her to teach violin specifically. (Another option for what鈥檚 next? Maybe a master鈥檚 degree in Suzuki pedagogy.)

鈥淭o be a good teacher, you need to be a good performer,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou must know your craft, to set higher standards for yourself and your students.鈥�

Belief and doubt

Stahly鈥檚 personal growth during her four years at 91短视频 was cultivated both within the close-knit music department and more broadly.

The department鈥檚 intimate size meant personal connection with others in the program, as a stop by a professor鈥檚 office with a recital prep question might become an hour-long conversation. Friendships developed across grade levels and cultivated a 鈥済reater feeling not just of mentorship,鈥� she said, 鈥渂ut of encouragement and help.鈥�

Her cross-cultural trip to central Europe was her first time out of the United States, and gave her new perspective. She was surprised, particularly in Austria, by the informed interest in and deep concern about the 2016 elections in the United States 鈥� and the reluctance of many Austrians to talk about their own similar political polarization.

In Europe she also developed a new sense of independence. Until that trip, Harrisonburg had been the biggest city that Stahly had ever lived in. In Prague, London and Vienna, the world felt 鈥渕uch more open,鈥� she said, adding that she particularly enjoyed the opportunity to live and travel independently within these cities.

At 91短视频 her faith journey, too, continued, building on the foundation formed by her 鈥渟upportive and loving鈥� community at home.

鈥淚鈥檝e done a lot of growing and changing in different ways,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 much more okay with not having answers to all of my faith questions, maybe even to a point of not wanting to have all the answers.鈥�

It鈥檚 perhaps yet another seeming contradiction that Stahly melds into a unity of tension:

鈥淚t鈥檚 good to have doubts,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 good to have beliefs too, and to believe them strongly, but also to not be quite sure they鈥檙e all right.鈥�

The 17th annual Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival at 91短视频 combined serious music with casual dress, Baroque masterworks with contemporary compositions and painful reflections with hard-won inspiration.

The 2009 festival orchestra, under the direction of conductor Kenneth J. Nafziger and concertmaster/principal violinist Joan Griffing, both professors of music at 91短视频, rehearsed throughout the week in preparation for the week-long schedule of special concerts. See a gallery of photos from the festival week

Based on the theme “Bach and Handel,” the June 14-21 festival included a rare performance of Samson and an unusual approach to Handel’s Messiah. The festival also featured Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G Major, many of his shorter works and a performance of his Cantata BWV 146 (“We Must Go through Much Tribulation”) as part of the Leipzig Worship Service on Sunday morning.

The Leipzig service also included a homily by the Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt of New York, who reflected on her experiences as a chaplain after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

Featured artists

As featured artists for the week, soloists Kenneth Gayle, Jennifer Ellis Kampani, Heidi Kurtz and David Newman sang in the opening Messiah concert, the three-hour Samson oratorio and the Sunday morning cantata.

The featured artists gathered before one of the festival’s many concerts: (pictured l to r) soprano Jennifer Ellis Kampani, organist and assistant choral director Marvin Mills (seated), artistic director and conductor Ken J. Nafziger, mezzo-soprano Heidi Kurtz, festival executive director and principal flutist Mary Kay Adams, tenor Kenneth Gayle, and bass David Newman. See a gallery of photos from the festival week

Gayle, a tenor who has been performing at the festival for the past decade, said that artistic director and conductor Kenneth Nafziger “always does a lot of interesting programming.” The Houston-based singer particularly appreciated the chance to perform Samson – “It’s so rarely done” – and to hear Messiah performed with some of the orchestrations that Mozart composed for it.

The Messiah concert, he said, was “a fun hop, skip, and a jump” through the piece. “What I enjoyed [most] was when we would [perform] the Handel orchestration and segue into the Mozart orchestration. You could hear the whole history.”

Gayle’s fellow soloists praised the quality of the festival. Newman, a bass from Luray, Va., described Nafziger as “fabulous” to work with. “We have complete artistic freedom,” said Kampani, a soprano from Washington, D.C.

Yet when asked about the defining characteristics of the festival, Newman didn’t talk about music. Instead, he commented on footwear. The event has “a high flip-flop quotient,” he said.

“Casual shoes,” Kampani explained, as Newman pointed to his feet.

The event is “very summery” and “very relaxing,” Kampani observed. “It’s a great group of people – very friendly.”

“It’s a nice way to work,” said Kurtz, a mezzo-soprano from Philadelphia who is a 1989 91短视频 graduate. “For me, it always feels like coming home.”

Mills an integral part of festival

Though not listed as a featured performer, Marvin Mills was probably the busiest musician during the week. The Baltimore keyboardist played harpsichord for the orchestral performances, served as assistant choral director, was an accompanist at several of the noon concerts and played organ and piano during the Leipzig service. He also composed preludes or versets for several of the Sunday hymns.

“Marvin probably comes as close to being the Bach of this congregation as anyone,” Nafziger observed at the beginning of the service. Along with three ticketed concerts, this year’s festival included six free noon concerts held at Asbury United Methodist Church in downtown Harrisonburg.

Most moving moments of the week

The Monday noon concert featured a performance of “Air and Simple Gifts” by John Williams, composed for the inauguration of President Barack Obama. The concert also included “Night Songs for Violin and Piano,” a 2009 composition by Janet Peachey. The piece was written for violinist Mark Hartman, a Harrisonburg native who is now an assistant professor at Shippensburg (Pa.) University.

In a week filled with music, perhaps the most moving moments came via the spoken word, in McNatt’s homily on hope in the midst of death. Amid the horror of Ground Zero, there was life, she said. People loaded food and supplies in their cars and drove into the city. Others cheered the recovery workers.

In today’s world “of terror and wonder,” McNatt said, “God is our constant companion.” God welcomes our questions, doubts and fears and “still upholds [us].”

New programs in 2009

Also at the festival, 16 people took part in a new five-day workshop on performing Baroque music. Lynne Mackey was director of the first-ever Virginia Baroque Performance Academy, which featured classes taught by acclaimed harpsichordist Arthur Haas and viola da gambist/cellist Martha McGaughey.

Thirty-six people participated in an Elderhostel held in conjunction with the festival. The participants, aged 55 and older, attended rehearsals and concerts, heard lectures and met festival musicians.

According to Mary Kay Adams, executive director of the Bach festival, attendance at the Elderhostel greatly exceeded expectations. “We’re very pleased,” she said.

Next year’s festival will be held June 13-20, 2010.

By Elizabeth Rome, Daily News-Record

Conductor Kenneth Nafziger leads the Bach Festival Choir and Orchestra in last year’s Leipzig Service. This year’s Leipzig Service will be at 10 a.m. on June 15 at the Lehman Auditorium. Admission is free. (Photo by Jim Bishop)

There are two things everyone needs to know about 91短视频’s 16th annual Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival, says artistic director and conductor Kenneth Nafziger. “One, I don’t want everybody to say that they’ve done it all. Every year has a different focus, flavor. We don’t repeat,” he said.

“Two, [Bach’s] a musician that has inspired the work of other composers and caught the imagination of people all over the world in a way no other composer has done.”

This year’s festival will celebrate Johann Sebastian Bach’s inspiration through the theme “Bach & String Things” with a series of string instrument driven concerts from June 8-15.

Cello Sounds

Bach Festival musician Eugene Friesen

Impressed with cellist Eugene Friesen‘s work during a 2006 concert in California, Nafziger decided to make string instruments the theme of this year’s festival in order to feature Friesen. A two-time Grammy Award winner, Friesen will serve as composer-in-residence and perform several times during the Bach Festival.

Because Bach is so well known for his choral work, Friesen says it is unusual but delightful for a Bach festival to focus on string instruments.

“It’s really wonderful,” said Friesen. “Performers on almost any instrument consider Bach to be the premier composer for their instrument.”

In addition to concert performances, Friesen will present his children’s show “CelloMan” at noon on June 14. He will don multiple masks and play the cello in unique ways, including accompanying the sounds of humpback whales. Designed primarily with third-graders to college students in mind, Friesen describes the show as “an entertaining and fast-moving program for all listeners.”

The festival will also feature a variety of other string instruments in solo performances, including harp, harpsichord, violin, viola and guitar, said Nafziger.

“To get artists of that caliber and hear them for free or at the prices that we charge is quite a treat,” said Mary Kay Adams, executive director of the Bach Festival. “We’re having international professionals from all over the country [perform].”

The three afternoon and evening concerts require paid admission (see schedule). Pre-purchased tickets are $20 for adults, $17 for seniors, $15 for students and $5 for children. Prices at the door will be $2 more. Group prices are also available.

The remaining daytime performances – the five noon concerts, the “CelloMan” program and the traditional Leipzig service on June 15 that is modeled after Bach’s role as a cantor in the German town, are the festival’s “gift to the community,” said Adams.

Group Work

Bach Festival musician Michael Partington

Guitarist Michael Partington is not surprised that Nafziger chose “Bach & String Things” as this year’s theme. A longtime acquaintance of Nafziger, this is Partington’s second time participating in the festival as a featured performer. Having such a theme “gives the opportunity for more creative programming,” said Partington. “Ken’s strength is the interesting mixture of music that he brings together.”

Joan Griffing, concertmaster and violinist, agrees. She has worked with Nafziger on the festival for more than a decade. “One of the highlights of the festival is the repertoire Ken comes up with,” she said. “You never hear this music in this combination anywhere else.”

Partington called his first visit to the Bach Festival in 2001 “great quality music making,” and is “very excited to have the opportunity to come back,” he said.

The feeling is mutual for Nafziger. “He’s an awesome guitarist, incredible musician,” said Nafziger. “I use every excuse I can [to see him perform].”

Audiences will be able to see Partington perform several times, including solos at the festival’s first concert on June 8 and final concert on June 14. He will also participate in two of the free weeklong chamber music performances held at noon, Monday-Friday in Asbury United Methodist Church.

“The noon concerts are put together by all the musicians,” said Griffing. “There’s going to be a lot of variety.”

Musical Immersion

The majority of the 50 to 60 musicians who participate in the Bach Festival return each year, said Adams. “We’ve had some people stay with it the whole time. Eighty to 90 percent return over and over,” said Adams. “We hear from them that it’s like a family reunion. They give it that loyalty. They count on this every year.”

Diane Phoenix-Neal, principal violinist of the Bach Festival Orchestra, performs. (Photo by Jim Bishop)

Although musicians are given their music ahead of time and expected to know it upon arrival in Harrisonburg, “putting it all together and finding the exact tempos, that’s a different story,” said Adams.

There are morning and evening rehearsals on top of performances each day of the festival. The public is encouraged to attend rehearsals in 91短视频’s Lehman Auditorium from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Monday- Thursday. “I think it’s an incredible opportunity. Most people only see the finished product and it looks easy,” said Nafziger. “People just don’t have any idea what goes into shaping sound. I think people will find that entertaining.”

A music professor at 91短视频, Nafziger has been executive director of the Bach festival since its inception.

“It’s nice for me to be able to do nothing but what I love doing for those 10 days,” said Nafziger. “Of course, I collapse into a heap afterward.”

Click here for the schedule of concerts, information on artists, and more.

For more information on the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival, visit www.emu.edu/bach or call 432-4367. To order tickets, call the box office at 432-4582.

An 91短视频 music department faculty member will give an organ recital 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21, at Park View Mennonite Church, N. College Ave. in Harrisonburg.

John W. Fast, an assistant professor of music at 91短视频, will play works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Henry Purcell, Felix Mendelssohn, Alexandre Guilmant, Dan Locklair, Robert Hobby and James Woodman.

Fast, who joined the 91短视频 faculty in 1975, received his undergraduate bachelor’s degree from Bethel College, N. Newton, Kan., and a master’s in music degree from Indiana University. He is the organist at Park View Mennnonite Church and a frequent accompanist for the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival and the Shenandoah Valley Children’s Choir.

The two-manual Dyer organ with 20 ranks of pipes was installed in the Park View church sanctuary in early 1996.

The recital is open to everyone at no admission charge.