91����Ƶ’s Lehman Auditorium has surely seen its share of historic firsts over the years, though last week might have marked the first time a memorandum of understanding has ever been signed on its stage. 

Representatives from 91����Ƶ and the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival (SVBF) advisory board, along with supporters of the festival, gathered on the auditorium stage on Thursday, Aug. 14, to celebrate the SVBF’s status as an independent 501(c)(3) organization. The event included a ceremonial signing of documents and drew more than two-dozen people. 

91����Ƶ financially sustained the annual summer festival since its start in 1993 until last year. The agreement signed last week outlines the transfer of ownership from the university to Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival Inc., which was granted tax-exempt nonprofit status in January 2025 and officially became independent from 91����Ƶ on July 1. Signers included Dr. Tynisha Willingham, provost and vice president of academic affairs at 91����Ƶ, and members of the SVBF executive committee: Christine Fairfield, chair; Angela Showalter, vice chair; Cara Modisett, secretary; and Fred Kniss, treasurer. 

Thursday’s ceremony provided an opportunity for donors, staff, and stakeholders to mark the momentous occasion and reflect on the history of the 33-year-old festival.

Following a piano performance of Bach’s Prelude in E major, BWV 854, from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, from Dr. David Berry, director of the music program at 91����Ƶ and artistic director of the SVBF, Professor Emeritus Dr. Kenneth J. Nafziger offered a historical perspective on the founding of the festival. 

Nafziger, a member of 91����Ƶ’s music faculty for 39 years before he retired in 2017 and founding conductor and artistic director of the SVBF, shared stories from the festival’s earliest days.

In 1992, near the start of the fall semester, he was having a dinner with several 91����Ƶ friends when they began asking him about his experiences conducting the Lake Chelan Bach Fest in north-central Washington that summer. “I noticed that Joe (former 91����Ƶ President Joseph Lapp) was taking notes,” Nafziger shared. “When the note-taking stopped, he said, ‘What would it take to get something like that going here?’ We took him at his word…and in January of 1993, we were given the go-ahead to do a festival in June. With expert help from Helen (Nafziger), Scott Hosfeld, and Marcia Kauffman, we made the first one happen, and it included vanilla ice cream and hot raspberry sauce at intermission.”

“The beginnings of rehearsals from the second season forward resembled a family reunion,” he continued. “Local orchestral players, including JMU friends, local singers and relatives from east of the Mississippi and Canada, we grew.”

Willingham spoke about the relationship between 91����Ƶ and the SVBF. “You are still a part of the 91����Ƶ family and the fabric of 91����Ƶ,” she said. “91����Ƶ has three core values—academic excellence, peace and justice, and active faith—and the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival exemplifies those core values.”

“We know that in our public schools, the arts have been the first things that have been cut,” she said, crediting the festival’s “pay-what-you-can” ticket pricing with allowing everyone to experience music, regardless of economic status. “The Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival is a gift. It’s been a gift to 91����Ƶ for over 30 years, it’s been a gift to our community for over 30 years, and it’s been a gift to everyone who has stood on this stage.” 

Included in the memorandum of understanding is an agreement that Lehman Auditorium and Martin Chapel will continue to serve as venues for SVBF performances for at least the next three years, said Les Helmuth, interim executive director of the festival.

“What I discovered in this past year of talking with donors, businesses, and people behind the festival is that the breadth and depth of support is this wide,” he said, stretching out his arms. “It comes from all walks of life, and it’s fabulous. It really is. It’s a great community treasure, and we desperately need to keep it going.”

The Rev. Dr. Sarah Ann Bixler, dean for the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences at 91����Ƶ, delivered the blessing for the event. Other 91����Ƶ representatives in attendance included Interim President Rev. Dr. Shannon W. Dycus and Kirk Shisler, vice president for advancement.

The 34th annual Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival will be held from June 8-13, 2026. Find out more at .

He will be succeeded in his role as artistic director by 91����Ƶ professor and music program director David Berry. Berry is an accomplished pianist who has performed in the festival since 2017 and brings artistic leadership experience from 91����Ƶ as well as other organizations. A part of Berry’s role as artistic director will be to lead the search for the conductor of the festival for the 2023 summer festival.

“The Bach Festival is grateful to Ken for his many years of vision and inspiration,” said Amanda Gookin, executive director. “He is one of the most special leaders I know and it has been a deeply meaningful experience working together. I look forward to celebrating Ken to the fullest in our 30th season. I am absolutely thrilled the artistic leadership will pass on to David Berry whose artistic excellence and innovative voice will carry forth the legacy of the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival.” 

Nafziger expressed support for Berry in his new role and the festival’s strong future. “With David in place as the new artistic director, the festival is in a good place for its development. He is a well-known musical presence here in the Shenandoah Valley, and an active supporter of and performer in the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival. David has all the right qualifications, imagination, enthusiasm, a field of wide musical acquaintances who can grace this festival, all the right stuff for a position like this. I stand ready to be of support and assistance as he finds his way and leads this festival with competence in the years ahead.”

Nafziger will contribute his final time as the artistic director and conductor for the 30th anniversary celebration June 12-19, 2022, on the campus of 91����Ƶ and in area venues in Harrisonburg. 

Audience members can expect “world-class performances,” Gookin said, with works by Johannes Brahms, Florence Price, contemporary composer Leo Brouwer, and the great B Minor Mass by Johann Sebastian Bach among others. 

The celebration will be poignant for Nafziger, who has long said the furious pace of the summer festival was one of his favorite times of every year.

“The Bach Festival at 30 is a myriad of wonderful memories: the community that came to be around the festival, working intensely with local musicians and many from farther away, so many great musical moments, soloists from near and far, appreciative audiences, and the fatigue of doing nothing but what one would most like to do for ten days every June,” he said. “To everyone who listened, who played, who sang, who supported, who encouraged, you are owed many and heartfelt thanks.”

Berry, who has participated in the festival since joining the faculty of 91����Ƶ, praised Nafziger and festival leadership. 

“It is my absolute honor to join the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival as its next artistic director,” Berry said. “Ken and the leadership of the festival have done a wonderful job of creating a truly unique and beautiful festival. As we celebrate the 30th anniversary and legacy of the festival this year, I am excited to begin the work of looking toward the future and exploring the possibilities of what the next chapter may hold.”

Learn m

Berry maintains a rigorous schedule of teaching, performing, adjudication and artistic direction, including as the coordinator of chamber music and member of the artistic planning committee for the Gateways Music Festival. The festival is hosted by Berry’s undergraduate alma mater Eastman School of Music and celebrates the contributions of musicians of African descent to classical music, and features over 120 players from major American orchestras and university faculties. Berry earned his master’s and Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The Juilliard School. 

Nafziger, a professor emeritus of music at 91����Ƶ, plans to continue other musical involvements, including as music director of the chamber choir Winchester Musica Viva in Winchester, Virginia. He has a long history of working with many of Cuba’s premier orchestra and choral ensembles, including guest conducting appearances, teaching master classes, and participating with musical colleagues in a number of joint projects. Nafziger’s work in church music is widely known across many denominations. He has edited or assisted in editing three hymnals, producing correlated teaching materials and recordings for those hymnals, and co-wrote a book on the significance of singing among Mennonites. He is a frequent guest conductor, workshop leader, and clinician across the United States and Canada.

Nafziger was honored in 2015 with the Circle of Excellence in the Arts Award for sustained contributions in the arts and his creative and superior accomplishments that have improved the cultural vitality of the Shenandoah Valley. The award is given by the Forbes Center for the Performing Arts, the Arts Council of the Valley, and the College of Visual and Performing Arts at James Madison University.

MORE ON KEN NAFZIGER 

Read a profile of Ken Nafziger on his retirement from 91����Ƶ.

Read more about this 2015 awards presentation.

When the new Mennonite worship and song resource Voices Together is released next fall, 91����Ƶ professor of music Benjamin Bergey ’11 has a hope: that this collection “draws people to worship, to learn more about God and themselves, and to be drawn into closer discipleship with Christ.”

The hymnal’s more than 1,000 pages containing 750 songs and 200-plus worship resources seeks to “represent the theological breadth of the church,” said Bergey, who chairs the project’s tune and accompaniment subcommittee and is editor and compiler for the accompaniment edition. With the new hymnal, Mennonites everywhere will be able to “take a risk and try something new.”

Over a decade ago, Mennonite Church Canada, Mennonite Church USA and MennoMedia’s predecessor Mennonite Publishing Network began surveying worship and music leaders about the need for a new hymnal. The hymnal supplements Sing the Journey and Sing the Story had been released in 2005 and 2007, but by the time MennoMedia publishes Voices Together next fall, the previous Hymnal: A Worship Book will have been in pews for 28 years – five years more than had passed between it and its preceding The Mennonite Hymnal. 

No small task

The Voices Together committee of 13, led by general editor and project manager Bradley Kauffman, had no small task: “What are the songs that will sustain our faith in 2020, 2030 and 2040?” its website asks, under the question “Why Voices Together? Why now?” on the FAQ page. “What words and images connect us with each other and with God now and into the future?” 

The committee has worked to balance myriad competing factors, opinions and preferences. “It is truly a humbling experience to seek to listen to as many voices across the United States and Canada, as well as around the world, to discern the current worshiping practices as well as allow the spirit to work through this new collection for the next generation,” Bergey said. “At the end of the day, we take very seriously the rich legacy of hymnody that has come before us, with the direction of the church and God’s work among us today.”

Bergey’s subcommittee was responsible for “everything from key, scoring, time signature, harmonization, what kind of accompaniment to use if any, and ultimately how to clarify the music on the page,” he said. Among the questions they considered: How can contemporary worship music be included in notated form? How can hymns be made more accessible for those unfamiliar with notation?

In addition to the hymnal, the release will feature an app, a projection edition, more chord symbols and additional resources. Contents will include 12 works of , more global music, thoughts and poetry, old songs with updated text, “many familiar, beloved and even memorized things,” and “wonderful” new tunes and styles, he said.

Voices Together will have “more work by Mennonite writers, artists, composers, and songwriters than any previous collection,” Bergey said, selected from the 2,200 voluntary submissions from writers, artists and musicians.

‘Directly equipped’ at 91����Ƶ

As a student at 91����Ƶ, Bergey majored in vocal performance and church music. Those studies “directly equipped” him for not only his teaching and direction of the orchestra, University Choir and Chamber Singers, but also his role with the new hymnal, he said. His mentor was, after all, Ken Nafziger (now professor emeritus) who was an editor for Hymnal: A Worship Book (1992) and its two supplements, Sing the Journey (2005) and Sing the Story (2007).

“I have learned so much from him from hymnology, to leading congregational song, to theology,” Bergey said. “He has been an important figure in Mennonite church music, and it has been an honor to learn from him.”

Though Bergey did not study directly under her, he also said that Mary Oyer, one of Nafziger’s mentors, was “someone whose ethnomusicological study, consummate knowledge of church music and hymns, and legacy of congregational song leading has had a major impact on my life…. She was one of the earliest women in this type of role, and has shared so many wonderful stories of putting a hymnal together. She has been a role model to many in this type of work.”

It’s a work with far-reaching potential, he knows: “I hope that it will be met with curiosity and an open mind,” he said. “I hope everyone can find a home and heart song in Voices Together. I hope all find their voice within Voices Together.”

The classes will meet from 9:30-11:30 a.m. on 10 consecutive Thursdays, Sept. 14-Nov. 16, in the dining hall foyer at Eastern Mennonite High School, 801 Parkwood Dr., Harrisonburg. Part I begins on Sept. 14 (), and the second session begins on Oct. 19 (). Enrollees must be Lifelong Learning Institute members (register and pay the $20 fee ), and the cost is $35 for either the first or second five weeks, or $50 for all 10 weeks.

An “overview of 91����Ƶ’s transformation from a small, insular academic community to an accredited university offering undergraduate and graduate degrees with global impact,” the courses will explore “the transformation of a quiet school on a hill meant to protect its students from the world into a place engaging with, welcoming and sending alumni out into the world.”

The courses begin with the history of Mennonites in the Shenandoah Valley, the birth of the school, and its growth into a college and university. Speakers will also present on arts, music and sciences at 91����Ƶ and development of the and the .

Presenters include historians, administrators, professors, and other members of the 91����Ƶ community. Many are alumni of the university, and have fulfilled many roles at 91����Ƶ. They will “reflect the changes that have occurred over the past 100 years as well as the impact those changes continue to have on the future of 91����Ƶ,” said Louise Hostetter, who chairs the 91����Ƶ and recruited the course instructors.

“I hope that people come away with a much better understanding of the positive impact 91����Ƶ continues to make on students, local community and global community,” she said.

A session will also be devoted to the history of and led by Elwood Yoder, a historian and current faculty member at the school.

Session I topics and instructors

• Sept. 14 — “Mennonites in the Valley,” presented by , senior pastor at and a graduate of .
• Sept. 21 — “Eastern Mennonite School, 1917,” presented by , a Mennonite historian and teacher at Eastern Mennonite High School who has published numerous historical articles and books.
• Sept. 28 — “Eastern Mennonite College, 1965-1980,” presented by , the fifth president of 91����Ƶ from 1965-80 and a professor of theology from 1963-80.
• Oct. 5 — “EMC becomes 91����Ƶ” or “Women of EMC/91����Ƶ,” presented by , interim president in 2016 and vice president and academic dean for 12 years at 91����Ƶ.
• Oct. 12 — Session to be presented by Don Kraybill, an Anabaptist scholar whose will be released at this fall’s .

Session II topics and instructors

• Oct. 19 — “Development of the Arts at 91����Ƶ,” presented by , poesr o visual and communication arts and an artist, photographer and renowned videographer, and , a sculptor whose work has been placed around the world, including at 91����Ƶ. While her husband Myron was president, Esther studied music — but later became the university’s first art graduate.
• Oct. 26 — “Music and the Mennonites,” presented by , professor of music at 91����Ƶ for four decades and artistic director and conductor of the annual , and Jeremy Nafziger, a 1991 graduate and a leader of the men’s a cappella group Cantore.
• Nov. 2 — “Sciences at 91����Ƶ,” presented by , professor (now emeritus) for more than 30 years and the founding director of the , and , former provost and nursing department faculty member.
• Nov. 9 — “Eastern Mennonite Seminary,” presented by , associate dean at Eastern Mennonite Seminary.
• Nov. 16 — “Center for Justice and Peacebuilding,” presented by , current chair of the department of applied social sciences and coordinator of the peacebuilding and development undergraduate major.

The Bach Festival, in its 24th year, has been called the “jewel in Harrisonburg’s crown” by the Virginia Commission for the Arts. 91����Ƶ 4,000 people from about 20 states and several countries typically attend.

Medley, the son of 91����Ƶ professor Mike Medley, earned a degree from Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio and has since taken his to some of the world’s greatest stages. He will perform at the festival’s second concert, Friday evening, June 17, at 91����Ƶ’s Lehman Auditorium, and at the June 19 Leipzig Service, also at the auditorium.

The Harrisonburg High School choir will join Medley on stage for the Friday evening concert, and his former teacher, —now in Washington D.C.—will also sing. Clarinetist-turned-recorder virtuoso Nancy Buckingham Garlick, a lecturer at the University of Virginia, will bring an additional dimension to that night’s program, which features early-period classical music.

Bach Festival executive director says plans to bring Medley back to Harrisonburg have been in the works for several years.

“He grew up here and then went off and made himself famous,” Adams says. “We’re so delighted to have him join us this year.”

, the festival’s artistic director and orchestra conductor, says Medley will “make this city very proud,” adding, “He has a fantastic international reputation. It’s going to be a wonderful concert with the spectacular music he’s chosen.”

Concerts, large and small

The festival opens Sunday, June 12, with a 3 p.m. concert titled “Bach’s Work Week: The Sunday Cantata.” It will feature tenor Brian Thorsett and three local soloists: soprano Christine Glick Fairfield, countertenor Joel Ross and baritone David Newman.

“It’s going to be a demonstration of the imagination that Bach had with color and shape and form and design and all those things in church music. It’s astonishing,” Nafziger says, noting that Bach also had to constantly produce new cantatas as the church’s resident composer. “He had an incredible workload. There are over 200 of his cantatas just in what we have left. That’s a lot of music.”

The third major concert, Saturday evening, June 18, will take a different tone with an exploration of “Rural Roots.” Music by 20^th-century composers Aaron Copland, Virgil Thomson and Alberto Ginastera—marking the 100th anniversary of the Argentinian’s birth—will be featured.

The Leipzig Service, a time of worship in the style of Bach, will include a homily by Pastor Brett Davis of Harrisonburg’s Muhlenberg Lutheran Church. The service will feature the orchestra and Medley this year rather than a choir.

Other events include the free chamber music series ($5 donation suggested), held over the lunch hour daily June 13-18 at First Presbyterian Church, 17 Court Square in downtown Harrisonburg. Each day features a variety of pieces by Bach and other composers. At Thursday’s performance, Medley and a chamber ensemble will do a choral setting by John L. Gardner being presented as part of the Virginia Shakespeare Initiative. The ensemble Musica Harmonia, which includes 91����Ƶ professor of music and Bach Festival concertmaster Joan Griffing, will perform music by Gwyneth Walker at three of the concerts. The ensemble’s new CD will be released during the festival.

Teaching and learning opportunities

Festival Fellowships bring five youth and young adults to play with the festival orchestra, while other students serve as interns in a variety of arts management support roles. For older adults, a Road Scholar program offers a week-long educational experience surrounded by music.

Another educational opportunity is the June 12-18 Baroque Workshop, which gives participants a chance to learn how to play early musical instruments in the period’s style. A new Baroque dance workshop has been added this year.

The 2016 festival also marks a farewell of sorts, as Adams finishes a 10-year run as executive director. Adams, a flutist, is one of four members of the festival orchestra who have been part of the group since its inception and says she plans to keep playing after retirement.

“I will be very sad the day I walk out,” Adams says of her time as executive director. “It’s been a wonderful experience. I love connecting with all kinds of people in music and behind the scenes. I’ve enjoyed it so much.”

She says 91����Ƶ, the festival’s board, the guild of donors and other supporters, the orchestra members and a host of volunteers have all been a huge help in pulling together the event each year.

“It’s an amazing feat to put it all together, but it always happens,” Adams says. “It’s something we’re really proud of, and we feel the community has rallied around it. It’s something they feel proud of, too, and that’s what we really want.”

Ticket information for the three main concerts and other information on the festival can be found at . Tickets can be purchased online or at the 91����Ƶ box office in the University Commons, 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Nafziger says the public is also welcome to sit in on the orchestra’s rehearsals, held each morning and afternoon in Lehman Auditorium the week of the concerts.

Next year’s Bach Festival, marking the event’s 25th anniversary, will be June 11-18, 2017.

March 31: Orchestra Concert, 7:30 p.m. Lehman Auditorium

The 91����Ƶ Orchestra will perform music highlighting the string section. Repertoire includes Vaughan Williams’ beautiful “Fantasia on Greensleeves” for strings and harp, Telemann’s “Viola Concerto,” Piazzolla’s “Spring” from The Four Seasons, and Turina’s “La Oracion del Torero,” Student soloists are violist Katrina Poplett and pianist Giulio Garner.

April 1: Senior Recital, Martin Chapel, 7 p.m.

Caitlin Holsapple, mezzo soprano, performs.

April 10: Shenandoah Valley Children’s Choir, 4 p.m., Lehman Auditorium

Music selections include multiple styles ranging from classical to jazz and contain world music samples ranging from Venezuelan to African. Arrangements of folksongs, accompanied by Seaman and Robinson, will also be featured, along hammered dulcimer player Timothy Seaman and Celtic harpist Ann Robinson from Williamsburg, Virginia.

April 12: Wind Ensemble, 7:30 p.m., Lehman Auditorium

The concert, at 7:30 p.m. in Lehman Auditorium, will feature selections from Holst, Milhaud and Persichetti as well as special selections for woodwind trio and duo. Members of the Fort Defiance High School Band are also featured.  John Dull conducts. Admission is free. Donations are welcomed for the 91����Ƶ music scholarship fund.

April 16: Senior Project, 7:30 p.m., Martin Chapel

Sarah Sutter, soprano, performs.

April 19: Choral Concert, 7 p.m., Lehman Auditorium

This concert features the Women’s and Men’s Choir performing “Frostiana” by Randall Thompson.

Emulate will be presenting “Amazed with Grace.”

A description of the program includes a quote from St. Augustine, “It is solved by walking,” and the following description: Through a meditation guided by medieval and contemporary scripture, poetry, and song, listeners will be prepared to walk toward the labyrinth, enter in calm silence, and walk humbly with God. A labyrinth is a spiritual tool serving as a walk-centering activity for the human heart, mind, and soul resembling the indirect path of our lives, which leads us into the center of the human condition, the heart and mind of God, the very core of illness or pain, and the focal point of enlightenment or understanding.

In addition to the on-campus concert, Emulate will present the “Amazed with Grace” program at three other locations during April: April 14 at Eastern Mennonite High School chapel; April 21 at VMRC at 7 p.m.; and April 24 at First Presbyterian Church in Staunton, Virginia, at 11 a.m.

April 21: 91����Ƶ Jazz Combo, 8 p.m. Common Grounds Coffee House

Come join the 91����Ƶ Jazz Combo for an evening of jazz standards and contemporary compositions by Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins and others.

April 22: Senior Recital, 7 p.m., Lehman Auditorium

Senior Guilio Garner performs.

April 24: Chamber Singers Spring Concert, 7 p.m., Lehman Auditorium

The concert takes its inspiration from the words of St. Augustine [354-430]: The world is a book, and those who don’t travel read only one page.

It’s the same way with music, says director Ken J. Nafziger. This concert, featuring the 19-strong Chamber Singers, will begin with a series of hymns by the Argentinean singer/song writer, Pablo Sosa, several of which will invite the audience’s participation. The second part will be a musical excursion through this season of the church year, from Holy Week through Pentecost, with music from Austria, The Netherlands, South Africa and the Philippines. The third section, featuring guest musicians, will be music drawn from African-American gospel sources. Singer Lauren Gibson ’14 will perform, as well asa band of current students Bruce Cypress on drums, Matej Gligorevic on electric guitar, Londen Wheeler on piano/keyboard and alumnus Michael Allen ‘13.

June 12-19: Bach Festival

The annual week-long summer music festival is devoted to promoting an appreciation and understanding of the music of Bach and a featured composer, country, era or people. For more information on wide range of offerings, including formal and informal concerts, visit

“Because this is President Loren’s last year at 91����Ƶ and he has been a great supporter of the music department, we wanted to honor him,” says Maria Zehr ‘11, an Encore board member who is organizing the event. Zehr says the Encore board worked hard to design a highly collaborative recital with a mix of both vocal and instrumental pieces.

Funds raised by the recital and other Encore events subsidize private music lessons for students and assist the department with special projects and supply needs beyond the normal budget. This past fall, for example, Encore paid for additional percussion mallets, needed for a performance of .

“As an alumna of 91����Ƶ’s music department, I want to stay connected with what is happening in the department and on campus,” says Zehr, an elementary school teacher who double- majored in education and music. “The music department was an integral part of my time at 91����Ƶ and shaped my college experience. It is where I found a place of connection and belonging. I was able to build relationships with the professors and music students that continue even now, years after my graduation.”

Zehr says she benefited from the support of Encore while a student, so she wants to pass on the support to current students. Music department chair is grateful for that ongoing support.

“The music faculty members are indebted to the loyalty and generous time and effort of our alumni who volunteer for Encore,” Griffing says. “They assist our department in a variety of ways. We are thrilled to be performing this benefit concert alongside current students and alumni.”

Griffing is among those on the recital program, leading a violin quartet of alumni and students. Others on the program include Sam Kauffman ’12, who will lead an alumni men’s quintet performing some of Kauffman’s original compositions; Jonathan Keener ’07, who will play a four-hands piano piece with Professor ; the Chamber Singers, under the direction of Professor ; and vocal ensemble Emulate, which will sing several pieces under the direction of Professor .

“This recital will be a celebration of quite a few years’ worth of music majors at 91����Ƶ,” Waltner says. “We’re looking forward to reconnecting with former students and hearing them perform and performing with them. It will be an evening of a very wide variety of great music.”

To view a livestream of the event, click .

Versatile musician John McCutcheon combines his artistry with that of the Bach Festival orchestra at a June 13 concert that opened this year’s Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival. (Photo by Mike Eberly)

The festival featured the glorious music of prolific German composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) and other composers in three major festival concerts in 91����Ƶ’s Lehman Auditorium and daily noon chamber music programs held in the sanctuary of Asbury United Methodist Church, downtown Harrisonburg.

The rich and diverse program unfolded under the baton of 91����Ƶ music professor Dr. Kenneth Nafziger, artistic director and conductor of the weeklong event.

John McCutcheon

The Bach Festival opened Sunday afternoon, June 13, with an unlikely – at first blush – blend of Baroque and folk – Bach’s “Brandenburg Concertos” and the music of noted musician/composer John McCutcheon.

McCutcheon performed nine songs, six of them with the Festival Orchestra. The set featured two songs with peace themes – “Forgive Us” and McCutcheon’s signature song, “Christmas in the Trenches.”

Music inspired by peace

“Forgive Us” was inspired by the Amish school murders in Nickel Mines, Pa., while “Christmas in the Trenches” tells the story of the Christmas truce between British and German soldiers during World War I.

Violists Diane Phoenix-Neal and Karen Johnson of the Bach Festival Orchestra in a rigorous rehearsal session. (Photo by Jim Bishop)

Other selections included children’s songs, hammered dulcimer instrumentals and a closing medley that McCutcheon described as a “classical version of ‘Dueling Banjos.'” In it, McCutcheon on fiddle traded passages with the orchestra’s string section.

McCutcheon told the audience that he was interested in classical music when he was growing up in Wisconsin. However, there was “absolutely no support” in his environment for pursuing that musical direction, so he went into folk music.

Folk music is “the source of all music,” McCutcheon said, citing the work of such composers as Vaughn Williams, Bartok and Copland.

Other composers honored

In addition to the music of Bach, this year’s festival presented works of several composers for whom 2010 is an anniversary year:

• Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, the second child of Johann Sebastian and Maria Barbara Bach
• Polish composer Fryderyk Chopin
• German composer Robert Schumann
• Austro-German composer Gustav Mahler
• American composer Samuel Barber
• Argentinian native Osvaldo Golijov

Guest soloists, noontime concerts, and more

Guest soloists for the festival concerts included:

• , soprano
• , mezzo-soprano
• , tenor
• , bass
• , pianist

Bach Festival musicians perform a selection by Franz Joseph Haydn at a noon concert held at Asbury United Methodist Church, downtown Harrisonburg. (Photo by Jim Bishop)

The sanctuary at Asbury United Methodist Church was filled each day Monday through Saturday as Festival musicians performed chamber music programs.

An group of 40 persons attended this year’s festival. Along with attending the many programs, they sat in on rehearsal sessions and heard talks by festival musicians; some explored the scenic and historic Shenandoah Valley.

The festival concluded Sunday morning, June 20, with the popular Leipzig Service, a re-creation of an 18th century worship service at St. Thomas Lutheran Church in Leipzig, Germany, where Bach was cantor and composer. The festival choir and orchestra played Bach’s Cantata #39, “Brich dem Hungrigen den Brot.”

Patrons say festival ‘highlight of their summer’

“What makes the Bach Festival so unique and successful is the combination of different ingredients – the variety of musical styles represented; the great selection of music by composers from different eras and countries; the unusual pairing of Bach’s music with folk music; the use of orchestral and choral music, chamber music, and organ music; wonderful featured artists and fine orchestral players from around the country; world-renown early music specialists performing and leading a workshop; involvement of student musicians; an Exploritas program; and the sense of returning annually to a special group of friends to enjoy beautiful music together,” said Mary Kay Adams, festival coordinator and orchestra member.

“We hear many comments from attendees who say that the Festival is the highlight of their summer, and that they look forward to it all year long,” Adams added. “We love to hear audience reactions like this.”

2011 festival dates

Next year’s program, June 12-19, 2011, will feature “Bach and Mozart.”

The 2009-10 91����Ƶ Chamber Singers

The 91����Ƶ Chamber Singers will welcome the Advent-Christmas season with a concert on the theme, “Remember Forward,” 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 10, in Martin Chapel of the seminary building at 91����Ƶ.

The 33-member choir, directed by Dr. Kenneth Nafziger, professor of music at 91����Ƶ, will present “Missa Sancti Nicolai,” a liturgical work by Franz Joseph Haydn with the 91����Ƶ chamber orchestra, “Magnificat” and “Nunc Diittis” by Neil Saunders, three Advent motets by K. Lee Scott, “Lord, before this fleeting season by Libby Larsen and two Spanish carols.

Chamber Singers in concert

“In this season of December 2009, we offer this concert of music remembering forward,” said Dr. Nafziger. “The mighty have been brought down, the low have been exalted. Bridges have carried and will carry people over troubled water. The new Jerusalem is under construction. The star still shines. ‘Dona nobis pacem’ still inspires dreams. Light of a clear blue morning is visible even in the dark. The hungry have been filled with good things. We have been, are, and will be heard. Alleluia. The angels’ song, ‘Gloria en las Alturas,’ is still a full-throated shout for joy.”

Admission to the program is free; donations are welcomed for the 91����Ƶ music student scholarship fund.

The 91����Ƶ Chamber Singers and Chamber Orchestra will share their musical gifts as part of this fall’s musical ‘gala.’ Photo by Matt Gillis

91����Ƶ’s music department will showcase its choral and instrumental groups in a concert 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, in Lehman Auditorium.

The 91����Ƶ Chamber Orchestra will play “Simply Symphony,” a short work for strings that British composer Benjamin Britten wrote based on songs and instrumental pieces he had composed as a child. 91����Ƶ junior Benjamin Bergey will conduct the 30-member chamber orchestra.

The 91����Ƶ Jazz Ensemble, directed by James W. (Jim) Warner, will perform “Yardbird Suite” by Charlie Parker, arranged by Roger Pemberton; “A Day In The Life Of A Fool” by Lui Bonfa, arranged by Frank Mantooth’ and “To God Be The Glory,” arranged by Aaron Weitekamp.

Ken Nafziger, professor of music
Lynne Mackey, associate professor of music

The 91����Ƶ Chamber Singers will present a collection of popular songs from the 1970s-80s by Harry Belafonte, Paul Simon, Dolly Parton and Carly Simon and a spiritual that figured prominently in the anti-war movement.

Kenneth Nafziger, professor of music, will conduct the Chamber Singers, the 91����Ƶ Choir Without Borders and Lynne Mackey, pianist, in Ludwig von Beethoven’s “Choral Fantasia,” considered by some as a “practice piece” for the writing of his “Symphony No. 9.”

Admission to the concert is a suggested donation of $10 to benefit the 91����Ƶ music student scholarship fund.

For more information, call 540-432-4225.

The 17th annual Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival at 91����Ƶ 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����Ƶ, 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����Ƶ 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.

91����Ƶ Chamber Singers during the November Music Gala celebratory concert that included a tribute to Matt Garber, a 2008 91����Ƶ grad and former member of the singing group.

The quiet, reflective service for the end of the day will include prayers, hymns, scripture readings, a homily and choral and organ music.

The choir, directed by Kenneth J. Nafziger, professor of music at 91����Ƶ, will present a setting of the “Magnificat” and “Nunc Dimittis” by Britist composer Gabriel Jackson and motets by Gabriel Jackson and Libby Larsen, a U.S. composer.

The service is open to everyone.

"WWLD: What Would Lloyd Do?", is a musical comedy written by and starring Ted Swartz ’89 and Trent Wagler ’02, and directed by Ingrid De Sanctis ’88). The play, with guest artist Jay Lapp and featuring music groups The Steel Wheels, Shekinah and Sons of the Day, will be presented 8 p.m. Fri. & Sat., Oct. 10-11 in Lehman Auditorium. Tickets, at $7.50 for adults and $5 for students, are available in advance at Red Front Super Market and at the door.

Ted Swartz (l.) and Trent Wagler will premiere a new theater piece, "WWLD (What Would Lloyd Do??), as part of homecoming weekend at 91����Ƶ, Oct. 10-11. Photo by Jon Styer

A symposium, "Forgiveness in the Face of Tragedy: The Amish of Nickel Mines," will take place 10-11:30 a.m. Friday in Lehman Auditorium. Featured speakers will be Donald B. Kraybill ’67 and Herman Bontrager ’72, both of whom played key roles with the Amish community following the tragic shootings in a schoolhouse October, 2006. A question and answer period will follow.

Ken J. Nafziger, professor of music, will lead a worship celebration of song and scripture 10 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 12 in Lehman Auditorium. Recipients of the alumnus of the year award, distinguished service award and lifetime of service award will participate and be recognized in the service.

Reunions and Breakfast Meetings

Traditional homecoming features will include reunions at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 11 for graduating years ending in a "3" or "8," from 1963 to 2003. The "Jubilee Alumni," persons who attended 91����Ƶ 50 years ago or more, will hold a luncheon and program at 11:30 a.m. that day in Campus Center Greeting Hall, where members of the class of 1958 will be formally inducted.

Breakfast meetings will be held Saturday morning for alumni and friends of the business and economics department; nursing, education, the sciences, athletics (Loyal Royals), Bible and religion (Haverim).

The language and literature department will host a reunion 9-10 a.m. for all staffers formerly associated with the ".

See the full Homecoming schedule for more detail.

Oakwood Gathering and Science Summit

Former residents of Oakwood residence hall are invited to gather near the site of this "once-beloved dormitory," which has been demolished to make way for a three-story, environmentally-friendly, 120-bed facility, at 11 a.m. Saturday to share stories and jog memories. Read more about the recent demolition of Oakwood and see the web-cam to track progress.

At a mini science "summit" 10 a.m. Saturday, 91����Ƶ science faculty and students in environmental classes will share research projects and give updates on plans to renovate and expand the 40-year-old facility.

Arts and Athletics

An art exhibit featuring works by 91����Ƶ visual arts and communication professors Barbara Fast, Cyndi Gusler ’93, Jerry Holsopple ’80 and Steven Johnson will be on display in the third floor gallery of Hartzler Library. Media will include mixed media fiber art, drawings, photography and digital images. A gallery talk and reception will be held 4 p.m. p.m. Saturday.

Varsity field hockey, women’s volleyball and men’s and women’s soccer games are scheduled on Saturday, preceded by a Loyal Royals "fun run" 7:30 a.m. Saturday at the 91����Ƶ track.

The Paul R. Yoder, Sr., Memorial Golf Classic will be held Fri., Oct. 10 with start times at 7:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. at the Spotswood Country Club in Harrisonburg.

More Information

Special activities for children (kindergarten through fifth grade) and youth (grades 6 through 9) are scheduled at various times Saturday, and childcare for infants through age 5 will be provided during reunions and at other designated times.

During the weekend, a documentary video produced by alumnae Tiffany Horst ’07 and Carrie Keagy ’07, will be shown several times, featuring historic images and interviews that help to interpret the growth and changes that 91����Ƶ has seen over the years while remaining true to its vision, according to Douglas J. Nyce ’86, director of alumi/parent relations.

The registration desk in the University Commons will be open 3-8 p.m. Fri., Oct. 10 and 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Sat., Oct. 11.

For more information, go to www.emu.edu/homecoming, call the alumni office at (540) 432-4245 or e-mail alumni@emu.edu.

The annual faculty-staff conference, to be held Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 13-14, on the theme, “You’re invited: Experiencing Hospitality,” exploring ways that 91����Ƶ seeks to be “an inviting community” as it prepares students to serve and lead in a global context.

Main sessions will be held in Martin Chapel of the seminary building.

Jennifer Davis Sensenig

Jennifer Davis Sensenig will open the conference 9:30 a.m. Wednesday with an address on the program theme. She came to the Mennonite faith as an adult, graduated from Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries, Elkhart, Ind., and has served as interim lead pastor at Pasadena (Calif.) Mennonite Church. She and her husband currently run an organic farm in Minnesota. A faculty panel will respond to her presentation.

91����Ƶ President Loren Swartzendruber will give a “state of the campus” address 8:30 a.m. Thursday.

Other activities will include storytelling by 91����Ƶ faculty and staff, a voluntary cholesterol screening and worship led by Kenneth J. Nafziger, professor of music.

The annual all-campus picnic will be held on the front lawn Wednesday evening, Aug. 13.

Students who will serve as community advisors or ministry assistants will begin arriving for training sessions Friday, Aug. 15.

First-year students will check into the residence halls Aug. 23. Orientation programs for new students run through Monday, Aug. 25.

Returning students will arrive on campus Sunday, Aug. 24. Fall semester registration will be held Monday, Aug. 25. Fall semester classes will begin 8 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 26. President Loren Swartzendruber will speak at an opening convocation 10 a.m. Wednesday in Lehman Auditorium on the theme, “Called to Change the World.”

91����Ƶ’s fall semester runs through Dec. 12.

The festival orchestra, choir and soloists present Bach’s “Cantata 137, Lobe den Herren, Die Machtigen Konig Der Ehren” as part of the Sunday Leipzig service that concluded the Bach Festival. (Photo by Jim Bishop)

Guest guitar artist Michael Partington stated: “I’m able to play what I want to play, and I enjoy what I do. The best response I can get [in making music] is that persons hearing it would want to come back for more.”

And that’s what many people did during the June 8-15 musical smorgasbord at 91����Ƶ that served up sumptuous works by German composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) and others on the theme, “Bach and String Things.”

The week-long program, under the artistic direction of Kenneth J. Nafziger, professor of music at 91����Ƶ, sought to showcase the incredible range of music possible to perform with stringed instruments, with particular focus on the harpsichord, violin, harp, cello and guitar.

The festival opened June 8 with Bach’s “Italian Concerto in F Major” with Bradley Lehman of Dayton, Va., on harpsichord; Vivaldi’s “Concerto in D Major for 2 Violins, 2 Cellos, Strings and Continuo, and Bach’s “Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 in B-Flat Major” and featured soloist Michael Partington on Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s “Concerto No. 1 in D Major for Guitar and Orchestra, Op. 99,” composed in 1939.

Soloist: ‘music is something I’ve always done’

Bach Festival soloist Michael Partington

Partington, a native of Great Britain who grew up in Wales, started playing guitar at age 6 “by choice.” He noted that “music is something I’ve always done, but I didn’t envision a career in this area.”

He started giving guitar lessons while still in high school, then studied English literature at the University of Washington at Seattle but ended up with a music degree. He now heads the guitar program there in addition to performing as a soloist and with orchestral groups.

“It’s a thrill to play with a great orchestra in this setting and environment,” he said. “I’m encouraged by the wonderful audience turnout.”

“There’s a lot of music written for guitar that is not well known,” Partington said. “This week, I hope that people hear something new and unpredictable.”

That is part of the genius of the week, according to long-time participant Joan Griffing, concertmaster of the festival orchestra and a featured violin soloist. “Anyone who has attended a previous Bach Festival will return to hear many new and unexpected sounds,” Dr. Griffing said. “You never hear this music in this combination anywhere else.”

Musician’s Original Works Highlighted

Bach Festival guest artist Eugene Friesen

Another guest artist, Eugene Friesen of Boston, Mass., freely conveyed his passion for music as he played his original works or selections by other composers during the Bach Festival. The Berklee College of Music faculty member and a Grammy-award winning member of the Paul Winter Consort was featured soloist on his “Under the Sun,” which premiered in 2006, and “Good Providence” (2003), a tribute to his mother, Anne Warkentin Friesen, for her 85th birthday.

“I enjoy improvisation on cello and have found this creative impulse unlocks some rhythmic elements not usually associated with this instrument,” Friesen said.

“The cello most clearly resembles the human voice and has the capacity to unlock certain emotions in people,” he added. “I treasure my earliest experiences with music in the church, which has helped shape my belief that music is spiritual and can make a sacred connection with hearers.”

Area Youth Participate

Friesen, on a crusade to help young people to appreciate music early on, gave his “Cello Man” program to a packed sanctuary June 14 at Asbury United Methodist Church, downtown Harrisonburg.

Seven young musicians ranging in age from 17 to 22 were part of the festival orchestra. Sophie Baum, a rising senior from Charlottesville, Va., said she was “really nervous” at first, but “everyone is really nice. The cello section is amazing, and I love the variety of music we’re playing.”

Added violinist Polly Howell, 20, of South Boston, Va.: “I am thrilled to have a week of immersion in gorgeous music.”

Anastasia Jellison is featured soloist on the Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983) “Harp Concerto, Op. 26” during a festival concert. The piece, completed in 1956, draws upon percussion instruments while the harp engages in conversation with orchestral ensembles. (Photo by Jim Bishop)

At age 8, Anastasia Jellison told her mother she wanted to learn to play the harp “so I was ready for heaven.” At the June 13 festival concert, she performed Alberto Ginastera’s “Harp Concerto, Op. 25,” composed in 1956 but not premiered until 1965.

“It’s my favorite harp concerto,” she said of the Latin-flavored work. “It uses the fullest capacity of the instrument. It requires a lot of energy; it is contagious.”

“It’s a great community of people,” Jellison said of her orchestral colleagues. “Everyone is friendly, professional and incredibly supportive.”

Noon Concerts Packed

Festival-goers filled the sanctuary of Asbury United Methodist Church for one-hour chamber music programs by Bach Festival participants at noon Monday through Friday. “The noon concerts and the Leipzig service are the festival’s gift to the community,” said Mary Kay Adams, festival coordinator and flutist in the festival orchestra.

“Attendance at all the concerts was higher than ever before,” she added. “We appreciate the support and excitement the festival has generated throughout the community.”

Amy Glick of Orrville, Ohio, has played violin in the festival orchestra for 15 of the 16 years of the Bach Festival’s existence. A free-lance violinist and member of the Akron Symphony Orchestra, Glick keeps coming back “because my family is here, I get to play with some of the same talented people year after year and have opportunity to make some great music, especially Bach.”

Leipzig Service

The morning of June 15, 91����Ƶ’s Lehman Auditorium was transformed into St. Thomas Lutheran Church in 18th century Leipzig, Germany, where Bach was cantor and composed a cantata for each Sunday’s service.

Nafziger noted that the city of Leipzig’s town fathers “reluctantly accepted Bach as their third choice because no one of better qualifications was available” and for nearly 27 years “had at their service the greatest church musician and quite possibly the greatest musician the world has ever known.”

During the service, the festival choir and orchestra and soloists – with guest artists David Newman, baritone; Joel Burkholder Ross, tenor and countertenor; Kris Martin-Baker, soprano; and Marvin Mills, organist; presented Bach’s “Cantata 137.” Eugene Friesen was featured cellist on his “Sabbaths: Settings of Four Poems by Wendell Berry.”

David Newman, baritone, and Eugene Friesen, cellist, perform Friesen’s “Good Providence,” composed in 2003 to honor his mother, Anne Warkentin Friesen, born in Russia, on her 85th birthday. (Photo by Jim Bishop)

In a homily, 91����Ƶ President Loren Swartzendruber said, “I don’t need a scientific study to support the idea that music nurtures the soul. Martin Luther said it well, ‘My heart, which is so full to overflowing, has often been solaced and refreshed by music when sick and weary.’

“The 19th century German-Jewish poet, Berthold Auerbach, put it in a slightly more earthy way – ‘Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life,'” the president said.

Next year’s festival, the 17th, will spotlight “Bach and Handel,” June 14-21, 2009, observing the 250th anniversary of the death of George Frederick Handel.

See photo galleries of the 2008 Bach Festival