Resmini began playing flute at age 3, “determined to figure it out, and by the end of the first year, there was no holding her back,” says her mother Marilyn. Now 14, Resmini arrives on the stage of the as a seasoned performer, lauded a “rising star” by world-renowned flutist Sir James Galway.

“YouTube is terrific, and I hope more classical musicians become more comfortable with it,” said Resmini from her home in northern Virginia several days prior to her two Bach Festival performances. “The only distraction is that it can take a while to respond to people’s comments. And there are a lot of people who think I’m still 7 or 8 years old.”

Her comments to viewers, many of them flute students her age, reveal a budding helpful teacher: “The most important thing is to tell a story with the music and have fun telling the story. Don’t let your music exam be like a math exam. Show everyone why you love to play the flute!!!”

And to another student’s query about vibrato, she wrote online, “Try metronome work. Set it to 80 then do 2 vibrato pulses to a beat on a scale. Then 3 to a beat, then 4. Then every day make the metronome one click faster. In a few weeks your vibrato will be better!!! Let me know how it goes!!!”

Resmini also attaches three exclamation points to other interests in her life. She enjoys flying model rockets with her father, a scientist. Recently, “I’ve been getting into building and programming robots,” she said. “It can be tricky to get the coding and engineering to come together, but it’s so much fun when my little bot finally does exactly what I want.” And she adores Maxi, her maltipoo, a cross between a Maltese and poodle.

This is her second year to perform at the Bach Festival; last year she played at a noon concert. This Thursday, June 12, at noon in , Resmini and Lise Keiter will perform a Sonata for Flute and Piano by Erwin Schulhoff. “He was one of many Jewish musicians whose successful careers were cut short by the rise of Nazis in Germany,” said Resmini. “He was deported to a concentration camp where he died in 1942. His music then fell into obscurity.

“However, his sonata is an amazing work that deserves to be played more. It’s impressionistic with some hints of jazz. The mood is sometimes dreamy, sometimes playful. It’s a very demanding piece that gives both the flutist and the pianist a real workout!”

Finding musical gems like this sonata and stringing together a diverse musical repertoire is a hallmark of the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival, under the artistic direction of Kenneth J. Nafziger for the past 22 years. From Bach, a thousand flowers bloom.

Another festival distinctive is showcasing youthful talent. Seasoned musicians gather year after year, family-reunion style, under the festival’s dome of community music-making. Pairing that experience with a new stream of youthful talent gives the Bach Festival its growing edge.

Six gifted instrumentalists, named Festival Fellows, “are outstanding young musicians who apply to our youth program and are selected to play in the orchestra alongside the professionals, thus gaining valuable experience and mentoring,” says , the festival’s executive director and principal flutist, who has played in the festival orchestra for each of its 22 seasons.

Festival Concerts 2 and 3, Friday, June 13, and Saturday, June 14, at 7:30 in 91����Ƶ’s Lehman Auditorium, will showcase this pairing of talented youth and experienced professionals.

On Saturday’s stage, 13-year old treble Augusta Nafziger joins Canadian bass-baritone , New York soprano (no relation), Texas tenor and New Jersey mezzo-soprano . The five soloists with the festival chorus and orchestra will reprise Mendelssohn’s Elijah, previously performed at 1995’s Bach Festival. Lichti sang the title role in that performance as well.

Emma Resmini and the festival orchestra will perform Ibert’s Concerto for Flute and Orchestra, after the intermission of Friday’s concert. “The concerto is a masterpiece of the flute repertoire and a real tour-de-force,” said Resmini. “It is treasured by flutists for its masterful orchestration, virtuosic writing and fiendish technical challenges for the soloist.”

Nothing quite matches hearing a live performance of the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival. But if you can’t attend, you can soon watch Resmini’s two performances on her YouTube channel. (Views of her now stand at 22,566 and rising.)

“It adds a beauty and an enjoyment [to life]. … It touches the deepest part of our soul in a way not much else does,” she remarked.

As the executive director of the 22nd annual  (SVBF), Adams is looking forward to sharing her passion for classical music at the week-long event to be held June 8-15 at 91����Ƶ.

Adams, who estimates the event draws a crowd of roughly 4,000 annually, says the festival is respected nationwide for its high-quality performances, and even attracts some international audience members. According to Adams, the even called the SVBF the “jewel in Harrisonburg’s crown.”

“It’s such an intense week,” she added. “The musicians are playing from the moment they get to town until they leave 10 days later.”

This year’s featured musical artists include , , , , , , , , and .

Adams says that Nafziger — the artistic director/conductor — keeps the shows fresh from year to year.

“He makes a point of making it new,” she praised.

Though the SVBF will offer classical music from six different eras, the festival is named in honor of Johann Sebastian Bach, a German composer born in 1685.

“Most of the composers who came afterwards, to this day, use his music as a model,” explained Adams, adding that Bach’s works are at the event’s “heart.”

Adams encourages all locals to attend the festival, and says there’s no need to be a musical expert. With the help of program guide notes and explanations from the stage, she insists that even a novice can enjoy the experience.

“The music lover is really going to understand and appreciate everything going on with this … but we really do try to get people who don’t know much about classical music in there, too.”

Three-concert ticket packages cost $60 for adults; $50 for seniors ages 65 and older, and $15 for youth ages 22 and younger.

Advance single tickets cost $25 for adults; $20 for seniors and $5 for youth; tickets cost $2 more at the door.

Tickets for groups of 12 or larger cost $20 for adults; $15 for seniors and $5 for youth.

Donations collected for leipzig and noon chamber music series.

Tickets may be purchased at the door, online at emu.edu/box-office or by calling 432-4582.

Schedule of Events

• Concert 1: 3 p.m. June 8 at the Lehman Auditorium on 91����Ƶ campus.
• Concert 2: 7:30 p.m. June 13 at the Lehman Auditorium on 91����Ƶ campus.
• Concert 3: 7:30 p.m. June 14 at the Lehman Auditorium on 91����Ƶ campus.
• Leipzig Service: 10 a.m. June 15 at the Lehman Auditorium on 91����Ƶ campus.
• Noon Chamber Music Series: 12 p.m. June 9-14 at the First Presbyterian Church in Harrisonburg.
• Father’s Day Brunch following the leipzig service June 15 in the Northlawn Dining Hall. Make reservations online by June 1.

For a complete list, visit schedule.

Courtesy of the Daily News Record, May 14, 2014

One of the soloists, Canadian bass Daniel Lichti, sang in the first performance of Elijah at the Bach festival in 1995. This year’s Elijah is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 14, in Lehman Auditorium.

The oratorio about the Old Testament prophet will be conducted by , a long-time 91����Ƶ professor who helped establish the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival in 1992.

The festival honors the music of prolific 18th-century German composer Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as works by other composers.

Among them this year is Mendelssohn, another German composer who worked a century after Bach. He wrote Elijah for the 1846 Birmingham Music Festival in England, where it premiered to an enthusiastic audience and glowing reviews.

Lichti, singing the title role in Elijah, has established himself as one of Canada’s finest bass-baritones, performing with many of North America’s major orchestras and choirs. He appears regularly at festivals and performs oratorio and opera internationally.

This year, he is celebrating 40 years of professional performing with concerts in Canada, the United States and Europe. His debut was in an opera in 1974 at the Stratford Festival in Ontario. Lichti is a voice professor at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario. During a recent sabbatical from his teaching, he performed Franz Schubert’s epic Winterreise in Paris, Vienna and Lyon.

The other soloists for Elijah this year at 91����Ƶ are soprano Sharla Nafziger (no relation to Ken J. Nafziger), who performs throughout her native Canada and the United States; mezzo-soprano Barbara Rearick, a performer who teaches voice at Princeton University; and tenor Kenneth Gayle, the producing director for an innovative musical non-profit organization in Houston.

While the orchestra is made up of professionals invited to the festival, the choir is composed of volunteers from near and far. (Anyone interested in singing in this year’s choir should contact at mathewsl@emu.edu.)

The 2014 festival begins on Sunday, June 8, at 3 p.m., with organist Marvin Mills performing Bach’s “Prelude and Fugue in A Minor.” That afternoon’s concert will also feature music by composers like Handel, Rameau, Telemann, Zelenka and Bach’s son, C.P.E. Bach.

“In our 20^th season, we unveiled a new tag line – ‘Bach is just the beginning’ – as a way of understanding more completely what this Bach festival is all about,” said Ken J. Nafziger.

From June 9-14, the festival includes daily noon chamber music concerts at First Presbyterian Church on Court Square in Harrisonburg. No tickets are required, but donations are requested at the door. A complete schedule is available on the .

The noon concert on Monday, June 9, will feature the faculty of the annual , which is part of the Bach festival. The academy, held June 8-14, offers solo master classes and ensemble coaching by internationally acclaimed artists Arthur Haas, harpsichord; Martha McGaughey, viola da gamba; and Linda Quan, baroque violin.

A second major concert on Friday, June 13, at 7:30 p.m. will feature the festival orchestra performing two of Bach’s cantatas and music by Maurice Ravel. Emma Resmini, an acclaimed 14-year-old flutist from Fairfax, Va., will also play a concerto by Jacques Ibert.

Yet another component to the festival is the Road Scholar Program, which offers classes throughout the United States. From June 11 to 15, participants will enjoy the history and culture of the Shenandoah Valley while attending the festival’s concerts and interacting with the musicians, conductor and musical scholars. More information is available from .

On Sunday, June 15, at 10 a.m., Nafziger will lead the annual Leipzig service, inspired by the worship services at Bach’s church in Germany. He will be joined by the festival orchestra and choir as well as the featured vocal soloists and organist Marvin Mills. The homily will be delivered by Lara Steinel, music director at a progressive Jewish congregation – Kol Ami – in Kansas City, Mo.

The final event of the festival is a Father’s Day brunch in 91����Ƶ’s Northlawn dining hall. must be made by June 1.

Advance tickets to the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival are available at the 91����Ƶ box office – 540-432-4582 or-. They will also be available at the door at slightly higher prices.

For more details, visit .����

Prolific German composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) scarcely had time to catch his breath. No sooner did he compose a cantata for the Sunday worship service at the St. Thomas Lutheran Church in Leipzig where he was cantor than it was time to work on the next.

And Bach didn’t have access to computer software to help expedite this major undertaking. The melodies flowing from his mind were committed to parchment by hand and had to be duplicated manually for the orchestral and choral participants in the service.

Not only that, but he had to rehearse and conduct soloists, chorus and orchestra and serve as organist. And that was only a small part of his job description as official musician for four churches in the city of Leipzig.

The program theme, “Mostly Bach,” at 91����Ƶ highlighted the richness and diversity of the composer’s massive output, opening Sunday, June 11, with his monumental “Mass in B Minor.” Featured soloists were Sharla Nafziger, soprano; Jennifer Cooper, alto; Kenneth Gayle, tenor; and Thomas Jones, bass; with Marvin Mills, organ continuo and the festival choir and orchestra.

The festival concluded Sunday, June 18, with a “Leipzig Service,” a sermon in music modeled after the liturgical pattern of Bach’s time. Many festival attendees deemed the service, which included a portion of Bach’s “Christmas Oratorio,” as a “highlight” of the weeklong program.

Others might point to another distinct feature of this year’s festival, the return of guest artist Jeremy Wall, a pianist and arranger who has recorded a dozen well-received classical-jazz “World Beat” albums with clarinetist Richard Stoltzman.

Wall, a founding member of the 1980’s jazz group, “Spyro Gyra,” first appeared at the Bach Festival in 2004.

“The universal greatness of Bach’s music allows it to be adapted to other idioms,” Wall said during a rehearsal. “The harmonic syntax of Bach’s music has a common ground with the language of jazz that allows one to take some of his musical structures and adapt them into jazz arrangements.”

But, he added, “the process evolved out of a process of living with Bach’s music.”

During the June 17 evening performance of Bach’s “Christmas Oratorio,” audience members were visibly moved as Wall and Pete Spaar, principal bass, and clarinetist Leslie Nicholas took sections of Bach’s “Christmas Oratorio” and segued into a series of jazz improvisations that seemlessly combined the musical languages.

“This may be the first time this particular Bach composition has been performed publicly in this way,” said , artistic director and conductor of the week-long homage to Bach and his music.

With 2006 marking the 250th anniversary of another musical genius, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the Austrian composer’s music was featured on two of the seven daily noon chamber music programs held at Asbury United Methodist Church in downtown Harrisonburg. His “Symphony No. 35 in D Major” opened the June 16 evening festival program.

A recurring phenomenon of the Bach Festival is the diverse group of singers and players who gather in Lehman Auditorium for brief and intense rehearsal sessions and almost immediately sound like they’ve performed together for years.

Violinist Amy Helmuth Glick of Orrville, Ohio, is among the instrumentalists who returns every year to participate in the festival, having missed just one of the 14 seasons.

“I get to come back and stay with my parents, Ervie and Mary Glick, and to make wonderful music,” Glick said. “I especially enjoy the opportunity to play Bach’s choral works.” Glick, who attended 91����Ƶ 1990-91, is a free-lance violinist in the Northeast Ohio area and is a member of the Akron Symphony. Ervie Glick was a member of the festival chorus.

Paul E. Groff, a bass in the festival choir, was intrigued by the fusion of Bach’s music with the jazz improvisations of Jeremy Wall and his colleagues. He felt that the inclusion of two different styles “added life to the concerts and helped make Bach feel more contemporary.”

A graphic designer from Harrisonburg and 1990 91����Ƶ graduate, Groff relished “the opportunity to sing with top-notch musicians from across the country.”

In opening the Sunday Leipzig service, Dr. Nafziger told the audience that “we’ve spent the week playing and praying Bach,” adding: “Perhaps through this experience Bach is teaching us that at their best praying and playing are one and the same thing.”

“We’re delighted that the community embraces the Bach Festival as ‘our’ music festival,” said Beth K. Aracena, associate professor of music at 91����Ƶ and Bach program coordinator. “The noon concerts at Asbury United Methodist Church were extremely well-attended, and the strong turnout at Lehman Auditorium demonstrates this community’s commitment to supporting quality performing arts programs,” she added.

Next year’s Bach Festival will be June 10-17, 2007, on the theme, “Bach and Some Admirers.” Renowned pianist Janina Fialkowska will return to the festival with her interpretations of Chopin’s piano concertos.

The 14th annual at 91����Ƶ is going Bach to the basics, with a major focus on the broad repertoire of the prolific German composer.

The program, opens Sunday, June 11 and concludes with the popular Leipzig worship service June 18.

From Bach’s monumental “Mass in B Minor” to guest artist Jeremy Wall’s jazz-infused improvisations on the “Christmas Oratorio,” this serious and playful homage to Johann Sebastian Bach is designed to appeal to a wide audience, according to Kenneth J. Nafziger, artistic director and conductor of the festival.

“This year’s festival calls attention to Bach – to his music the way he wrote it, to his music the way others have heard it and re-written it, and to his music with the addition of Jeremy Wall’s jazz ideas,” Dr. Nafziger said. “These combinations are things Bach tried himself. Our combination of Jeremy Wall and Bach’s ‘Christmas Oratorio’ is a first of its kind event, bringing a modern musical language into a conversational relationship with the language of Bach’s Baroque musical vocabulary,” he added.

The opening concert, at 3 p.m. Sunday, June 11, in Lehman Auditorium. will feature Bach’s “Mass in B. Minor” with Sharla Nafziger, soprano; Jennifer Cooper, alto; Kenneth Gayle, tenor; and Thomas Jones, bass, and the festival chamber choir and orchestra.

Major festival concerts will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 16 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 17 in Lehman Auditorium. Friday’s program includes W.A. Mozart’s “Symphony No. 35 in D Major,” William Walton’s “The Wise Virgins: Suite from the ballet, after J.S. Bach” and shorter Bach pieces excerpted from lengthier compositions.

On Saturday, pianist Jeremy Wall will join with other guest performers in a jazz-infused interpretation of Bach’s “Christmas Oratorio, Parts l, 2 and 3.” A post-concert reception will follow.

Chamber music concerts with instrumentalists and vocalists from the festival will be presented noon-1 p.m. Monday through Saturday, June 12-17, at Asbury United Methodist Church, S. Main St., in Harrisonburg. Admission is free; donations are welcomed.

The festival will conclude with the annual Leipzig service at 10 a.m. June 18 in Lehman Auditorium, often cited by many attendees as the highlight of the week. The program recreates an 18th century worship service at St. Thomas Lutheran Church in Leipzig, German, where Bach was cantor and conducted a cantata for each week’s service.

The Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival is sponsored in part by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the Arts Council of the Valley.

Bach Festival tickets are available on-line at or by calling the 91����Ƶ box office at 540-432-4582.

Of various reasons musicians give for returning each year to the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival on the 91����Ƶ campus, one seems to tug hardest at the heartstrings – a sense of “community.”

Some are drawn because they “thoroughly enjoy the creativity of the programs” assembled by the festival’s artistic director and conductor, Kenneth Nafziger. Dr. Nafziger, professor of music at 91����Ƶ, is considered a foremost authority on the music of prolific German composer Johann Sebastian Bach. Others cite the “family feel” that flows through the week’s activities.

Philip Stoltzfus has attended every Bach Festival since its inception in 1992 and has played violin in the orchestra for 10 of those 12 years.

Stoltzfus, an assistant professor of religion at St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn., said, “This event fosters a sense of community among participants – it makes you want to come back. The material is fresh and challenges both the players and audiences.

“With only a few days to rehearse, the music isn’t beaten to death,” he said. “The intense practices help us develop a certain higher level of musicality, and I enjoy hearing Bach juxtaposed with other composers’ musical styles.”

Stoltzfus especially enjoyed playing in Dvorak’s ‘Symphony No. 8,’ which he said “showcases the strings and brass – it’s what orchestra playing is all about.”

(L. to r.): Paul Whelan, bass; Kenneth Gayle, tenor; Carrie Stevens, mezzo soprano; and Madeline Bender, soprano, were featured soloists for Mozart’s “Requiem in D Minor” performed June 18 at the 12th annual Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival.
Photo by Jim Bishop

This year’s program went “Bach to Basics,” with the timeless, majestic works of the prolific German composer (1685-1750) featured prominently throughout the June 13-20 program.

Nafziger acknowledged that while there are numerous programs worldwide that recognize Bach’s musical genius, the festival each year at 91����Ƶ is but “another way to show appropriate homage to a composer whose music has become fundamental to the entire world.”

The festival opened June 13 with Bach’s “Concerto for Two Pianos in C Major and Strings,” with Carolyn and Stephen W. Sachs as pianists. The program included Antonin Dvorak’s “Serenade in E Major for String Orchestra,” preludes from Bach’s “The Well-Tempered Clavier” and a musical variation on Bach featuring pianist Jeremy Wall, best known as one of the creators of the 1980’s jazz-fusion group, Spyro Gyra.

Two 91����Ƶ graduates returned to their alma mater to share their artistic gifts as featured soloists at the festival.

Madeline Bender, a 1993 alumna, was soprano soloist for Mozart’s magnificent “Requiem in D Minor,” performed June 18 with the festival choir and orchestra. She also sang Bach’s “Cantata No. 51” as part of a second festival concert and selections by Cole Porter and George Gershwin during a noon program.

Ms. Bender, who went on to graduate from Manhattan School of Music, is a full-time, free-lance musician who performs primarily operatic roles around the world.

“It was a wonderful, almost surreal feeling to come back to 91����Ƶ, to be surrounded by family and friends while doing this Bach Festival,” she said. “It was also interesting to see it [the festival] through the eyes of my friend Paul (Whelan),” who was bass soloist in Mozart’s “Requiem.”

Bender, who plans to go to Luxembourg for a performance before taking a summer break, hopes to “keep going the direction I’m going” with her music, which may include some additional training to hone her craft.

Joseph Gascho, a 1995 91����Ƶ graduate, joined with colleague Elena Tsai to perform works on harpsichord by Bach, Handel and Scarlatti with the festival orchestra.

Gascho went on to earn a degree from the Peabody Conservatory and is currently pursuing a doctorate at the University of Maryland, where he also teaches basso continuo.

He “happened” to encounter Ken Nafziger en route to a music performance in North Carolina, and Nafziger later invited him to take part in this year’s Bach program.

Gascho, like Bender, said he was “excited” to play in the festival and to reunite with friends on campus.

Noon concerts Monday through Saturday, a popular aspect of the weeklong program, moved this year to the sanctuary of Asbury United Methodist Church in downtown Harrisonburg.

The daily programs of shorter pieces offered by various festival musicians “filled the church sanctuary, some days to overflowing,” according to Beth K. Aracena, acting head of 91����Ƶ’s music department and festival coordinator. “It was certainly one indicator of enthusiastic response to this year’s program,” she said.

“Attendance greatly increased overall this year,” Dr. Aracena noted, “especially for the June 18 concert which featured the Mozart ‘Requiem.'”

A third festival concert June 19 featured Bach’s “Concerto in C Minor for Two Harpsichords and Strings,” featuring Joe Gascho and Elena Tsai; Bach’s “Concerto in A minor for Violin and Strings” with Joan Griffing of 91����Ƶ’s music department as soloist; and Anton Dvorak’s soaring, joyful “Symphony No. 8 in G Major.” At the close of that performance, the orchestra received a sustained, standing ovation.

Again this year, a festival high point for many attendees was the Leipzig service, Sunday morning, June 20, a recreation of an 18th century worship service at St. Thomas Lutheran Church in Leipzig, Germany, where Bach was cantor and composed a cantata for each week

The Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival is going Bach to basics, with the timeless music of the prolific German composer at the center of the programming.

This year’s festival, June 13-20, will celebrate its twelfth season at 91����Ƶ. Reviewers have called the annual event “the jewel in Harrisonburg’s crown.”

According to artistic director and conductor Kenneth J. Nafziger, Johann Sebastian Bach has festivals all around the world named in his honor. So why hold one every summer in Harrisonburg?

“I suspect that there are so many Bach festivals because he is recognized as fundamental to the entire world of music since his death in 1750. Doing a festival is one way of paying appropriate homage to his genius,” Dr. Nafziger said.

“Bach, unlike a lot of other famous-name composers, has touched the music of many cultures and many styles. One of my favorite Bach concerto performances was by a bluegrass band. Jazz has been crossing over into Bach for a good while now. There is African Bach, there is Japanese Bach, there is Brazilian Bach – it’s universal.

“For me personally, the music of Bach is the most complete musical expression I know,” Nafziger stated. “All music touches various parts of us – intellect, emotion, spirit, beauty. His works are as complete as anything ever is in the world of music.”

Many music lovers agree with Nafziger. The festival audiences have included people from up and down the East coast and as far away as Oregon. Some have been life-long fans of classical music. Others have never before attended a concert. There are a variety of ages and cultural backgrounds and all feel welcome.

Kenneth J. Nafziger directs the Bach Festival orchestra.

William and Frances Berry drive from Connecticut to 91����Ƶ each year for the festival. While there are music festivals closer to their home, they feel like the one at 91����Ƶ offers “something different” that brings them back year after year.

“We are presented with masterful, loving performances of great music made more meaningful because we have come to know and admire the musicians,” the couple said. “There is no fourth wall between audience and performer. We go to the rehearsals. We chat with players and singers. We have followed careers of young musicians as they have returned time and again. We almost feel that we are part of this place.

“We know that Bach was essentially a church musician. We also know that he was a devoted Christian churchman. Nafziger’s interpretations of Bach’s cantatas, motets, masses, passions, etc. have been memorable. We have felt the Eternal Presence in this great body of sacred music each year. This music is our accompaniment on the journey of faith,” the Berrys stated.

The Berrys aren’t the only ones who “come home” to 91����Ƶ for the festival. This year, 91����Ƶ alumni Madeline Bender, soprano, and Joseph Gascho, harpsichordist, are two of the featured soloists. Once students devoted to hours of practicing in the music department, they return to campus as accomplished professionals to share their gifts with the community.

Madeline Bender

Ms. Bender earned a degree from the Manhattan School of Music Opera Theater. She is a winner of the 1995 Amadeus Fund Grant, the Judith Raskin Memorial Award from the Santa Fe Opera Apprenticeship program, and was a 1996 finalist in the George London Competition, and the 1996 recipient of Manhattan School of Music’s Richard F. Gold Career Award Grant and master of music degree. After an apprenticeship with the Santa Fe Opera, Bender’s career has taken her all over the world to perform major operatic roles.

Joseph Gascho

Gascho’s recent accomplishments include first prize in the Jurow International Harpsichord Competition and a grant award for solo performance by the Maryland State Arts Council. He earned his masters degree from the Peabody Conservatory and is currently pursuing his doctorate at the University of Maryland. He will be performing Bach’s “Concerto for Two Harpsichords in C Minor” with colleague Elena Tsai.

The Bach festival orchestra is made up of professional players from throughout Virginia and around the country who return year after year.

The choir is made up of singers primarily from the local area. Others come from many places in the eastern half of the United States because they enjoy singing, and because the choral experience is a strong one.

Highlights of this year’s festival will include:

* Jeremy Wall, founding member of the jazz fusion group “Spyro Gyra,” who will perform his Worldbeat Bach arrangement in the opening concert on Sunday, June 13.

* Mozart’s “Requiem” will be performed during Festival Concert I on Friday, June 18 with orchestra, choir, Madeline Bender, soprano; Carrie Stevens, alto; Kenneth Gayle, tenor; and Paul Whelan, bass.

* Saturday’s Festival Concert II features two Bach concertos and Dvorak’s “Symphony No. 8 in G Major.”

* The Leipzig Service on Sunday, June 20, is an annual favorite to conclude the week of music. The service, modeled after the ones at St. Thomas Lutheran Church in Bach’s time, will include a Bach cantata (with chorus, orchestra and soloists), hymns, organist Marvin Mills, and a homily given by Christian Early, assistant professor of philosophy and theology at 91����Ƶ.

* Noon concerts presented throughout the week at Asbury United Methodist Church, downtown Harrisonburg, offer a chance for everyone to sample chamber music presented by the festival musicians.

More information on the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival is available at www.emu.edu/bach. Advance tickets for the concerts are available from the 91����Ƶ box office, 540-432-4582.