Crowds of 91����Ƶ Royals — whether alumni, family, friends, students, faculty or staff — gathered together for Homecoming and Family Weekend 2023 at 48 events over three days. A total of 529 people registered for those events.

Sixty-eight alumni attended the 50th anniversary Class of 1973 reunion, with 206 attending other reunions stretching from 1958 to 2013. Nine members of the oldest class (1958) reunited by Zoom. According to an email from Advancement Office, 169 people registered for the Music Celebration Concert, 180 registered for the opening breakfast and 127 registered for TenTalks.

The most viewed event on Facebook was the Writers Read with Kate Baer, followed by TenTalks at second and the Music Celebration Concert at third.

It would have been impossible to see everything the weekend had to offer, but we’ve got you covered. Here are some of the homecoming highlights, in case you missed it.

• Music Celebration Concert: An Evening with Madeline Bender helped kick off the Homecoming festivities on Friday night. Madeline Bender ’93, an accomplished soprano who’s performed all across the world, provided audiences at Lehman Auditorium with a smorgasbord of musical entertainment. Click here for a longer writeup of the event. A recording of the event can be viewed on the .

• Nearly every seat in the Suter Science Center lecture hall was filled on Saturday, with everyone in attendance on the edge of those seats as they listened to some amazing stories from three 91����Ƶ alumni at TenTalks. The event, which is modeled after TED Talks, tasks three luminaries with 10 minutes each to impact, influence and inspire the crowd. This year’s speakers were Ryan Gehman ’16, Kevin Ressler ’07 and Madeline Bender ’93. Click here for a longer writeup of the event. A recording of the event can be viewed on the .

• Kate Baer ’07 (right) took the Lehman Auditorium stage on Saturday night to read from her collection of poems, answer questions from the crowd and dispense life and writing advice, all while showcasing her razor-sharp wit. Click here for a longer writeup of the event. A recording of the event can be viewed on the .

• Roughly 250 generous donors and contributors filled Yoder Arena on Friday evening to celebrate another banner year of philanthropy. The five student storytellers recognized at the Donor Appreciation Banquet shared their journey of transformation at 91����Ƶ thanks to donor giving. Click here for a longer writeup of the event.

• Saturday started off with a bang at the Homecoming Celebration Breakfast held at Yoder Arena. The ceremony honored the recipients of its alumni awards: Andy Dula ’91 (right), Paul and Lisa Zendt Shelly ’89 (left) and Basil Marin ’10 (center). It also recognized this year’s Hall of Honor inductees: Miranda White Terry ’08, Jamie Fraysher Runner ’09, Luke Yoder ’08 and the 2003 women’s basketball team.

• Due to the threat of rain, Fall Fest was moved into the gym, where children barreled down inflatable slides, launched themselves into the air in the bounce house and won prizes from a table of giveaways. Several food trucks fed visitors outside the gym as a cart inside scooped Italian ice into cups. While his three children colored with crayons at a nearby table, Luke Yoder, one of the athletes honored earlier that morning, said it was his first time returning for Homecoming. The Iowa resident said it was fun catching up with friends from his class and seeing all the places he had fond memories of.

• Across the hallway from the gym, people packed the athletic suites to honor Roland Landes and his wife, Darlene. Both were present to receive the recognition. Landes, a legendary coach who helmed the most successful men’s cross country and track teams in school history, served 91����Ƶ from 1967 to 1998 as coach, assistant professor of physical education and as supervisor of auxiliary services. His tenure includes coaching five different teams in four sports from 1967 to 1983, finishing with a career record of 223-141 for a 0.613 win percentage. His son and daughter spoke about his character, their favorite memories of him and how much of an impact he had on them and the broader 91����Ƶ community.

• President Susan Schultz Huxman and Mayor Deanna Reed spoke to a group of women in the President’s Reception Room about the mission and goals of Royal Women for 91����Ƶ. The group, led by the visionary trifecta of Reed and co-chairs Louise Hostetter ’79 and Kay Nussbaum ’78, is a new women’s philanthropy and networking initiative to inspire visible leadership, bold investments and empowering networks to impact 91����Ƶ’s future. Its goal is to raise $70,000 for student scholarships, of which $20,000 will be used for immediate impact grants and $50,000 will go into an endowed scholarship fund to create lasting impact for 91����Ƶ students.

• Inside the Black Box Theater, Jackie Font-Guzman, vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion, led a conversation about the DEI efforts on campus. She said that 43.6 percent of the incoming class self-identifies as either Black, Indigenous or Persons of Color. Thirty-five percent of students at 91����Ƶ are first-generation students. “So knowing that, we have a responsibility to make sure that when our students come here, when our staff comes here, when our faculty comes here, that they really feel like they belong, and they feel like this is their space,” she said.

• Later, DEI staff met with students and alumni to discuss the creation of an LGBTQ+ advisory board. An advisory board typically might provide support and accountability to faculty and staff and can also offer strategic direction to some of the efforts moving forward. Nicole Litwiller, who facilitated the event, described the meeting as “an inaugural conversation” and brainstorming space. “We want to hear all your voices and incorporate them into how this advisory board gets created,” she told attendees gathered at the old Common Grounds location.

• Upstairs at the Common Grounds coffee shop, a platter of mugs invited former employees to step behind the counter and make their own favorite drinks. Returning to campus for her 15-year reunion, Aubrey Kreider ’08, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was in the mood for a hot chai and thanked the current crop of baristas who helped make it for her. “They ended up making it for me because everything is totally different,” said Kreider, who worked at Common Grounds for four years. “All the technology’s been upgraded, and obviously, since it’s in a different space, I didn’t know where anything was.”

• Across campus at Lehman Auditorium, Chamber Singers alumni shared their favorite memories from their time on the choir and joined in song together.

• A pop-up swag shop inside University Commons sold apparel and other wares to passersby. Cassidy Walker, a junior and Royal Ambassador helping man the booth, said well over 100 items had been sold about three hours into being open. She said the blue 91����Ƶ crewneck was a bestseller. “I almost bought myself a college parent shirt because I’m like the mom of my friend group,” she said.

• Dymphna de Wild, JMU arts professor, showcased her collection of artist books, digital photographs and collages on Friday during a reception at the Margaret Martin Gehman Gallery for her “Solace of Silence” exhibition. Some of her works included pictures of found objects atop freshly laid snow and a sprawling book of coffee filters that have been turned into art.

• Saturday saw some success on the pitch with the 91����Ƶ men’s soccer team besting Ferrum 6-0. The women’s soccer and field hockey teams each lost to Roanoke by a score of 0-4.

• The denouement of the weekend arrived Sunday morning with the Homecoming Worship Service held at Lehman Auditorium. The Chamber Singers led congregants in song and the recipients of this year’s alumni awards addressed the crowd. Click here for a longer writeup of the event.

Photos by Macson McGuigan, Jon Styer/At Ease Design & Consulting, and Rachel Holderman

But, rather than an exhilarating thrill, the car just moseys forward, and the riders are greeted by a flurry of actors expressing some of the frustrations with growing older: Is that a bald spot? I just got the oil changed; why is the engine light still on? Too much spice triggers my GERD. What do you mean my phone is obsolete? I just got this thing six years ago. The car erupts in screams, only to be drowned out by the 91����Ƶ Chamber Singers, who launch into “O Fortuna” with its chorus replaced by “YOLO” (You Only Live Once).

The scene, acted by local performers of all ages and titled “Over The Hill,” was one of the highlights of the Music Celebration Concert: An Evening with Madeline Bender that helped kick off Homecoming and Family Weekend 2023 on Friday night.

Madeline Bender ’93, an accomplished soprano who’s performed all across the world, provided the crowd that packed Lehman Auditorium with a smorgasbord of musical entertainment. She seamlessly switched from belting out “Shy” from the musical Once Upon a Mattress to singing opera in French, Russian and Italian before launching into some of her favorites from George and Ira Gershwin and Cole Porter.

Bender showcased her vocal range while Professor David Berry was flawless at the piano, and the Jazz Ensemble shined. The musical sketch comedy that bookended Bender’s singing proved to be the hit of the night, with the Lehman pews erupting in laughter. Those who missed it can catch a recording of the concert on the .  

Ryan Kauffman ’99 and his wife, Valerie ’99, traveled from Ontario, Canada, to watch their son, Evan, play the saxophone in the Jazz Ensemble. They said they’ve been making the big trek each Homecoming in recent years. “We just always like hearing about all the new things that are happening at 91����Ƶ,” Ryan Kauffman said. “There’s always new programs, the new people; it’s exciting to see a lot of the new diversity initiatives.”

For Harrisonburg residents Ellen Bowman ’74 and her husband, Greg, the trip wasn’t nearly as far. Ellen Bowman said it was impressive to see students and staff at the concert use their talents, and that her favorite part about Homecoming was seeing life on campus and old friends.

Gehman spoke about dreams, specifically his dream of finishing the Boston Marathon in less than 2½ hours, and how that dream nearly crumbled due to injuries. In April, his dream came true when he crossed the finish line in Boston in 2 hours, 27 minutes and 31 seconds, not only meeting his goal but also bettering his personal record by more than 11 minutes.

The long-distance runner inspired the audience with his stories of meeting adversity: of being diagnosed at four years old with severe sensory integration issues, autism and anxiety and of being told he would never write or have any physical coordination. He told the crowd about his challenges of entering the public school system and being paired with an ill-equipped and verbally abusive teacher.

“At 14 years old, the message I was repeatedly told on a consistent basis, day after day, was because of my disability I shouldn’t even try because I would surely fail,” he said. “That it would be better if I just stayed within the confines of the box in which they put me in. It is hard to put into words the effect that this teaches.”

Ressler, a community activist and civic leader from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, shared his experiences of having visited Israel and Palestine while an 91����Ƶ student in 2006 and reflected on the state of the war in Gaza today. Much of his talk centered on the false dichotomy between right and wrong and between pro-Israel and pro-Palestine. And he spoke on the rush to judgment to paint Gazans as guilty for the actions of the Hamas nationalist group and to treat Israel’s military retaliation as just.

The alumnus, who said he had written two other potential speeches for TenTalks, added that he had read an op-ed piece in the latest Weathervane that inspired him to speak on the topic.

“I said, ‘Here is still a safe space for students to decry the way in which our world does not accept that everyone has an inherent dignity to life,’” Ressler said. “Here, in this institution, is still a space that you can believe that the world does not need to rely on violence to solve its problems.”

Bender, a former opera soprano, shared the journey from her time on the 91����Ƶ stage to the 15-year adventure that saw her jet-setting around the globe with some of the greatest conductors, stage directors and singers in the industry. She spoke about the perfect storm of events in 2004 that caused her to leave singing.

A mysterious problem with her singing voice appeared and continued to worsen. Her mother had months to live because of cancer. And her manager in Paris dumped her.

“Anybody who has ever crashed and burned like I did, and I mean truly and spectacularly fallen with such a colossal ‘boom’ that there is no option of bouncing back,” she said. “If any of you experienced something like that, then you will understand what an incredible, magnificent blessing that was for me.”

Bender may have lost her professional singing voice, but she found her blessings. She started an annual fundraising gala called Voices of Hope that raises money for Mennonite Central Committee’s Global Family Program. That gave her the confidence to start her own business, Creative Stage, which continues to mentor thousands of children in Manhattan with professional artists and musicians.

“If you don’t like it, just wait five minutes and it will change,” quotes the acclaimed soprano, whose husband hails from Kiwiland.

It’s a tongue-in-cheek adage applied to any region that sees variable weather, but Bender says it can also be used to describe her upcoming musical extravaganza: “If you don’t like what’s happening, wait five minutes and it’ll be a completely different experience,” she says. 

The operatic superstar is performing, directing and producing the Music Celebration Concert: An Evening with Madeline Bender on Friday. She promises everything from jazz and Great American Songbook standards to “very serious” French and German pieces, beloved opera arias and even some musical sketch comedy.

“It’s going to be a zany night of a lot of different kinds of things,” she says. “It’ll be like a tasting menu, except with music and theater.”

The 91����Ƶ Chamber Singers will feature at the event, as will the drama department, jazz ensemble and local actors and performers of all ages, resulting in what Bender calls “a cast of thousands.”

“I think people need to expect the unexpected,” she says. “There are so many people involved in this concert.”

“My favorite part of music-making is collaborating, and I would rather make it a party,” she adds. “The more, the merrier.”

The concert, held at Lehman Auditorium at 8 p.m. on Friday, Oct.13, helps kick off 91����Ƶ Homecoming and Family Weekend 2023. 

Tickets to the show are $10 in advance, $15 at the door and free for 91����Ƶ students with ID or for children 12 and younger. They can be purchased .

Email alumni@emu.edu for instructions on how to access a free Facebook livestream of the event.

A complete list of events and activities is on the Homecoming and Family Weekend website.

Bender is an accomplished opera singer, arts entrepreneur and educator. She is the founder of Creative Stage, which teaches children across Manhattan programs in music, theater, dance and filmmaking. She is also the founder and director of Creative Stage Collective, a not-for-profit theater company that develops musical sketch comedy based on the imaginative ideas of children.

She has been praised by The New York Times for her “charimatic stage presence,” “voluptuous soprano” and “theatrical flair.”

Finding her voice at 91����Ƶ

Bender, who lives in New York City with her husband Paul Whelan, a baritone and bass-baritone singer, and their 14-year-old son, may have been destined to attend 91����Ƶ.

Her parents, former educators Jon Scott ’62 and Nancy Shank Bender ’64, were 91����Ƶ alums, as well as many of her friends and neighbors around Harrisonburg, and later, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

The choice to attend 91����Ƶ may have been an easy one for her to make, but the decision to major in music was not quite as simple.

Bender arrived at 91����Ƶ intent on graduating with a health professions degree. At the time, she says, a career in the performing arts felt like it wouldn’t help others. 

But her involvement in the Chamber Singers under then-Professor Kenneth J. Nafziger — as well as nearly every other ensemble on campus — provided her a supportive environment that helped her realize she could also serve others with her voice.

Back in the early ’90s, 91����Ƶ may not have had an opera program or a diction coach or “all the bells and whistles,” she says. But it taught her to be resourceful. 

“I put on two opera programs, I learned to produce, I learned how to cast and direct a show, and now, that’s my job,” she says. 

After graduating from 91����Ƶ, Bender earned her master’s degree from the prestigious Manhattan School of Music.

And although she hasn’t performed professionally for about a decade, she says she’s thoroughly enjoyed practicing for Friday’s big event.

“The engine is back and running again.”

The speakers — soprano Madeline Bender ’93, runner Ryan Gehman ’16 and leader Kevin Ressler ’07 — will each have 10 minutes to “impact, influence and inspire” the audience, and then answer questions from the crowd. The format is modeled on TED Talks presentations.

The free event will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 14, in Suter Science Center 106. Homecoming registration is not required to attend. Email alumni@emu.edu for instructions on how to access the Facebook livestream of the event.

A complete list of events and activities is on the Homecoming and Family Weekend website.

Divine dissatisfaction

Madeline Bender ’93 will share the story of her journey from rural Mennonite kid to international opera singer, arts entrepreneur and educator.

In 2012, Bender founded , which offers classes to children in the fields of music, theater, dance and filmmaking. Her innovative arts programs are taught in esteemed private and public schools across Manhattan.

She has created performances including Instrumental Storytellers at Symphony Space in Manhattan, the annual Creative Stage Spectacular! and, most recently, produced and directed Summer Shebang!, sponsored by the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone. 

Her work has paired her with notable opera directors such as Sir Peter Hall, Robert Wilson, David McVicar, Paul Curran and Sir Jonathan Miller.

She, along with artistic partner Timothy Long, is the founder and director of Voices of Hope, an annual opera gala that has raised more than $250,000 to provide life-changing education to severely underprivileged children around the world.

Bender, who has a master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music, lives in New York City with her husband Paul Whelan, a bass-baritone opera singer, and their 14-year-old son.

Her TenTalk will investigate what makes citizen artists tick, as well as the forces that drive them to seek to make radical change in the world through the arts.

Run for your life!

Diagnosed with autism at four years old, Ryan Gehman ’16 struggled with anxiety and other mental health challenges growing up. 

But when Gehman discovered running, he says it literally saved his life.

The Millersville, Pennsylvania, native has run four marathons to date, including two Boston Marathon races. He finished the 2023 Boston Marathon this past April in 2 hours, 27 minutes and 31 seconds, which placed him 103rd overall.

In 2014 while at 91����Ƶ, Gehman won the NCAA South Southeast Regional Cross-Country Championships and was named Southeast Regional Athlete of the Year.

Gehman says he runs to help himself navigate life on the spectrum and aims to be a source of hope for other neurodiverse people, as well as anyone in need of strength to face adversity.

He is a former cross-country and track coach at Lancaster Bible College and Lancaster Mennonite High School. These days he shares his passion for fitness as a wellness assistant at Landis Homes, where he fosters the movement of others.

TenTalks attendees are invited to hear his story, from the heartwarming and humorous way his running began to the dream he’s now chasing: qualifying for the 2028 Olympic Trials.

“Break all the rules, build a better world”

Kevin M. Ressler ’07, M. Div., was not afraid to break some rules as a child.

As a third grader, Ressler refused to participate in the Pledge of Allegiance because of his discomfort with war. 

During a semester-long simulation of the Revolutionary War, the middle-schooler was named governor of Pennsylvania and then disrupted class when he demanded freeing slaves as part of the Declaration of Independence.

His life, he says, has been spent seeking ways to bring about an equitable peace and justice for all.

In a summary of his TenTalk, Ressler says that people are raised to maintain the status quo of the system even when they might not realize it.

“We are taught that … if you follow the rules and apply yourself that you will get rewarded with comfort and security,” the community activist and leader says.

“But, if you actually care about a better world, you have no choice but to break the rules and risk losing everything so that others might gain.” 

Ressler leads , where he’s been CEO since July. The nonprofit organization serves the greater Coatesville, Pennsylvania, community by focusing on improving its health, social, emotional and economic conditions.

He graduated from 91����Ƶ with a bachelor’s degree in Justice, Peace and Conflict Studies and spent a year with Mennonite Voluntary Service and with AmeriCorps VISTA. He earned a Master of Divinity degree from Lancaster Theological Seminary in 2013.

Ressler was executive director of Meals on Wheels of Lancaster from 2014 to 2020 and president and CEO of the United Way of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, from 2020 to this June. He has served on multiple boards including for Meals on Wheels of Lancaster, United Way of Pennsylvania and Everence Federal Credit Union.

He lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with his wife Melissa and their two daughters, Acacia, 9, and Iriana, 6.

The event will feature renowned operatic soprano, , who graduated in 1993. Two former 91����Ƶ field hockey players Gina Hoover Breslin ’92 and Jeané Horning Hershey ’94 are on the planning committee for the event. Amy Warnick Troyer ’91 is the chairperson for the event. The four women became friends on their 1991 91����Ƶ cross-cultural semester to Munich, Germany, where Bender’s appetite for opera was whetted.

“I had the opportunity to attend (in 2010) and I was immediately hooked,” said Breslin. “Madeline is so talented and amazingly generous – donating her time and talents to such a good cause.”

Bender’s husband Paul Whelan, a bass-baritone opera singer from New Zealand, is scheduled to appear with Bender in Voices of Hope. The will also perform at the gala.

Voices of Hope will be held Saturday, Jan. 19, at 8 p.m., at the Fulton Theatre in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The event will feature a range of musical styles, from spirituals and operatic pieces to excerpts from well-loved musicals. All proceeds from the concert will go to support MCC community-based education programs.

91����Ƶ Madeline Bender

Praised in Opera News for her “glowing, full-bodied lyric soprano” and “haunting timbre,” Madeline Bender’s operatic roles include “Violetta in La Traviata,” with both Santa Fe Opera, and Vancouver Opera; “Konstanza in Entfuhrung aus dem Serail,” at the Aix en Provence festival, “Baden Baden,” at the royal opera house in Luxembourg; “Helena,” in A Midsummer Nights Dream with Glyndebourne opera, and at the Royal Opera House in Brussels; as well as concert appearances including “Beethoven’s ninth symphony,” with the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Sir John Elliot Gardiner, and “Handel’s Messiah,” with the Toronto Symphony with Sir Andrew Davis conducting.

More information

For more information on the Global Family Program or to sponsor, visit .

Tickets for the winter gala are available through the by calling 717-397-7425; or .

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.