He will continue his journey and passion in that field with a new call as the executive director of the , based at 91����Ƶ in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

“David clearly brings a tremendous amount of energy to this position,” says Dr. , vice president of the festival’s advisory board. “If his success with [musical group] in Charlottesville is any indication, he will surely bring a fresh and lively vision to the Bach Festival.”

McCormick, a native of nearby Charlottesville, Virginia, says he attended his first Bach Festival concert in Harrisonburg this summer and fell in love.

“From that brief encounter, one concert, I saw this is a festival with a lot of heart,” McCormick says. “It’s a great opportunity to join a festival that embraces what I think is some of the best music out there. I’m pleased to be a part of it.”

There is a “tradition of great Bach festivals around the country,” McCormick says, and he hopes to use that network to build up the Harrisonburg event, “giving it more of a regional or even national reputation.

“I think there’s a real potential in this area to encourage tourists to be part of this festival,” he adds.

McCormick brings a diverse background to the position. He holds a degree in medieval Renaissance and Baroque music from Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio, and three degrees—in music education, violin performance and chamber music—from Shenandoah University.

He also performs medieval music on the vielle (a violin-like stringed instrument) with New York-based and founded the Charlottesville-based baroque music group . His work has been primarily as an educator, teaching violin and viola students in the Charlottesville and Waynesboro areas. He says he plans to bring that educator’s perspective to the festival, as well, helping audiences more deeply understand the music they’re hearing.

McCormick follows , who served as executive director for the past decade. Adams, a flutist, has also played with the festival since its beginning and plans to continue in that role.

Another key member of the festival leadership, artistic director and conductor , will continue in his role. McCormick says that Nafziger’s presence was a factor in his decision to accept the executive director job.

“One of the strong points that brought me here was definitely Ken,” McCormick says. “I’ve seen from afar that his leadership of this festival is unbelievable. He’s the heart and soul of this festival. I worked with him professionally a few years ago, and he’s just such a great musician and a great human. He embodies a lot of the values that are important to me.”

Nafziger, professor of music at 91����Ƶ, had similarly good things to say about McCormick. “I’m delighted that David has accepted the position of executive director for the Bach Festival. His broad wealth of experience in management and in performance will find a warm welcome within our organization as we prepare for our 25th season and beyond. I look forward to working with him: as a planner, as a dreamer of the future, and as a performer.”

McCormick enters his duties at a particular noteworthy time, as the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2017. The festival will be June 11-18 in Harrisonburg.

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.

“That’s like asking me to pick my favorite child,” says Nafziger, who relishes the years-long process that goes into the programming, repertoire and selection and invitation of featured artists. “Each year, the music changes and that means the festival stays new and exciting in different ways for different audiences. Every year, some will say, ‘This is the best one ever,’ and that freshness is exciting.”

The week-long event will be June 14-21 on the 91����Ƶ campus, where both Nafziger and executive director are senior members of the music faculty.

The festival, which draws an estimated 4,000 people, is named in honor of Johann Sebastian Bach, a German composer born in 1685, but showcases an ever-changing repertoire of classical music from different eras.

“The festival tagline is ‘Bach is just the beginning,’” Adams said, “and the diversity within our concerts truly reflects that.”

Three concerts and more

The June 14 opening concert showcases five instrumental concertos, all composed by Bach.

Concert 2 features works by Haydn, including Symphony No. 31 in D Major (Hornsignal), Concerto No. 4 in D Major for Harpsichord with ‘95, Te Deum with the Festival Choir, and Symphony No. 102 in B-flat major.

Concert 3 features music by African-American composers Aldophus Hailstork, William Grant Still and Edmund Thornton Jenkins, including a rare performance of Charlestonia, one of the first compositions in which American black music themes are mixed with the European concert tradition. A suite from George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, set in the black community of Charleston, concludes the theme. Soprano and baritone are the soloists, joined by the choir.

A Leipzig service, honoring Bach’s service as a church musician, brings the festival to a conclusion on Sunday, June 21. The service includes organ music, hymn singing, a cantata and other music for choir, soloists and orchestra, with a homily by . A is offered afterwards.

Additional featured artists include , trumpet; , flute; , oboe; and , violin; , viola; , organ; , countertenor; and , tenor.

Smaller ensembles and a more informal style are offered through the week at the noon chamber music concerts at First Presbyterian Church. No tickets are required; a $5 donation is suggested.

Musicians enjoy fellowship, hospitality

The Festival Orchestra includes professional musicians from around the country, many of whom return year after year. One bass trombonist annually drives from Florida and stays with the same local host, Nafziger said. “There’s not a huge call for bass trombonists, so he plays in two or three pieces, but stays for the whole week… The fellowship and hospitality here are an important part of why the festival is so successful.”

When musicians want to take a festival season off, they usually ask for “a leave of absence,” Nafziger said. “We don’t have that, but what they mean is, ‘Save my seat so I can come back the next time.’”

Another source of energy is limited rehearsal time, Nafziger says. Musicians arrive and rehearse during the first weekend of the festival, achieving a high standard of quality in a short period of time.

“It’s rewarding to me every year how much work you can do if you clear everything away in your life but what you love doing,” he said. “It’s an exhilarating and exhausting 10 days.”

While professional musicians perform with the Festival Orchestra, the Festival Choir, a volunteer ensemble, allows both professional and amateur vocalists to perform celebrated works. Musicians also come into Harrisonburg for the , a five-day concurrent workshop with masterclasses and coaching sessions in harpsichord, violin, viola da gamba, recorder, lute, and vocal performance.

Tickets

Three-concert ticket packages cost $65 for adults; $55 for seniors ages 65 and older, and $15 for youth ages 22 and younger.

Advance single tickets cost $27 for adults; $22 for seniors and $5 for youth; tickets cost $2 more at the door.

Tickets for groups of 12 or larger cost $22 for adults; $17 for seniors and $5 for youth.

Donations collected for Leipzig and noon chamber music series.

Tickets may be purchased at the door, or by calling 432-4582.

Schedule of Events

• Concert 1: 3 p.m. June 14 at the Lehman Auditorium on 91����Ƶ campus.
• Concert 2: 7:30 p.m. June 19 at the Lehman Auditorium.
• Concert 3: 7:30 p.m. June 20 at the Lehman Auditorium.
• Noon Chamber Music Series: 12 p.m. June 15-20 at the First Presbyterian Church in Harrisonburg.
• Leipzig Service: 10 a.m. June 21 at the Lehman Auditorium.
• Father’s Day Brunch following the Leipzig service June 21 in the Northlawn Dining Hall. Make reservations by June 15.

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.)

The festival, founded by 91����Ƶ professor , has become a Valley tradition. The weeklong event begins at 3 p.m. on Sunday, June 8, in Lehman Auditorium of 91����Ƶ and closes one week later with The Leipzig Service, a musically oriented worship experience in Lehman. The festival allows both musicians and audiences the opportunity to explore the music of Bach, those who influenced him, and those he inspired.

Bach is just the beginning

Since 2012, the festival’s tagline has been “Bach is just the beginning.” The theme of Bach as a starting point or base for the festival’s exploration will be on display again this year as the program features pieces by Bach contemporaries like Handel, Telemann, and Vivaldi, as well as instrumental sections from an opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau and more recent pieces by Gwyneth Walker and Kyle Lane.

, executive director of the Bach Festival and an 91����Ƶ music professor, said the musical diversity of the Bach Festival makes it exciting. As an example, she cited “phenomenal featured artists” performing Mendelssohn’s Elijah, “a masterpiece in choral and orchestral literature.” That performance is set for Saturday, June 14, at 7:30 p.m. in Lehman Auditorium.

Despite the festival’s musical diversity Bach is always at the center. The performances of three Bach Cantatas, 51, 82, 180, along with several of his organ pieces, will keep the festival solidly grounded in the musician who inspired it.

Quality performers

In over two decades, the festival has become a gathering place for acclaimed national talents. This year’s featured performers will include prodigy flutist , who at age 14 has already soloed at the Dallas, National, and Pittsburg Symphonies and on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center. She has been reviewed by the New York Times, and is the youngest member of the program.

Other notable performers include Maryland-based organist , who has been a featured performer at three national conventions of the ; harpsichordist , sought-after performer and teacher of Baroque music across the United States; and .

The festival also features more local, though no less dynamic, talent in violinist and 91����Ƶ professor . An extraordinary musician, Griffing has previously performed with the AIMS festival orchestra in such non-local destinations as Austria and Italy. She also completed a three-week performing tour in Taiwan and is a founding member and regular performer with Musica Harmonia, a group which seeks to promote peace and culture through music.

Tickets and information

Discounted tickets for the festival can be purchased in advance from the 91����Ƶ box office (540-432-4582), or from . Tickets will also be available for purchase at the door at a non-discounted rate.

For those wishing to experience the festival outside of the ticketed concerts, a lunch-hour chamber music series will be held at First Presbyterian Church on June 9-14 at noon. Organizers of the Chamber music series will request donations, but tickets are not required. In addition, the annual Baroque workshop will be held from June 8-14, giving participants the opportunity to study Baroque music and dance under the instruction of several acclaimed artists. More information is here (emu.edu/bach/baroque/).

All information about the festival can be found here (emu.edu/bach/).

“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

“It’s simple,” says Ed Comer, MD.  “My mother made me take piano lessons when I was little, even though we could hardly afford it.” He has been hooked on classical music ever since. When he and his wife Cathy were filling 10 buckets with cut-flowers at their farm on a recent morning, the music of Chopin, his favorite composer, serenaded them. “Chopin was known as the poet of the piano,” he says.

Comer will preside over his first Bach Festival as board president when the event is held for the 21^st time June 9-16 in Harrisonburg, Va. For the first 20 years of the festival, the board president was Nelson Showalter, a local pharmacist.

“A lot of people in our area have no idea what an outstanding festival we put on right here in Harrisonburg,” says Comer. “We attract top musicians from all over the country, and they keep coming back.” He knows first-hand how the Shenandoah Valley festival stands out. Earlier this year Comer attended a similar festival in a bigger city with a bigger budget. “The quality of our music is better,” he says.

The driving force, Comer says, is , founder of the festival and its longtime artistic director and conductor. The annual event is sponsored by 91����Ƶ, where Nafziger is a music professor.

Comer also credits , an 91����Ƶ music professor who is executive director of the festival. “She and the board take care of the business side of the festival so that Ken can concentrate on the music side,” he says.

The 12-member board is a working board, he adds. The other day Comer and two other board members were seen passing out promotional brochures at . Board members also solicit donations from individuals and businesses. “Music festivals like this can never pay for themselves with ticket sales,” Comer says.

One way the Harrisonburg event saves money and promotes the feeling of family is that board members and others host the out-of-town musicians in their homes. Last year the Comers hosted two members of the festival orchestra − violinist Ralph Allen of New York and trombonist Ron Baedke of Richmond. The Valley’s Bach Festival tries to make its music accessible to a wide variety of people by holding noon concerts in downtown churches, with entry by donation. In recent years the venue has been historic .

After the concerts, some of the participants cross the street to the Hardesty-Higgins House, where they can get something to eat or browse the visitors’ center.  Previously they could buy a “Bach’s Lunch” at Mrs. Hardestry’s Tea House. Taking the place of the tea house since last December is New Leaf Pastry Kitchen.

Watching the festival-goers crossing the street from her second-floor office in Hardesty-Higgins, the director of , Brenda Black, feels proud that Harrisonburg is able to offer popular music events ranging from this high-brow classical festival to folksy bluegrass events where participants gather at campsites.

This spring Ed and Cathy, who operate a cut-flower business that serves local florists, hosted a garden party for the new Bach Guild, which includes people who give $1,500 or more each year for the festival.

At 75, Comer is retired from his practice as a children’s doctor. For nearly 40 years he worked in a group practice that is now known as Harrisonburg Pediatrics. But he will never retire from music. In fact, five years ago he returned to piano lessons. Now he studies with Sharon Bloomquist, a longtime piano teacher and performer and now a member of the Bach Festival board.

This summer’s festival will include the music of 19^th-century composer Giuseppe Verdi of Italy and 20^th-century composer Benjamin Britten of England. Selections from their operas will heighten the drama of the festival, said , an 91����Ƶ music professor who is the festival’s artistic director and conductor.

The festival, founded by Nafziger, will feature a diverse cast of artists this year. They include a cluster of New York musicians, a Cuban violinist, child-prodigy flutist, and many others.

Grant supports acclaimed artists

A $12,000 grant from the Rhodes and Leona Carpenter Foundation of Richmond, Va., is helping bring a number of acclaimed artists to this year’s festival.

The festival opens on Sunday, June 9, at 3 p.m., with a concert at 91����Ƶ’s Lehman Auditorium that includes Bach’s well-known Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, performed by the festival orchestra. Also on the program is Japanese pianist Naoko Takao, performing Britten’s Young Apollo. Tickets are available at 540-432-4582 or emu.edu/boxoffice.  

During the following week, June 10-15, the festival offers noon chamber music concerts at in downtown Harrisonburg. No tickets are required, but donations are requested at the door. The complete schedule for the noon concerts is available at .

The child prodigy flutist, Emma Resmini of Fairfax Station, Va., will perform at the Wednesday-noon concert. Last summer she studied in Switzerland with legendary flutist Sir James Galloway. She is the youngest person ever accepted in the National Symphony Orchestra’s youth fellowship program and has soloed with other major symphonies.

Concerts easily accessible to all

On Monday, June 10, at 5:30 p.m. is the annual faculty recital of the , an event sponsored by the Bach Festival. The recital features instruments and performance styles that were typical of Bach’s era. The event, held at Asbury United Methodist Church, requires no ticket, but donations are requested.

The Baroque Academy, held June 9-15, offers solo master classes and ensemble coaching by internationally acclaimed artists Arthur Haas, harpsichord; Martha McGaughey, viola da gamba; and Linda Quan, Baroque violin. More information is available at .

Festival Concert 2 on Friday, June 14, at 7:30 p.m., will feature the festival orchestra performing Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 and Britten’s “Four Sea Interludes” from the opera Peter Grimes. The orchestra will be joined by the festival’s internationally known soloists who will sing eight popular arias from Verdi’s operas.

The following night, Saturday, June 15, at 7:30 p.m., the orchestra will be joined by the featured vocal soloists and the festival chorus of 88 singers from near and far. They will perform Verdi’s Requiem.

On Sunday, June 16, at 10 a.m., Nafziger will lead the annual Leipzig service that is inspired by the Lutheran services for which Bach composed and directed music when he was a church organist. Nafziger will be joined by the festival orchestra, organist Marvin Mills, the featured vocal soloists, and North Carolina pastor Isaac Villegas, who will deliver the homily. The service will include Bach’s Cantata 88. No tickets are required for the service, but donations are requested.

New: Father’s Day brunch

New this year, after the Leipzig service, is a Father’s Day buffet brunch in 91����Ƶ’s Northlawn dining hall. Reservations must be made by June 1 at .

An event connected to the Bach Festival is the Road Scholar Program (formerly Elderhostel) that offers classes throughout the United States. From June 12 to 16 the participants will enjoy the history and culture of the Shenandoah Valley while attending the Bach Festival’s rehearsals, concerts, and classes with the musicians, conductor, and musical scholars. More information is available from .

, an 91����Ƶ music professor who is also executive director of the Bach Festival, said the annual event brings a sense of imagination to the Valley. “It is an opportunity to feed the souls of residents,” she said.

Advance tickets for the 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.

The complete program for the week is available at .

“The bar keeps being raised,” says Mary Kay Adams, executive director of the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival.

On May 5 at 3 p.m., eight teenagers will take the spotlight in 91����Ƶ’s Martin Chapel, for the Young Artists’ Recital, sponsored by the festival.

“Over time, and because of the influence from my family, singing has become something that I almost cannot live without,” says Allison Burks, a junior at Spotswood High School.

Burks will sing “The Light in the Piazza” by Adam Guettel. The soprano found her voice early in life: Growing up in a “musical family,” she says, made singing a way to connect and share, “whether at church, around the dinner table, in the car, or before going to sleep.”

A Musical Childhood
Mary Wynn Willson, 18, of Fort Defiance, also grew up surrounded by song. Her parents always encouraged she and her 11 siblings to pick up instruments and play.

It wasn’t until a few years ago, however, that the senior home school student fully appreciated the violin’s place on her shoulder and in her life.

“What music has taught me in life is that it is a wonderful gift, which is capable of bringing joy into people’s lives,” she said. “[My parents] have taught us that we should always should always play for the glory of God.”

Willson will play a violin duet, “Double Concerto in D Minor for Two Violins” by Johann Sebastian Bach, with Turner Ashby senior Mariette Southard.

Playing with a partner, says Willson, quells the nerves — even after playing in the Young Artists’ Recital two years ago.

Burks has prepared for her part with the usual lessons, and also weaving songs through daily life: talking through lyrics, listening and singing.

She hopes the audience will be inspired to learn their own instrument; it’s taught her how to express herself through, whether in frustration, sadness or excitement.

“Through music, I am able to share with others my feelings, my thoughts, my beliefs,” says Burks. “I can connect with people better through music than I can through words.

“It has given me a way to share my emotions and show people who I am.”

Other young artists include:
Isabella Ciambiotti, viola, sophomore from Charlottesville High School,
Meredith Hooper, cello, freshman from Albermarle High School,
Breton Nicholas, horn, graduate of Harrisonburg High School,
Morgan Short, harp, 15-year-old homschool student,
Vivek Srivatsa, violin, senior from Charlottesville High School.

For more information on the Young Artists’ Recital, contact Adams at (540) 432-4652.

Courtesy Daily News Record, May 2, 2013

“Through the grant we were able to secure Veronica Chapman-Smith, Kenneth Gayle, Heidi Kurtz, Grant Youngblood and Naoko Takao as part of our concerts,” said , executive director of the Bach Festival. “The support of the Carpenter Foundation is deeply appreciated and will strengthen our program.”

Chapman-Smith, Kurtz, Gayle and Youngblood are soloists who Adams says will be integral parts of the June 14-16 concerts. The group will sing opera arias and ensemble pieces on Friday night, will be the soloists on Saturday in Giuseppi Verdi’s “Requiem,” and be the solo quartet on Sunday morning in Johann Sebastian Bach’s Cantata No. 88.

Takao will perform piano with string orchestra on Benjamin Britten’s “Young Apollo.” Throughout the week she will be the accompanist for the noon chamber music recitals.

“Four of these five performers are return engagements with the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival,” said , artistic director and conductor. “They are well known here, and have become favorites of audiences and performers.”

91����Ƶ the performers

, soprano, an artist-in-residence at Temple University, has sung roles for opera companies all over the country including Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opera Birmingham, Opera Company of Philadelphia, and Opera Colorado.

Chapman-Smith has been a soloist for the Bach Festival, Charlotte Symphony, Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia, Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, Ursinus College, In Clara Voce, and Orquestra Sinfonica Municipal de Caracas.

, mezzo-soprano, is a 1989 graduate of 91����Ƶ. She is a core member of The Crossing, The Philadelphia Singers and most recently the Opera Chorus of Philadelphia. She has appeared as a soloist with both groups, as well as with The Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, Singing City and Vox Amadeus.

Kurtz has made several solo appearances at the Bach Festival, including Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion, Misa Cubana, Samson and Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 9.” Since 1999 she has been a guest artist with the Chester County Chorale in their yearly performance of Handel’s Messiah.

, tenor, serves as producing director for Music Doing Good, a non-profit organization that educates, entertains and enriches through innovative musical programming.

Gayle’s national credits include performances with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Ravinia Music Festival, Seattle Opera, Seattle Symphony, Grant Park Music Festival and a national television appearance at the NAACP Image Awards with Three Mo’ Tenors.

, baritone, has performed recently with the Metropolitan Opera in their recent production of Strauss’ “Capriccio,” a debut with Opera North in the role of Count Almaviva in “Le Nozze di Figaro,” and a company debut at the Nashville opera in his signature role of Giorgio Germont in “La Traviata.”

Youngblood has also appeared with the Dallas Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Florida Philharmonic, the Chautauqua Symphony, the Louisville Symphony, the Naples Philharmonic, the Jacksonville Symphony, the Spokane Symphony Orchestra, and the Bucharest Philharmonic, among others.

, pianist, is an assistant professor of keyboard pedagogy at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami. Takao won a gold medal in the 2000 San Antonio International Piano Competition.

She has performed with the Smithsonian Chamber Players, the Post Classical Ensemble and the Left Bank Quartet at venues such as the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater, the Coolidge Auditorium at the Library of Congress, Lensic Performing Arts Center (Santa Fe), Domaine Forget (Canada), Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center (MD), and Festival Miami.

More information

The Bach Festival opens on June 9, 2013. More information can be found at .

Executive Director calls the annual festival “an enhancement of the cultural fabric of our community.”

The event gives local musicians an opportunity to share their talents in their own hometown, said , artistic director and conductor.

Nafgizer, who founded the festival, said he and fellow musicians are grateful to be able to immerse themselves in their passion.

`The payoff [will come] when we start rehearsing next week,” he said, “and you realize that, for 10 days straight, you have no time, no energy to do anything but what you most love doing, which is making music.”

For Adams, who is also a flautist, performing alongside outstanding musicians and meeting a variety of talented personnel makes organizing an event of this magnitude worthwhile.

To her, the festival brings a sense of imagination to the Valley; “an opportunity to feed the souls of the residents,” she said.

Premiere Performance

According to Adams, the festival reaches “way beyond Bach,” incorporating works from various eras, composers and styles. “The repertoire is diverse and exciting,” she said. View the week-long schedule of concerts.

After 20 years, the organizers and musicians aren’t resting on their laurels; Nafziger said the challenge to keep programming fresh means no one can claim, “after attending one year, `Oh, I’ve done that.’ ”

The festival’s reputation for excellence means it sets its own bar. “Everybody’s expectations keep going up,” said Nafziger. “So, in order to keep pace with those, it takes increased and different kinds of work.”

Solo Performer Eugene Friesen

This year, the Bach Festival welcomes four-time Grammy award winning artist Eugene Friesen.

He will present two solo performances: the family-oriented “CelloMan” show at noon on June 16 at Asbury United Methodist Church, and the world premiere performance of “Glory” at 7:30 p.m. in 91����Ƶ’s Lehman Auditorium.

In choosing prose to set to music, Friesen said poet Jean Janzen’s work rose to the profound gravity and emotional qualities of Bach.

The festival gives Friesen, who teaches at the Berklee College of Music, a chance to connect with his classical roots.

“The thing that really runs deepest in my heart is the music from my childhood … sacred and classical music,” he said.

But, with “CelloMan,” he hopes to break the sullen stereotypes associated with his instrument: highlighting jazz, bluegrass and swing styles to express its versatility.

“My goal with “CelloMan” is that [listeners] leave feeling like they have a friend that plays the cello,” he said.

No one excluded

Tradition endures in the festival’s annual musical forces, including orchestra, chamber choir, chamber and organ music, and a German Leipzig service.

If curious community members are still unsure whether Bach will be their cup of “kaffee,” attending a pay-what-you-will noon recital or open rehearsal means they don’t have to “go Baroque” in the process.

Nafziger said the event seeks to include everyone in the community and that “a summer festival is a good way to put your toe in the water.”

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.emu.edu/bach or call 432-4582.

Courtesy Daily News Record, May 31, 2012

The program, sponsored by the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival, will “give the community an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the special musical gifts of area students,” according to Mary Kay Adams, Bach Festival coordinator.

“The students that are selected are quite talented and the level of playing continues to rise each year,” said Adams. “Last year’s program was exceptional and I expect no less of this year’s performers.”

The event is open to the public; admission is free.

For more information, contact Mary Kay Adams at 540-432-4652; bach@emu.edu; or visit emu.edu/bach.

91����Ƶ the artists

Anna Armstrong is an 11-year old resident of Bridgewater, Va. A purple belt in karate and a member of the Black Belt Club, Armstrong enjoys camping, fishing, roller-skating and swimming. She has taken violin and piano lessons for six years and has performed in the 91����Ƶ Piano Festival and the National Guild Auditions.

Eric Bame has been a member of the Robert E. Lee High School Symphonic and Jazz Bands for four years. Bame has participated in the all-district symphonic band, South Central Regional Orchestra and all-Virginia Symphonic Band. A student of Robert Harrold at Valley Music Academy, Bame has played trombone for over six years.

Hannah Deal is a sophomore violinist at Albemarle High School. Deal enjoys singing, playing volleyball on school and club teams and swimming. She won a Wednesday Music Club camp scholarship and attended a music camp at the University of South Carolina.

Kirsten Ferguson is a junior at Harrisonburg High School. She has performed in school productions of Les Miserables; How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying!; Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, among others. Ferguson is a member of the marching band, church youth group, Tri-M Music Honor Society, and the ski/snowboarding club.

Morgan Fogler is a junior at Charlottesville High School. Fogler has studied piano for seven years – the last four of which have been with Linda Blondel. She attended the Music Education Center for seven years and has studied for two years with Emily Thomas.

Lillian Hughes is a freshman at Eastern Mennonite School. Hughes has studied violin for 10 years with Sharon Miller. In 2011, Hughes participated in the South Central Senior Regional and Junior Regional orchestras. She has been a member of the Shenandoah Valley Youth Symphony and her school orchestra. Hughes studies classical ballet, modern dance and musical theater and is a member of the Shenandoah Contemporary Dance Theatre.

Breton Nicholas is an eagle scout and a senior at Harrisonburg High School. Nicholas attended two summer Governor’s School programs, several summers at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and an exchange program in Costa Rica. An avid bicyclist and swimmer, Nicholas plays horn and violin and was selected principal horn in the 2012 all-state festival. He is a member of the Shenandoah Valley Youth Orchestra and high school band.

Abe Nouri is a sophomore at Harrisonburg High School. Nouri has performed in school productions of Les Miserables, Honk Jr., Sir Nose the Burger Rat, and Tom Sawyer. He has participated in summer theater camps with Shenan Arts and Broadway at Bethel (Kan.) College. A trombonist and baritone horn player, he plays in the Marching Band and Massanutten Youth Brass Band and has also studied piano, oboe and the erhu.

Natalie Sheffield is a homeschooled senior who attends Piedmont Virginia Community College. Sheffield studies violin with Susan Black. A member of the Waynesboro Symphony Orchestra and a fiddle player in the Charlottesville area old-time music group, she recently performed solo and chamber music works with Morgan in a joint recital.

Courtney Stout is a junior at Wilson Memorial High School and the Shenandoah Valley Governor’s School. Stout has played violin for eleven years. A student of Sonja Dillard, Stout plays in the Augusta County Junior Orchestra, at local churches, museums, concerts and charitable events.

Celia Quinn Turner, a senior at Broadway High School, began playing violin at the age of three in the Suzuki Program at 91����Ƶ. A seven-year member of the Shenandoah Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra, she was selected to solo with the group last year. Having completed the Pedagogy Training for Suzuki Instruction, she instructs beginning violinists through the preparatory music program.

Two classical giants will meet on the Lehman Auditorium stage at 91����Ƶ, not to compete against but to complement each other at the 19th annual Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival, June 12-19, 2011.

The glorious works of German composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) and Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)) will fill the air throughout the week under the baton of Dr. Kenneth Nafziger, artistic director and conductor.

The festival will open 3 p.m. Sunday, June 12 with four concertos – Bach’s “Concerto for Oboe, Violin and Strings in C Minor,” “Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in C Major” by Haydn, “Sinfonia Concertante, K. 297” by Mozart, and Concerto No. 4 for Piano and Orchestra in G Major, Op. 58” by Beethoven. All featured soloists are principal players from the festival orchestra except for the Beethoven concerto with Nicolás Pellón, currently on the faculty of the International School of Music in Bethesda, Md.

The second major festival concert, at 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 17, features Menotti’s “The Telephone,” a funny one-act opera about Ben, Lucy and a telephone that gets in the way of Ben being able to ask Lucy to marry him. Soloists are Sharla Nafziger from New York and Tom Jones from Boston, both featured artists in previous seasons.

Also on the same program will be Bach’s “Orchestral Suite No. 4 in D Major” and his “Cantata No. 49” along with Mozart’s “Symphony No. 29 in A Major, K.201.”

The third festival concert, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 18, features an all-Mozart repertoire with the “Great Mass in C Minor” for chorus, soloists and orchestra and the overture and act 2 from “The Marriage of Figaro” with soloists and orchestra.

Again this year, festival musicians will perform music from all eras and many composers in small ensemble settings at noon Monday through Saturday at Asbury United Methodist Church, 205 S. Main St. Admission is free; donations are encouraged.

A high point of the Bach Festival for many each year is the Leipzig Service 10 a.m. Sunday, June 19, 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’s service.

Margaret Foth, former radio program speaker, is homilist for the Leipzig service. The orchestra and choir will perform Bach’s “Cantata #172” with soloists Sharla Nafziger, Carrie Stevens, Daniel Buchanan and Tom Jones. Marvin Mills, organist, will play Mozart’s “Church Sonata #15″ as part of the service.

As part of the Bach Festival, the faculty for the Virginia Baroque Performance Academy – Arthur Haas,  Martha McGaughey and Linda Quan – will play on period instruments, demonstrating the Baroque style and ornamentation typical at the time of Bach in a recital 5:30 p.m. Monday, June 13, at Asbury United Methodist Church. They will also instruct participants all week on how to play music in the style of that era.

“The mission of the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival is to honor the creative spirit of Johann Sebastian Bach with first-rate performances for an ever widening audience,” said Mary Kay Adams, Bach Festival coordinator and principal flutist in the festival orchestra.

“Each year’s program pairs the music of Bach with music of other composers, eras, or styles, so that no two festivals are ever the same,”  Adams noted. “There will always be new surprises awaiting the audience at each festival concert.”

Advance tickets are available at the 91����Ƶ Box Office, 540-432-4582 or may be purchased on line at emu.edu/bach/tickets. They will also be available at the door at slightly higher prices.

The complete program for the week is available on line at . For other questions, call 540-432-4652 or email: bach@emu.edu.

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 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.