Celebrating its 93rd anniversary, the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Performing Arts is hosting Bach Festival once again on April 11 and April 12.  

This festival, which is the second oldest Bach festival in America, is considered the pinnacle of the school year for conservatory students and parents alike. 

Last year saw some new structural changes for Bach Fest, with three smaller festivals occurring throughout the year, ending in an original piece by composer-in-residence Clint Needham. This year, the festival brings a new surprise: the ending piece is not by Bach but by Handel. 

“The festival celebrates Bach’s music and Bach’s life, and more recently, the context of Bach, placed in music history,” stated Dirk Garner, the artistic director of Bach Festival. 

The festival will have a different structure this year, with the festival “going back to our roots,” according to Garner. “It’s a traditional Bach Festival, very similar in a lot of ways to the festival they did 93 years ago.” The festival will include performances from different BW Conservatory ensembles, masterclasses from different historians and performers, and the closing performances from BWV and BW’s motet choir. 

BW’s Bach festival has become synonymous with a rotating selection of larger Bach works, including Mass in B minor and St. Matthew’s Passion. However, the last few years saw more focus on Bach’s legacy. 

“Putting Bach’s music in context of the musical world, which is really his legacy, not just the music he wrote, but what he did to the landscape and history of music,” Garner said. 

Choosing Handel as the focus of this year’s Bach Festival was a unique choice, especially considering the history of Bach and Handel. 

“Handel is the obvious comparison. Handel was born the same year, two months apart and 60 miles away from Bach. They are neighbors,” Garner said. “It’s important to understand the wider musical landscape. Handel, in his time, is the wider musical landscape from Bach.” 

For Garner, this isn’t the first time he has performed Handel’s Messiah. 

“The very first time I did this piece, 35 years ago, I did it on (World) AIDS Day. I did this on purpose as a healing piece,” Garner said. “The very first words you hear, the orchestra stops completely, and the singer sings ‘comfort ye.’ Those two words frame the rest of the piece.” 

This piece has not only served as a breath of fresh air for the festival but for students who have been involved with Bach Fest over the last few years. 

“They love it. Compared to Bach’s music, it’s infinitely easier, infinitely simpler,” Garner asserted. “We’re always doing in the second semester here music that most undergraduates don’t do, pretty much ever.” 

For Bach Fest, select students get the opportunity to perform with BWV, a national choral organization that performs Bach’s pieces. “We put four of our students in with BWV, one student in each section,” stated Garner. 

Bach festival will take place April 11 and April 12 in the Conservatory of Performing Arts. Tickets, schedules, and any other information for the event can be found at https://www.bw.edu/schools/conservatory/bach-festival/