BACH IN BALTIMORE PERFORMS BACH ST. JOHN PASSION & MORE IN SPRING 2023
Handel Water Music & Mozart Bassoon Concerto: March 5
Bach St. John Passion: April 2
Saint-Saëns “Organ Symphony” (arranged for organ and brass): April 16
February 15, 2023
(BALTIMORE, MD)—Bach in Baltimore continues its 35th season with three exceptional concerts on March 5, April 2, and April 16, featuring luminous works from the Baroque and Beyond and showcasing talented artists in our region. The concert on April 2 presents Bach’s towering masterpiece St. John Passion. Following the concert, all ticket holders are invited to a Silent Auction and Reception to benefit Bach in Baltimore. The concerts on March 5 and April 16 will be thrilling and genre expansive. All performances begin at 4 p.m. and tickets are available for live and live-streamed performances at bachinbaltimore.org.
On April 2 at Church of the Resurrection, 11525 Greenspring Avenue, Lutherville-Timonium, Bach in Baltimore Founder and Maestro T. Herbert Dimmock leads the full orchestra, choir, and soprano, alto, tenor, and bass soloists in a performance of Bach St. John Passion. Vocal soloists include Melissa Wimbish, soprano, Rebecca Printz, alto; Joseph Regan, tenor; Carl Dupont, bass; and Eric Carey, evangelist. A powerful, large-scale oratorio, St. John Passion showcases all the musical forms of the high Baroque; it’s full of pageantry, drama, color, and wonder. The narrative of the music reenacts the Passion of Christ, the Christian story of Jesus’s suffering and death on the cross. Bach takes the story to musical heights of expression heretofore undreamed of. According to distinguished Bach scholar Robin A. Leaver, the work is “is dramatic, immediate and compelling, like being on the edge of an apron stage for the performance of a Shakespeare play—so close that you are virtually part of the action.” During Holy Week, Bach in Baltimore’s performance of this choral masterwork invites the whole community to reflect on faith, loss, and mortality.
This performs marks Bach in Baltimore’s official 35th Anniversary. The ensemble began in 1988, offering occasional concerts from one venue. Today, Bach in Baltimore presents up to thirteen ticketed concerts from October through June. All ticketed concerts are offered live and live streamed. Additionally, Bach in Baltimore performs Free outreach concerts at a variety of residential living facilities. Bach in Baltimore also engages with the youngest in our community, and has created one of the most extensive music education programs in Maryland that provides students with an opportunity to expand their musical literature and language knowledge by working directly with Maestro Dimmock and give students the chance to sing for an appreciative audience—both alongside the Bach Choir and Orchestra and alone. In the 2022-2023 season, Bach in Baltimore features the following Student Choirs as part of the Student Voice Exchange: Calvert Hall College High School Choir, John Carroll School Choir, Maryland State Boychoir, Richard Montgomery High School Madrigals, and St. Vincent Pallotti High School. After the concert on April 2, Bach in Baltimore is hosting a Silent Auction and Reception to celebrate its
anniversary and mark the conclusion of an Online Auction. More information about the online fundraiser running from March 30 to April 2 is available at bachinbaltimore.org.
On March 5 at First Evangelical Lutheran Church, 3604 Chatham Road, Ellicott City, Bach in Baltimore ushers in March (like a lamb or a lion) with performance of Handel’s Water Music, Suite No. 1, Mozart’s Bassoon Concerto, and Bach’s Cantata 112: Der Herr ist mein Getreuer Hirt (The Lord is my faithful Shepherd). Soloists will include Melissa Wimbish, soprano; Sonya Knussen, alto; Kristopher Jean, tenor; Eliam Ramos, bass-baritone; along with Terry B. Ewell, bassoon. On April 16 at the Church of the Redeemer, 5603 N Charles Street, Baltimore, Bach in Baltimore presents Saint-Saëns’ Organ Symphony (for organ and brass) and Gabrieli’s Brass Polychoral Extravaganza with soloist Bert Landman, organ.
Individual adult tickets ($33-$42), Student tickets ($10 with Student ID), children’s tickets ($5), and cost-saving Passes—Adult Mini Pass ($95) and Student Mini Pass ($25)—are now available for purchase at bachinbaltimore.org or by calling 410-941-9262.