Franz Joseph Haydn鈥檚 鈥淭he Creation鈥� and Darius Milhaud鈥檚 鈥淟a Cr茅ation du Monde鈥� 鈥� and the process of musical creation at the festival itself 鈥� are centerpieces of the 27th annual Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival (SVBF) at 草莓社区 this June.
will include three Festival Concerts, noon recitals and more. They begin with a free at 8 p.m. on Thursday, June 6, at Pale Fire Brewing Company in Harrisonburg, and end with a 聽in EMU鈥檚 Lehman Auditorium at 10 a.m. on Sunday, June 16.
for the three Festival Concerts and the Baroque Academy Faculty Concert can be purchased through the EMU Box Office. A $5 suggested donation is requested at noon concerts, and a freewill offering will be taken at the Sunday Leipzig Service.
鈥淭he Milhaud and Haydn works tackle the theme of creation in very different ways, Haydn through the biblical Creation story, and Milhaud through African mythology and Harlem jazz,鈥� said SVBF executive director and violinist .
Audiences also can witness the process of musical creation at the festival at open rehearsals from 9-11:30 a.m. and 2:30-5 p.m. on Wednesday, June 12, in Lehman Auditorium, pre-concert lectures and the Tuesday noon concert performance of a new work by composer and soloist Sam Suggs, who will perform a double bass concerto in the style of Haydn.
Three Festival Concerts will include works by Haydn and Milhaud but also Johann Sebastian Bach, Hector Berlioz and Louis Moreau Gottschalk. The third Festival Concert will feature Haydn鈥檚 鈥淭he Creation鈥� Hob. XXI:2, with soprano , tenor Corey Shotwell and baritone .
Participating for the eleventh year, the Virginia Baroque Performance Academy, founded and directed by , will offer a concert by its internationally acclaimed artist faculty, and another by students from its five-day SVBF session. Faculty include , harpsichord, , baroque violin, Mackey, , mezzo-soprano, , viola da gamba, and , recorder.
Under the artistic direction of Professor Emeritus , the annual festival is devoted to promoting an appreciation and understanding of the music of Bach and a featured composer, country, era or people.
Additional featured SVBF artists include:
- , organist and choral director
- , viola
- Professor , piano
- , oboe
- , trumpet
- , cello
- , viola
- Barbara Rearick, mezzo-soprano
- , recorder
- , countertenor