The program opens Sunday, June 10 and concludes with the popular Leipzig worship service June 17.

Dr. Kenneth Nafziger directs the orchestra and choir in Bach’s “Mass in B Minor” to open the 2006 festival.
Photo by Jim Bishop

“Since Felix Mendelssohn’s revival of Bach’s ‘St. Matthew Passion’ in 1829, composers have been inspired by the monumental music of the late Baroque master,” said Kenneth J. Nafziger, artistic director and conductor of the festival. “The circle of admirers includes all who participate in Bach festivals around the world and musicians from many cultures who have made his music their own.”

The opening concert, at 3 p.m. Sunday, June 10, in Lehman Auditorium. will feature Bach’s “Concerto for 2 Violins and Strings in D Minor” with violinists Joan Griffing and Susan Black; “Bachianas brasileiras, No. 1” by Heitor Villa-Lobos, Mendelssohn’s’ “String Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major” and “Las Cuatro Estaciones Portenas” (The Four Seasons) by Astor Piazzola.

Janina Fialkowska, pianist

Major festival concerts will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 15 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 16 in Lehman Auditorium. Friday’s program will feature the brilliant artistry of pianist Janina Fialkowska in two concertos for piano and orchestra by Frederic Chopin, along with Bach’s “Orchestral Suite No. 1 in C Major and Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach’s “Symphony in E-flat Major.”

Saturday night’s program will draw on the combined talents of the Bach festival orchestra and choir with guest soloists Sharla Nafziger, soprano, and Thomas Jones, bass, in performing Johannes Brahms’ “Requiem.”

Chamber music programs with instrumentalists and vocalists from the festival will be presented noon-1 p.m. Monday through Saturday, June 11-16, at Asbury United Methodist Church, S. Main St., in Harrisonburg. Admission is free; donations are welcomed.

The festival will conclude with the annual Leipzig service at 10 a.m. June 17 in Lehman Auditorium, often cited by many attendees as the highlight of the week. The program recreates an 18th century worship service at St. Thomas Lutheran Church in Leipzig, Germany, where Bach was cantor and conducted a cantata for each week’s service.

The Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival is sponsored in part by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the Arts Council of the Valley.

Bach Festival tickets are available on-line at or by calling the EMU box office at 540-432-4582.

More than 100 young people will take part in a Suzuki violin concert 4 p.m. Sunday, May 13, in Lehman Auditorium at 草莓社区.

The students, from 3 to 18 years of age, come from all areas of the central Shenandoah Valley, including Augusta, Bath, Page and Shenandoah counties.

The concert will begin with the most advanced pieces, and more students will be added until all are on stage for the grand finale of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” Maria Lorcas, Jessica Trainum and Sharon Miller are the teachers leading the students, along with teaching intern Megan Tiller.

Most of the students are part of EMU’s , a year-round program offering music lessons and ensembles for students of all ages and levels since 1988.

Currently, 320 students are enrolled in various aspects of the program, including Musikgarten (infant – 6 years), the Shenandoah Valley Youth Orchestra and instrumental lessons (violin, viola, cello, piano, guitar, flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet and harp).

The concert will also include students from the Garth Newell Suzuki Program, Hot Springs, Va., taught by Cynthia Penne of Lexington, Va.

EMU’s Preparatory Program also has an Outreach Project, an effort to provide string instrument instruction to students who would not otherwise have the opportunity.

Currently, 48 students receive violin instruction at Stone Spring, Waterman and Keister Elementary Schools and at EMU. Outreach students will also play at the concert and come from the city of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County.

In addition to the partnerships with the city schools, the Outreach Project is supported by the Virginia Commission of the Arts, The Arts Council of the Valley and the Music Gallery.

Sunday’s concert is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Preparatory Music Program at 540-432-4277 or at .

A Suzuki violin concert featuring more than 100 performers will be held 4 p.m. Sunday, May 14 in Lehman Auditorium.

The students, ranging in age from 3 to 18 years, will come from all parts of the central Shenandoah Valley, including Augusta, Bath, Page and Shenandoah counties.

The concert will begin with the most advanced pieces and more students will be added until all are on stage for the grand finale of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”

Teaching Interns to Assist

Instructors Maria Lorcas, Jessica Trainum and Sharon Miller will lead the students, along with teaching interns Bethany Freesen and Julia Long.

The concert will also include students from the Garth Newell Suzuki Program in Hot Springs, Va., taught by Cynthia Penne of Lexington, Va.

Most students are part of EMU’s , offering year-round music lessons and ensembles for students of all ages and levels since 1988.

Currently, 350 students are enrolled in various aspects of the program including (ages 18 months – 6 years), the Shenandoah Valley Youth Orchestra and instrumental Lessons (violin, viola, cello, piano, guitar, flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet and harp).

Outreach Project

EMU’s Preparatory Program also has an Outreach Project, an effort to provide string instrument instruction to students who would not otherwise have the opportunity. Currently 36 students receive violin instruction at Stone Spring and Keister Elementary Schools and at EMU.

Outreach students will be playing in the Suzuki Violin concert and come from the city of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. In addition to the partnerships with the city schools, the project receives support from the Virginia Commission of the Arts, The Arts Council of the Valley and the Music Gallery.

Sunday’s concert is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Preparatory Music Program at 540-432-4277.

Sixty violin students, ages 4 to 18, will make beautiful music together 4 p.m. Sunday, May 15, in Lehman Auditorium at 草莓社区.

These students study the Suzuki violin approach through EMU