Now under the direction of J. Thomas Mitts, D.M.A., Shenandoah Conservatory’s annual Bach-Handel Festival returns this year and runs Friday, Oct. 17, through Sunday, Oct. 19.
The festival will feature three performances, lecture-demonstrations and a special Bach After Hours event with background music provided by Shenandoah Conservatory faculty. Guest performers include Washington’s D.C.’s Third Practice and Charlottesville’s Three Notch’d Road. Performances and events will take place at Shenandoah Conservatory, Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Eugene B. Smith Gallery in Old Town Winchester.
“We are so pleased to continue the Bach-Handel Festival’s 23-year tradition,” stated Managing Director Courtney Reilly. “Dr. Mitts has collaborated with faculty and guest artists to create a dynamic and thoughtful weekend of events.”
On Friday, Oct. 17, the festival kicks off with “Rhetoric in Baroque Music,” a special lecture-demonstration with members of Third Practice and Three Notch’d Road. Later that evening, the Opening Concert features festival music for brass and organ, chamber music for strings and voice, and motets by the Shenandoah Chorus at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church (26 W. Boscawen Street, Winchester). Following the performance, audience members are invited to attend Bach After Hours at the Eugene B. Smith Gallery (25 N. Loudoun Street, Winchester) where Shenandoah Conservatory faculty members Robert Larson, piano; Keith Salley, guitar; and Donovan Stokes, bass, will perform “The American Songbook goes Baroque.”
On Saturday, Oct. 18, the festival continues with “The Glories of Venice,” the second concert held at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church. This performances features Third Practice, a professional chamber vocal ensemble, and Three Notch’d Road, an instrumental chamber ensemble that specializes in baroque music.
On Sunday, Oct. 19, the festival continues with “The Romantic Bach,” a lecture-demonstration presented by Shenandoah Conservatory Assistant Professor of Music History Laurie McManus, Ph.D., in Goodson Chapel/Recital Hall on the campus of Shenandoah University. The festival closes with “Abendmusiken (A Little Evening Music)” and features performances by the winners of the Bach-Handel Competition.
Visit conservatoryperforms.org/performances/bach-handel-festival for complete details.
Third Practice is a professional chamber vocal ensemble that seeks to bring the beauty of the human voice to new and broader audiences. The musicians of Third Practice represent some of the finest vocal talent in the greater Washington, D.C. area. Each concert draws upon an extensive roster of professional singers, varying in size according to the needs of the repertoire. Concerts seek to equip listeners with the tools necessary to engage with new works through informed programming and in-concert discussion. This approach endeavors to illuminate the inner workings of the music while tearing down barriers that too frequently discourage a first-time listening experience. In creating a safe performance space for listeners to experience new music, Third Practice seeks to build a larger audience for contemporary vocal music in Washington and beyond. For more information about Third Practice, visit http://www.thirdpractice.com.
Named for a colonial route that once spanned much of central Virginia, Three Notch’d Road: The Charlottesville Baroque Ensemble was founded in 2011 by local period-instrument specialists David McCormick (baroque violin), Fiona Hughes (baroque violin), and Anne Timberlake (recorder). The group seeks to enrich the local performing arts scene by bringing an exciting and informed approach to music of the baroque era. For more information about Three Notch’d Road, visit http://www.tnrbaroque.org.