.png)
The annual Durango Bach Festival starts this weekend and not a minute too soon.
Spring may be around the corner, but we’re gasping for air in a politically contentious season. A celebration of Johan Sebastian Bach’s music on-or-near his birthday, March 21, 1685, will remind us of the power of beauty, reason and majestic order.
Thanks to C. Scott Hagler and his cultural organization, 3rd Avenue Arts, we’re about to mark Durango’s Bach Festival at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. Beginning Sunday afternoon, about four dozen regional musicians will gather for the weeklong celebration.
On Sunday, two student recitals trigger a week of concerts, noon-hour programs and the now-famous daily Bach Lunch. It’s a week of short- and long-form presentations where area musicians unfurl the great composer’s work one sumptuous program at a time.
If you haven’t attended before, pick any event and give the festival a try.
There are three types of concerts: Two free student recitals open the festival at 2 and 4 p.m. Sunday. You’ll hear very young and more-seasoned students perform short Bach works. Like the crocuses that have already begun to flower, these musicians may be youthful, but they signal a promising future.
Half-hour recitals, whimsically titled Bach’s Lunch, will take place at noon Monday through Friday. The 30-minute offerings are followed by a buffet luncheon in the Parrish Hall. The concert-lunch combo is an inexpensive opportunity to greet other music lovers and also have a soupçon of conversation.
Two big evening concerts anchor the festival. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 15, and again the next Saturday, March 18, large-format programs celebrate Bach. The Wednesday program centers on keyboard music and features piano, organ and harpsichord works played by Hagler, Linda Mack Berven, Kristen Chen, Mika Inouye and Levi Brown. Saturday’s finale will feature the Bach Festival Orchestra, directed by violinist M. Brent Williams. Featured performers include harpsichordist Marilyn Garst, flutist Rochelle Mann and the Durango Chamber Singers, directed by Elizabeth Crawford.
Bach’s official birthday is generally celebrated March 21, but that’s a somewhat elusive historical date. The spring equinox, however, is just around the corner, and we could all use a generous bouquet of music that reminds us of significant human achievement.
For complete program listings and an online way to buy tickets, check out 3rdavearts.org or call (970) 903-7427.
Judith Reynolds is an arts journalist and member of the American Theater Critics Association.
If you go
What: Tenth annual Durango Bach Festival.
When: Sunday-March 18. Sunday: 2 and 4 p.m. student recitals; half-hour concerts every day at noon followed by lunch Monday-March 17; mid-week keyboard concert at 7 p.m. Wednesday, and grand finale at 7 p.m. March 18, with Bach Festival Orchestra and soloists.
Where: St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 910 East Third Ave.
Tickets: Sunday’s recitals are free, donation suggested. Noon concerts are $5, lunch is $8; evening concerts are $20 ($5 students and children); festival pass $100, available at 3rdavearts.org, (970) 903-7427.
More information: www.DurangoBachFestival.com.
