Fun Facts About the Bach Festival Society
The Bach Festival Society of Winter Park will present its 75th Annual Festival in February 2010. Here are some facts from the Society’s history that we’d like to share with you!
FACTS
• Each choir member donates approx 150 hours of time over a complete performance season—with over 160 Choir members, that totals over 24,000 hours
• 12% of choir members travel more than 50 miles round trip to sing with the Choir
• A book published in 1942 was titled The Bach Festival Murders.
• Fred Rogers of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood sang with the Choir while he was a music student at Rollins, and he frequently attended performances later in his life
• Conductor Dr. John Sinclair is the longest-serving conductor in the BFS history. He is celebrating his 20th anniversary this year.
• In the 1940s and 1950s local Boy Scouts ushered at Bach Festival performances
• 1940—First full performance of Bach’s Mass in B minor. The 2010 performance will be our 25th performance of this work.
• 1960—Haydn’s Coronation Mass was performed on the Bach Festival’s Silver Anniversary—the first time the work of another composer was performed.
• In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the Annual Bach Festival was broadcast on national radio.
Congratulations to Young Artist Competition Winners
The Bach Festival Society of Winter Park and the Morse Museum of American Art congratulate the winners of the 17th Annual Young Artist Competition.
This year’s 1st Place winner is cellist Logan Castro of Saint Cloud, FL. After placing in his category during the preliminary rounds, Mr. Castro competed in and won the finalist round, playing Movement I of Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 in Eb.
Orlando, FL, flutist Jake Chabot won 2nd Place in the competition, playing Movement I of Serenade, Op. 35 by 20th-century composer Howard Hanson. Pianist Enoch Wong from Orlando, FL, won 3rd Place with Movement III of Sonata No. 8 in B-flat Major, Op. 84 by Sergei Prokofiev.
The Young Artist Competition, generously sponsored by the Elizabeth Morse Genius Foundation, is open to students in grades 9 through 12 who are Florida residents or attend school in Florida. Prizes are awarded in both the preliminary and finalist rounds for a total of $5,000, one of the largest combined prize winnings in the state.
Ticket Guru Takes Christmas
Now in my third season at the Bach Festival Society, I’ve learned that there’s nothing quite like the magic of choral Christmas music. Admittedly not the world’s biggest fan of Christmas music, I am still a sucker for December activities with the Bach Festival Society.
Here’s what on tap this year:
- Christmas in the Park, an amazing evening in Winter Park’s Central Park. The Morse Museum of American Art litters the park with lighted Tiffany glass windows and the Bach Festival Choir and brass fill the crisp December air with warm holiday music. Pack a blanket, wine, cheese and maybe some chairs – it’s a perfect evening. Thursday, December 3rd at 6pm.
- Ten Thousand Villages also hosts a shopping benefit the evening of Christmas in the Park. 20% of proceeds from the evening’s sales come back to the Bach Festival Society. Buy some unique fair trade holiday gifts before you hear the Bach Festival, and admire the art of the Morse Museum. Talk about a great community building night that supports local art and business. Thursday, December 3rd from 5-9pm (Ten Thousand Villages is located at 346 Park Avenue North)
- And of course the culmination of the season is A Classic Christmas, our annual Choral Masterworks presentation in Knowles Memorial Chapel. This year’s concert features a sing-along and everyone’s favorite pieces with new arrangements by Bach Choir alums making it big in the classical music world. Remember to bring a set of keys with you to the concert, if you’re a newbie, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. These concerts are nearly sold-out; I encourage you to get your tickets before you are disappointed.
Finally, as your Ticket Guru, I’d like to take a moment to tell you how special local products are as holiday gifts. We have a great community, which grows stronger every day. With that, I encourage you to pick up a bottle of wine on Park Avenue or local art at the Winter Park Farmer’s Market, or to buy a Bach Festival Society flex package or a gift certificate to give a gift that lasts the entire year. Mention this blog post and I’ll throw in a Christmas in the Park CD with the package. Call me at 407.646.2182 or email ddominguez@bachfestivalflorida.org.
As always, if you see me say hello.
xoxo,
Devin
Young Artist Competition
The Bach Festival Society of Winter Park, in partnership with the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, is pleased to present the 17th Annual Young Artist Competition on Saturday, November 21, 2009, at Rollins College. more »
