People
Dr. Chester L. Alwes, Music Director, is professor emeritus of music at the University of Illinois. As a member of the school of music faculty from 1982-2011, he conducted the U of I Concert Choir, the Oratorio Society, and the Women’s Glee Club, as well as the University of Illinois, Illini, and Champaign-Urbana Symphony orchestras. He participated in the planning of major symposia on the music of Heinrich Schütz and Henry Purcell, and was a featured conductor at both. He taught graduate courses in the history of choral literature. An acknowledged authority on the performance practice of early music, he has written articles, edited music, and given lectures across the country. His long-awaited book, A History of Western Choral Music, is currently in production by the Oxford University Press. Among his proudest
achievements is the success of his students, both at the university level and in the professional world. That continuing interest was acknowledged in 2000 when Dr. Alwes received the University of Illinois Graduate College’s Award for Outstanding Mentoring of Graduate Students. As a composer, Dr. Alwes has published primarily with the Roger Dean Music Company, Oxford University Press, Mark Foster Music, and Augsburg-Fortress. The founding of BACH in 1996, like his founding of Musica Sacra in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1971, represented the fulfillment of a long-held dream of working with a small group of dedicated musicians in the performance of Baroque repertory.
Laurie Matheson, Assistant Music Director, is a composer and singer, and choir director and organist for First Congregational United Church of Christ in Decatur, Illinois, as well as a founding member of BACH. She holds a Masters degree in choral conducting from Westminster Choir College, and a doctorate in choral music from the University of Illinois. She is also a senior acquisitions editor for the University of Illinois Press, acquiring books especially in the history of American music.
Board of Directors
Donald Armstrong
Van Bowersox, Treasurer
Russell A. Dankert
Linnea DiBerardino, Manager
Sally Duchow
George Kieffer
David Larson
Sharron Mies
Deborah Townsend, Vice President
John Wagstaff, Secretary
Mary Beth Ward
Keith Williams, President
Honorary Board Members
Judi Geistlinger
Kerry Heimann
Marlys Scarbrough
Sarah Scott
John Setterlund
Nicholas Temperley
