Organ Recital by Craig Cramer
Sunday, October 2, 2011 • 4:00 p.m.
St. John the Divine Episcopal Chapel
1011 S. Wright St., Champaign

BACH inaugurates its sixteenth season by joining with the East Central Illinois chapter of the American Guild of Organists to bring Dr. Craig Cramer, a faculty member at the University of Notre Dame, to Champaign-Urbana. Equally acclaimed as a performer of Bach and French Romantic repertory, Dr. Cramer is an ideal choice to take advantage of the glorious acoustics of St. John the Divine and the enormous versatility of its Buzard organ.

Messiah Sing-Along
Sunday, November 27, 2011 • 4:00 p.m.
St. John the Divine Episcopal Chapel
1011 S. Wright St., Champaign

BACH continues to offer this unique encounter with Handel’s masterpiece, specifically designed to let the audience become the performer in the choruses of the beloved “Christmas portion”, along with a quartet of wonderful soloists and organ accompaniment.

A German Baroque Christmas
Sunday, December 18, 2011 • 7:30 p.m.
Holy Cross Catholic Church
405 W. Clark St., Champaign

The tradition continues as the BACH chorus and orchestra are joined by the Madrigal Singers from University High School (Rick Murphy, conductor) in this joyful celebration of the Christmas season. The first half of the concert features works by Georg Philipp Telemann: a virtuosic concerto for Baroque trumpet featuring Sidney Shuler as trumpet soloist and a festive Christmas cantata, Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe. As has become customary, the second half of the concert will present a varied collection of traditional, German Christmas hymns and carols in which the audience is invited to participate, framed by the opening chorus of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus.”

BACH and Beyond
Sunday, March 4, 2012 • 7:30 p.m. • $10
St. Matthew Catholic Church
1303 Lincolnshire Dr., Champaign

This special concert event provides opportunities for the BACH chorus to explore music outside of our customary baroque timeframe. Both Chester Alwes and Laurie Matheson will conduct the BACH chorus in a varied concert of choral music. J. S. Bach is represented by the cantata, “Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten” (BWV 93),
accompanied by music of Brahms, Mendelssohn, Distler and others.

YBAC Showcase & Chamber Music
Sunday, April 22, 2012 • 7:30 p.m.
McKinley Presbyterian Church
809 S. Fifth, Champaign

The talented winners of our annual Young Baroque Artist’s Competition will open this concert. As in the past, expect a diverse array of performers and composers as we showcase the future of BACH! The remainder of the program will feature mezzo soprano Elizabeth Buckley, harpsichordist Charlotte Mattax Moersch, Maureen Murchie, violin and Ben Hayek, baroque cello, in music from the French Royal Court. The featured composer is the recently discovered, female virtuoso Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre.

An Evening of Handel and Purcell
Sunday, June 24, 2012 • 7:30 p.m.
McKinley Presbyterian Church
809 S. Fifth St., Champaign

The BACH chorus and orchestra will perform works by two of England’s greatest composers —Henry Purcell and George Frideric Handel. The concert opens with Purcell’s suite for strings from “Abdelazar” (including the Rondeau that provided the theme for Benjamin Britten’s “Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra”). Hear one of Purcell’s finest, but seldom heard works—“Hail, Bright Cecilia”, an ode for St. Cecilia’s Day with poetry by John Dryden, featuring wonderful choruses and even more astonishing solo movements. The chorus and orchestra will present another of Handel’s beloved Coronation anthems, “The King shall rejoice” in a wonderfully festive conclusion to our season!