Professor Bach Project

Now in it's third year the Professor Bach Project (PBP) is taking to flights of fantasy with three chorale based Bach Cantatas and a set of jazz arrangements of Bach works including the Chorale Prelude (Sleeper's Awake!) by Ward Swingle. Once again Winnipeg Bach Soloists, Rosemarie van der Hooft and Mel Braun are joined by an ensemble of professionals and student musicians and singers in a unique performance of music by Johann Sebastian Bach.

 

Following in the footsteps of the devoted educator, J.S. Bach, the PBP is a mentorship project. Working alongside professional musicians and singers is an invaluable educational experience for advanced students, inspiring their performances to a professional level. This year’s program, featuring three cantatas presented in baroque style, gives the students an opportunity to perform as soloists taking ownership of their parts in a “one on a part” collaborative performance. Also this year we are excited to be working with three graduate student conductors and the U of M Cantata Singers they conduct. The Cantata Singers will be featured in three jazz arrangements of familiar Bach works.

A unique venue for our concert this year, the lovely Great Room at Neil Bardal Funeral Centre has a crisp and vibrant acoustic, ideal for the intricate contrapuntal texture of Bach’s music. It seems appropriate to play the music of Bach at the community sanctuary of the late Neil Bardal Jr. who was a music lover and one-time member and President of the Board of Directors for the Winnipeg Bach Festival.