91st Season | Program Book 4

91 SEASON ST

LYSANDER PIANO TRIO PASSION MUSIC FOR EARLY AMERICA WITH BACH VOCAL ARTISTS

DUKE ELLINGTON: SACRED SERVICE PRESENTED BY THE BACH FESTIVAL SOCIETY OF WINTER PARK

AT ROLLINS COLLEGE SINCE 1935

EXTENDED PROGRAM WITH FULL CONTENT & LARGE PRINT

OFFICERS Dr. John W. Schott, M.D., President Mr. Richard O. Baldwin, Jr., Vice President Mr. Michael J. Kakos, Treasurer Mrs. Beverly J. Slaughter, Secretary TRUSTEES Ms. Katherine Byrne Dr. Jefferson S. Flowers Dr. B. Grant Hayes Mr. Ed Kania The Hon. Cynthia Mackinnon Dr. William Oelfke Ms. Jeanne Reynaud Mr. Victor Alexander Tiedtke TRUSTEES EMERITI The late M. Elizabeth Brothers J. Michael Murphy The late Rev. Eric Ravndal, III

STAFF Dr. John V. Sinclair, Artistic Director and Conductor Kathy Johnson Berlinsky, Executive Director Rhonda Burnham, Artistic Manager Sondra Jones, Education Manager Kelly Raia, Marketing Manager Steven Branstetter, Business Manager Will Hornbeck, Development and Marketing Assistant Luke Noles, Administrative Coordinator Regunia Griggs, Choir Liaison Lynn Peghiny, Bach Choir Accompanist Rebecca Hammac, Youth Choir Director Vivian Cook, Young at Heart Choral Director Sofia Cardi Bonfil, Youth Choir and Young at Heart Choral Accompanist

Major Support Provided By

Our 91st Season is supported by many generous individual donors as well as Orange County Government through the Arts & Cultural Affairs program; United Arts of Central Florida, your local agency for the arts; Elizabeth Morse Genius Foundation; Dr. Phillips Charities; Elinor & T.W. Miller Foundation; Pabst Steinmetz Foundation; Winifred Johnson Clive Foundation; AdventHealth, Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation; Florida Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture; The Joe & Sarah Galloway Foundation; and Rollins College.

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JOHN V. SINCLAIR ARTISTIC DIRECTOR AND CONDUCTOR

John V. Sinclair has established a national reputation as one of the leading conductors of choral masterworks while locally being known as one of the hardestworking and in demand artists of the Central Florida cultural community. In his 36th season as Artistic Director and Conductor of the Bach Festival Society, he has broadened the society’s musical offerings of masterworks by both classical and contemporary composers into the repertoire of the Society while perpetuating his reputation as a scholarly interpreter of J.S. Bach’s music.

He continues his imaginative programming, creative interpretations, and expressive conducting.

Dr. Sinclair, known as a master teacher, is Director of Music at Rollins College and holds the John M. Tiedtke Endowed Chair. As a career educator, Sinclair keeps the Society’s educational focus vital by providing a broad range of musical programs and experiences for individuals of all ages. As a conductor who is equally adept at directing choral and orchestral music, he has been referred to as Central Florida’s “resident conductor”.

He has appeared as conductor for more than a thousand EPCOT Candlelight performances in addition to his work as a clinician and lecturer. The Bach Festival, under his leadership, has achieved international recognition by touring in Europe, producing nationally released CDs and broadcasts, and performing with the London Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra during their Florida residencies.

Photo credit: Mary Kent

Dr. Sinclair holds a masters and doctoral degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Conservatory of Music. His undergraduate school, William Jewell College honored him with its most prestigious Citation for Achievement. In addition to editing and interpreting historical choral works through the Moravian Music Foundation, he has authored an anecdotal book entitled Falling Off the Podium and Other Life Lessons. The late Wall Street Journal’s arts critic, Terry Teachout wrote, “John is a gifted conductor, a great educator, and the best of all possible colleagues.” He has twice been named “Outstanding Educator of the Year” by United Arts of Central Florida and was listed as a state of Florida “Power Player in the Arts” by the Florida International Magazine. Most recently he was honored as one of the “10 All-Time Influentials,” chosen from 10-years of accumulated Winter Park Magazine honorees.

For more than three decades, John Sinclair has shared his talent and dedication to musical excellence with the Central Florida community and beyond.

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Bach Festival Society of Winter Park Presents

LYSANDER PIANO TRIO Itamar Zorman, violin James Kim, cello Liza Stepanova, piano Sunday, March 15, 2026 | 3:00pm | Tiedtke Concert Hall PROGRAM Andante con moto

Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)

Two Nguni Dances No. 1. Inyanga No. 2. Intsomi

Bongani Ndodana-Breen (b. 1975)

Nostos (2022) Commissioned by the Adele and John Gray Endowment Fund

Udi Perlman (b. 1990)

INTERMISSION

Piano Trio No. 3 in F minor, Op. 65 Allegro ma non troppo Allegretto grazioso Poco adagio Allegro con brio

Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)

The Lysander Piano Trio appears by arrangement with Dinin Arts Management & Consulting.

Please turn off cell phone and electronic devices prior to the start of this performance. The Bach Festival Society’s policies strictly prohibit photography, filming, or recording of any kind during performances without the express written permission of the Society.

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Photo credit: Courtesy of the Artist

LYSANDER PIANO TRIO Lysander Piano Trio, whose name is inspired by a character in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and was formed at the Juilliard School under Ronald Copes (Juilliard Quartet), has spent over a decade performing around the US with appearances at notable venues such as Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater, Atlanta’s Spivey Hall and Sanibel’s Music Festival. Experience an evening of innovative programming that makes connections between works from all over the world and uncovering lesser-known gems of the repertoire from the past to the present. Their incredible playing is praised as “passionate, articulate and imaginative” by The Washington Post.

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FEATURED ARTISTS ITAMAR ZORMAN, VIOLIN Itamar Zorman is associate professor of music in violin at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

Photo credit: Courtesy of the Artist

Since his emergence with the top prize at the 2011 International Tchaikovsky Competition, Itamar Zorman has wowed audiences all over the world with his “youthful intensity” and “achingly beautiful” sound, earning him the title of the “virtuoso of emotions.” Awarded the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award for 2014, he is the winner of the 2013 Avery Fisher Career Grant.

Zorman has performed as a soloist with such orchestras as the Mariinsky Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic, New World Symphony, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, KBS Symphony Seoul, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, German Radio Philharmonic, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Kremerata Baltica, RTE National Symphony Orchestra (Dublin), and American Symphony. In 2024, he performed with the RAI National Symphony Orchestra in its traditional televised Christmas concert, following the Pope’s blessing.

He has worked with conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Michael Tilson-Thomas, David Robertson, Valery Gergiev, James DePreist, Karina Canellakis, Yuri Bashmet, and Nathalie Stuztmann. He has performed around the world in venues such as Avery Fisher Hall, Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Zurich’s Tonhalle, and Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow.

As a recitalist, Zorman performed at Carnegie Hall’s Distinctive Debut series, Wigmore Hall, People’s Symphony Concerts, the Louvre Museum, Suntory Hall, and HR-Sendesaal Frankfurt. He was invited to the Verbier, Rheingau, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, MITO SettembreMusica, and Radio France festivals.

He has also collaborated with legendary artists such as Mitsuko Uchida, Richard Goode, Steven Isserlis, and Jörg Widmann.

As a teacher, Zorman has held visiting positions at the Eastman School of Music, Indiana University, and McDuffy Center for Strings. He is a regular faculty member at the Bowdoin International Music Festival, Heifetz Institute, and Keshet Eilon. He has taught master classes at the Royal Academy of Music, San Francisco Conservatory, and Duke University.

Zorman plays on a 1734 Guarneri del Gesù, from the collection of Yehuda Zisapel.

JAMES KIM, CELLO

Photo credit: Courtesy of the Artist

Lauded by The New York Times for his “admirable purity of tone and accuracy,” James Kim has appeared as soloist with the Boston Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, Wallonie Royal Chamber, and Juilliard Orchestra working with conductors such as David Zinman, Michael Sanderling, Alexander Shelley, Keith Lockhart, and Frank Braley onstage at Carnegie Stern Auditorium, Boston Symphony Hall, Jordan Hall, and Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Kim has given solo recitals at Carnegie Weill Hall, IBK Hall of Seoul Arts Center, Midday Masterpieces Series at the Greene Space, McGraw Hill Young Artist Showcase hosted by Robert Sherman, Beautiful Thursday Series at Kumho Art Hall, and Garden City Chamber Music Series curated by Bruce Adolphe. His performances have been broadcasted on radio stations NPR and WQXR. BachFestivalFlorida.org

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FEATURED ARTISTS Winner of the 2006 David Popper International Cello Competition and 2012 Salon de Virtuosi’s Sony Career Grant, Kim is a laureate of the 2015 Isang Yun International Cello Competition and 2024 Naumburg International Cello Competition. From 2016 to 2021, Kim performed on a Matteo Goffriller cello from Venice ca. 1715, generously loaned by Samsung Cultural Foundation and Stradivari Society® of Chicago, Illinois.

His Carnegie Weill Hall debut in 2013 garnered praise from Harris Goldsmith of New York Concert Review: “There are debuts and debuts: the blood bank of human endeavor is forever bringing new musical talent to the fore. But I daresay, the recital of a 19-year-old cellist at Weill Hall on February 3rd was more than merely excellent, it was an historical coming of a fully honed master virtuoso. my hyperbole; the absolute perfection of his playing, technically, musically. .

In his native Korea, Kim has performed concertos with Daegu, Korean, Gwacheon, and S.O.N.G. Symphonies; Incheon, Daejeon, Goyang, and Wonju Philharmonics; and TIMF and KBS orchestras, engagements which have brought him to Seoul Arts Center, Tongyeong Concert Hall, Daegu Concert House, DITTO Festival, and Lotte Concert Hall, where he is the first soloist in its history. A champion of Korean composer Shinuh Lee, Kim premiered her Cello Concerto in 2021 and released Death and Offering, an album of her works dedicated to him. Other collaborations include Sejong Soloists, with whom he has toured Korea performing J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations arranged for string trio by Dmitry Sitkovetsky on numerous occasions. He has also served as guest principal cellist of Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra.

Under his tutelage, Kim’s private students have won top prizes at major international cello competitions.

He regularly gives guest lectures at Seoul National University’s College of Music. He holds an Artist Diploma from The Juilliard School and a Doctor of Musical Arts from Manhattan School of Music. His former teachers include Susan Moses, János Starker, Laurence Lesser, Aldo Parisot, Joel Krosnick, and Philippe Muller. Kim currently serves as Assistant Professor of Cello at University of Georgia’s Hugh Hodgson School of Music.

LIZA STEPANOVA, PIANO

Photo credit: Courtesy of the Artist

Praised by The New York Times for her “thoughtful musicality” and “fleetfingered panache,” Liza Stepanova is in demand as a soloist, collaborator, and educator. She performs and teaches at the Bowdoin, Brevard, Music in May in Santa Cruz, CA, and Songfest at Vanderbilt summer festivals, directs the Chamber Music Athens Festival, and the American Liszt Society national conference.

In 2020, Stepanova released her second solo album "E Pluribus Unum" (Navona Records) celebrating contemporary American composers with an immigrant background. The CD, which features a commission and three world-premiere recordings, received universal acclaim with reviews in the top three British classical music journals: Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine, and International Piano, as well as The Whole Note in Canada and Piano Magazine in the US. The album was broadcast widely on national and international radio including "Album of the Week" on Canada's public radio, several plays in Australia, and across the US. Following the release, Stepanova was profiled as Musical America Worldwide's "New Artist of the Month," a distinction celebrating her body of work to-date.

Stepanova’s debut solo album “Tones & Colors: Music and Visual Art” (CAG Records, 2018), recorded BachFestivalFlorida.org

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FEATURED ARTISTS in New York City with Grammy-winning producer Adam Abeshouse, brought together music from Bach to Ligeti that was inspired by visual art. This record was also praised in international media and continues to be regularly played on American Public Media's Performance Today, including multiple features as a headliner.

Stepanova has performed extensively in Europe and in the United States she has appeared in Weill and Zankel Recital Halls at Carnegie; Alice Tully Hall, Merkin and Steinway halls in New York City; at the Kennedy Center and The Smithsonian in Washington, DC; and live on WQXR New York, WFMT Chicago, and WETA Washington. Stepanova was twice featured as a soloist with the Juilliard Orchestra led by James DePreist and Nicholas McGegan and was a top prizewinner at the Liszt-Garrison, Juilliard Concerto, Steinway, and Ettlingen competitions. As a soloist and chamber musician, she has been invited to international festivals where she collaborates with leading artists, members of the Berlin Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, and the Atlanta Symphony. Deeply committed to new music, she has premiered works by Jennifer Higdon and Libby Larsen and worked with composers William Bolcom, Gabriela Lena Frank, and John Harbison.

Stepanova received her DMA from The Juilliard School with a Richard F. French Award for outstanding doctoral work. Previously a graduate of the Hanns Eisler Academy in Berlin, Germany, she studied with Joseph Kalichstein, Seymour Lipkin, Jerome Lowenthal, and George Sava, and performed in master classes for Alfred Brendel, Daniel Barenboim, and András Schiff. Following teaching positions at The Juilliard School and Smith College, she is currently an associate professor of piano at the University of Georgia, Hugh Hodgson School of Music, where she also co-directs the biannual Chamber Music Athens festival featuring acclaimed artists performing and teaching alongside UGA faculty and students.

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Bach Festival Society of Winter Park Presents

PASSION MUSIC FOR EARLY AMERICA Bach Vocal Artists

John V. Sinclair, conductor Thursday, March 26, 2026 | 7:30pm | Knowles Memorial Chapel

PROGRAM Der Herr ist unser König The Lord Our Mighty Sovereign Mein Heiland geht ins Leiden My Saviour Goes to Suffer Fürwahr, Er trug uns’re Krankheit My Saviour Goes to Suffer Mit Deineme verdienstlichen Tod

By Your Meritorious Death Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt For God So Loved the World Es ist ein Köstlich Ding It is a Precious Thing Know Ye That the Lord He is God Ein Jeglicher sey gesinnet Let Everyone Have the Same Mind Selig sind die reines Herzens sind Blessed Are the Pure of Heart Sei getreu bis an den Tod O Be Faithful Unto Death Kyrie James C. White Christ, and Him Crucified Agnus Dei Lamb of God Ich bin in meinem Geiste My Soul Knows Purist Pleasure Einer ist euer Meister One Alone is Your Master

Johannes Herbst (1735-1812) edit Köpe J. Herbst Christian Ignatious LaTrobe (1758-1836) J. Herbst Johann Friedrich Peter (1746-1813) C. Latrobe J. F. Peter Woldemar Voullaire (1825-1902) Heinrich Lonas (1838-1903) Nola Reed Knouse Ernst Immanuel Erbe (1854-1927) David Moritz Michael (1751-1827) J. Herbst

Program continued on page 8

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Unbeschreiblich Schöner, blutiger Versöhner An indescribably beautiful Go, Congregation, Go / He Hath Born Our Grief O Anblick, der mir’s Herze bricht!

Behold, O There’s a Sight That Rends My Heart!

Christian Gregor (1723-1801) Johann Antes (1740-1811) Simon Peter (1743-1819)

O die Seligkeit ist gross O The Blessedness Is Great

Johann Christian Bechler (1784-1857)

Nun ruht Er In Stillness Halleluja, der Heiland lebt Halleluja, the Saviour Lives

C. Gregor D. M. Michael

Please turn off cell phone and electronic devices prior to the start of this performance. The Bach Festival Society’s policies strictly prohibit photography, filming, or recording of any kind during performances without the express written permission of the Society.

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FEATURED ARTISTS BACH VOCAL ARTISTS John V. Sinclair, conductor John Grau and John Sinclair, Co-Artistic Directors The Bach Vocal Artists, elite singers handpicked from across the nation and brought in residence to Central Florida, represent a refined and versatile ensemble within the Bach Festival Society that debuted in October 2022. With a repertoire that bridges classical Baroque, Romantic, and modern works, they offer deeply expressive, carefully curated programs.

Their performances, under the baton of conductor John V. Sinclair, ranging from devotional choral literature to poetic interplay, demonstrate both artistry and thematic insight, making each concert a memorable experience.

READ MORE about the Bach Vocal Artists at BachFestivalFlorida. org/bach-vocal-artists

Jessica Beebe Meg Dudley Anna Eschbach Margot Rood Clara Rottsolk

Ruby Abreu Amanda Crider Thea Lobo Morgan Peckels Patricia Thompson

Brad Diamond John Grau Steven Soph Gregorio Taniguchi Drew Young

Thaddaeus Bourne Brian Ming Chu Brandon Hendrickson Stephen Mumbert Joseph Trumbo

BACH FESTIVAL CHAMBER ORCHESTRA VIOLIN 1 Joni Roo Olga Ferroni Kathleen Beard

VIOLIN 2 Rhonda Burnham Victor Ferroni Jennie Rudberg

FLUTE

ORGAN Andre Lash

Nora Lee Garcia Tina Edelstein

VIOLA Susan Gray Dan Flick

CELLO David Bjella Brenda Higgins

HORN Justin Gittle

STRING BASS Michael Hill

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BACH VOCAL ARTISTS BACH VOCAL ARTISTS GROUP The Bach Vocal Artists is a professional vocal ensemble founded by John V. Sinclair, the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park. Debuting in the 2022-23 season, it serves as an elite chamber group within the society, comprising handpicked professional singers from across the United States who specialize in intimate, high-caliber choral performances. This contrasts with the society’s larger Bach Festival Choir, a volunteer-based oratorio choir of about 150 singers (many with music degrees or professional backgrounds) that focuses on grand-scale works and has a history dating back to 1935. The Bach Vocal Artists were created to handle more specialized, smaller-ensemble repertoire, often a cappella or with chamber orchestration, allowing for nuanced interpretations of sacred and secular choral music.

The ensemble’s purpose is to expand the Bach Festival Society’s programming by tackling intricate works that benefit from professional precision, such as Sergei Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil (Vespers), which draws on ancient Russian Orthodox chants and is performed in Church Slavonic for a transcendent, unaccompanied vocal experience; Americana programs featuring composers like Samuel Barber, Leonard Bernstein, and Aaron Copland that explore themes of faith, creation, and the human spirit; and historical pieces like Moravian Lenten anthems in “Passion Music for Early America,” blending European traditions with spiritual reflection. hey frequently collaborate with the Bach Chamber Orchestra or members of the Bach Festival Choir and Orchestra for select performances, under Sinclair’s direction. The group emphasizes emotional depth, rhythmic vitality, and lyrical beauty in their interpretations, often concluding the society’s seasons with programs described as “songs for the soul” that blend beauty, elegance, and intellectual appeal.

Membership details are not exhaustively listed on the society’s website, but the ensemble draws from a national pool of elite vocalists, including sopranos like Anna Eschbach and mezzo-sopranos, with some members having ties to academic institutions (e.g., Dr. Martin, a voice instructor at the University of Tampa with a background in voice performance from the University of Michigan). Singers are selected for their expertise in chamber singing, sight-reading, and vocal artistry, aligning with the society’s mission to inspire through great music while celebrating J.S. Bach’s legacy and innovative programming. Auditions or selection processes are not publicly detailed, but given the professional nature, they likely involve rigorous evaluation by Sinclair.

In terms of performances, the Bach Vocal Artists typically appear three to four times per season as part of the Bach Festival Society’s lineup, often in standalone concerts or integrated into larger events at venues like Knowles Memorial Chapel or Tiedtke Concert Hall on the Rollins College campus in Winter Park, Florida. For the 2025-26 season, scheduled appearances include Rachmaninoff’s Vespers on November 7, 2025; an Americana program on January 30, 2026; Passion Music for Early America on March 26, 2026; and Vivaldi’s Choral Works on May 1, 2026—aligning with the society’s broader calendar of pre-festival and annual Bach Festival events. Tickets range from $20, with seating often tiered or first-come, first-served, and the society emphasizes accessibility, noting that all people deserve access to inspiring music.

Reviews and feedback highlight the ensemble’s excellence. Orlando Sentinel critic Matthew J. Palm has praised their ability to showcase talent in unusual works like Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle, noting how the group “put their talent on display” with sparkling results, and in programs blending BachFestivalFlorida.org

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BACH VOCAL ARTISTS spirituals and prayers for peace, describing the society’s overall efforts (including the Vocal Artists) as looking “to heaven” with fervor. The group contributes to the society’s high ratings, such as a four-star Charity Navigator score and positive audience feedback on platforms like Facebook, where attendees describe performances as “superb music in a lovely setting.” The Bach Festival Society, founded in 1935 as the third-oldest continuously operating Bach festival in the U.S., uses the Vocal Artists to innovate while honoring classical traditions, earning acclaim for bringing world-class music to Central Florida.

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BACH VOCAL ARTISTS

SOPRANOS JESSICA BEEBE – SOPRANO Soprano Jessica Beebe interprets repertoire spanning from the Renaissance to the contemporary and has a voice that “bounced like a beam of light throughout the sanctuary” (Broad Street Review). She has performed with New York City Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and Utah Symphony. Jessica’s concert and oratorio repertoire includes major works by Monteverdi, Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Brahms, and Orff. She also performs modern works such as John Adam's El Niño, Rutter's Requiem, and Richard Einhorn's Voices of Light. She is a member of many GRAMMYnominated and winning vocal ensembles, such as Clarion Society, Seraphic Fire, The Crossing, Lorelei Ensemble, and Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia. Earning her BM from the University of Delaware, her MM in Early Music from Indiana University, and a Performance Certificate from London's Royal College of Music she currently serves on the faculty at both Muhlenberg and Franklin & Marshall Colleges.

MEG DUDLEY – SOPRANO Meg Dudley, soprano, has established herself as a versatile vocal artist in a variety of genres. She has been a featured soloist in Carnegie Hall (Vivaldi’s Gloria, Dan Forrest’s Lux, Haydn’s Mass in the Time of War and Lord Nelson Mass); in Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall (Vaughan William’s Mass in G Minor and Leonardo Leo’s Magnificat); with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (Puccini’s Suor Angelica, and Debussy’s Nocturnes); and with the Trinity Baroque Orchestra (Handel’s Messiah and Bach’s Cantatas 64, 89, and 167).

A highly sought-after ensemble singer, Ms. Dudley works regularly with the Lorelei Ensemble. Grammy award-winning Conspirare, the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, the Choir of Trinity Wall Street, Grammy award-winning The Crossing, the New York Philharmonic, the American Classical Orchestra, Apollo’s Fire, Oregon Bach Festival’s Berwick Chorus, and the Bard Festival Singers. Some of Ms. Dudley’s recent engagements include collaborations with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, Nashville Symphony Orchestra under Giancarlo Guerrero and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop. Ms. Dudley holds a BM from the University of Denver, and a MM from Mannes School of Music.

ANNA ESCHBACH – SOPRANO Soprano Anna Eschbach is highly sought-after as a performer and private voice instructor in Central Florida. Born and raised in Orlando, Ms. Eschbach has performed with numerous companies throughout Florida, including the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park, the Brevard Symphony Orchestra, the Villages Philharmonic, the Bach Vocal Artists, the all-female ensemble Helena, and Opera Orlando. Covering a vast array of repertoire, Ms. Eschbach’s solo oratorio performances include Haydn’s Creation, Bach’s Mass in b minor, Handel’s Messiah and La resurrezione, Monteverdi’s Vespro BachFestivalFlorida.org

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BACH VOCAL ARTISTS della beata vergine, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Mozart’s Coronation Mass, Fauré's Requiem, Poulenc’s Gloria, Rutter’s Gloria and Magnificat, Vaughan Williams’ A Sea Symphony, Einhorn’s Voices of Light, as well as Orff’s Carmina Burana. She premiered the role of Anne Boleyn in an original work, 6 of VIII: The Wives of King Henry VIII in 2019 – a performance which was hailed by the Orlando Sentinel as “soul-rattling.” She has toured internationally throughout her career, singing concerts in Switzerland, the UK, and Kenya. Ms. Eschbach earned her bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from Appalachian State University and a master’s degree in vocal performance from the University of Tennessee. She maintains a private voice studio in the Orlando area and serves on the voice faculty at Rollins College.

MARGOT ROOD – SOPRANO Margot Rood, soprano, hailed for her “sterling, gleaming tone and magnificent control” by The Washington Post, performs a wide range of repertoire. Recent appearances include those with Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony, Handel & Haydn Society, Seraphic Fire, Lorelei Ensemble, A Far Cry, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Blue Heron, TENET Vocal Artists, and Bach Collegium San Diego, as well as on stage with the Boston Early Music Festival, Monadnock Music, and St. Petersburg Opera. In 2023 Margot made her debut with Opera Lafayette, where she was honored to step in and sing the title role in the world premiere of Rameau’s Io. Margot is the recipient of numerous awards including the St. Botolph Emerging Artist Award and the Lorraine Hunt Lieberson Fellowship at Emmanuel Music. Her debut solo recording with composer Heather Gilligan, Living in Light, is now available from Albany Records. Margot holds degrees from the University of Michigan and McGill University.

CLARA ROTTSOLK – SOPRANO Soprano Clara Rottsolk has been lauded by The New York Times for her “clear, appealing voice and expressive conviction.” With wide-ranging repertoire her appearances have taken her across the United States, the Middle East, Japan, and South America. She specializes in historically informed performance practice, singing with ensembles that include American Bach Soloists, Santa Fe Pro Musica, Colorado Bach Ensemble, Trinity Wall Street Choir, and Seraphic Fire. Clara’s Bach repertoire includes his Mass in b minor, St. Matthew and St. John Passions, and the Easter, Ascension, and Christmas Oratorios. In addition, she has sung in Mozart’s Grand Mass and Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Vaughan Williams’ Dona nobis pacem, and Richard Einhorn’s Voices of Light. She has performed at the Carmel Bach Festival, Bach Festival Society of Winter Park, Philadelphia Bach Festival, Whidbey Island Music Festival, and Boston Early Music Festival. A native of Seattle, Ms. Rottsolk earned music degrees at Rice University and Westminster Choir College and was awarded recognition for musical excellence by the Metropolitan Opera National Council. Currently she is based in Durham, NC where she is on the voice faculty at Duke University.

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BACH VOCAL ARTISTS

MEZZO-SOPRANOS RUBY ABREU – MEZZO-SOPRANO Latina mezzo-soprano Ruby Abreu is a performer and arts administrator based in Boston. She recently earned her Master of Music from the Longy School of Music, where she appeared in roles including Madame de la Haltière in Cendrillon, Beverly Brown in The Mad Ones, Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel, and Euan Morton in Sondheim on Sondheim. In 2023, Ruby made her European debut at the Varna International Music Academy, performing in Bulgaria and Italy as the alto soloist in Mozart’s Requiem and as the Monitor and Abbess in Suor Angelica. Her additional credits include Mrs. Nolan in The Medium, Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance, and Ado Annie in Some Enchanted Evening. She has also been featured as a soloist with the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park and at the Moravian Music Festival, sharing her passion for music with diverse audiences.

Beyond the stage, Ruby serves as Program Manager for Boston City Singers and previously worked in arts marketing with the Bach Festival Society and Rollins College. She also freelances, creating websites and capturing photography for musicians, helping artists share their work with the world. A huge Beatles maniac, Ruby is always finding ways to bring a little music, creativity, and joy into every part of life—whether through performance, graphic design, or just making friends laugh.

AMANDA CRIDER – MEZZO-SOPRANO Amanda Crider, mezzo-soprano, is a busy soloist and recitalist, who regularly appears with Bach Vocal Artists, Apollo’s Fire, and Seraphic Fire and has appeared with the Nashville Symphony, the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park, Bach Vocal Artists, the New World Symphony, the Jacksonville Symphony and the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra.

She made her Carnegie Hall debut in the fall of 2007 singing Handel’s Messiah and returned the following season in Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass and has been a featured recitalist on the Trinity Church Concerts at One Series and with Five Boroughs Music Festival and appeared on Marilyn Horne’s “...the song continues” series at Carnegie Hall. Ms. Crider’s first foray into the operatic world was at the Tanglewood Music Center Boston, New York City Opera, Castleton Festival and Glimmerglass Opera. Miss Crider has been the winner of numerous grants and international competitions. Amanda serves as the Executive Director of Roomful of Teeth and is also the founder and artistic director of IlluminArts, Miami's Art Song and Vocal Chamber Music Series.

THEA LOBO – MEZZO-SOPRANO Thea Lobo, a Grammy-nominated mezzo-soprano, performs with Ensemble New SRQ, DeSoto Baroque, True Concord, Choral Artists of Sarasota, Opera Huntsville, Boston's Symphony Hall and more. Ms. Lobo has previously appeared under conductors Gunther Schuller, Stephen Stubbs, Joshua Rifkin, and Andris Nelsons, and has been featured by the Firebird Ensemble, Boston Baroque, Naples Philharmonic, Boston Early Music Festival, Carmel Bach Festival, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Europäisches Musikfest Stuttgart.

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BACH VOCAL ARTISTS In addition to her performing career, Thea Lobo serves as artistic and executive director of the Indictus Project, which amplifies the overlooked classical art music of historically excluded composers of all eras. She is also the newest Classical Host on WSMR (Tampa, Sarasota).

MORGAN DAVIS PECKELS – MEZZO-SOPRANO Morgan Davis Peckelse, mezzo-soprano, resides in Florida and has performed extensively on the east coast and is active with many ensembles in Central Florida. Featured in Richard Einhorn's Voices of Light with the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park she was praised for her "hauntingly lamenting tones" and was a soloist in Bach’s B Minor Mass with the Bach Festival Society.

She has been seen on stage in Amahl & the Night Visitors and is active with music theatre repertoire, appearing in Kiss Me Kate, Into the Woods, and Fiddler on the Roof. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Elon University and then studied at the Boston Conservatory. As a concert soloist Morgan gives recitals throughout the Orlando area exploring Art Songs in regular recitals at Rollins College where she is on the voice faculty. In addition, Morgan runs a private studio out of Winter Springs, FL where she specializes in teaching classical and musical theatre and serves as an officer of the Central Florida Chapter of the National Association Teachers of Singing (NATS).

PATRICIA THOMPSON – MEZZO-SOPRANO Patricia Thompson, mezzo-soprano, is a much sought-after adjudicator and is active as an oratorio specialist, appearing with the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, the Louisville Choral Arts Society, the Masterworks Chorale of New Jersey, the Hale Library Concert Series, and the Bloomington Early Music Festival. A dedicated professional choral artist and a member of the international Carmel Bach Festival and the Spire Chamber Ensemble of Kansas City, she is a founding member of the award-winning Luminous Voices in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. With a special interest in jazz and cabaret singing, she performs regularly with the Thundering Cats Big Band in Manhattan, KS, and in solo cabaret shows at the Manhattan Arts Center. Her debut jazz album, It’s Only Natural, is available on iTunes, Spotify, and others. Dr. Thompson holds degrees from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music (DM and MM) and St. Olaf College (BM) and is currently an Associate Professor of Music at Kansas State University.

TENORS BRAD DIAMOND – TENOR Brad Diamond, known for his musicianship and style, has an active professional career in the United States and Canada, appearing regularly with Seraphic Fire and the Santa Fe Chorale. A specialist in oratorio repertoire, he has sung the Evangelist role in Bach’s St. John Passion and St. Matthew Passion with the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park and Trinity Wall Street.

Dr. Diamond completed his Bachelor of Music Degree from Westminster Choir College and received his Master and Doctorate degrees from the University BachFestivalFlorida.org

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BACH VOCAL ARTISTS of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music. While attending Westminster, he soloed under the baton of the late Leonard Bernstein. He is currently Professor of Voice and Vocal Pedagogy at Samford University JOHN GRAU – TENOR Tenor John Grau has established himself as a renowned performer of oratorio and opera from Baroque to 20th-century music. As a soloist, he has performed at the Boston Early Music Festival, the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park Festival, Boulder Bach Festival, the Rochester Choral Arts Ensemble, the Ravinia Music Festival and the inaugural Duke University Bach Cantata Series, to name a few. John has appeared with professional vocal ensembles such as The Singers-Minnesota Choral Artists, The South Dakota Chorale, The Minnesota Beethoven Festival Chorus and is also the co-artistic director and founding member of the Bach Vocal Artists vocal ensemble based in Winter Park, Florida. Dr. Grau’s scholarly activities contribute to the vocal pedagogy field with his recent research focused on vocal and physical health and the relation to vocal function and pedagogy. As a committed performer and educator, Dr. Grau also serves as an adjudicator for the National Oratorio Competition for young American singers specializing in oratorio repertoire. John received his BA in biology and music from St. Olaf College, his MM degree in vocal performance from Northern Arizona University, and his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Minnesota. Dr. Grau currently teaches and is the chair of the Department of Music at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. He has previously taught at The University of Colorado-Boulder, and The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

STEVEN SOPH – TENOR Steven Soph, an active Bach interpreter, appears in festivals around the country, including Seraphic Fire’s Enlightenment Festival, Oregon Bach Festival, and San Diego’s Mainly Mozart Festival. Appearances with top American vocal ensembles include Chicago Chorale, Master Chorale of South Florida, Handel Oratorio Society, Apollo Chorus of Chicago, Colorado Pro Musica, and Choral Arts Philadelphia. Steven holds degrees from the University of North Texas and Yale School of Music’s Institute of Sacred Music.

GREGÓRIO TANIGUCHI – TENOR Gregório Taniguchi, tenor, brings linguistic gusto and vitality to performances such as the Evangelist in Bach’s St. John Passion and Christmas Oratorio and Septimius in Handel's Theodora. He was a featured soloist in a Peter Sellars-staged production of Schütz’s Musikalische Exequien with Los Angeles Master Chorale, which opened the Salzburg Musikfestpiele. He has toured Ecuador with the emerging ensemble Las Aves, presenting historically informed 17th-century Italian and Spanish sacred repertoire in the cathedrals of Quito during Holy Week.

Gregório has worked with pioneers and the next generation scholar-interpreters of early music, such as John Butt, Jane Glover, Maria Guinand, Matthew Halls, and Ruben Valenzuela. He enjoys the alchemy of collaborative ensemble singing, especially with Clarion Voval Ensemble, TENET, Tesserae, BachFestivalFlorida.org

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BACH VOCAL ARTISTS Bach Collegium San Diego, and Washington Bach Consort. Gregório earned a Bachelor degree (B.M.) in Vocal Performance at the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at California State University–Long Beach, and a Master's degree (M.M.) in Early Music at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

Gregório is passionate about being an active part of the community of artists, coaching language, and teaching. As a pandemic passion project, he recorded some of his mother’s favorite fado while self-accompanying on ukulele, spurring him to learn guitarra portuguesa and he revels in being part of his ecological community.

DREW YOUNG – TENOR Drew Young is a New York City based tenor, conductor, and music director. In 2022, he was a member of the American delegation to the Venice Biennale d’Arte, where he presented a staged choral program of newly composed Native American music. He maintains an active performance schedule and serves on the choral staff at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Manhattan, where he regularly sings the tenor arias and recitatives of cantatas and passions of Bach.

He also maintains a private voice studio in Manhattan.

As a conductor, Young serves as Music Directing Fellow under Dr. Vince Peterson with the awardwinning ensemble Choral Chameleon and with Empire City Men’s Chorus. His previous appointments include Associate Conductor of Shenandoah Voices of Shenandoah conservatory and Associate Music Director of Trinity Episcopal Church in Upperville, Virginia, where he led a semi-professional chamber choir and founded a guest recital series.

BASS-BARITONE THADDAEUS BOURNE – BARITONE Thaddaeus Bourne, baritone, currently maintains an active performing schedule, having sung over forty roles in the US and abroad. Praised for his rich baritone, appearances include Fauré’s Requiem, Bach’s Cantata BWV 86, Mozart’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy, and Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, as well as recitals and masterclasses with the Longy School of Music at Bard College, the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam and EIU Concert Series at the National Opera Center. An accomplished flutist, Dr. Bourne completed undergraduate and graduate degrees in flute performance embarking on his DMA in voice after training as a singer to improve his breath support. Dr. Bourne has taught on the faculties of the University of Florida, Troy University, Butler University, Earlham College, and the University of Connecticut.

BRIAN MING CHU – BARITONE Brian Ming Chu, as a specialist in oratorio music, is a regular soloist with the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, the Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia, the Washington Bach Consort, and has performed Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Haydn’s Creation, Verdi’s Requiems, the Bach Passions, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and for the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, Ludwig Meinardus’ Luther in Worms with the Bach Choir BachFestivalFlorida.org

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BACH VOCAL ARTISTS Eisenach and the Dresden Singakademie. Mr. Chu made his Kennedy Center debut in Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 with the Choral Arts Society of Washington and has been a US Embassy Cultural Artist in French West Africa and Vienna, Austria. Mr. Chu holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Cornell University and did his graduate work at the Peabody Conservatory of Music. Brian is on the voice faculties of Haverford and Swarthmore Colleges, Lehigh University, and Rowan University.

BRANDON HENDRICKSON – BARITONE American baritone Brandon Hendrickson is an active performer on the domestic and international opera, concert, and recital stages. He received his BME from Simpson College and received his MM and DMA in Vocal Performance from Louisiana State University. While at LSU, Hendrickson came to national attention as a regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Brandon has sung with major national orchestras, including the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Charleston Symphony Orchestra, New Orleans Symphony Orchestra, Helena Symphony Orchestra, Madison Symphony Orchestra, South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, and Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra. Hendrickson has been featured in Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana at Carnegie Hall with the National Philharmonic Orchestra, Cantata 212 by Bach, Mozart’s Requiem, Ein Deutsches Requiem by Brahms, Duruflé’s Requiem, and Mahler’s 8th Symphony.

Dr. Hendrickson serves on the faculty of the Louisiana State University School of Music, where he teaches Applied Voice, Vocal Pedagogy, Song Literature, and Lyric Diction. He also co-directs the national award–winning University of South Dakota USD Opera.

STEPHEN MUMBERT – BASS Stephen Mumbert, bass, is hailed as a “Scene-stealer” by the Guardian Newspaper for his interpretation of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Stephen Mumbert is currently an Adjunct Professor of Voice at Rollins College as well as Stetson University and maintains a private voice studio in Orlando FL. He is a graduate of Stetson University where he holds a B.M. in voice performance, and an M.M. in opera from The Boston Conservatory. Performance highlights include singing Khan Kontchak from Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances in Steinmetz Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, bass soloist for the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park’s Classic Christmas Concert (which was filmed and aired on PBS this past Christmas), Mozart’s Requiem with the Dakota Valley Symphony (broadcast on Twin Cities Public Television), Handel’s Messiah with the Messiah Choral Society, Jesus in Bach’s St Matthew Passion, bass soloist in Einhorn’s Voices of Light and Faure’s Requiem with the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park. Recent local performances include Rimsky-Korsakov’s Mozart and Salieri with Musical Traditions, Lucifer in Handel’s Resurrezione with the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park, and as a featured soloist in a concert titled “Leading Men of Broadway” with the Space Coast Symphony.

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BACH VOCAL ARTISTS JOSEPH TRUMBO – BASS Joseph Trumbo, bass, is a young, upcoming singer hailed for his “smooth, deep voice.” Recent choral work has included performances with the Rockford Music Collaborative, as a Young Artist with the Illinois Bach Academy under Dr. Andrew Megill, and as a former member of San Francisco’s elite new music ensemble, Volti. Trumbo received both a BA and BM from Oberlin College & Conservatory and a MM from the University of Illinois, where he was a recipient of the Howard A. Stotler Voice Fellowship. Joseph has been featured in the Mars Symphonic Men’s Choir as part of the Soundiron Olympus Symphonic Choral Collection and has just completed a festival in New York with dell’Arte Opera Ensemble.

BachFestivalFlorida.org

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Bach Festival Society of Winter Park Presents

A CONCERT OF SACRED MUSIC

EDWARD KENNEDY “DUKE” ELLINGTON John Sinclair, conductor Samuel McKelton, tenor Ed Kania, narrator Friday, April 10, 2026 | 7:30pm Knowles Memorial Chapel PROGRAM In The Beginning God Ain’t But The One Will You Be There Praise God (Instrumental) Heaven Something About Believing My Love David Danced Joy Anderson, tap dancer INTERMISSION Come Sunday The Shepherd (Instrumental) It’s Freedom Reflections in D (Piano Solo) Father Forgive Praise God And Dance - Finale

Please turn off cell phone and electronic devices prior to the start of this performance. The Bach Festival Society’s policies strictly prohibit photography, filming, or recording of any kind during performances without the express written permission of the Society.

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FEATURED ARTISTS SAMUEL MCKELTON, TENOR Sam McKelton has traveled throughout the world delighting audiences in both the classical and pop worlds. He toured the world for three years with superstar Harry Belafonte, and was an original Broadway cast and touring member of the Tony award- winning Disney musical The Lion King. Mr. McKelton has appeared with major symphony orchestras and chamber ensembles such as the Atlanta Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, and San Francisco Symphony, among many others. A native of Detroit, Michigan, Mr. McKelton continues to make concert and solo appearances as a guest artist and in master classes at schools, universities, and arts programs. He is a member of the world-renowned American Spiritual Ensemble (ASE), a mixed-voice professional performing arts organization whose mission it is to keep the American Negro spirituals alive. He is an honorary board member of the “Negro Spiritual” Scholarship Foundation based in Orlando, Florida.

Mr. McKelton has toured Bolivia on behalf of the U.S. State Department of Cultural Affairs. An adjunct professor of voice at NYU Tisch School of Drama, he writes, produces, and develops works for stage and commercial media. He made his Bach Festival Society debut in their tribute performances of R. Nathaniel Dett’s The Ordering of Moses and William Grant Still’s And They Lynched Him on a Tree and premiered the role of the Inquisitor in Wittenberg: The Story of Martin Luther, Trent Johnson’s new oratorio about the religious reformer.

JAZZ BIG BAND ROSTER SAXOPHONES

TRUMPETS

TROMBONES

RHYTHM

Dave MacKenzie Rex Wertz Brian Snapp Tami Danielsson George Weremchuk

Matt Mill Jim Derrick John DePaola Scott Dickinson

Crash Clifton Per Danielsson Robert Harrover Chuck Archard Corey Paul Jeremy Katalenic Will Nestler

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FEATURED ARTISTS BACH FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA John V. Sinclair, conductor

Liz Ausbum Jim Beck George Chandler Melanie Campbell Ellen Cassel Maya Clausen Tom Cook Vivian Cook Michael Creighton Dante Duphorne Ashley Duve Dana Eagles

Jolie Eichler Alice Fortunato Larry Fortunato Barbara Gomes Grant Hayes Ariel Hudak Sondra Jones Beth Kassander Ciara Mansilla Julie Mathews David Mattson Margaret McMillen

Jan Meyer Aleitha Morgan Natalie Morgan Margaret Munro John Niss Luke Noles Liana Pacilli Ashley Peters Veronica Prevost Bj Price Pamela Rosario Jane Scamehorn

Michael Sinelli Diana Sisley Beverly Slaughter Rebecca Stracener Herbert Suarez Jeanine Viau Cezarina Vintilla Matthew Walker Rowan Wilson Enrique Ynaty

ROLLINS CHOIR SOPRANOS Jenna Burr Chloe Cabney Audrey Clark Grace Cimo Abigail Cribbs Azrail Doimeadios Savannah King Emma McAdoo Katelyn Mcinturff Izzy Perez Emma Roberts Kasey Rojas Pagán Megan Skena Maddie Swan Emma Youngblood

ALTOS Karinaa Blackman Magnolia Demers Elliot Dennis Sarah Flores Megan Kenney Asher Martin Stephanie Matthews Ana Medina Issabella MercadoBurgos Digna Ojito Eleni Mendez Alessia Prenda Kate Reily Mikaella Romero Sarah Webster Wave Wildman Ava Williams

TENORS Caleb Bartholomew Skylar Black Kolin Dembeck Lex Galarza Eltavious Johnson Gabriel Narvaez Branden Peralta Sebie Sanchez Samuel Albino Nobel Vegaahamundi Enrique Ynaty

BASSES Samuel Alabino Aidan Brisendine Kai Daniel Rodolfo Guerra Bohorquez Lucas Guillermo Deanjelous Hughes Noah Mergan Mason Opinion Joshua Song Alex Strand Angel Teran Christian Wangsgard Benjamin Webster Rowan Wilson Andrew Wolstenholme

BachFestivalFlorida.org

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PROGRAM NOTES DUKE ELLINGTON: JUST AS SPIRITUAL, IT TURNS OUT, AS HE WAS COOL THIRTY-FOUR years ago, Duke Ellington and his orchestra set up shop at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church the day after Christmas, accompanied by a chorus, four solo singers, a tap dancer and a recording crew, and gave the New York premiere of a group of original compositions collectively billed as "A Concert of Sacred Music." Though the results were uneven, the composer had no doubts.

"This music is the most important thing I've ever done or am ever likely to do," he later told a friend.

Such unguarded language may have seemed startling, coming as it did from a sophisticate who rarely let slip his mask of detached urbanity. But Ellington never made any secret of his religious convictions -- or his hunger for acclaim as a composer of large-scale concert pieces …

Early in the 30's, Ellington began telling journalists of his plans to compose a multi-movement work about "the history of my race," and in 1943 he finally delivered, giving the premiere of the 45-minute "Black, Brown and Beige" at his Carnegie Hall debut. One section, "Come Sunday," is a sinuous, pastel-shaded evocation of the worship practices of antebellum slaves: "Come Sunday, while all the whites had gone into the church, the slaves congregated under a tree. Huddled together, they passed the word of God around in whispers."

The faith that inspired him to write "Come Sunday" first entered the public record, improbably enough, in a 1944 profile in The New Yorker. "Ellington wears a gold cross beneath his flamboyant plaids and bold checks," the article said, "reads the Bible every day, along with Winchell and the comics, and has been known to say: 'I'd be afraid to sit in a house with people who don't believe. Afraid the house would fall down.' " But everyone who knew him more than casually had long been aware of it, and though his religiosity was thought by some to be inconsistent with his otherwise sybaritic private life, no one seems to have questioned its sincerity. "Come Sunday" eventually became a jazz standard … Musically trained critics spoke bluntly of its structural shapelessness, and Ellington took their comments to heart. After a follow-up concert in Boston a week later, he never again performed the work in its entirety, recording only 18 minutes' worth of excerpts in 1944 for RCA. (A complete version pieced together from unofficial live recordings of the New York and Boston concerts was finally issued by Prestige in 1977.) Moreover, his later "extended" works, except for the 12-minute "Tattooed Bride" (1948) and the 14-minute "Harlem" (1951), were episodic suites consisting mainly of the three- and four-minute miniatures he had been producing since the late 20's.

But Ellington still longed to make a major statement, and the occasion finally came, though the circumstances proved unexpectedly grim. In 1964, Billy Strayhorn, his longtime musical collaborator, was discovered to have cancer of the esophagus. The news came as a terrible shock to the 65-year-old composer. "His first reaction," recalled his son, Mercer, "was 'how could that happen to Strayhorn?' That went into 'hey, then, why couldn't that happen to me?' and that started him thinking more deeply about God and everything."

Not long afterward, Ellington was invited by Canon C. Julian Bartlett, the dean of San Francisco's Grace Cathedral, to compose a work to help celebrate the completion and consecration of a new cathedral building. Preoccupied with Strayhorn's illness (he died in 1967) and thoughts of his own mortality, Ellington produced "In the Beginning God," a 20-minute setting of his own text. He coupled the new piece with two versions of "Come Sunday," a group of songs from his 1963 musical "My People" and an unaccompanied solo version of "New World A-Comin,' " a 1945 "concerto" for piano and band. For a BachFestivalFlorida.org

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PROGRAM NOTES showstopping finale, he concocted a third, up-tempo version of "Come Sunday" called "David Danced (Before the Lord With All His Might)," which featured the tap dancing of Bunny Briggs and a climactic drum solo by Louis Bellson.

This mélange of disparate musical elements made its bow in San Francisco on Sept. 16, 1965, and was repeated in New York three months later. In addition to the texts, Ellington wrote a program note in which he explicitly professed his own belief: "Wisdom is something that man partially enjoys -- One and only One has all the wisdom. God has total understanding. There are some people who speak one language and some who speak many languages. Every man prays in his own language, and there is no language that God does not understand."

The public response to "A Concert of Sacred Music" was so enthusiastic that Ellington performed it some 50 times, following it in 1968 and 1973 with two more sacred programs, both of which, unlike the first one, were composed entirely from scratch. "The Third Sacred Concert" had its premiere in Westminster Abbey on Nov. 24, 1973, by which time Ellington was himself suffering from terminal cancer; he died six months later to the day.

For all of their popularity, the sacred concerts received the same mixed notices that greeted Ellington's other extended musical efforts. Though they were commercially recorded (the second at his own expense), none has been performed complete since his death. And while Wynton Marsalis, the music director of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, has long been a fervent proponent of Ellington's later music, "In His Solitude" will consist not of a complete performance of any of the sacred concerts but of excerpts from all three.

This decision is a shrewd one. The release of "The Duke Ellington Centennial Edition: The Complete RCA Victor Recordings (1927-1973)," a 24-CD boxed set that includes digitally remastered versions of the three concerts, served as a reminder that these works, like the other suites Ellington composed after 1943, are a hodgepodge of good, bad and indifferent music. Part of the problem lies with the texts, which are by turns embarrassingly florid and awkwardly colloquial. But Ellington's lifelong discomfort with organically developed large-scale musical forms is no less to blame for the inconsistent impression they make.

"In the Beginning God," the most ambitious single movement in any of the concerts, suffers acutely from both these defects. It opens with a brief, angular piano solo over Latin percussion, followed by a chocolate-rich statement of the main theme by Harry Carney, the Ellington orchestra's indispensable baritone saxophonist. The band slips in stealthily, wailing and moaning for three marvelous minutes -- the length, not coincidentally, of one side of a 78 record. Then the tempo picks up unexpectedly, and a singer recites banal couplets at enervating length ("No symphony, no jive, no Gemini V/No ten, nine, six or eight/ No men trying to fill an inside straight"), followed by an aimless sequence in which the chorus shouts the names of the books of the Bible. The remainder of the movement lurches from one episode to the next, and though many interesting things happen along the way, they never quite add up to a coherent whole.

Here as always, Ellington is at his best in the Chopinesque instrumental cameos and indelible melodies of which he was jazz's unrivaled master, and the second concert includes two especially striking examples of the latter, the wordless "T.G.T.T." (for "Too Good to Title") and "Heaven" (marred, alas, by another dull lyric). His soloists are frequently in excellent form, especially Bellson, who blasts the roof off in "David BachFestivalFlorida.org

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PROGRAM NOTES Danced," and the great alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges, who wrings every possible drop of sweetness out of "Come Sunday." And the bristling acerbities of "Supreme Being," Ellington's most harmonically challenging composition since the 1947 "Clothed Woman," illustrate the continuing adventurousness of his ear.

As usual with late Ellington, the trick to weaving together an evening's worth of thoroughly listenable music out of the three sacred concerts is to pick and choose. The advocacy of those cultists who believe that he never wrote a bad piece or that the best of his postwar music is, in the words of Stanley Crouch, "superior to all high points in his previous work," has done his memory a serious disservice. In fact, nothing he composed after 1943 -- not even "Such Sweet Thunder," the finest of the suites -- is "superior" to the near-unbroken string of miniature masterpieces he turned out in the late 30's and early 40's. But a discriminatingly chosen program of the greatest composer of jazz’s religious music will be an altogether fitting way as a part of the celebration of America’s 250th anniversary by the greatest composer of jazz's first century.

---Terry Teachout, former Wall Street Journal Arts Critic

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TEXT AND TRANSLATIONS IN THE BEGINNING GOD In the beginning God, in the beginning God, no heaven, no earth, no nothing.

In the beginning, in the beginning God. In the beginning God, in the beginning God, no heaven, no earth, no nothing. No heaven, no earth, no nothing.

In the beginning, in the beginning, in the beginning, God. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel Samuel, Kings Kings, Chronicles Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms, Proverts, Ecclesiastes, Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zachariah, Malachi.

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, Corinthians Corinthians, Galations, Ephesians, Phillippians, Colossians, Thessalonians Thessalonians, Timothy Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, Peter Peter, John John John, Jude, Revelations.

In the beginning God, in the beginning God.

AIN’T BUT THE ONE Ain’t But The One, Just One. Ain’t But The One, Just One. Ain’t But The One good Lord above, Ain’t But The One great God of love.

Who sets the stars, Just One. Who knows the judgment, Just One, Who is the power Ain’t But The One who knows the story.

Made little apples that fall from the tree. Birds in the sky put fish in the sea.

Who made the little flowers that give honey to the bees, made the crippple walk and the blind man see?

Ain’t But The One, Just One. Ain’t But the One, Just One, Ain’t But The One good Lord above. Ain’t But The One great God of Love Who sets the stars, the stars and the moon, who knows the judgment, knows who is the power and the glory, who knows the story.

Brought water from a solid stone, brought water like rain, made a serpent wiggle from walkin’ stick, made a snake out of a cane, made a million miracles, miracles that never fail, snatched Jonah yes he did from the belly of the whale, fed the people in the wilderness, manna from sky and then Daniel up and upset the cart, jump from the lion’s den.

Stop the River Jordan, the River Jordan’s flow, made Joshua win the battle, the battle of Jerico. Ain’t But The One, Just One. Ain’t But The One, Just One. Ain’t But The One good Lord above, Ain’t But The One great God of love.

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TEXT AND TRANSLATIONS WILL YOU BE THERE? Will you be there? Will your name be called?

Will you be there? Will your name be called?

Will you be there? Will your name be called?

Could you live one hundred per cent what the ten commandments meant?

Will you be there? Will your name be called?

Make one hundred per cent your goal and make it to save your soul.

Will you be there? Will your name be called?

PRAISE GOD (INSTRUMENTAL) HEAVEN Heaven, my dream, Heaven, devine. Heaven supreme, Heaven combines ev’ry sweet and pretty thing life would love to bring: Heavenly heaven to be is just the ultimate degree to be.

Heaven, my dream, Heaven, devine.

SOMETHING ABOUT BELIEVING Somethin’ ‘bout believen’ that keeps unfolding.

Somethin’ ‘bout believen’ that makes my soul sing.

Somethin’ ‘bout believen’ that keeps me holding on to God Almighty.

Somethin’ ‘bout believen’ that helps my mending.

Somethin’ ‘bout believen’ that there is no ending.

Believen’ all the way because I’m depending on the God Almighty.

I don’t light a lamp to see the sun. Don’t need proof of God because I know that there ain’t a-gonna be but one.

Somethin’ ‘bout believen’ in the creation.

Somethin’ ‘bout believen’ the information, Somethin’ ‘bout believen’ there’s just one nation under God Almight.

I wanna be hip, I wanna be cool. I gotta be with it all the way ‘cause I ain’t about to be no fool.

Somethin’ ‘bout believen’ that’s greater than pleasure.

Somethin’ ‘bout believen’ that’s more than treasure.

Somethin’ ‘bout believen’ that’s beyond measure just one God Almighty.

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TEXT AND TRANSLATIONS Somethin’ ‘bout believen’ that keeps me going.

Somethin’ ‘bout believen’ my faith is growing.

Somethin’ ‘bout believen’ that keeps me knowing. I’ll see God Almighty.

Somethin’ ‘bout believen’ that’s greater than pleasure.

Somethin’ ‘bout believen’ that’s more than treasure.

Somethin’ ‘bout believen’ that’s beyond measure. onto God Almighty.

Somethin’ ‘bout believen’ that helps my mending.

Somethin’ ‘bout believen’ that there is no ending.

Believen’ all the way because I’m depending on the God Almighty.

I wanna be hip, I wanna be cool.

DAVID DANCED David up and danced, David danced before the Lord.

He danced before the Lord with all his might.

Psaltries timbrels harps and cymbals rang out loud and clear.

Shouting singing trumpets bringing love to ev’ry ear.

David up and danced, David danced before the Lord.

He danced before the Lord with all his might.

COME SUNDAY Oh dear Lord above; God Almighty, God of love; Please look down and see my people through.

I believe that God put sun and moon up in the sky.

I don’t mind the gray skie ‘cause they’re just clouds passing by.

He’ll give peace and comfort to ev’ry troubled mind come Sunday, oh come Sunday, that’s the day.

Often we feel weary but He knows our ev’ry care.

Go to Him in secret, He will hear your ev’ry prayer.

Up from dawn till sunset man works hard all day; come Sunday, oh come Sunday, that’s the day.

INTERMISSION

THE SHEPHERD (INSTRUMENTAL) BachFestivalFlorida.org

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TEXT AND TRANSLATIONS IT’S FREEDOM Freedom Freedom Freedom Freedom To be contented pris’ners of love, or to reach beyond our reach to reach for a star, or go about the bus’ness of becoming what we already are.

Freedom, freedom, freedom’s what you thought you heard.

Freedom, freedom, freedom’s not just one big word.

Freedom, freedom, a perfect healing salve.

Freedom, freedom, it’s what you’ve got to have.

Freedom, freedom, freedom’s good both night and day.

Upwards, downwards all around and all the way, give me Freedom, freedom, freedom must be won, ‘cause freedom’s even good fun.

Freedom, freedom, freedom’s what you thought you heard.

Freedom, freedom, freedom’s not just one big word.

Freedom, freedom, a perfect healing salve.

Freedom, freedom, it’s what you’ve got to have.

Freedom, freedom, it’s what you’ve got to have.

Freedom, freedom, freedom’s good both night and day.

Upwards, downwards all around and all the way, give me Freedom, freedom, freedom must be won, ‘cause freedom’s TRULY good fun, TRULY good fun.

Freedom is sweet on the beat, freedom is sweet to the reet complete, it’s got zestness and bestness sugar and cream on the blessedness, and more pains, no more chainsto keep free from being free.

Freedom is sweet, fat, and that’s for me.

REFLECTIONS IN D (PIANO SOLO) FATHER FORGIVE Father forgive, Father forgive, Father forgive.

PRAISE GOD AND DANCE Praise God with the sound of the trumpet.

Praise God with the psaltry and harp.

Praise God with the sound of the timbrel and dance.

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TEXT AND TRANSLATIONS Praise God with the sound of the stringed instruments, the organ, the cymbals, the loud high soundingcymbals let ev’rything that has breath praise God, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, praise God and dance.

Praise God with the sound of the trumpet.

Praise God with the psaltry and harp.

Praise God with the sound of the timbrel and dance, dance, dance, dance.

Praise God with the sound of string instruments, the organ, the cymbal, the loud high sounding cymbals. Let ev’rything that has breath, praise God, praise the Lord, praise ye the Lord.

Praise God and dance. Dance! Dance! Dance!

Praise God and dance. Dance! Dance! Dance!

PRAISE GOD AND DANCE – Dance Finale Praise him with cymbals, the loud high sounding cymbals.

Let ev’ry thing that has breath praise God, praise the Lord, Praise ye the Lord, praise God and dance! Dance! Dance! Dance!

Dance!

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OUR 2025-2026 SEASON DONORS The Bach Festival Society of Winter Park would like to thank the individuals and community partners below who have generously made a pledge or contribution in support of the dynamic artistic and educational programming and community engagement for the 91st Season.

BACH FESTIVAL SOCIETY VISIONARIES $100,000 AND ABOVE Bach Festival Choir Elizabeth Morse Genius Foundation Orange County Government through the Arts and Cultural Affairs Program State of Florida, Department of State Division of Arts and Culture Rollins College United Arts of Central Florida J. S. BACH LEADERSHIP COUNCIL $50,000 - $99,999 Anonymous Elinor & T.W. Miller Foundation Beth and Jack Nagle Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation Pabst-Steinmetz Foundation CONDUCTOR'S CIRCLE $25,000 - $49,999 AdventHealth The Joe and Sarah Galloway Foundation Mr. Alex and The Hon. Cynthia Mackinnon Sally and Jack Schott The Tiedtke Family Winifred Johnson Clive Foundation COMPOSERS CIRCLE $10,000 - $24,999 Theodore and Barbara Alfond, In honor of John Sinclair Richard O. Baldwin, Jr. Kate and Robert Byrne Dr. Phillips Charities Ginsburg Family Foundation Kathryn Grammer

Anonymous Chelsey G. Magruder Foundation Mrs. Sarah Ravndal, in loving memory of my Husband, The Reverend Eric Ravndall III Wayne and Robin Roberts Bosco R. and Beverly J. Slaughter Leila Edgerton Trismen CHORAL CIRCLE $5,000 - $9,999 The Charles Hosmer Morse Foundation The Thomas P. and Patricia A. O'Donnell Foundation Kathy Johnson Berlinsky Jeff and June Flowers Anonymous (5) Ms. Teresa Doggett Michael and Aimee Rusinko Kakos Bonnie B. And Robert M. Larsen The Norris Family Foundation Dr. MK Reischmann Dr. Joe and Sue Warren ARTISTIC CIRCLE $2,500 - $4,999 Dana and Diana Eagles Barbara and Richard Fulton Dr. Grant Hayes The Lee Foundation David Reynolds Mattson Borron and Beppy Owen Ann Morgan Saurman Tamara L. Trimble Hardy Vaughn and Betty Brady Dr. Tracy Truchelut and Mr. Robert A. White

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SEASON DONORS BENEFACTORS $1,000 - $2,499 Keith and Eleanor Ackermann David and Judy Albertson The late John W. and Linda Cone Allen Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Ames In Memory of John M. Tiedtke Ellen Arnold Mrs. Carol Beyer Donna Borko James Burrell Michael and Mable Burridge Tom and Kathy Cardwell Anonymous (4) Tim and Vivian Cook Alan and Susan Davis Geoffrey Del Bene Deprez Fund Lee Eubank Brad and Christina Gant G. Randall and Nancy Gibbs James and Freddi Goodrich Gregg Gronlund Family Mrs. Janice Granier Gruber Wallace H. Hall Paul M. Harmon Adam Hetnarski Allison and Peter Hosbein Dr. Mimi Hull Allen T. Irwin Beth and Jack Isler Bradford M. Johnson Heather Kanny Kobrin Family Foundation

Dr. Susan Cohn Lackman and Dr. Richard David Knapp Anonymous in memory of Clifford and Marilyn Lee Leyse Lowry Jody and Craig Maughan Elizabeth Maupin and Jay Yellen Dr. Margaret McMillen Jeff and Mindy Moore D’Arcy Murphy John Niss and Lisa Mouton Bj Price Dr. F. Robert and Norene Rolle Joan Ruffier Paul Schmalzer Sara and Bill Segal Karyll Shaw Paula Shives Frederick Szudlik Jodi Tassos George R. and Eleanor C. Taylor, In memory of The Rev. Eric Ravndal, III Donna and Keith Van Allen Harold Ward Katy Moss Warner Mrs. Gwendolyn B. and Mr. Wilford J. Williams Betty Jane and Cecil B. Wilson, MD We are so grateful for all of these generous donors as well as an additional 204 donors who gave up to $999, whose support makes everything we do possible. Each gift, no matter the size, strengthens our mission and allows us to inspire the human spirit through great music. Thank you!

WE EXTEND OUR DEEPEST GRATITUDE TO THE DONORS OF THE UNITED ARTS CAMPAIGN. Your continued support uplifts not only Bach but also the entire Central Florida arts community. Together, you help ensure that the arts remain a vibrant, inspiring, and essential part of our shared cultural life.

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CONTINUO SOCIETY The Continuo Society honors patrons who include the Bach Festival Society in their estate plans. These legacy gifts ensure our mission thrives for generations to come. To learn more about major and planned giving, please contact Executive Director Kathy Berlinsky at 407.691.1056 or kberlinsky@bachfestivalflorida.org.

CONTINUO SOCIETY MEMBERS Anonymous (2) John W* and Linda Cane Allen P. Andrew and Autumn Ames in honor of John M. Tiedtke M. Elizabeth Brothers* Dana and Diana Eagles Paul M. Harmon

Karen and Mickey Lane in memory of Bernice and Stan Levy Rob and Wendy Landry Bonnie B. and Robert M. Larsen Leyse Lowery in honor of John V. Sinclair Pat McKechnie Dr. Blair and Diane Murphy

Kenneth* and Ann Hicks Murrah James F. Niss and Judith H. Niss The Rev.* and Mrs. Eric Ravndall, III Drs. John and Gail Sinclair Bosco R. and Beverly J. Slaughter Dr. William Stamm* Heather and Davie Torre

IN HONOR OF JOHN V. SINCLAIR ON HIS 25TH ANNIVERSARY Anonymous (5)

Athalia* and Robert Cope

Tim Delcavo

Susan D. Tucker

THE JOHN V. SINCLAIR ENDOWED CHAIR FOR ARTISTIC DIRECTION Created in honor of Dr. John V. Sinclair’s 30th anniversary as Artistic Director, this fund supports future Artistic Directors in sustaining the highest artistic standards. For more information, contact Executive Director Kathy Berlinsky at 407.691.1056 or kberlinsky@bachfestivalflorida.org.

GIFTS AND PLEDGES OF $20,000 AND ABOVE Cynthia and Alex Mackinnon The Rev.* and Mrs. Eric Ravndall, III Sally and Jack Schott The Tiedtke Family GIFTS AND PLEDGES OF $10,000 - $19,999 Kathryn Grammer S. Blair and Diane Murphy Bill and Sheila Oelfke Leila Edgerton Trisman

GIFTS AND PLEDGES OF $5,000 - $9,999 Kathy Johnson Berlinsky Brock and Sarah McClane Bosco R. and Beverly J. Slaughter GIFTS AND PLEDGES OF $1,000 - $4,999 Anonymous (2) Brian Ainsley and Candice Crawford P. Andy and Autumn Ames Stewart Anderson Michael and Mable Burridge Susan and Robert Christian Dana and Diana Eagles

Alvaro and Routa Gomez Leyse Lowry Katie Mess Janie and George Meyer Gerard and Nichola Mitchell Beth and Jack Nagle Donald A. Nash Liana and Fred Pacilli Dan and Barbara Preslar BJ Price Ann Morgan Saurman Vivian Southwell Edward and Virginia Ubels BettyJane and Cecil Wilson, M.D.

Scan to see those who made Gifts and Pledges Under $1000

*deceased

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GIVE BACH The Bach Festival Society of Winter Park is an independent nonprofit organization that brings classical music experiences to delight, inform, and inspire audiences of all ages. Your investment in the power of music will support the Society’s ongoing efforts on stage, in classrooms, and across Central Florida.

As we proudly present our historic 91st Annual Bach Festival, we give thanks for the robust financial support that has sustained our long tradition of providing world-class music to Central Floria. Bach’s primary source of donations from patrons takes place through the United Arts Collaborative Campaign, which is currently underway and accounts for nearly 20% of our annual budget.

Help us raise $300,000 through this year’s Campaign so we can offset rising costs and keep ticket prices as reasonable as possible.

WILL YOU SUPPORT US AND HELP CONTINUE THE MUSIC? Every gift made through the United Arts Collaborative Campaign between now and April 30th, 2026 that is designated for the Bach Festival Society will go directly to our organization and enhance our share of the $1.25 million matching gift pool.

QUESTIONS? Please contact us at 407-646-2182 or info@bachfestivalflorida.org We deeply appreciate your patronage and your gifts.

DONATE NOW

Thank you!

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HEALING POWER of the

The

ARTS

The performing arts inspire us, connecting hearts, lifting spirits and opening doors to wholeness. Melody, drama and movement have the remarkable ability to energize, ease pain and loneliness, and help audiences and artists feel truly seen and understood — just as music therapy at the bedside can bring healing in body, mind and spirit.

That’s why AdventHealth celebrates and invests in the arts as a vital part of living a whole life.

25-CFD-1756841738

Visit WellnessAndArts.com to learn more.

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BachFestivalFlorida.org

91 SE ASON ST

Rema i ni ng Per f or ma n c es fo r t he 91s t S ea s o n Lysander Piano Trio Passion Music for Early America with Bach Vocal Artists Duke Ellington: Sacred Service Silver Screen Classics

PURCHASE TICKETS

March 15, 2026 • 3:00 PM March 26, 2026 • 7:30 PM April 10, 2026 • 7:30 PM April 25, 2026 • 7:30 PM April 26, 2026 • 3:00 PM

BY PHONE at 407.646.2182

BUILD A BACH SEASON PERFECT FOR YOU

VISIT THE BOX OFFICE at 203 East Lyman Avenue, 2nd Floor, Winter Park, FL 32789 Monday-Friday, 10:00am - 4:00pm

Your season, your terms.

Choose three (3) or more programs with our “Design Your Own Experience” discount code and save up to 15%.

ONLINE at BachFestivalFlorida.org/tickets

Use “DYE15” at checkout. bachfestivalflorida.org/event.