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THE REVERED GERMAN MASTER WOULD HAVE LOVED WINTER PARK. BY RANDY NOLES
he Bach Festival Society of Winter Park stages the oldest continuously running Bach Festival in the nation. It began at Rollins College, on a Sunday in 1935, with a performance to commemorate the 250th birthday of the revered German master. From that auspicious beginning, the Bach Festival has grown to a three-week extravaganza of concerts, lectures and events offered annually in February and March. In addition, the society offers an eclectic, year-round schedule that includes choral and orchestral performances, several of them highlighted by world-renowned guest artists. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) never actually visited Winter Park, of course, but it’s a safe bet the German master would have found a kindred spirit in Dr. John V. Sinclair, 65, chair of the department of music at Rollins College and artistic director of the Bach Festival Society, where he has wielded the baton since 1990. The society boasts a 160-member choir and a permanent orchestra, which have made five European tours and performed in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican and in Royal Albert Hall, London, with the Bach Choir of London. The music is not limited to Bach — or even to classical music. The history of the Bach Festival Society has always been closely tied to the history of Rollins College. By the time Sinclair arrived in 1985, the society and its annual festival had for decades been the personal domain of John M. Tiedtke, a shrewd businessman who had made his fortune growing sugar, citrus and corn in South Florida. Tiedtke was a boyhood friend of Rollins President Hugh McKean, who asked him to take
Against the soaring backdrop of Knowles Memorial Chapel, John Sinclair directs performances of the Bach Festival Choir and Orchestra. The Bach Festival was first held in 1935 as a single Sunday performance commemorating the namesake composer’s 250th birthday. Now there are concerts virtually year round — many of which feature internationally renowned guest soloists — leading up to the main event in February and March.
LI VI N G IN WIN T ER PA RK
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