Where’s the Bach?

Where’s the Bach at the Bach Festival this year? You asked, and we’ve got an answer! OBF 2024 features 20 Bach works in 17 days! Bach: Ascension Oratorio, June 28, Beall Concert Hall Conducted by John Butt Opening Night! BACH: Cantata, BWV 21  BACH: Cantata, BWV 11, “Ascension Oratorio”  This program will also be performed at Mount …

$75,000 grant brings grandiose projects to Oregon Bach Festival

Thanks to the support of a generous $75,000 grant, Oregon Bach Festival (OBF) has enriched its 2024 season with two extraordinary concerts guaranteed to leave audiences in awe. OBF, with University of Oregon Advancement, applied for the grant funds provided by the Oregon Community Foundation Hult Endowment.  The Planets – An HD Odyssey  Courtesy of …

Oregon Bach Festival remembers Lilah Stangeland

Lilah M. Stangeland (1930-2024) Lilah M. Stangeland, namesake of OBF’s acclaimed Stangeland Family Youth Choral Academy (SFYCA), died peacefully surrounded by family at her home in San Marino, California on January 3rd, 2024. She was 93 years old.   Mrs. Stangeland led a life of service and was long active in civic and community affairs. She …

Musicking 2024 Conference Celebrates Resurgent Voices 

The Oregon Bach Festival is pleased to announce the lineup of lecture-recitals, academic panels, and presentations for the 2024 Musicking Conference, which runs April 9 through April 12.   The Conference – themed “Resurgent Voices” – is dedicated to highlighting previously lost, discarded, or suppressed “voices,” music, and performance practices.  “I guarantee that attendees will encounter …

Oregon Bach Festival Announces Its 2024 Season

The internationally renowned Oregon Bach Festival (OBF) and the University of Oregon School of Music and Dance are pleased to announce the 2024 lineup of concerts and artists. The upcoming season, which runs June 28 through July 14, continues the long-standing tradition of presenting the finest choral-orchestral works, extraordinary new music, illuminating lectures, and captivating …

Oregon Bach Festival Names Artistic Partners

Oregon Bach Festival names celebrated pair as artistic partners Craig Hella Johnson and Jos van Veldhoven will shape the festival’s vision and development Two luminaries in the world of classical music and the work of Johann Sebastian Bach have been named as the new artistic partners who will help lead the acclaimed Oregon Bach Festival …

OBF Remembers Andrew Berwick

Oregon Bach Festival and the University of Oregon are saddened to announce the passing of Andrew Berwick Jr. The Berwicks – Andy and Phyllis – are long-time advocates of OBF and passionate supporters of the arts. “Andy and Phyzz enriched the UO campus experience for countless students, our entire community, and music lovers from around …

Enjoy the Oregon Bach Festival? Meet the man behind its programming

Boyd smiles alongside Kalapuya tribal elder, Jan Michael “Looking Wolf” after indigenous land blessing, June 30 A native Oregonian and University of Oregon graduate, Dr. James Boyd, returned to the University of Oregon campus during the most difficult period the world of live performance has ever witnessed: the pandemic. His task was a monumental one; …

Message of nurturing, healing in This House of Peace as relevant as ever 

“We use music as a way of nurturing the whole person.”   This message is at the heart of This House of Peace, a work commissioned by PeaceHealth in 2008 to celebrate the opening of the new Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend and dedicated to PeaceHealth Caregivers. The text in the choral-orchestral work, which premiered …

SFYCA’s 25th anniversary features 2nd generation performer  

Those who pass by the Schroeder’s in Gresham, Oregon are likely to hear the melodious sound of choral works or Broadway showtunes echoing through their family home. Early in the morning you can hear Jeff waking his children with a rendition of “Oh, what a beautiful mornin’” from Broadway musical “Oklahoma!” or his wife, Amber, …