Since 1970, Oregon Bach Festival has remained committed to being a place for professional education at the highest level. When OBF established the Organ Institute (OI) a decade ago, the festival further solidified its reputation as an unrivaled music education mecca.
Directed by GRAMMY Award-winning organist Paul Jacobs, OI offers musicians the opportunity to immerse themselves in the music of Bach and explore technique and interpretation through specialized seminars, master classes, and performance.
“The organ played a central role in Bach’s life and creative output, and therefore it seemed fitting for Oregon Bach Festival to enrich its educational and musical offerings with the Organ Institute,” Jacobs noted about the origins of OI.
The Institute continues to draw participants and auditors from around the world each summer to celebrate the genius of Bach (and many other composers) and share the art of organ playing with countless music lovers.
“A program like the Oregon Institute is exceedingly rare, and we’re very fortunate to be one of the only programs like this in the country,” OBF Director of Programming and Administration James Boyd said.
Boyd credits Jacobs’ leadership for the OI becoming an integral part of OBF. “I can’t imagine Oregon Bach Festival without the Organ Institute!” Boyd said.
To celebrate a decade of awe-inspiring performances, the centerpiece of the “Organ Symphony” concert on July 11 will feature an OBF co-commission and west coast premiere of a new organ concerto by Lowell Liebermann.
The program also includes the Saint Saëns “Organ Symphony” conducted by Gemma New. Rounding out the evening is a new Bach transcription by celebrated composer Damien Geter; it is the inaugural commission of OBF’s “New Transcriptions Project” for underrepresented composers.
Purchase tickets at OregonBachFestival.org.