Program areas at Bach Choir of Bethlehem
Concert season - ticketed concerts: founded in 1898 and under the direction of christopher jackson 2022-2023, the Bach Choir, Bach festival orchestra and distinguished soloists, present a concert season of 24 ticketed concerts for more than 7,000 people across the united states. Concerts include the Bethlehem Bach festival over two weekends in may as well as christmas, family, spring, bel canto youth chorus, and gala concerts. The 2022-2023 concert season included in person concerts and livestreaming performances. The season also includes touring performances including the bel canto youth chorus tour to portland, Oregon (2023) and a Bach Choir tour to europe planned for 2024 including a featured performance at the leipzig bachfest.
Recordings, research, and preservation: to enhance achievement of its mission, the Bach Choir is heard in recordings and broadcasts around the world, most recently in a dvd co-produced with classical kids - "mr Bach comes to call" (2007) and five new recordings on the analekta label " magnificat and gloria" (2009), "songs of hope" (2011), "saint john passion"(2012), " a child's christmas in Bethlehem" (2013) and "Bach and handel" (2018). The work of the Bach Choir is also enhanced by research, scholarship, and archival preservation. A new recording will be recorded in 2023 and released on the analekta label in 2024.
Education & community engagement: the Bach Choir presents 18 free educational concerts with informal talks about the music by conductor christopher jackson. Eight of these concerts entitled "Bach to school" are presented for more than 5,000 students (grades 3-12) each year in diverse school districts throughout the lehigh valley region along with activity books and additonal online content. We presented our ten Bach at noon concerts to a live audience at central moravian church in historic downtown Bethlehem and at st. john's lutheran church in allentown. More than 6,000 audience members attended these concerts. In 2022-2023, the Bach Choir established "a musical heart" music in hospice program in collaboration with 2 hospital hospice centers.