UMass Amherst Bach Festival and Symposium

04/30/2026

Power Hour starts now! If Bach Festival & Symposium receives the greatest number of gifts during the hour, we will win an additional $2,000, or $500 for second place. Your gift of $5 or more made between 2 pm and 3 pm TODAY can help us win! 🎶

https://umass.scalefunder.com/gday/giving-day/111216/department/119271

04/30/2026

UMass Bach Festival & Symposium is trying to win the “Power Hour” from 2 to 3 pm TODAY (4/30) during ! If we receive the greatest number of gifts during that hour, we will win an additional $2,000, or $500 for second place.

Your gift of $5 or more made between 2 pm and 3 pm today can help us win!

https://umass.scalefunder.com/gday/giving-day/111216/department/119271

04/29/2026

Set a reminder! Tomorrow during , Bach Festival & Symposium will compete during the 2-3 PM Power Hour. If we receive the greatest number of gifts during that hour, we will win an additional $2,000, or $500 for second place. Your gift of $5 or more made between 2 pm and 3 pm tomorrow can help us win!

https://umass.scalefunder.com/gday/giving-day/111216/department/119271

04/29/2026

It's official! The 2027 UMass Amherst Bach Festival & Symposium is coming next April, featuring J.S. Bach's St. Matthew Passion conducted by Ryan Turner with Evangelist Morgan Mastrangelo and Dana Whiteside singing the role of Jesus. The Symposium will feature Keynote Speaker Bettina Varwig from the University of Cambridge.

Today and tomorrow, you can help make it happen. Support the Department of Music & Dance during UMass Gives!

https://umass.scalefunder.com/gday/giving-day/111216/department/119271

04/22/2025

It’s Bach Week in Amherst! Rehearsals for festival performances begin tonight! meet guest conductor Richard Sparks in Bezanson and Brandenburg 5 has its first rehearsal at Grace Church.

We can’t wait to welcome you at one of our upcoming concerts and events! 🎶

04/17/2025

The UMass Bach Symposium welcomes Daniel R. Melamed in 2025 as keynote speaker! Mr. Melamed will give the keynote address on Saturday, April 26 at 1:15 PM in Bezanson Recital Hall, discussing Historical Bach Performance in the 21st Century.

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Daniel R. Melamed is professor emeritus of music in musicology at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

His research interests focus on J. S. Bach, Mozart-era opera, and music of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. He is has been president of the American Bach Society and is currently director of the Bloomington Bach Cantata Project.

Melamed has authored Listening to Bach: The Mass in B Minor and the Christmas Oratorio, Hearing Bach’s Passions, and J. S. Bach and the German Motet, and co-authored (with Michael Marissen) An Introduction to Bach Studies. He is editor of Bach Studies 2 and Bach Perspectives 8: J. S. Bach and the Oratorio.

Melamed’s articles and reviews may be found in Journal of the American Musicological Society, Bach-Jahrbuch, Journal of Musicology, Music & Letters, Early Music, Bach, 18th-Century Music, 19th-Century Music, Cambridge Opera Journal, and Mozart-Jahrbuch. Musical editions are published by Hänssler-Verlag, Carus-Verlag, Harvard University, and A-R Editions.

04/16/2025

The UMass Bach Festival welcomes guest conductor Richard Sparks to lead our musicians in Bach's Christmas Oratorio Parts 1-3 on April 26 at 7:30 PM and April 27 at 3:00 PM at Grace Episcopal Church in Amherst!

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Mr. Sparks founded Seattle Pro Musica in 1973 and in seven seasons conducted over 70 different programs with three ensembles. From 1978 to 1985 he was Principal Conductor of the Pacific Northwest Bach Festival in Spokane, Washington. His academic career began at Mount Holyoke College from 1980-83, and then became Director of Choral Activities at Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) and led the Choir of the West from 1983-2001.

He also conducted the Seattle Symphony Chorale for four years, preparing them for nine recordings on the Delos label including a Grammy-nominated recording of Hanson's Lament of Beowulf. He founded Choral Arts Northwest and was artistic director for 11 years, making three CDs on the Loft/Gothic label. Sparks was also Artistic Director of Pro Coro Canada, a professional chamber choir in Edmonton, Alberta, from 1999-2011.

Sparks was Professor of Music and Chair of the Division of Conducting & Ensembles at the University of North Texas for 10 years. Many of his performances can be found on YouTube, including a Vivaldi Gloria with over two million views, Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers, and the 1725 version of the St. John Passion. Sparks led the Collegium Singers in four performances at the Boston Early Music Festival, one performance at the Berkely Early Music Festival and the 2016 NCCO Conference.

04/11/2025

Our Bach before Bach prelude series continues today at 5:00 PM in Bezanson Recital Hall and this Sunday at Grace Church in Amherst.

04/08/2025

We’re excited to continue collaborating with for this evening’s Bach before Bach prelude concert. Tickets will be available at the door!

04/07/2025

The Bach before Bach series continues tomorrow at TheDrake at 7:30 PM. Hear the Trio Sonata from "Musical Offering" and a semi-staged version of the Peasant Cantata (in English!).

Bach at the Drake - Regal to Rustic