Bach Akademie Charlotte, Emerging Artist Program (June 2018)

In June, the week before my wedding, I travelled to Charlotte, NC to join BACh (Bach Akademie Charlotte) in their inaugural BACh! Fest, a week-long presentation of Bach's music around greater Charlotte. The ensemble is fully-professional, and I joined their ranks as an Emerging Artist, one of their initiatives to help younger singers bridge the gap between schooling and being a professional chorister and soloist. 

The festival presented a weekend concert before I arrived, and then I was asked to join a select ensemble for two Bach Discovery Concerts and for two performances of the B-minor Mass.  The discovery concerts were a chance for audience members to hear a lecture with musical examples on one of Bach's cantatas then hear a full performance of the cantata. The two cantatas presented at lunchtime on Tuesday and Thursday were BWV 75: Die Elenden sollen essen and BWV 76: Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes with a choir of about 14 with the North Caroline Baroque Orchestra. Cantata 76 sold so well that the performance venue was moved to a larger space. Due to the unfortunate illness of one of the tenors, I was thrust into singing the solo quartet part with the other tenor the day of the performance of BWV 76.

"The Masterwork," Bach's B-minor Mass was performed with as many people in the choir as members in the orchestra with period instruments. The work is as challenging as it is long with few arias interspersed between the hit parade of choruses. I was happy to make the festival a large success for the city, and the 2019 festival program has already been announced.

https://bacharlotte.com/festival