Contact: Michele Abba

805-756-2406; mabba@calpoly.edu

SAN LUIS OBISPO — The Cal Poly Music Department will present its annual Bach Week from Tuesday through Saturday, Jan. 17-21, with presentations and performances on campus and at the First Presbyterian Church in San Luis Obispo.

The week, which focuses on Johann Sebastian Bach, will include a lecture-recital, a chamber concert featuring vocalists and instrumentalists on period instruments, two master classes and two finale concert performances of vocal and instrumental works.

The first three events will take place on campus:

- At 7:30 p.m. Jan. 17 in the Pavilion of the Performing Arts Center (No. 6), there will be a free lecture-recital. Composer Meredith Brammeier, Bach Week Co-Director David Arrivée, University Organist Paul Woodring and special guests will present an exploration of the fugue with an interactive dive into the inner workings of this complex compositional technique. Selections from Bach’s “The Art of Fugue” will be performed by Woodring on harpsichord and a string quartet led by Cal Poly violin instructor Emily Lanzone. This work, left incomplete at the time of Bach’s death, is the culmination of the composer’s lifelong pursuit and a compendium of counterpoint.

- At 11:10 a.m. Jan. 19, in Room 218 of the Davidson Music Center (No. 45), guest artists Leif Woodward, cello, and Ian Pritchard, harpsichord, will coach Cal Poly students in instrumental repertoire from the Baroque era and provide insight into the style and nuance of giving a historically informed performance. At 12:10 p.m., Woodward will coach students in performance of the continuo line, the bass foundation of all Baroque music.

- At 3:10 p.m. Jan. 19, in Room 218 of the Davidson Music Center (No. 45), guest artist Mindy Ella Chu will coach several Cal Poly voice students in repertoire from the Baroque era.

The final events will be held at the First Presbyterian Church of San Luis Obispo:

- At 7:30 p.m. Jan. 20, a concert titled “Bach Reconstructed/Deconstructed” will be presented by the world-class, period instrument ensemble Tesserae Baroque, and renowned guest vocalists Rebecca Myers, soprano, and Michael Jones, tenor. Works by Bach will be performed that have only survived in “secondary” versions, since the originals have been lost. These include a trio sonata for recorder and violin, based on Bach’s A-Major Flute Sonata; Organ Sonata No 5, performed as instrumental trio; and extracts from reconstructed cantatas.

- On Jan. 21, two Bach Week finale concerts titled “Bach and the German Chorale” will be performed: at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Members of Cal Poly’s Chamber Choir, Symphony and faculty will join with guest artists to perform a variety of works based on German chorale tunes and texts. The first half will include a series of motets. The Chamber Choir will begin with a short chorale motet by Heinrich Schütz, who influenced Bach. The vocalists then will join the choir to perform Bach’s celebrated motet “Komm, Jesu Komm,” followed by two motets by Johannes Brahms, created in the style of Bach. The orchestra will perform Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B Minor under the leadership of Tesserae Baroque. The second half will feature one of Bach’s greatest chorale cantatas: “Jesu, der du meine Seele,” BWV 78. Bach Week Co-Director Scott Glysson will give a pre-concert lecture at 6 p.m. prior to the 7:30 p.m. performance.

Admission is free for the Jan. 17 lecture-recital and Jan. 19 master classes, though parking fees will be enforced. Visit Cal Poly’s Transportation and Parking Services website for parking information.

Jan. 20 concert tickets and Jan. 21 concert tickets are $20 for the public and $10 for students. There is discounted pricing if tickets are purchased to both concerts: $30 public, $15 students. Tickets are available at the Cal Poly Ticket Office between noon and 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. To order by phone, call 805-SLO-4TIX (805-756-4849).

The events are sponsored by Cal Poly’s College of Liberal Arts, Music Department, and Instructionally Related Activities program. Additional support is provided by the Handler and Steiner Family Fund. For more information, visit the Bach Week website, email bachweek@calpoly.edu, or call the Music Department at 805-756-2406.

Links

- Performing Arts Center Pavilion (No. 6)

- Davidson Music Center (No. 45)

- First Presbyterian Church of San Luis Obispo

- Jan. 20 concert tickets

- Jan. 21 concert tickets

- Cal Poly’s Transportation and Parking Services website

- Bach Week website

From left to right, starting at top left, are David Arrivée (Bach Week co-director); Scott Glysson (Bach Week co-director); Meredith Brammeier; Heesun Choi, violin; Mindy Ella Chu, mezzo-soprano; Vijay Gupta, violin; Michael Jones, tenor; Ben Kazez, baritone; Christopher Matthews, flute; Rebecca Myers, soprano; Alexandra Opsahl, recorder; Ian Pritchard, harpsichord; Paul Sherman, oboe; Paul Woodring, harpsichord and organ; and Leif Woodward, cello.