Prelude Events

Evan MacCarthy
Evan MacCarthy

Department of Music & Dance

Bach Festival Prelude Concert: Exploring Bach’s Voices

There is a Bach Festival prelude concert at the Drake in Amherst on Wednesday, April 5, 2023 at 7:30pm. Hosted by UMass music history professor Evan MacCarthy, it features selections from Bach’s vast output, including music from the Mass in B Minor, the highlight of the 2023 Festival. Tickets are $20 general admission; students/children free.

Bach in the Subways performances
March 31 – April 2, 2023

Bach in the Subways image
Bach’s birthday was March 31, 1685

Since 2015, local western Massachusetts musicians, professionals and students alike, have participated in the international Bach in the Subways (BitS) movement, which celebrates Bach’s birthday, as a prelude to the UMass Amherst Bach Festival. In 2023, free “BitS” performances in downtown Amherst include (times subject to change):

Friday, 3/31: Collective Copies @ 12:30pm; Unnameable Books @ 1:30pm; Amherst Books @ 3pm
Saturday, 4/1: Amherst Books @ 11:15am; Stamell Strings @ 1pm; Unnameable Books @ 2:15pm
Sunday, 4/2: The Drake @ 4pm featuring musicians from the area and a performance of Bach’s Concerto in C Minor for Violin and Oboe and Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major

Additional Prelude Concerts:

Bach in Bezanson – Violin Studio
Elizabeth Chang, faculty coordinator
Sunday, March 26 @ 7:30pm in Bezanson Hall, Free

Bach in Bezanson – Cello Studio
Edward Arron, faculty coordinator
Sunday, April 9 @ 9pm in Bezanson Hall, Free

Five College Early Music Collegium
Michael Barrett, director
Thursday, April 20 @ 5:30pm in Bezanson Hall, Free
Altbach: J.S. Bach’s 17th-century predecessors and influences

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