The Bach Music Festival of Canada or Festival Bach is an international

music festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or h ...

in honor of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

that takes place in the heart of

Southern Ontario Southern Ontario is a primary region of the province of Ontario, Canada, the other primary region being Northern Ontario. It is the most densely populated and southernmost region in Canada. The exact northern boundary of Southern Ontario is disp ...

and is held on a biennial basis. The festival features regional, national and international musicians interpreting the works of Bach.

History

The inaugural event took place in 2011. The festival was initially referred to as the Bach Festival of

South Huron South Huron is a municipality in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in the southern part of Huron County. It was formed by amalgamation of the townships of Stephen and Usborne with the Town of Exeter in 2001, in an Ontario-wide municipal ...

but was changed in 2013. Choral conductor

Gerald Fagan Gerald Richard Fagan (born 1939) is considered one of Canada's premier choral conductors. He is the former Conductor and Artistic Director of Fanshawe Chorus London, The Gerald Fagan Singers, and the Concert Players Orchestra. He has been marrie ...

has been the artistic director of the festival from its inception. Canadian producer

Louise Fagan Patricia Louise Fagan is a producer and director specializing in creative development of artists, productions and arts organizations. She is the founder of Louise Fagan Productions, located in Canada and the United States. Personal life Born in ...

served as the festival's executive director through 2015. The festival changed its name to Huron Waves Music Festival in 2020.

Content

The festival includes a diverse slate of concerts and guest artists. While the music of Bach is the main focus, the festival also includes artist covering different genres of music as well. A

master class A master class is a Class (education), class given to students of a particular Academic discipline, discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also science, painting, drama, games, or on any other occasion where skills are b ...

for local musicians is also included as part of the week long celebration. The Brown Bag Lunch Concert Series are daily concerts offered free of charge, with audience members encouraged to bring their lunches to the venues and enjoy an entertaining hour of music from a variety of artists. The festival has included by performances by a wide variety of musicians from solo violinist

Lara St. John Lara St. John (born April 15, 1971) is a Canadian violinist. Early life Lara St. John was born in London, Ontario, and spent her early childhood there.John Terauds, "Violinist Lara St. John Keeps Herself Guessing," ''Toronto Star'', October 22, ...

, to the Harvestehuder Kammerchor (chamber choir) from Hamburg, Germany, to the Angel Voice Choir from

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, to the

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

-nominated Jazz singer Fern Lindzon. The final concert of the festival is traditionally a performance of one of Bach's large choral-orchestral works conducted by festival artistic director Gerald Fagan.

Locations

The festival takes place in various locations throughout South Huron. Past venues included: * Trivitt Memorial Anglican Church,

Exeter, Ontario Exeter is a community in the municipality of South Huron, in the southern portion of Huron County, Ontario, Canada, located approximately 40 kilometres north of London. The community proclaims itself the "Home of the White Squirrel", owing to ...

* St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church,

Zurich, Ontario Zurich is a community in southwestern Ontario, Canada, in the Municipality of Bluewater in Huron County, about six kilometres inland from Lake Huron, on Ontario's west coast. Zurich was founded in 1856 and is known for its Swiss heritage, as ...

* South Huron Recreation Centre, Exeter, Ontario * The Huron Tractor Show Room, Exeter, Ontario * St James Westminster Anglican Church,

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Classical music Classical music festivals in Canada Music festivals in Ontario 2011 establishments in Ontario Bach festivals Music festivals established in 2011