Providing various genres of music, from classical to blues, the 38th annual Long Beach Bach Festival kicked off on Feb. 19 with a performance by jazz vocalist Laura Harrison and her band. The Bach celebration will continue in March with three more concerts, including unique interpretations of the famous composer.
The next performance in the Bach Festival series will feature The Central4 Piano Quartet on March 3 at 7:30pm at First Congregational Church of Long Beach, 241 Cedar Ave. The Quartet will combine classical and contemporary music in a performance entitled “Brandenburg, Old and New.” Performance selections will include Bach’s Brandenburg Concert No. 5 in D Major, as well as a piece commissioned specifically for this occasion by Los Angeles Composer Jenni Brandon.
The popular “Bach a Bacchus,” featuring pianist Lindsey Hundley, will be the third presentation of the Bach Festival on March 10 at 7:30pm at The Wine Bar, 250 West Ocean Blvd.Suite B. Audience members will have the opportunity to sample wines and hors d’oeuvres while they enjoy jazz-inspired variations of some of Bach’s most famous work. In addition to her Bach tributes, Hundley will also perform a broad range of music from jazz standards to Latin jazz to original compositions.
The Long Beach Bach Festival will conclude this year on March 18 at 5:30pm with “Gloria! Beauty and the Baroque” performed by the Long Beach Camerata Singers and Orchestra. The concert, conducted by Robert Istad, will highlight the best of the Baroque Period with Vivaldi’s triumphant Gloria in D, Handel’s Laudate Pueri Dominum and Bach’s powerful and affecting Cantata BWV 4—Christ lag in Todesbanden. Laudate Pueri Dominum, a piece composed when Handel was quite young, will feature soprano Claire Fedoruk. The performance will be presented at Covenant Presbyterian Church, 607 E. Third St.
Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. Purchase advanced tickets by visiting longbeachcameratasingers.org.
