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The vison of establishing a monthly Bach concert series in Madison became reality with the formation of a dream team in 2018; Cheryl Bensman-Rowe &, Sarah Brailey, Marika Fischer Hoyt, and Paul Rowe joined forces that summer, and Just Bach was born.
Just Bach was founded to celebrate and to share with the Madison community at large the immense range of J.S. Bach’s vocal and instrumental repertoire, as well the music of his contemporaries. Just Bach presents performers who play and sing using historically-informed performance practice, bringing the music to life in a manner and style with which J.S. Bach was familiar. The audience is invited to sing along during the closing chorales – because group singing is therapeutic!
In the 2018-2019 season Just Bach presented 8 live concerts. In the next season, 9 concerts were planned, but the COVID pandemic caused the cancellation of the final 3 concerts. Just Bach is proud that all scheduled musicians were paid. The 3rd season, which included 8 live concerts and a concluding highlights concert, was presented entirely via video; concerts were recorded and made available on the Just Bach YouTube channel and the Luther Memorial website. The 4th season saw the resumption of live concerts; the concerts were also recorded and posted on YouTube and Luther Memorial websites.
Just Bach presents free concerts on Wednesday once a month during the school year as part of the free weekly noontime concert series, Music at Midday, presented by Luther Memorial Church in Madison. Their regular season concerts are presented in-person and recorded but not live-streamed; the recorded concert videos are posted on the Just Bach YouTube channel on Friday following the concert.
They are extremely grateful to Pastor Brad Pohlman, music director Andrew Schaeffer, and the congregation of Luther Memorial Church for hosting Music at Midday, and for including Just Bach as a regular part of the series. They invite the Madison community to spend a half-hour with the sublime music of J.S. Bach and hope that the audience will find their performances of J.S. Bach’s music to be centering and inspiring.
This project has been supported by Dane Arts, Luther Memorial Church, WORT. and by contributions from attendees and supporters. |
