Bach Festivals & Cantata Series
Bach in the Subways Day

Name:

Bach in the Subways Day (BitS)

Location:

Various Cities around the World
2010: USA: New York City, New York
2011: USA: New York City, New York
2012: USA: New York City, New York
2013:
USA: New York City, New York; Boston, Massachusetts; Cincinnati, Ohio; Miami, Florida;
Canada: Edmonton, Ontario
2014:
USA: New York City, New York; Los Angeles, California; Boston, Massachusetts; Cincinnati, Ohio; Iowa City, Iowa; Miami, Florida; Penn State, Pennsylvania; San Francisco, California
Canada: Edmonton, Ontario
Germany: Berlin; Walldorf
Taiwan: Taipei
2015:
Amherst, MA; Ashland, OR; Boston Budapest Buenos Aires (Argentina) Chihuahua (Mexico) Dunedin (New Zealand) Greenville, SC Hannover (Germany) Indianapolis Japan (West) Kristiansand (Norway) Llandudno (Wales) Leipzig Ljubljana (Slovenia) Los Angeles Lviv (Ukraine) Manila Minneapolis Minsk (Belarus) New York Portland, OR San Francisco Seattle Seoul Singapore Székesfehérvár (Hungary) Tokyo Toronto Tulsa, OK Venice (Italy) Wellington (New Zealand)

Venues:

Subway Stations and Other Public Places

Years:

Since 2010 (Annual Event)

Months:

March 21 (Bach Birthday)

Artistic Director:

Ensembles:

V/A

Website:

Bach in the Subways (Official Website)
Bach in the Subways on Facebook
He's playing to save the music by Tawanda Scott (CNN) [Oct 21, 2010]
For Bach’s Birthday, Sound Underground by Jon Protas (The Wall Street Journal) [Mar 23, 2012]
Bach in the Sybways Day Returns for Third Year (WQXR) [Mar 20, 2013]

Mission:

Bach in the Subways is an international movement started by cellist Dale Henderson which sows the seeds for future generations of classical music lovers by generating public awareness of and enthusiasm for the art form.
Every year on March 21, J.S. Bach’s birthday, musicians celebrate Bach in the Subways Day by offering free performances in subways and public spaces around the world.

History

In 2010 cellist Dale Henderson began performing the Bach Solo Cello Suites in the subways of New York City. He was convinced the struggling classical music scene in the USA was largely due to lack of exposure - the average American rarely if ever got the chance to hear live classical music. Henderson also believed the Bach Solo Cello Suites, whose power & beauty unfailingly inspire deep appreciation and emotion, were perfect ambassadors for his art form. Feeling that the experience was infinitely more powerful with money removed from the equation, Henderson refused donations and instead passed out free cards explaining his intentions. With coverage from CNN and other major news sources, the response was overwhelming.
On March 21, 2011 - J.S. Bach’s 326th birthday - cellists Eric Edberg, Michael Lunapiena, and Dale Henderson performed Bach in the Subways at various stations in New York City. Bach in the Subways Day was born. In 2012, with the enthusiasm & dedication of musicians like oboist Kristin Olson, the number grew to 13 and caught the attention of the Wall Street Journal. Last year 45 musicians in five USA cities donated performances to the cause, covered locally by WQXR, New York City classical FM, with a google map of all 2013 Bach in the Subways Day players.
With 77 musicians in 8 USA cities as well as cities in Canada, Germany, and Taiwan, 2014 was the first global, and the biggest and most far-reaching Bach in the Subways Day yet!
On Saturday, March 21, 2015 – J.S. Bach’s 330th Birthday – thousands of musicians in 129 cities in 39 countries filled the world with his music.

Recent Festivals:

1st Event: Mar 21, 2010
2nd Event: Mar 21, 2011
3rd Event: Mar 21, 2012
4th Event: Mar 21, 2013
5th Event: Mar 21, 2014
6th Event: Mar 21, 2015
7^th Event: Mar 19-21, 2016
8^th Event: Mar 18-21, 2017
9^th Event: Mar 21-25, 2018 (Bach@333)
10^th Event: Mar 21-24, 2019

11^th Event: Mar 19-25, 2020

Logo: