Resound, You Songs!

May 4, 2023

Annual Texas Bach Festival Returns in June

In just five years, the Texas Bach Festival has gained a devoted following, local business support, and generous grants and donations. Despite its substantive growth, Artistic Director Barry Scott Williamson recognizes the need to build on the festival’s success by continuing to bring a transformative classical music experience to Central Texas. “We are making headway, but years 6 through 10 present a unique challenge,” he says. “This is the time people say, ‘Yeah, we’ve heard of TBF, but what will you bring us next year?’ In this new phase, it’s vital we continue to exhibit exceptional musical quality. We must keep putting the community first and also give our musicians a multi-faceted array of great performance opportunities.”

Barry Williamson conducting at the Bach Festival

This year’s “Resound, You Songs!” festival, he adds, will achieve these goals via a diverse schedule — everything from music education to a free library concert to a special Father’s Day performance. Although instrumental music is prominently featured, Bach Festival attendees will also enjoy an exquisite variety of art song, operatic, and choral performances. From the lighthearted humor of Haydn’s melodies to the passionate virtuosity of Verdi and Puccini to the grandeur and intensity of Bach’s sacred cantatas, the festival promises to be a truly immersive and captivating musical experience.

  • May 21, 2pm: TBF’s sixth year will kick off with a free concert at the Georgetown Public Library as part of the library’s live music series. Gil Zilka, bass-baritone, and Rick Rowley, piano, will perform Schubert’s Winterreise, D911.
  • June 18, 4pm: The Artisan Quartet will perform a “Toast to Dads of All Ages” matinee concert at HighPointe Estate in Liberty Hill with music of Mozart, Wolf, and Haydn. Guests can enjoy a complimentary wine and cheese hour at 3pm with high-end Italian and Spanish wines courtesy of Beviamo International. Barry urges visitors to “take Dad out for Father’s Day brunch and then come to this superb concert by the Artisan Quartet with wine and cheese beforehand and door prize drawings for several lucky dads for $100 gift certificates contributed by City Post Chophouse, The Golden Rule, Ken’z Guitars, and others.”
  • June 19, 8pm: “Freedom vs Rules: Prelude and Fugue” will feature organist David Polley performing compositions by Bach, Bruhns, Mendelssohn, and Reubke at Grace Episcopal Church in Georgetown.
  • June 22, 8pm: “Resound, You Songs!” (Erschallet, ihr Lieder!) will feature the TBF Choir and Camerata Orchestra performing Bach’s Cantatas BWV 34, 147, and 172 at The Worship Place in Sun City. “Bach wrote hundreds of cantatas that are still beloved 300 years later. Folks love to hear them. They’re very exciting with trumpets, timpani, woodwinds, chorus, and soloists,” Barry says.
  • June 23, 11am: “Bach’s Lunch: Suite Treats” will feature pianist Toby Blumenthal, who will educate as well as entertain visitors with music by Bach, Marcello, Domeni-Paradies, and Handel, at the Georgetown Public Library’s Hewlett Room. Afterwards, a limited number of concertgoers will enjoy a Dutch treat lunch at 12:30 at City Post Chophouse. To be included, visit texasbachfestival.org.
  • June 24, 8pm: “Serata Lirica” will feature renowned tenor Angelo Ferrari and pianist Rick Rowley performing breathtaking music of Verdi, Puccini, and several other operatic, Neapolitan, and American song composers at St. Martin’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Austin. “It will be a wonderful assortment of great Italian opera and American art songs,” Barry says. The concert will also be a fundraiser for TBF, with high-end wines from Beviamo International offered as donor incentives.
  • June 25, 3pm: “Resound, You Songs!” (Erschallet, ihr Lieder!) will feature the TBF Choir and Camerata Orchestra performing Bach cantatas BWV 34, 147, and 172 at St. Martin’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Austin.

All concerts except the free library concert are $30 • for general admission, $25 for seniors, and $15 • for students and active military. Visit the website to learn more, buy tickets, or make a donation, or visit texasbachfestival.org.

SUPPORT TBF

Despite increasing costs, the Texas Bach Festival team is committed to keeping the event accessible for all classical music fans. “To show our love for the community, we’re not raising ticket prices despite mounting expenses. We’re making this very affordable for folks,” Barry says, adding that donations are more important than ever to keep TBF going. Readers and community members can show support for TBF by purchasing tickets online or at the door, making a donation of any size, and sharing information about TBF with friends, family, and coworkers.