BETHLEHEM, Pa – The Bach Choir of Bethlehem, America’s oldest Bach choir, today opens the doors on its celebrated 118th Bethlehem Bach Festival, a four-day event running through Sunday, May 10, 2026. Anchored in the heart of historic Bethlehem and set across multiple iconic venues, the festival brings together world-class soloists, distinguished scholars, beloved traditions, and exciting new programming marking the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding by honoring the Moravian musical heritage that helped shape the Bach Choir.
Drawing on rare performances of music from the Moravian archives, scholarly lectures, and collaborations with Moravian partners in the Lehigh Valley and abroad, the 118th Festival invites audiences to reflect on where this tradition came from, and why it endures.
Festival Highlights
Thursday, May 7
At 7 pm, the festival’s Outside the Bachs series kicks off at the Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks with Time for Three, the GRAMMY Award-winning Philadelphia-based trio of violinists Charles Yang and Nick Kendall and bassist Ranaan Meyer. Their genre-bending fusion of classical, Americana, rock, and jazz brings an infectious energy to Bach’s living legacy.
Friday, May 8
Friday features a full day of exploration. At 11 am, Choir Archivist Cory Dieterly presents Films from the Archives at Zoellner Arts Center, a free, curated screening of rare historical footage. At 2 pm, Dr. Sarah Eyerly, Professor of Musicology and Associate Dean at Florida State University’s College of Music, delivers the Barnette Distinguished Scholar Lecture, drawing on her acclaimed book Moravian Soundscapes to explore how Bach’s music resonated within colonial Moravian communities. Both lectures are free and open to the public.
The evening features Bach at 8 at Packer Memorial Church (8 pm), pairing Mozart’s monumental Great Mass in C Minor with works from the early American Moravian repertoire, including J.F. Peter’s Freudenpsalm, written in 1783 to mark the end of the Revolutionary War, performed alongside members of the Moravian choir Unitas Chorale.
Saturday, May 9
Saturday centers on the festival’s most beloved tradition: the Mass in B Minor. Performed in two parts (2:30 pm and 4:30 pm) at Packer Memorial Church, Bach’s monumental masterwork has been offered by the Bach Choir for over a century and remains the festival’s spiritual and artistic centerpiece. A livestream is also available to audiences worldwide throughout May 2026.
The morning opens with the Ifor Jones Memorial Chamber Music Concert at Baker Hall, Zoellner Arts Center (10:30 am), featuring Bach’s Musical Offering alongside the period brass and wind players of Artists-in-Residence Synnet and the Bach Festival Orchestra. The Bel Canto Youth Chorus performs at 11:45 am, followed by a Festival Luncheon. The evening closes with Zimmermann’s Coffee House at Peter Hall, Moravian University (7 pm), an intimate Baroque chamber music experience in cafe-style surroundings.
Sunday, May 10
At 11 am, viol virtuoso Loren Ludwig presents Chamber Music in the Saal at the Moravian Museum. The festival’s finale, The Testament to Freedom (2:30 pm, Levitt Pavilion at SteelStacks), is a landmark collaboration between the Bach Choir and the Allentown Band, under conductor Christopher Jackson and Ron Demkee respectively, featuring Randall Thompson’s stirring work inspired by Thomas Jefferson’s writings. This outdoor concert is free and open to all.
Featured Artists
Artists-in-Residence Synnet, one of North America’s premier early brass ensembles, joins the festival for multiple performances. Led by Michael Holmes and based in Washington, D.C., Synnet has been captivating audiences with historically informed cornett and sackbut performances since 1997. The ensemble has been praised by the Washington Post for their virtuosity and serious attention to detail.
Vocal soloists for the festival include sopranos Sherezade Panthaki and Katelyn Grace Jackson, mezzo-soprano Meg Bragle, tenor James Reese, and bass-baritone Edmund Milly.
Tickets & Information
Tickets for individual events are available at bach.org. Several events, including lectures, Moravian Lovefeasts, and the closing Testament to Freedom concert, are free and open to the public. A livestream pass for the Mass in B Minor is available for audiences worldwide.
ABOUT THE BACH CHOIR OF BETHLEHEM
Founded in 1898 and comprised of 115 dedicated volunteer singers, the Bach Choir of Bethlehem is the oldest American Bach Choir, performing the first complete U.S. renditions of Bach’s Mass in B Minor in 1900 and Christmas Oratorio in 1901. Under Artistic Director and Conductor Dr. Christopher Jackson, the choir attracts thousands each year to Bethlehem, PA for its annual Bethlehem Bach Festival. Programming includes over 40 concerts and educational events per year, reaching an audience of more than 22,000 through outreach programs like Bach to School, Bach at Noon, interdisciplinary family concerts, and more. The choir’s latest recording, Mendelssohn/Bach Matthäus-Passion (2024) was released by Analekta, Canada’s largest indie classic label. The Bach Choir’s Bel Canto Youth Chorus, an educational program under the direction of Director Kelly Rocchi, is training the next generation of choral singers and cultivating a life-long passion for the choral arts. For more information, visit BACH.org.
Information provided to TVL by:
Glenn Koehler
