{"id":121103,"date":"2023-08-01T21:59:01","date_gmt":"2023-08-02T01:59:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=121103"},"modified":"2023-08-01T21:59:01","modified_gmt":"2023-08-02T01:59:01","slug":"sister-city-of-bethlehem-schwabisch-gmund-is-coming-to-musikfests-40th-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=121103","title":{"rendered":"Sister City of Bethlehem, Schw\u00e4bisch-Gm\u00fcnd, is Coming to Musikfest\u2019s 40th Anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bach Choir of Bethlehem celebrating both Schw\u00e4bisch-Gm\u00fcnd and their own 125th<\/sup>\u00a0anniversary during this year\u2019s Musikfest!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bethlehem, PA, August 1, 2023 \u2013 A contingent from Bethlehem\u2019s sister city across the sea, Schw\u00e4bisch Gm\u00fcnd, Germany, are coming to\u00a0Musikfest\u2019s<\/a>\u00a040th<\/sup>\u00a0Anniversary along with\u00a0The Bach Choir of Bethlehem<\/a>\u00a0who will perform as part of the Vesper Series at the Central Moravian Church during Musikfest.<\/p>\n

Schw\u00e4bisch-Gm\u00fcnd, Germany has five sister cities: Barnsley, United Kingdom; Antibes, France; Bethlehem, Pennsylvania;\u00a0Sz\u00e9kesfeh\u00e9rv\u00e1r, Hungary; and Faenza, Italy. Bethlehem has been paired with\u00a0Schw\u00e4bisch Gm\u00fcnd since 1991. The Mayor of Schw\u00e4bisch-Gm\u00fcnd, Richard Arnold, along with additional delegates will be coming to this year\u2019s Musikfest and attending The Bach Choir of Bethlehem\u2019s performance, taking place on Saturday, August 5 at p.m.<\/p>\n

The Bach Choir of Bethlehem was formed and founded by the Moravian Church in 1898. The choir has been attracting thousands of visitors from across the United States and beyond. There are 85 dedicated volunteer singers of The Bach Choir of Bethlehem. The oldest American Bach Choir gave the first complete American performances of Bach\u2019s Mass in B Minor in 1900 and Christmas Oratorio in 1901. They are performing this year for Musikfest\u2019s 40th<\/sup>\u00a0Anniversary while also celebrating their own 125th<\/sup>\u00a0anniversary.<\/p>\n

“The Bach Choir of Bethlehem is excited to welcome Mayor Arnold and the delegation from Schw\u00e4bisch-Gm\u00fcnd to Bethlehem with our special Musikfest performance,\u201d Leela Breithaupt, Executive Director of The Bach Choir of Bethlehem, said. \u201cOur friends from our German sister city have been such wonderful partners, and we look forward to performing in their magnificent gothic cathedral on our June 2024 European Tour!\u201d<\/p>\n

This is a free ticketed event happening as part of our Vesper Concert Series during Musikfest, but tickets will be required. To obtain tickets please visit\u00a0musikfest.org\/event\/14828\/bach-choir-of-bethlehem<\/a>\/.<\/p>\n

In 2022, the seventh Artistic Director and Conductor of the Choir, Dr. Christopher Jackson, was inducted into the choir. The 90 dedicated volunteer singers of The Bach Choir of Bethlehem, performing with the Bach Festival Orchestra and distinguished soloist have received international acclaim.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur Musikfest concert on August 5 features\u00a0nationally renowned soprano, Clara Rottsolk, as we perform one Bach\u2019s most heartfelt cantatas, BWV 199,\u00a0Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut<\/em>,\u201d Christopher Jackson, Artistic Director and Conductor, said. \u201cThe concert closes with Mendelssohn\u2019s \u201cHear My Prayer<\/em>\u201d, a dramatic 10-minute gem for Soprano and Chorus, previewing our special Nov. 4\u00a0Saint Matthew Passion<\/em>\u00a0later this fall.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Bach Choir of Bethlehem will be touring Europe in June 2024, with performances in both Germany and Austria during their 10-day tour. To purchase tickets and learn more head to\u00a0bach.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“We are so excited to be welcoming our sister city, Schw\u00e4bisch-Gm\u00fcnd, to the 40th<\/sup>\u00a0edition of Musikfest and show them around during the \u2018fest,\u201d Kassie Hilgert, President and CEO of ArtsQuest said. \u201cThe Bach Choir of\u00a0Bethlehem is a staple, and we are delighted\u00a0that the delegation from\u00a0Schw\u00e4bisch-Gm\u00fcnd\u00a0will enjoy one of their performances as part of their festival and Bethlehem experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

About Musikfest<\/strong><\/p>\n

A record-breaking\u00a0<\/a>1,240,000 people\u00a0attended Musikfest in 2022. The 11-day festival featured over 500 free performances, across 16 stages located throughout the City of Bethlehem. The 40th Musikfest is scheduled for Aug. 4 \u2013 13, 2023, with a special preview night on Aug. 3. This year\u2019s Musikfest 2023 poster artist is Allentown-based family Maltas Con Leche. Visit\u00a0musikfest.org<\/a>\u00a0for more information.<\/p>\n

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Information provided to TVL by:
\nAbigail Wolf
\nhttp:\/\/www.artsquest.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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Bach Choir of Bethlehem celebrating both Schw\u00e4bisch-Gm\u00fcnd and their own 125th\u00a0anniversary during this year\u2019s Musikfest! Bethlehem, PA, August 1, 2023 \u2013 A contingent from Bethlehem\u2019s sister city across the sea, … Continue reading Sister City of Bethlehem, Schw\u00e4bisch-Gm\u00fcnd, is Coming to Musikfest\u2019s 40th Anniversary<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":45180,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5717,69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-121103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bethlehem","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/artsquest.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121103"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=121103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121103\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/45180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=121103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=121103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=121103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}