{"id":140377,"date":"2025-02-14T17:58:08","date_gmt":"2025-02-14T22:58:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=140377"},"modified":"2025-02-14T18:37:52","modified_gmt":"2025-02-14T23:37:52","slug":"lehigh-valley-youth-choirs-join-the-bach-choir-of-bethlehem-and-westminster-choir-college-in-highlighting-music-from-around-the-world-at-the-greg-funfgeld-family-concert-youth-choirs-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=140377","title":{"rendered":"Lehigh Valley Youth Choirs Join the Bach Choir of Bethlehem and Westminster Choir College in Highlighting Music from Around the World at the Greg Funfgeld Family Concert: Youth Choirs Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lehigh Valley Youth Choirs Join the Bach Choir of Bethlehem and Westminster Choir College in Highlighting Music from Around the World at the Greg Funfgeld Family Concert: Youth Choirs Festival<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Bach Choir of Bethlehem is thrilled to present this year\u2019s Greg Funfgeld Family Concert, a celebration of choral music designed to engage and inspire family members of all ages on Sunday, February 23rd at 3pm. Held at Lehigh University\u2019s Zoellner Arts Center, this vibrant event will bring together youth and high school choirs from Parkland High School, Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts, Nazareth High School, and the Bach Choir\u2019s own Bel Canto Youth Chorus to perform alongside the storied Westminster Choir College and the Bach Choir.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe choral arts can be a lifelong and life-changing passion, and we are delighted to bring together vibrant young voices from across the Lehigh Valley to perform with the Bach Choir and the excellent Westminster Choir College,\u201d said Leela Breithaupt, Executive Director of the Bach Choir of Bethlehem. \u201cThis joyous event is a celebration of global music traditions and community, and together we look forward to creating an unforgettable experience that inspires friends and family, both young and old.\u201d<\/p>\n

Audiences will embark on a global musical journey featuring selections from Indonesia, Spain, Zimbabwe, Germany, Russia, and the United States, including choreography accompanying traditional Zimbabwean choral music and works by British jazz-pop sensation Jacob Collier. In addition, attendees will enjoy excerpts from Mozart\u2019s Requiem in D Minor and Bach\u2019s Mass in B Minor, performed by the combined youth choirs, Bach Choir, and members of the Bach Festival Orchestra under the direction of the Bach Choir\u2019s Artistic Director and Conductor Dr. Christopher Jackson, Bel Canto Youth Chorale Conductor Alaina Swartz, and Bel Canto Youth Chorus Director Kelly Rocchi.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe [Youth Choirs] Festival provides an opportunity to experience the full power and majesty of large works we would not otherwise perform on our own,\u201d said David Macbeth, a vocal music faculty member at the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts. \u201cThere is nothing that transcends the experience of singing a timeless masterwork with one\u2019s friends and colleagues!\u201d<\/p>\n

The Greg Funfgeld Family Concert, known for its interactive and engaging format, is much more than a concert. Audiences will have the opportunity to participate in sing-alongs, help \u201cbuild a chord,\u201d and even witness young attendees take the stage as guest conductors. The event serves as an ideal introduction to classical choral music, blending joy, education, and tradition in a warm, family-friendly atmosphere.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t miss this lively afternoon of music, movement, and community spirit!\u00a0Tickets<\/a>\u00a0are $20 for adults and $9 for students and are on sale now at\u00a0bach.org\u00a0or by calling 610.866.4382 x110\/x115.<\/p>\n

Event Details<\/em><\/strong>
\nWhat:<\/strong>\u00a0Greg Funfgeld Family Concert Youth Choirs Festival:<\/p>\n

Music From Around the World
\nWhen:<\/strong>\u00a0Sunday, February 23rd<\/sup>\u00a0at 3pm, doors at 2:30pm.<\/p>\n

Tickets<\/a>\u00a0available at the Zoellner Box Office the day of the performance.
\nWhere:<\/strong>\u00a0Zoellner Arts Center, Lehigh University, 420 E Packer Ave, Bethlehem, PA 18015<\/p>\n

ABOUT THE BACH CHOIR OF BETHLEHEM<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u2019s\u00a0Mass in B Minor<\/em>\u00a0in 1900 and\u00a0Christmas Oratorio<\/em>\u00a0in 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\u2019s latest recording,\u00a0Mendelssohn\/Bach Matth\u00e4us-Passion (2024)\u00a0<\/em>was released by Analekta, Canada\u2019s largest indie classic label. The Bach Choir\u2019s 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\u00a0BACH.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Information provided to TVL by:
\nGlenn Koehler<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lehigh Valley Youth Choirs Join the Bach Choir of Bethlehem and Westminster Choir College in Highlighting Music from Around the World at the Greg Funfgeld Family Concert: Youth Choirs Festival … Continue reading Lehigh Valley Youth Choirs Join the Bach Choir of Bethlehem and Westminster Choir College in Highlighting Music from Around the World at the Greg Funfgeld Family Concert: Youth Choirs Festival<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":140378,"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":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-140377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/bach-choir.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140377"}],"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=140377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140377\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/140378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=140377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=140377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=140377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}