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2012 Chicago Bach Project Tickets Now on Sale
John NELSON, conductor
Nicholas PHAN, Evangelist
Stephen MORSCHECK, Jesus
Lucy CROWE, soprano
Meredith ARWADY, contralto
Marc MOLOMOT, tenor
Matthew BROOK, bass
CHICAGO BACH Choir and Orchestra
Donald NALLY, chorus master
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
8:00 p.m.
Saint Vincent de Paul Church
1010 W. Webster Avenue, Chicago
John Nelson conducting the Chicago Bach Choir and Orchestra
(Photo: Anthony Caldaroni)
After the amazing 2011 launch of the Chicago Bach Project, Soli Deo Gloria is proud to continue the tradition at St. Vincent de Paul Church with the performance of Bach's St. John Passion on the Wednesday before Easter, April 4, 2012.
“It is our hope that this annual concert, presenting a different work from the great Bach trilogy each year, will become a Chicago tradition that enriches Holy Week observances for many. These three works by Bach—the St. Matthew Passion, the St. John Passion, and the Mass in B Minor—are the pinnacle of Western sacred music. All were signed by Bach himself with ‘S.D.G.’ (‘To God alone be the Glory’), the very reason Soli Deo Gloria exists.”—John Nelson, Artistic Director
In the weeks after the sounds of last year's performance of Bach's St. Matthew Passion faded, we were flooded with feedback from audience members and musicians:
“A musical and spiritual experience I will never forget.”
“A smashing success.”
“A palpable testimony for the power of expertly and passionately performed sacred music.”
“Glorious.”
“Stirred our souls and lifted our hearts!”
“Sublime.”
“An amazing experience.”
“Just stunning.”
"A spectacular concert—deeply moving and meaningful, brilliantly conducted and performed.”
“Amazing. Thank you!”
“I look forward to the future performances.”
“I was blown away.”
We were also delighted to hear, in a city like Chicago where there is no lack of great music, raves from the critics:
Chicago Bach Orchestra
(Photo: Charles Osgood)
“One of the highlights of the current music season.” —Lawrence A. Johnson, Chicago Classical Review
“[Nelson’s] firm coordination of the choral and instrumental forces was matched by a deep and sensitive understanding of what gives this music its unique spiritual resonance and urgent dramatic power.” —John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune
“A formidable artistic success and a moving experience for Holy Week. The Chicago Bach Project enjoyed a healthy birth, to say the least. Mark your calendars now for next year’s St. John Passion!” —Mark Ketterson, ConcertoNet.com
“The Chicago Bach Project promises Bach’s St. John Passion for April 4, 2012. Mark your calendars.” —John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune
“The Chicago Bach Project promises to be a highlight of the city’s musical landscape for years to come.” —Myron Silberstein, Clef Notes: Chicagoland Journal for the Arts
Given the response to last year's launch of the Chicago Bach Project,
we fully expect tickets to go quickly.
We suggest buying your tickets early to ensure a seat.
Tickets are available online from our ticket service, Brown Paper Tickets,
or by calling their 24/7 Ticket Hotline, 1-800-838-3006.
TICKETS: $40, $50, $75
The Chicago Bach Project is made possible in part through support from Fellowes, Inc., Martin Avenue Pharmacy and Tassos.
PRESENTED BY
The Story Behind the Chicago Bach Project
John Nelson
Photo: David Zaugh
A Word from Conductor John Nelson
I’m often asked, “What is your ‘Island’ piece?” When it comes to a single work, my hands-down choice is Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. It tells the greatest story ever told with unequaled perception and dramatic power. It is the most moving of all sacred works. It is utter perfection from beginning to end.
My first experience with the work was in my third year of college when my favorite and hugely influential choral conductor, Rolf Espeseth, chose to conclude his tenure with a performance of the St. Matthew and privileged me by letting me conduct all the chorales. Suddenly the composer. who had been for me methodical and complicated, became the composer of a world of images that mesmerized me and moved me to the depths. Bach became central to my studies at the Juilliard School in New York where, as a student, I conducted a number of his cantatas, sang in the B Minor Mass and directed a community chorus, the Pro Arte Chorale, which in due course performed the St. Matthew at Lincoln Center. I shall never forget the first time I conducted the opening bars in rehearsal, with the throbbing bass line under the wailing voices pleading, “Come, ye daughters, help me lament.” That this sublime music was actually coming out of my hands reduced me to a puddle of tears in front of my musicians.
read moreMore Bach
For a taste of John Nelson conducting Bach, enjoy this clip from our critically acclaimed DVD of Bach's Mass in B Minorr at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
St. John Passion Tickets
Tickets are available online from our ticket service, Brown Paper Tickets,
or by calling their 24/7 Ticket Hotline,
1-800-838-3006
TICKETS: $40, $50, $75
Become a Chicago Bach Friend
Did you know that ticket revenues cover less than 20% of the Chicago Bach Project costs? The other 80% comes from the generous support of people who are committed to the Project’s goal of sharing the great masterpieces of Bach each year during Holy Week.
Please consider an added contribution to help us sustain the high artistic level of the Chicago Bach Project, open the doors to music students and charitable organizations, and broadcast the concert on radio. Your partnership with SDG will ensure that this quality sacred music reaches the widest possible audience.
We especially invite you to become a CHICAGO BACH FRIEND. Donors who contribute $500 or more will be designated “Bach Friends” and will enjoy these benefits:
• Priority seating for two
• Invitation for two to an open rehearsal
• Invitation for two to a post-concert reception
Will you join us in financial support of the artistic excellence and spiritual mission of the Chicago Bach Project? We cannot sustain this work without the support of our audience and contributors.
You can click the Network for Good logo to make a secure donation from anywhere, anytime online. Any gift of any size will help. Please designate your gift for CHICAGO BACH or, if your gift is $500 or more, CHICAGO BACH FRIEND. Thank you!
Reviews from 2011 Chicago Bach Project
St. Matthew Passion performance 2011
(Photo: Charles Osgood)
The launch of the Chicago Bach Project on April 20, 2011, with the St. Matthew Passion, was a solid success.
Chicago Classical Review: "The soaring, majestic performance of Bach’s epic St. Matthew Passion conducted by John Nelson at St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Lincoln Park was a success across the board, idiomatically directed, sensitively sung and brilliantly played by the orchestra in one of the highlights of the current music season." Read Lawrence Johnson's complete review.
Chicago Tribune: "The choruses that are the work's cathedral-like pillars also came off impressively....The orchestral playing also was of a remarkably high order....The Chicago Bach Project promises Bach's "St. John Passion" for April 4, 2012. Mark your calendars." Read John von Rhein's complete review.
ConcertoNet.com: "The musical forces...could hardly have been bettered....a formidable artistic success and a moving experience for Holy Week. The Chicago Bach Project enjoyed a healthy birth, to say the least. Mark your calendars now for next year’s St. John Passion!" Read Mark Ketterson's complete review.
Clef Notes Chicagoland Journal for the Arts: "It is rare that one leaves a concert feeling gratitude toward the organization presenting it....The inaugural event of Soli Deo Gloria's Chicago Bach Project...provided a reason for this most unusual of musical emotions." Read Myron Silberstein's complete review.
The musicians themselves gave the event high praise:
"I wish were doing it again tonight and then again tomorrow afternoon....and then taking it on tour for a year. It was so much fun and so moving to be a part of and you can't get enough of that music, always discovering new meaning and moments in it and John has a wonderful way of letting those moments be revealed....[After the concert] the singers hung out together down the street for a LONG time; they just didn't want to leave because they'd so quickly created this community together, which happens naturally and easily when all know they're working together on something important. There were not just a few tears at our goodbye."--Donald Nally, Chorus Master
"A spectacular success, setting the scene and building excitement for the continuation of this wonderful project...John [Nelson] did an astonishing job with the score. We were delighted to take part."--Emily Ellsworth, Artistic Director, Anima-Young Singers of Greater Chicagoland
"From seemingly out of nowhere the Chicago Bach Project hit the ground running, bringing forth the St. Matthew Passion with the urgency and relevance that we didn't realize was missing."--Paul Vanderwerf, Orchestra Manager and violin
Audience members overwhelmed us with their response:
"I was blown away. The evening was just stunning. Such an important time of worship ... I was sitting with moist eyes time and again leaning forward, captured by the sound, sights and totality of the evening. I was the beneficiary of a spiritual journey, and I am very grateful."
"What a spectacular concert — deeply moving and meaningful, brilliantly conducted and performed, both as a choral and orchestral work."
"A smashing success. I had extremely high expectations and they were met in every way. The church was visually and aurally stunning. It was filled with an appreciative audience....I thought it was sublime. It was a spiritual as well as a musical experience. I look forward to the future performances."
"Stirred our souls and lifted our hearts!"
"Glorious!"
"What language shall I borrow to describe moments that made me glimpse the transcendence of sacred scripture translated into musical sounds? To live in Bach's mother language and his musical language with you shaping the moments, moved me to a place where language fails to express the depth of the experience."
"A spectacular musical event!"
“It was amazing! I was moved to tears at the crucifixion. Bach really knew how to capture the emotions and glory of that moment. You made my Lenten season. And as a proud member of the St. Vincent de Paul Parish, I thank you for bringing your performance to our beautiful cathedral. THANK YOU!”
