Julian Wachner Named Artistic Director of Grand Rapids Bach Festival
Trinity Church Wall Street’s Director of Music and the Arts, Julian Wachner, has been appointed Artistic Director of the biennial Grand Rapids Bach Festival, founded in 1997 and now an affiliate of the Grand Rapids Symphony, which has administered it since 2013. The Grand Rapids Bach Festival also announced the inauguration of the Linn Maxwell Keller Distinguished Bach Musician Award, a $10,000 prize honoring the festival’s late founder to encourage and support gifted young singers in pursuit of professional careers in music.
Lori Lee Curley, president of the Grand Rapids Bach Festival’s Board of Directors, says of Wachner’s appointment:
“From the beginning of the symphony’s involvement, the goal always has been to expand the Bach Festival while honoring Linn Maxwell Keller’s legacy and vision. Julian definitely is the right choice to accomplish this, as he has many ideas for innovative programming, education and community engagement. I believe that he’ll elevate our festival to a new level. It would be wonderful if the Grand Rapids Bach Festival were to become a destination for Bach and Baroque music lovers of all ages.”
Wachner, who dates his love of the music of Bach to his childhood growing up in a musical family, has shown ample evidence of that enthusiasm, and an affinity for Baroque music in general, through his programming at Trinity. With The Choir of Trinity Wall Street and the Trinity Baroque Orchestra he earned a 2013 Grammy nomination for Best Choral Performance for their recording of Handel’s Israel in Egypt, and Trinity’s rendition of Handel’s Messiah has long been a staple of New York’s holiday season. The same forces recently concluded a cycle, lasting five seasons, of Bach’s entire monumental output of sacred vocal music, largely performed during the celebrated “Bach at One” series in St. Paul’s Chapel. The series continues this spring, on the heels of a just-completed week-long festival to inaugurate the chapel’s newly restored and relocated Noack three-manual pipe organ. The spring concerts feature favorite Bach Cantatas, with soloists drawn from The Choir of Trinity Wall Street.
Trinity’s “indispensable and unmissable” (New York Times) array of free, ambitious musical offerings, many of which are professionally filmed, streamed live and available on-demand, also celebrates the centennial of iconic New York composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein this spring. “TOTAL EMBRACE: Leonard Bernstein at 100” will showcase a wide-ranging selection of Bernstein’s music, as well as that of related New York composer-conductors including Lukas Foss, Gustav Mahler, Pierre Boulez, Aaron Copland, and Wachner himself, who is one of Lukas Foss’s protégés. The celebration launches during the April and May Concerts at One series in St. Paul’s Chapel, and concludes with a three-concert finale (May 31-June 2). With a special emphasis on lesser-known and vocal compositions, the concerts will feature resident contemporary music orchestra NOVUS NY and a roster of North America’s leading instrumental and vocal soloists, all under Wachner’s direction. Pianist Lara Downes makes a guest appearance, performing the complete cycle of LB Anniversaries – works she has commissioned from living composers in tribute to Bernstein. In many of the concerts, NOVUS NY will be joined by the Grammy-nominated Choir of Trinity Wall Street, with Trinity’s semi-professional choir Downtown Voices and the Trinity Youth Chorus also joining for the finale on June 2.
Formerly Music Director of the Washington Chorus in Washington, D.C., Wachner has made guest appearances with organizations as diverse as the New York and Hong Kong Philharmonics, the Philadelphia and National Arts Centre Orchestras, the Lincoln Center Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, and the Boston Pops. In 2014, he made his debut with San Francisco Opera as a last-minute replacement conducting Handel’s Partenope. A native of California, he studied at Boston University, earning his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in composition and orchestral conducting. He founded the Boston Bach Ensemble in 1995 and the Bach-Academie de Montréal (now the Montreal Bach Festival) in the early 2000s, and has guest conducted the Handel and Haydn Society, the oldest performing arts organization in the United States. Wachner has served as a Professor of Sacred Music at Boston University’s School of Theology, and is currently an Affiliate Professor of Music and the Arts at The General Seminary of the Episcopal Church, the oldest continually operating Anglican seminary in the world. He is a Fellow of the American Guild of Organists.
About Trinity Church Wall Street
Trinity Church Wall Street is a growing Episcopal community that seeks to serve and heal the world by building neighborhoods that live Gospel truths, generations of faithful leaders, and sustainable communities. The mission is grounded in Trinity’s core values: faith, integrity, inclusiveness, compassion, social justice, and stewardship. Trinity is located in the heart of Manhattan’s Financial District, where it has created a dynamic home for music. Serving as director of Trinity’s music program—as well as principal conductor of The Choir of Trinity Wall Street, the period-instrument Trinity Baroque Orchestra, and contemporary-music ensemble-in-residence NOVUS NY—Julian Wachner also oversees all liturgical, professional and community music programming at Trinity Church and St. Paul’s Chapel. Music at Trinity ranges from large-scale oratorios to chamber music, and from intimate a cappella singing to jazz improvisation. Many concerts at Trinity are professionally filmed and streamed live and available on-demand at www.trinitywallstreet.org/videos. Performances by The Choir of Trinity Wall Street and Trinity Baroque Orchestra under the direction of Julian Wachner can be heard each Monday at 1pm on WWFM The Classical Network, www.wwfm.org.
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Trinity Church Wall Street: Winter/Spring 2018
Performances are free unless otherwise noted
Performances are at St Paul’s Chapel unless otherwise noted
March 12, 1pm
Bach at One
Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, BWV 12
Wachet! betet! betet! wachet!, BWV 70
Trinity Baroque Orchestra and soloists from The Choir of Trinity Wall Street: Elizabeth Bates, Sarah Brailey, Luthien Brackett, Timothy Parsons, Timothy Hodges, Brian Giebler, Paul An, Thomas McCargar, Jonathan Woody; Julian Wachner, conductor
March 13, 7:30pm (Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C.)
Julia Wolfe: Anthracite Fields
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street and Bang on a Can All-Stars; Julian Wachner, conductor
Tickets here
March 16, 1pm
Pipes at One
Patrick Allen
March 19, 1pm
Bach at One
Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis, BWV 21
Der Herr denket an uns, BWV 196
Trinity Baroque Orchestra and soloists from The Choir of Trinity Wall Street: Molly Netter, Madeline Healey, Luthien Brackett, Clifton Massey, Timothy Hodges, Brian Giebler, Jesse Blumberg, Jonathan Woody, Thomas McCargar; Julian Wachner, conductor
March 23, 1pm
Pipes at One
Janet Yieh
March 26, 1pm
Bach at One
Ihr, die ihr euch von Christo nennet, BWV 164
Es ist dir gesagt, Mensch, was gut ist, BWV 45
Trinity Baroque Orchestra and soloists from The Choir of Trinity Wall Street: Megan Chartrand, Sarah Brailey, Melissa Attebury, Clifton Massey, David Vanderwal, Brian Giebler, Paul An, Edmund Milly, Thomas McCargar; Julian Wachner, conductor
April 6, 1pm
Pipes at One
Avi Stein
April 9, 1pm
Bach at One
Gott der Herr ist Sonn und Schild, BWV 79
Sei Lob und Ehr dem höchsten Gut, BWV 117
Trinity Baroque Orchestra and soloists from The Choir of Trinity Wall Street: Megan Chartrand, Elizabeth Bates, Luthien Brackett, Pamela Terry, Scott Mello, Timothy Hodges, Edmund Milly, Steven Hrycelak, Thomas McCargar; Eric Milnes, guest conductor
April 12, 1pm
TOTAL EMBRACE: Leonard Bernstein at 100
Bernstein: Songfest
Mahler: Des Knaben Wunderhorn, arr. Klaus Simon
NOVUS NY featuring soloists from The Choir of Trinity Wall Street: Heather Buck, Melissa Attebury, Luthien Brackett, Steven Caldicott Wilson, Edmund Milly and Paul An; Daniela Candillari, guest conductor
April 13, 1pm
Pipes at One
Daniel Hyde
April 16, 1pm
Bach at One
Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit, BWV 106
Tritt auf die Glaubensbahn, BWV 152
Trinity Baroque Orchestra and soloists from The Choir of Trinity Wall Street: Megan Chartrand, Melissa Attebury, Scott Mello, and Edmund Milly
April 19, 1pm
TOTAL EMBRACE: Leonard Bernstein at 100
Bernstein: La bonne cuisine & I hate music
Foss: Time Cycle and For Toru
Mahler: Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (arr. Schoenberg)
NOVUS NY featuring Joanna Mongiardo, soprano; Julian Wachner, conductor
April 23, 1pm
Bach at One
Du Hirte Israel, höre, BWV 104
Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden, BWV 6
Trinity Baroque Orchestra and soloists from The Choir of Trinity Wall Street: Elizabeth Bates, Sarah Brailey, Melissa Attebury, Clifton Massey, Timothy Hodges, Scott Mello, Brian Giebler, Edmund Milly, Steven Hrycelak, Thomas McCargar; Julian Wachner, conductor
April 26, 1pm
TOTAL EMBRACE: Leonard Bernstein at 100
Copland (Arr. Bernstein/Wachner): El Salón Mexico
Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde
Snider: Mass for the Endangered (world premiere)
NOVUS NY and The Choir of Trinity Wall Street featuring John McVeigh, tenor and Stephen Salters, baritone; Julian Wachner, conductor
April 27, 1pm
Pipes at One
Renée Anne Louprette
April 30, 1pm
Bach at One
Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben, BWV 8
Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut, BWV 113
Trinity Baroque Orchestra and soloists from The Choir of Trinity Wall Street: Madeline Healey, Molly Netter, Melissa Attebury, Clifton Massey, Timothy Hodges, Brian Giebler, Paul An, Jonathan Woody; Julian Wachner, conductor
May 3, 1pm
TOTAL EMBRACE: Leonard Bernstein at 100
Mahler: Kindertotenlieder (arr.Riehn)
Wachner: Epistle Mass (world premiere)
NOVUS NY and The Choir of Trinity Wall Street with soloist Stephen Salters, baritone; Julian Wachner, conductor
May 4, 1pm
Pipes at One
James Kennerley
May 10, 1pm
TOTAL EMBRACE: Leonard Bernstein at 100
Boulez: Le Marteau sans maître
Felsenfeld: Astrophysical Mass
NOVUS NY and The Choir of Trinity Wall Street; Sarah Brailey, soprano; Kirsten Sollek, contralto; Julian Wachner, conductor
May 11, 1pm
Pipes at One
Donald Meineke
May 17, 1pm
TOTAL EMBRACE: Leonard Bernstein at 100
Bernstein: Arias and Barcarolles
Newman: Mass (world premiere)
NOVUS NY and The Choir of Trinity Wall Street with Melissa Attebury, mezzo-soprano and Christopher Herbert, baritone; Julian Wachner, conductor
May 18, 1pm
Pipes at One
Kent Tritle
May 19, 8pm (SPECIAL APPEARANCE at Queens College)
Britten’s War Requiem
Trinity Youth Chorus; Melissa Attebury, conductor
May 24, 1pm
TOTAL EMBRACE: Leonard Bernstein at 100
Bernstein: Halil
Bernstein: “Meditations” from Mass
Bernstein: Serenade after Plato’s Symposium
Prestini: Imaginary World of Wild Order: A Mass
NOVUS NY and The Choir of Trinity Wall Street; Ashley Bathgate, cello; Melissa Baker, flute; Katie Hyun, violin; Julian Wachner, conductor
May 25, 1pm
Pipes at One
Michael Hey
May 31, 1pm Concert at One Finale
TOTAL EMBRACE: Leonard Bernstein at 100
Wachner: Gaudé: an LB Anniversary for Large Orchestra
Copland: Connotations
Mahler: Symphony No. 4
NOVUS NY; Jessica Muirhead, soprano; Julian Wachner, conductor
June 1, 1pm
TOTAL EMBRACE: Leonard Bernstein at 100
Bernstein: Anniversaries
Lara Downes, piano
June 2, 8pm
TOTAL EMBRACE FINALE: Leonard Bernstein at 100
Wachner: Jubilate Deo and Psalm Cycle III
Foss: Psalms
Bernstein: Chichester Psalms
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street, Downtown Voices, Trinity Youth Chorus, and NOVUS NY; Julian Wachner, conductor
June 8, 1pm
Pipes at One
Forrest Eimold with Eric Berlin, trumpet
Time’s Arrow Festival Part Two June 18– 23
June 18, 1pm
Time’s Arrow Festival Part Two
Works by Epstein, Ligeti and Cerrone
Sandbox Percussion
June 19, 1pm
Time’s Arrow Festival Part Two
Webern: 5 Sätze für Streichquartett Op.5, Bagatellen für Streichquartett Op. 9, Streichquartett Op. 28, Streichtrio Op. 20
Epstein: Hidden Flowers and Phosphene
NOVUS NY String Quartet
June 21, 1pm
Time’s Arrow Festival Part Two
Webern: 4 Stücke für Violine und Klavier Op. 7, 3 kleine Stücke für Violoncello und Klavier Op. 11, Quartet Op. 22, Variationen für Klavier Op. 27
Epstein: Oil and Sugar and Wonders of the invisible world
Holliger: Harp Sequenza
Rouse: Compline
NOVUS NY; Julian Wachner, conductor
June 22, 1pm
Time’s Arrow Festival Part Two
Babbit: Ars Combinatoria and Transfigured Notes
Ligeti: Violin Concerto
Lutosławski: Musique Fenebre
Katie Hyun, violin with NOVUS NY; Julian Wachner, conductor
June 23, 1pm
Time’s Arrow Festival Part Two
Webern: Passacaglia Op. 1, Im Sommerwind, Das Augenlicht, Kantate #2
Brahms: A German Requiem
NOVUS NY, The Choir of Trinity Wall Street, and Downtown Voices; Colleen Daly, soprano and Stephen Salters, baritone; Julian Wachner, conductor
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