The American Bach Society
Welcome
The American Bach Society was founded in 1972 to support the study, performance, and appreciation of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach in the United States and Canada.
The ABS produces Bach Notes and Bach Perspectives, sponsors a biennial meeting and conference, and offers grants and prizes for research on Bach.
Information on membership is available here, along with a short history of the Society and information on its administration.
On this site you can also find links to other Bach organizations and to Bach festivals, as well as a small selection of interesting Bach illustrations.
UPCOMING BIENNIAL MEETING
"Bach and the Organ"
Presented in conjunction with the EROI 2012 Festival
Rochester, New York
September 27-30, 2012
The 2012 meeting will be held at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, in conjunction with the annual Eastman-Rochester Organ Initiative (EROI) Festival. The topic of the conference, "Bach and the Organ," has been chosen because many of the concerts presented by EROI will feature the baroque organ--a reconstruction of an organ built by Adam Gottlob Casparini in 1776--that Eastman recently installed in nearby Christ Church. The joint program includes a keynote address by Peter Williams, fourteen papers, a panel discussion on two new editions of Bach's organ works, music history and organ performance masterclasses, and numerous concerts, including a reconstruction Thursday evening of Mendelssohn's 1840 Leipzig concert of Bach organ works by Eastman organ professors Hans Davidsson, David Higgs, and William Porter; a recital by Jacques van Oortmerssen Friday evening; a concert by the Boston Early Musical Festival Chamber Ensemble with organist Edoardo Bellotti featuring cantatas with obbligato organ by Bach and Stölzel Saturday evening; and Sunday afternoon recitals by Robert Bates of Bach's Clavierübung III and by Edoardo Bellotti on Eastman's Italian baroque organ..
Click here for a schedule of the meeting, paper abstracts, and registration information. For additional information, please see the EROI 2012 Festival website or contact ABS Vice-President Lynn Edwards Butler: edwardsbutler (AT) telus.net.