The American Bach Society
History of the Society
A Brief History
The beginnings of the American Bach Society can be dated to 1972, when a group of American scholars formed a chapter of the Neue Bachgesellschaft (New Bach Society), an organization founded in Germany in 1900 to promote the study and performance of Bach’s music. When Germany became a divided country after World War II, the New Bach Society sought to retain its members and, in particular, to find a means whereby members living in East Germany would be able to attend its annual meetings. By forming chapters in East and West Germany as well as the United States, the Neue Bachgesellschaft was established as an international organization, enabling it to achieve its goals.
Charter members of the American chapter included Gerhard Herz, Alfred Mendel, William Scheide, and Alfred Mann. Mann, as secretary, administered the business of the chapter from the offices of the oldest American Bach organization, The Bach Choir of Bethlehem (founded in 1898), where he served as director from 1970 to 1980. The Bach-Jahrbuch, along with English translations of the Gesellschaft’s newsletters, were distributed annually to members of the chapter. The chapter held its first meeting in 1976 at the Moravian Seminary in Bethlehem, PA, and continued to hold meetings on a triennial basis until 1988.
In 1988, under the guidance of George Buelow, the chapter incorporated as the American Bach Society, an independent, non-profit organization. Administered by a president, vice-president, and secretary-treasurer in consultation with an advisory board, a primary goal of the Society was to encourage and sponsor the publication of Bach research in English. In addition to issuing a semiannual Newsletter, from 1989 to 1993 the Society published the journal BACH in collaboration with the Riemenschneider Bach Institute. In 1994, the Society initiated Bach Perspectives, a serial publication edited by members of the Society in consultation with an editorial board, and in 2004 replaced its Newsletter with Bach Notes, a semiannual publication that includes articles, reviews, and information about members of the Society.
The creation of an endowment by William H. Scheide in 1990 enabled the Society to award, in alternate years, the Scheide Fellowship to support individual research projects, and the Scheide Prize to honor a publication of exceptional merit. In 2000, in collaboration with The Bach Choir of Bethlehem, the Society established a biennial Bach Vocal Competition for Young American Singers. All awards are announced at the biennial meeting of the Society, normally held in association with a college or university but also occasionally hosted by other institutions, such as the Library of Congress and Smithsonian Institution (2000), the Bach-Archiv in Leipzig (2006), and The Bach Choir of Bethlehem (2008).
Officers
| Chairs of The American Chapter of the New Bach Society | ||
| 1972–1974 | Gerhard Herz | |
| 1974–1978 | Robert Marshall | |
| 1978–1982 | Robert Freeman | |
| 1982–1986 | Paul Brainard | |
| 1987–1988 | George Buelow | |
Presidents of The American Bach Society |
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| 1988–1992 | George Buelow | |
| 1992–1996 | Don O. Franklin | |
| 1996–2000 | George B. Stauffer | |
| 2000–2004 | Robin A. Leaver | |
| 2004–2008 | Gregory G. Butler | |
| 2008–2012 | Mary Greer | |
Honorary Members of The American Bach Society Alfred Mann William H. Scheide Hans-Joachim Schulze |
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