Bach Festival returns to Winter Park for an 86th year of music in February

The Bach Festival is returning to Winter Park — on stages both physical and virtual — in February for its 86th year.

This will be a very different Bach Festival than in previous years, but the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park have put the work into planning new safety considerations for both audience and performers.

One big difference will be the absence of the 170-member choir — there's no safe way to pull off that type of onstage gathering. But Conductor John V. Sinclair and Festival organizers have instead put together a number of smaller ensembles and groupings of musicians to keep the quality high.

From Friday, Feb. 12-Sunday, Feb. 28, Bach Festival performances will take place outdoors at Winter Park's Central Park, in Knowles Memorial Chapel at Rollins College, and virtually for "Bach at Home" events.

The Festival kicks off both live and online on Feb. 12 with a free organ recital courtesy Colin MacKnight, the Associate Organist and Choirmaster at Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City, New York.

Other highlights this year include: Concertos by Candlelight, a candle-illuminated Knowles Chapel will host works by Mozart, Salieri and more performed by the Bach Festival Orchestra; Big Band Bach: Back Again, an outdoor performance of Bach's work rearranged in the big-band style by Rollins professor Chuck Archard; and MMM … Mozart, Mendelssohn, and McCartney, with symphonic works by this trio of composers performed by the Bach Festival Orchestra.

Tickets and more information on concert dates and times can be found at the Bach Festival website.

Safety measures in place include social distancing and limited capacity at indoor and outdoors venues, temperature checks, frequent sanitization, and masking required at Knowles events.


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