Welcome to Kalamazoo Choral Arts. Previously The Kalamazoo Bach Festival, this new title reflects our new mission statement for the organization, defined by our board of directors: “to create, enrich, and transform community through singing.”
This mission embodies three important values that drive our work:
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a clearer identity,
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openness to an expanded repertoire and diverse audiences, and
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a core belief in the power of singing to bring people together.
Bach Festival Chorus
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The MISSION of the Bach Festival Society is to bring excellent vocal, choral and instrumental music to the widest possible audience in southwest Michigan through performances of major works by the Bach Festival Chorus and orchestra, the sponsorship of renowned vocal artists and choral groups and educational outreach activities. The Bach Society focuses on the music of J. S. Bach and composers from the Renaissance to the contemporary era.
The BACH FESTIVAL CHORUS is the core of the Kalamazoo Bach Festival with a membership of 60 to 70 singers who share a love of great music. The Chorus employs five lead singers who also serve as Bach Festival soloists. The rest of the Chorus is made up of volunteers who come from the entire Southwest Michigan area. Many members of the Chorus maintain active schedules as soloists in churches and other venues throughout the community. Others are simply brought to the Chorus by their love of music. The choir performs two to three concerts a year: the annual BachFest Christmas! concert, the Bach Festival Finale concert held each year during Bach Festival Week in April, and occasionally a third concert in the winter. The Bach Festival Chorus has performed major choral works of J.S. Bach and composers indebted to his legacy, from Mendelssohn, Mozart, Brahms and Haydn to more modern composers such as Rachmaninoff and Bernstein. The Chorus has collaborated with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, under Maestros Yoshimi Takeda and Raymond Harvey, to present works by Shostakovich, Brahms, Mozart, and Orff, as well as the North American premiere of Latvian composer Ugis Praulins’ stunning Te Deum Laudamus.
We are extremely grateful to these businesses, organizations,
and individuals for their generosity and support.
