Dear Mr. Funfgeld: A Celebration of The Bach Choir of Bethlehem and its Artistic Director and Conductor, Greg Funfgeld

by Bridget George (Editor)

The oldest American Bach Choir, The Bach Choir of Bethlehem gave the first complete American performances of Bach's Mass in B Minor in 1900 and Christmas Oratorio in 1901. Since its founding in 1898, The Choir has been attracting thousands of visitors from across the United States and beyond to the annual Bethlehem Bach Festival in Pennsylvania. Greg Funfgeld, sixth conductor of The Choir, has been artistic director and conductor since 1983 and is now in his 30th anniversary season. He has expanded the programs of The Bach Choir beyond the annual Bach Festivals to become a year-round season of 31 concerts and educational programs with an audience of more than 20,000. Under Funfgeld's direction, the 95 dedicated volunteer singers of The Choir, performing with the Bach Festival Orchestra and distinguished soloists, have received international acclaim. Venues have included the Herkulessaal at Munich's Royal Residence and the Thomaskirche, Bach's church in Leipzig, as part of the 1995 Germany tour; The Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall as part of The Choir's Centennial Celebration in 1998-2000; the BBC Proms in London's Royal Albert Hall as part of an eight-concert tour of the United Kingdom in 2003, and Severance Hall, Cleveland for the 75th anniversary of the Baldwin-Wallace Bach Festival in 2007. In September 2011, The Bach Choir represented the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in a 10th anniversary musical observance of 9/11 in New York City, giving concerts in Saint Paul's Chapel and Trinity Church, Wall Street. The Choir has been recognized for its outstanding educational outreach programs (Bach at Noon, Bach to School, and Family Concerts) by Chorus America, the National Endowment for the Arts, and in 2012, as the first American recipient of an award from the J.S. Bach foundation in Switzerland.

103 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2013