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California Bach Society
Paul Flight, artistic director
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40 years of the California Bach Society
1971-2011
40th Anniversary Merchandise
Check out our new 40th Anniversary Merchandise!
Shirts, Totes, Mugs, and more!
In 2010-2011, the California Bach Society marked the 40th anniversary of our founding by Ted Flath. Over the season, we put together a timeline with photos and audio clips, collected stories from our audience and singers, released commemorative merchandise, and celebrated at every concert. It was a wonderful time of sharing music and reminiscences. If you haven't already seen them, take a few minutes to browse through our history, walk through the timeline, and enjoy recollections of seasons past.
California Bach Society
Highlights of 40 Years
Debut Decade
1971: Founded by Edwin Flath as Berkeley Bach Choir & Peninsula Bach Choir; incorporated as California Bach Society in 1974
1971, 1972, 1973, 1974: Johann Sebastian Bach Cantatas 1, 4, 21, 34, 46, 50, 61, 65, 78, 79, 140, 147, 170, & 202; Magnificat - Berkeley & Palo Alto
1973, 1974: Motets, New Year's Eve - Grace Cathedral, San Francisco
1974: St. John Passion - Berkeley, Palo Alto, San Francisco
1975: B Minor Mass & St. John Passion - San Francisco Opera House, Berkeley, Stanford Memorial Church
1976: B Minor Mass, with Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra - Stanford Memorial Church & Mission Santa Clara
1977 & 1979: St. Matthew Passion, evangelist, Charles Bressler - Zellerbach Hall & Stanford Memorial Church
1977: B Minor Mass - Palo Alto, Berkeley, San Francisco
1978: Midwinter Bach Festival, 5 concerts including Robin Sutherland playing the Goldberg Variations & the choirs performing Cantatas 3 & 146 - Palo Alto, Berkeley, San Francisco
1978: St. John Passion - St. Mary's Cathedral, San Francisco, & Flint Center, Cupertino
1978: Handel Messiah, guest conductor, Thomas Dunn of Handel & Haydn Society (Boston), & soprano, Carol Vaness - Palo Alto & San Francisco
1978: San Francisco CBS chorus formed
1979: Brahms German Requiem, a choir of 150, with the Berkeley Promenade Orchestra - Berkeley (Zellerbach) & San Francisco (St. Mary's).
1979: Berlioz Romeo & Juliet with San Jose Symphony, conducted by George Cleve; Mozart Solemn Vespers with Midsummer Mozart, conducted by George Cleve
1979: Christmas Eve concert with Joan Baez on the anniversary of the deaths of George Moscone and Harvey Milk
1980: Cantatas 4 & 66, Easter Oratorio - Berkeley, Palo Alto, San Francisco; with earthquakes during the Berkeley & San Francisco concerts!
1980: Festival of Masses, a joint presentation by the California Bach Society, St. Mary's Cathedral, & San Francisco State University - 2 weeks of workshops, lectures, and performances led by Robert Shaw, including B Minor Mass & Berlioz Requiem, with the Oakland Symphony
Davies Hall Years
1981 & 1982: B Minor Mass - Davies Symphony Hall
1981: Christmas Oratorio complete, with a break for dinner - Trinity Episcopal Church, San Francisco
1982 & 1985: St. John Passion - Davies Symphony Hall
1983 & 1984: Christmas Oratorio - Davies Symphony Hall
1983: All-Brahms concert, substituting for the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra - Reno, Nevada
1984: Calvin Simmons Memorial Concert - Davies Hall. CBS commissioned a new work for this concert, Antiphony Across, by Daniel Kobialka. The performance was recorded and an LP was issued.
1987: In July Flath conducted his final concert, assisted by Claire Giovanetti, associate director, of music by Bach Bartók, Britten, Hassler, & Palestrina - Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Menlo Park
1987: Edwin Flath, founder and director of CBS, died in his home in San Francisco on September 24.
Community Chorus becomes Chamber Choir
1989: Edward Bolkovac named artistic director
1994: Recorded Musica Barocca - music of Caldara, Carissimi, & Frescobaldi; with Judith Nelson, soprano, & Ron McKean, organ
1995: Handel Israel in Egypt; Bolkovac left for position in Australia
1996: Jeffrey Thomas named artistic director
1996-1997: performances with American Bach Soloists of Charpentier, Byrd, Handel, & Easter Oratorio
Liturgical Reconstructions & More
1998: Warren Stewart named artistic director
1998: Mass in G Minor, Cantatas 36 & 61 - Palo Alto (All Saints' Episcopal Church), Berkeley (St. Mark's Episcopal Church), San Francisco (St. Luke's Episcopal Church)
1999, 2000, 2001, 2002: Monteverdi Masses & Vespers - venues included St. Patrick's Seminary, Menlo Park, and St. Gregory of Nyssen, San Francisco
2000: Berkeley Early Music Festival - sold-out performance of the Ascension Oratorio
2001: B Minor Mass - Grace Cathedral; First Congregational Church, Berkeley; & First Methodist Church, Palo Alto
2001: Motets; Arvo Pärt Passio
2002: Handel Carmelite Vespers, with Catherine Webster, Ruth Escher, Suzanne Elder Wallace, Scott Whitaker, Hugh Davies
2003: Mozart Requiem
2003: Terry Riley Sun Rings, with Kronos Quartet - San Francisco Jazz Festival & Sunset Center, Carmel
2004: Mass for Easter - Christ lag in Todesbanden; Mass in G Major; Jesu, der du meine Seele; Toccata in F Major for organ, with Ruth Escher, Suzanne Elder Wallace, Scott Whitaker, Hugh Davies; and Robert Huw Morgan, organ
2005: Warren Stewart's farewell concert was a recreation of a concert directed by Bach's son Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach in Hamburg in 1786
Into the Present
2005-2006: One season with Suzanne Elder Wallace as artistic director - Cantata 150, Britten Ceremony of Carols, and Monteverdi Missa in illo tempore, among other works
2006: 1st summer choral workshop
2006: Paul Flight named artistic director
2006: Die Familie Bach - Jesu, meine Freude & works by relatives of J.S.
2006: Charpentier Messe de Minuit pour Noël
2007: Handel Anthems for the Duke of Chandos
2007: A Madrigal History Tour - in Italian, German, French, Spanish, & English!
2008: An Afternoon at Zimmermann's Coffee House (annual benefit) - Coffee Cantata
2008: Scarlatti & Stradella: A Mother's Sorrow
2008: Early Cantatas: Gott is mein König; Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis, with Rita Lilly & Brian Staufenbiel
2009: Biber Requiem & Steffani Stabat Mater, with Paul Flight & Brian Staufenbiel
2010: Monteverdi Madrigals, with Brian Thorsett
2010: St. John Passion, with Brian Staufenbiel, Rita Lilly, & Paul Flight
Want more recent photos of CBS? Check out our flickr page. Want more audio clips of our recent concerts? Check out our audio page.
California Bach Society
P.O. Box 1526, Palo Alto, CA 94302-1526
Preferred: 650-485-1097, Secondary: 415-262-0272 info@calbach.org
P.O. Box 1526, Palo Alto, CA 94302-1526
Preferred: 650-485-1097, Secondary: 415-262-0272 info@calbach.org