Peoria Bach Festival 2026

The 2026 Peoria Bach Festival will take place at Westminster Presbyterian Church (located at 1420 W. Moss Ave. in Peoria) running from Sunday, May 31 through Friday, June 5.  The Festival kicks off with the Bach Iben Organ Marathon on Sunday at 4 pm.  Daily concerts will begin at Noon running Monday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday.  On Tuesday evening at 7:30 pm "Friends and Rivals: A Baroque Chamber Concert on Period Instruments" will be presented.   Then, the final Festival Concert will be held on Friday at 7:30 pm with pre-concert lecture beginning at 6:45 pm with the concert featuring the Peoria Bach Festival Choir and Orchestra.  Andrew Bruhn of Illinois State University is this year's guest conductor.  Tickets for the Tuesday and Friday evening concerts are $20 for adults and $10 for students.  All the other events of the Peoria Bach Festival 2026 are free.  For information on all the events, visit www.peoriabachfestival.org

The Friday evening program will begin with the Orchestral Suite in G minor, BWV 1070, long attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach but now widely credited to his eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann. Scored for strings and harpsichord, the suite blends youthful energy with expressive refinement, highlighted by graceful Minuet solos played by the string principals. The Sinfonia Concertante by Johann Christoph Bach will follow, a vibrant and rarely heard gem that showcases four soloists—flute, oboe, violin, and cello—set against a colorful ensemble of winds, strings, and continuo. Kyle Dzapo, Blake Duncan, Kelsey Klopfenstein, and Adriana Ransom bring this spirited work to life, revealing the inventive brilliance of another of Bach's sons. After the Intermission, the Peoria Bach Festival Choir will offer Johann Bach’s poignant motet Unser Leben ist ein Schatten (“Our Life Is But a Shadow”), a work of striking devotion. Its sober beauty prepares the way for the evening’s major sacred work: Cantata BWV 78, Jesu, der du meine Seele (“Jesus, You Who [Rescued] My Soul”), With its expressive arias, intricate duets, and radiant choruses, the cantata stands among Bach’s most beloved. The concert concludes with a festival flourish: the third chorale from Cantata BWV 79, Nun danket alle Gott (“Now Thank We All Our God”), scored for full winds, strings, and continuo. Featuring a duet for horns, this triumphant setting will send the audience out with gratitude, joy, and the unmistakable brilliance of Bach’s musical world.  Vocal soloists for the evening are Esther Lee (soprano), Elizabeth Thompson (mezzo‑soprano), Trevor Mitchell (tenor), and Gerard Sundberg (baritone).