Tickets

Saturdays, July 13 & 20, 7:30 PM

Orchestra, Chorale, Chorus and Soloists conducted by Paul Goodwin

Haydn’s masterpiece, The Creation, majestically opens the 82^nd Carmel Bach Festival. The performances feature the Festival’s entire company of musicians and will be sung in a Haydn-approved English translation. The Creation appeals on so many levels: It is complex and intricate, yet highly accessible. It is spiritual, but profoundly human. It’s is Haydn’s great expression of gratitude to God, but also a lasting gift to humankind.

Sundays, July 14 & 21, 4:00 PM

Orchestra, Chorale, Chorus and Soloists conducted by Paul Goodwin

Two titans of Western culture—J.S. Bach and William Shakespeare—are paired in this program. The first two cantatas of J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio open the relaxing and pastoral afternoon. The second half of the program is Mendelssohn’s Incidental Music to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, with actress Francesca Faridany providing Shakespeare’s narration.

Mondays, July 15 & 22, 7:30 PM

Featuring Concertmaster Peter Hanson with members of the Festival Orchestra

Monday’s program stretches the imagination. The concert presents the neo-Baroque classic Holberg Suite by Grieg, and Shaker Loops by John Adams. The suite from Psycho, composed by Bernard Herrmann begins a second half dedicated to great film music. Other movie classics include Mancini’s beautiful “Moon River,” John Williams’s haunting violin solo from Schindler’s List and Elgar’s “Nimrod,” which was used in the movie “Dunkirk.”

Tuesdays, July 16 & 23, 7:30 PM

Orchestra, Chorale, Chorus, Soloists conducted by Paul Goodwin
Mhairi Lawson, soprano; Meg Bragle, mezzo-soprano; Thomas Cooley, tenor; Dashon Burton, bass-baritone

“All opera is about saints, sinners, seducers, victims and death! In this evening of drama and excitement we present four contrasting operas that show elements of all these traits that make opera so compelling,” – Paul Goodwin

Wednesdays, July 17 & 24, 8:30 PM

Orchestra and Chorale conducted by Andrew Megill

The Christmas Oratorio’s third and final cantatas comprise the major portion of the annual Carmel Mission Basilica concerts. Interlaced with the two cantatas are Estonian composer Arvo Pärt’s Seven Magnificat Antiphons, a stunning a capella work that is are meditative, trance-like, and transcendent.

Thursday, July 18, 7:30 PM – One Performance Only

Edwin Huizinga, violin and William Coulter, guitar, known as Fire & Grace, return after sold-out concerts in 2017 and 2018. The duo is joined by renowned Swedish nyckelharpa virtuoso Olov Johansson, foremost performer on the traditional Swedish instrument called the NyckelHarpa. This unique program include’s traditional and contemporary Scandinavian folk music and songs, and a blending of Baroque and Swedish dance tunes.

Thursday, July 25, 7:30 PM – One Performance Only

Carmel Bach Festival Chorale conducted by Andrew Megill

The magnificent Bach Festival Chorale, one of the finest professional chorales in the nation, takes the stage for an evening of music inspired by the seasons. The program is about the creation story, especially the markers of time (sun, moon, and stars, and the seasons of the year). Its program ranges from Medieval secular song to Brahms to an avant-garde piece about the sun, with Copland’s choral masterpiece (“In the beginning”) as a centerpiece.

Fridays, July 19 & 26, 7:30 PM

Orchestra conducted by Paul Goodwin, Jason Vieaux, guitar

Rossini’s William Tell Overture depicts the opera’s Swiss Alps location and concludes with its famous “Lone Ranger” finale. Two guitar works are next—Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez and Hollywood film composer/Carmel resident Mark Mancina’s “Suite in Three Movements” based on scores to movies such as Twister and Speed.  The soloist is Jason Vieaux, a Grammy-winning artist. The concert concludes with Beethoven’s sunny Fourth Symphony.

Saturday, July 27, 7:30 PM

Favorite selections from the Festival are performed in this closing night concert that celebrates music, Carmel, the musicians of the Bach Festival, and the Festival’s loyal patrons. The program is a sampler of musician and audience favorites from throughout the two-week Festival.

Monday, July 8, 7:30 PM

Organ and Trumpet Recital

This performance features two Baroque masters performing in beautiful Carmel Valley. Principal trumpet Robert Farley and principal keyboardist Andrew Arthur present “The King’s Trumpeter.” The title of the concert is taken from the name originally given to the head trumpeter, retained by the King, whose job it was to signal the attack in times of war. St. Dunstan’s beautiful sanctuary and Dobson pipe organ will host this entertaining evening.

Mondays, July 15 & 22, 11:00 AM

Andrew Arthur is the principal keyboardist and director of the Twilight in the Cathedral concerts. He is the director of music at Trinity Hall in Cambridge, England, the associate director of the Hanover Band, principal conductor of the Euterpe Baroque Consort and musical director of Orpheus Britannicus. His annual recitals at the iconic Carmel Mission Basilica are highlights of the chamber concert schedule.

Mondays, July 15 & 22, 2:30 PM

After the celebratory opening cantatas are performed on Sunday Afternoons at Sunset Center, parts IV and V will be staged at All Saints Church on Monday Afternoons. This is the best opportunity to hear the Festival’s four vocal soloists in an intimate setting, accompanied by a small Baroque ensemble under the direction of Andrew Arthur.

Tuesdays, July 16 & 23, 2:30 PM

Music by Henry Purcell, Daniel Purcell and John Eccles

Wednesdays, July 17 & 24, 2:30 PM

Music by Marini, Fontana, Rosenmüller, Castello, Gabrielli, and of course Antonio Vivaldi!

Fridays, July 19 & 26, 2:30 PM

Music by Haydn, Rossini, and Boccherini

Saturday, July 20, 11:00 AM

The Epic Adventures of Leonard and Rasmus: Flying off the Handel

Now in its sixth year, the intrepid duo of Leonard and Rasmus take listeners of all ages on an action-packed whirlwind of musical experiences set in an engaging story line. Leonard and Rasmus explore the vast world of insects and bee-eautiful bugs through music, science, and amusing puns and tales.

Saturday, July 20, 2:30 PM

The Carmel Bach Festival Young Artists Competition recognizes talented young musicians from the Central Coast. This showcase presents accomplished young soloists, pianists, instrumentalists, vocalists, and chamber ensembles performing on the Sunset Center main stage.

Saturday, July 27, 1:30 PM

Four emerging vocal stars from our 35th annualVirginia Best Adams Vocal Master Class program perform Baroque masterpieces with members of the Festival Orchestra. Michael Beattie is the director.

Saturday, July 27, 11:00 AM

The Festival’s final day begins at the Sunset Center with a charming program featuring Dongsok Shin on the fortepiano (the precursor to the modern piano), as well as principal flutist Robin Carlson Peery.

Mondays, July 15 & 22, 1:00 PM

Emlyn Ngai, violin

Join associate concertmaster Emlyn Ngai as he explores a variety of Baroque styles via the music of Baltzar, Biber, Bach, Telemann, and Tartini.

Tuesdays, July 16 & 23, 1:00 PM

Sarah Darling, viola

Violist Sarah Darling presents a fascinating program centered on Bach’s Third Suite for Cello, here performed on Viola. Caroline Shaw’s In Manus Tuas is also included.

Wednesdays, July 17 & 24, 1:00 PM

Daniel Swenberg, lute; Dongsok Shin, lautenwerk

Exploring Bach’s music for the Lute and Lute-Harpsichord (Lautenwerk)

Thursdays, July 18 & 25, 1:00 PM

Molly Quinn, Jennifer Paulino, soprano; Virginia Warnken Kelsey, mezzo-soprano; Andrew Fuchs, Timothy Hodges, tenor; Jonathan Woody, bass

Music by J.S. Bach, Palestrina, Victoria, Fux. etc.

Fridays, July 19 & 26, 1:00 PM

Robin Carlson Peery, flute; Karina Schmitz, viola; Simon Martyn-Ellis, guitar

Music by Bach, Beethoven, and Giuliani

Wednesday, July 17, 5:00 PM

Enjoy two Mozart sonatas for fortepiano and violin, all dedicated to important women who supported Mozart. Concertmaster Peter Hanson is the soloist, accompanied by principal keyboardist Andrew Arthur, performing on the fortepiano, the predecessor to the modern concert grand piano. The center of the program features soprano Mhairi Lawson performing three delightful Mozart songs.

Wednesday, July 24, 5:00 PM

Mozart’s String Quartet No. 21 is the first of three Prussian Quartets because of their dedication to the King of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm II. The beautiful quartet is notable for the equal prominence given to all four parts and for the and for the remarkable and melodic nature of the cello part, the instrument that Friedrich Wilhelm played.

Thursdays, July 18 & 25, 5:00 PM

Monterey’s iconic and beautiful San Carlos Cathedral has hosted Bach Festival twilight concerts for many years. The 2019 program features classic Baroque violin, organ and trumpet works. Enjoy some of the Festival’s finest Baroque musicians performing in the magnificent setting of the San Carlos Cathedral, just steps from downtown Monterey.

Sunday, July 14, 8:30 PM

Music by Jacob, Pärt, and Beethoven

Sunday, July 21, 8:30 PM

Nocturnal Music by Schubert, Bruckner, Chesnokov, Rachmaninoc, Poulenc, Vaughn Williams, Wuick, Sullican, Spratlan, and Biebl