Bach Festivals & Cantata Series
Bach Week Festival, Evanston

Name:

Bach Week Festival

Location:

Evanston & Chicago, Illinois, USA

Venues:

St. Luke's Episcopal Church - 939 Himman, Evanston (past venue)
First Congregational Church, Hinman & Grove, Evanston (past venue)
Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Avenue, Evanston
Anderson Chapel at North Park University, Chicago (since 2013)

Years:

Since 1974 (Annual Festival)

Months:

April-May

Artistic Director:

Karel Paukert (1974)
Richard Webster (since 1975)

Ensembles:

The Bach Week Festival Chamber Orchestra
The Bach Week Festival Chorus

Website:

Bach Week Festival (Official Website)
Bach Week Blog
Bach Week Festival on Facebook

History & Mission:

Bach Week was founded in 1974 by Karel Paukert, then Associate Professor of Organ and Church Music at Northwestern University and Organist/Choirmaster at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.
Mr. Paukert’s vision was to combine the choral resources available to him at St. Luke’s with professional instrumentalists from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera Orchestra, and Northwestern to perform the great choral and orchestral music of J.S. Bach.
Since the original performances in 1974, the festival has continued without interruption each May - the first year directed by Mr. Paukert, and successive years by Richard Webster.
From 1974 until 1982, the works of J.S. Bach were featured exclusively. Since 1982, works by other Baroque composers have been added selectively, particularly works by worthy but lesser-known composers not widely performed elsewhere.
The music of J.S. Bach still predominates and one critic called the Bach Week Festival “the most comprehensive celebration of Bach’s music west of Leipzig.” Artistic quality and public response have continued to develop throughout Bach Week’s history. As a result, Bach Week has earned the reputation as one of the Midwest’s most highly regarded and respected concert series.

Recent Festivals:

31^st Festival: May 2-9, 2004
32^nd Festival: May 1-8, 2005
33^rd Festival: May 5-14, 2006
34^th Festival: May 4-13, 2007
35^th Festival: May 2-9, 2008
36^th Festival: Apr 24-26 & Oct 11, 2009
37^th Festival: Apr 23-30 & Oct 10, 2010
38^th Festival: Apr 29-May 1 & Oct 9, 2011
39^th Festival: Apr 27-May 6, 2012
40^th Festival: Apr 19-May 5, 2013

41^st Festival: Apr 25-May 4 & Oct 12, 2014
42^nd Festival: Apr 24-May 3, 2015
43^rd Festival: Apr 22-May 6, 2016
44^th Festival: Apr 28-May 7, 2017
45^th Festival: Apr 27-May 4, 2018
46^th Festival: Apr 26-May 3, 2019
47^th Festival: May 1-8 & 30, 2020
48^th Festival: Apr 24-May 12, 2022
49^th Festival: Apr 28-May 14, 2023
50^th Festival: Apr 26-May 5, 2024 (Final Season)

Logo: