2014 Bach Fest season announced
“The Italians are coming!” To any fan of Baroque music, that’s a no-brainer. Where would the Western Classical music and opera traditions be without the folks from south of the Alps? So the 2014 Carmel Bach Festival season, 
July 19 through August 2, is really more like an inevitable homecoming. Highlights from those Mediterranean climes include Vivaldi’s Gloria on the opening night Main Concert, a gondola-load of concertos on concertmaster Peter Hanson’s Monday night string program, an Italian opera survey on Tuesday, a Venetian excursion (La serenissima) in Chorale director Andrew Megill’s Wednesday Mission Basilica lineup, and lots more on the Thursday and Friday Main concerts.
Of course, JS Bach gets some serious exposure as one of his crown jewels, the St. Matthew Passion, hears its first exposure at Sunset Center since Paul Goodwin took over as festival artistic director. (In his first season, Goodwin semi-staged the St. John Passion with stunning impact.) Bach opens the two-week festival on July 19 when Goodwin conducts his Magnificat. (That program will also premiere a new festival commission by the startlingly imaginative young American, Caroline Shaw.) And Bach carves out some space in the other Main Concerts, excepting only the Tuesday opera show, and gets lots more exposure in the myriad chamber music programs.
Megill has done fabulous choral work for the festival over many years, but on July 27 you have a chance to hear him sing, along with other solo voices and chorus, in a program of late 20th century works by Górecki, Pärt and Tavener, and a very recent piece, based on a Hans Christian Anderson fairytale, by another American, David Lang.
The Bach Festival 2014 season brochure is available now at the Festival office at Sunset Center. Or you could request one be sent by mail at 831-624-1521. (Paul Goodwin photo by r.r.jones)
Upcoming this weekend
The Smuin Ballet returns to Sunset Center with its new XXTremes
(Dear Miss Cline photo by David DeSilva) for two performances only, Friday night and Saturday afternoon. And a vigorous program in support of performing arts in King City called Sol Treasures is staging two large-cast student performances of David Zellnik’s musical Peter Pan, Jr. at the Robert Stanton Auditorium on the campus of King City High School. Details of both, and many more events, on our Calendar page.
Performing Arts People
This week we celebrate Tandy Beal, worldwide dancer/choreographer extraordinaire who makes her home, with her composer/partner/husband Jon Scoville, in Felton. Tandy’s most recent major production, HereAfterHere “a 
self-guided tour of eternity”, will be staged at Santa Clara University this weekend (Friday through Sunday). HereAfterHere played to critical acclaim—amazement actually—at Cabrillo College in 2010 and at Salt Lake City last year. Read about Tandy here, or on our Performing Arts People page. For details about the Santa Clara performances: 650-327-1200; www.scupresents.org
Alumni Achievement Award
Flute virtuoso and contemporary composer Ned McGowan, who grew up in Carmel and now lives in Amsterdam where he leads his Hexnut ensemble, just posted to his website, “I am honored to announce that my Alma Mater, the Cleveland Institute of Music, has awarded me their Alumni Achievement Award for 2014. This year their theme is composer/performer virtuoso. While I was simply a student of classical flute during my study there, the seeds for new music and improvisation were planted which helped to shape me into a composer. In May I will perform at the commencement ceremonies.” (You can see Ned playing his contrabass flute via this YouTube link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO7OsDVRbAY )
Find Fresh Reviews
The Monterey Symphony with guest conductor Alvaro Cassuto on our Music Reviews page. Paper Wing’s O Brother, Where Art Thou? on our Theater Reviews page.
Scott MacClelland, editor