Our mission is to enrich the Charleston community through the classical music of Johann Sebastian Bach and his contemporaries.
"To strip human nature until its divine attributes are made clear, to inform ordinary activities with spiritual fervor, to give wings of eternity to that which is most ephemeral; to make divine things human and human things divine; such is Bach, the greatest and purest moment in music of all time.”
— Pablo Casals
02/16/2023
The Bach Society of Charleston presents
Vivaldi’s Salve Regina and Concerto for Violin and Organ RV541 and Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater
Performed by the Charleston Southern University Bel Canto Singers and baroque string ensemble
March 26, 2023 - 4:00-5:30pm
First (Scots) Presbyterian Church
53 Meeting Street
Tickets may be purchased online at www.bachsocietyofcharleston.org
12/23/2022
The Bach Society of Charleston would like to wish all of our wonderful concert attendees, generous patrons and talented artists a very Merry Christmas and a joyous New Year. Our concerts this past year as well as our Bachanalia brought the music of J.S. Bach and his Baroque contemporaries to an even larger audience than we anticipated which is why we are so excited about our upcoming 2023 concert season. If you would like to learn more about the Bach Society of Charleston, purchase tickets for our 2023 concerts, or perhaps donate, we invite you to visit us at: https://bachsocietyofcharleston-org.okyanust.com/get-involved/. As a 501(c)3 organization, all donations are tax deductible.
10/13/2022
¡Hola, Bach!
Continuing on from our recent Bachanalia event discussing the works of Manuel de Sumaya, the Bach Society of Charleston invites you to join us for a wonderful concert event featuring the music of Sumaya.
Saturday, October 15 at 7:00pm
First (Scots) Presbyterian Church
Charleston, SC
Tickets can be purchased in advance at: www.bachsocietyofcharleston.com
09/09/2022
Mark you calendar for Bachanalia 2022…Mexico and the Music of Manuel de Sumaya: The Bach of the Americas
Monday, September 19
The Charleston Library Society
164 King Street
7:00 - 8:30pm
$30 Library Society Members
$35 General Admission
Tickets may be purchased online at:
https://bachsocietyofcharleston.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=cce592ac7ca3c94285149ed33&id=55ac6b22c9&e=33dd7beb22
Join Drew Edward Davies, Associate Professor of Musicology at Northwestern University and Bach Society of Charleston Artistic Director Ricard Bordas for an evening of music and discovery. In his lecture, Davies will relate the story of Manuel de Sumaya (1678-1755), a very close contemporary of J. S. Bach (1685-1750) and one of the only important colonial composers to have been born in the New World, in his case Mexico City. While Sumaya and Bach worked in very different environments—the former at the largest Catholic cathedral on the American continent amid a bustling, multicultural colonial city, and the latter in a Lutheran church that was more of a regional center–we can think of them as "church musicians" rather than "composers." In addition to their achievement as composers, both were organists, choir directors, teachers, and administrators.
Following the lecture, Ricard Bordas and Dustin Ousley will perform the music of Sumaya, accompanied by harpsicord and cello.
04/30/2022
As part of 2022 please mark your calendars and plan to attend the Young Artist Festival sponsored by The Bach Society of Charleston. Featuring an outstanding line-up of talented pre-college instrumental and vocal students from South Carolina, this concert promises to delight! 2:00pm Saturday, May 28, 2022 @ Second Presbyterian Church, 342 Meeting St., Charleston
03/27/2022
Bach is back! Join us at 3pm today when we open the doors at The Cathedral Church for a riveting performance. Tickets are $35 and may be purchased at the door (cash/credit card) or by visiting the link at www.bachsocietyofcharleston.org
03/26/2022
Such an ethereal space to hear the music of J.S. Bach performed!
Please join us on Saturday, March 26 and Sunday, March 27 for two exciting concerts.
Details and tickets may be found at www.bachsocietyofcharleston.org
03/21/2022
Happy 337th Birthday, J.S. Bach!
🎼🎂🎉 🎼🎂🎉🎼🎂🎉🎼
(image source: KMFA 89.5)
01/14/2021
09/07/2020
Bach Society of Charleston
Fall 2020-Winter 2121
Our first concert of the 2020-2021 season is less than two weeks away. Given all the challenges of these times, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to hear live music performed once again. Although seating is very limited due to social distancing procedures, there are still seats available in the beautiful sanctuary of the Unitarian Church, where harpist Parker Ramsay will perform his arrangement for harp of Bach’s Goldberg Variations on the day of his new recording's release. Let's celebrate together.
J. S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations
Parker Ramsay, Harp
Friday, September 18th, 7:30 pm
In the sanctuary of the Unitarian Church
4 Archdale Street, Charleston
Social Distancing and masking will be observed
Reserve my seat at bachsocietyofcharleston.org
For a hint of the delights this concert promises to bring, enjoy this excerpt from Ramsay’s recording session at the Chapel of King’s College, Cambridge. The full recording will be released on the day of our program.
Listen now
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK7VItt-E6M
Order a download of the complete recording
https://smarturl.it/parkerramsay
CDs of the recording can be ordered from Amazon and other online sellers. For more information or to make a donation, visit our website www.bachsocietyofcharleston.org or click here
08/25/2020
The Bach Society of Charleston is pleased to announce its Fall 2020-Winter 2021 season, featuring a new transcription of a beloved Bach composition and a contemporary look at Bach's timeless message of hope.
Click here to buy tickets http://bachsocietyofcharleston.org
Fall Concert
J. S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations
Parker Ramsay, Harp
September 18th, 7:30 pm at the Unitarian Church, 4 Archdale Street
Tickets $25
Harpist and harpsichordist Parker Ramsay performs his own arrangement for harp of Bach’s celebrated Goldberg Variations, which he recorded last fall in King’s College Chapel in Cambridge for the college’s label. Presented beneath the Gothic tracery of Charleston’s Unitarian Church in advance of the CD’s international release, this performance will capture the recording’s unique and magical ambience.
Bachanalia
From Mourning to Joy: What Bach’s music teaches us
about times of adversity
Scott Jarrett, President, Early Music America
January 28th, 7 pm at the Charleston Library Society, 164 King Street
Tickets $30
Scott Jarrett, President of Early Music America and musical director of the Charlotte Bach Akademie, Oregon Bach Festival, and Back Bay Chorale of Boston, will explore the timeless relevance of J. S. Bach’s thoughts and music in a lecture accompanied by a performance on Baroque instruments illuminating his themes. A reception will follow.
Social distancing and mask wearing will be observed at all concerts. In the event of Covid-related cancellations, tickets are refundable.
