GLOUCESTER BACH BIRTHDAY CONCERT MARCH 21ST!!!

The Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation’s Annual Bach Birthday Concert performed by Brandenburg and Beyond

The Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation is delighted to present Brandenburg and Beyond, a neo-baroque ensemble featuring a combination of flute, oboe, harpsichord, and strings, performing in our annual Bach Birthday Concert on Saturday, March 21st at 7:30pm in the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church, located on the green at the corner of Middle and Church Streets.

The ensemble performs classic baroque works as well as contemporary music written in this century. The resident harpsichordist, Chris Gantner, is a composer who frequently premiers new works specifically for the group. These New England-based artists perform all over the world and hold teaching and performance positions at various orchestras, colleges, and universities.

The program entitled “Bach and His Sons” will feature the following pieces:

Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 by J.S. Bach 

Concerto for Flute and Strings in D Minor by C.P.E. Bach 

Prelude and Fugue in C Minor for Organ by J.S. Bach

The Short Tempered Klavier by P.D.Q. Bach – arranged for this occasion and unique instrumentation by Chris Gantner 

Tickets will be available at the door and in advance (strongly recommended) with more information at: www.gloucestermeetinghouse.org. General admission is $30, students $10, under age 12 free

The historic 1806 Meetinghouse, listed on the National Historic Register, was built for the first Universalist Church in America and is the home of the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church, is located on the green at the corner of Middle and Church Streets (GPS 50 Middle Street).  Parking is available on the green, entered between two granite posts on Middle Street, and around the historic district. The side entrance at 10 Church Street has an elevator to the main level, if needed.

Music lovers, please join us for this annual Bach celebration!

BACH BIRTHDAY CONCERT IN THE MEETINGHOUSE, MARCH 21ST!

The next event in the 2023-24 Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation Series is the annual Bach Birthday Concert on Thursday, March 21st at 7:30pm. 

It will feature the The Bach Project at Ashmont Hill Chamber Music, under the direction of Andrew Sheranian, performing the Brandenburg Concerto #5, the great Prelude & Fugue in B-minor for organ solo, and the delightfully humorous Coffee Cantata.

March 21st is the actual birthday in 1685 of Johann Sebastian Bach, generally regarded the greatest composer of all time. The pieces being performed represent the pinnacle of Bach’s achievement in secular music of three genres: a dramatic concerto for strings with harpsichord solo; a monumental piece for the pipe organ; and a comical operetta. This piece depicts the story of a stern father concerned about his daughter’s addiction to coffee, a new sensation in Leipzig at the time, his forbidding her marriage unless she stops, and her strategy to get his permission.

The historic 1806 Meetinghouse, home of the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church, is located on the green at 50 Middle Street where event parking is available.  A side entrance at 10 Church Street offers a lift for persons with disabilities.  For those unable to attend in person the concert will be simulcast and available afterwards on the GMF YouTube channel.

Tickets are available at the door and online, with more information at www.gloucestermeetinghouse.org