2025 Bach Symposium
The UMass Amherst Bach Festival and Symposium was launched in April 2015. The biennial event attracts exceptional musicians and scholars of international stature to UMass Amherst, connects them to our students, alumni and faculty, and through robust collaboration, creates an event of artistic and academic excellence that enriches all who come in contact with it.
SCHOLARLY SYMPOSIUM
Daniel R. Melamed, Keynote Speaker
PANEL DISCUSSION
Friday, April 25, 7:30 pm
Bezanson Recital Hall, UMass Amherst
Free Admission. Please note: Space is limited.
- “J.S. Bach and the 21st Century Canon”
Moderated by Ernest May (UMass Amherst)
Panelists: Walter Frisch (Columbia University), Wendy Heller (Princeton University), Christoph Wolff (Harvard University), Daniel R. Melamed (Indiana University), Evan MacCarthy (UMass Amherst)
SCHOLARLY SYMPOSIUM & KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Bezanson Recital Hall, UMass Amherst
Saturday, April 26, 8:30 am – 6:30 pm (Keynote 1:15pm)
Saturday Symposium fee: $25 in-person attendees; $5 students (lunch included); cash or check accepted at the event. Free for Remote participants. Registration form
- “Why Bach? Navigating 21st Century Scholarship, Performance, and Pedagogy”
Contemporary critiques of the Western musical canon, and renewed calls for its expansion, deconstruction, reimagination, or abrogation, invite reflection upon the functions, meanings, and value of Johann Sebastian Bach’s music in the twenty-first century. Evolving aesthetic and cultural ideals reflecting efforts to promote a global perspective in classical music invite dialogue about Bach’s continued significance today, including with regard to performance repertoire, scholarly methodologies, and pedagogical practices. This symposium seeks to reflect upon the continuing contributions of Bach’s life and works in twenty-first century culture.