American Bach Soloists
| American Bach Soloists (ABS) | |
|---|---|
| Chamber orchestra on period instruments | |
 Official American Bach Soloists logo | |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Location | San Francisco |
| Principal conductor | Jeffrey Thomas |
| Website | americanbach |
The American Bach Soloists (ABS) is an American baroque orchestra based in the San Francisco Bay Area.[1] The orchestra was founded in Belvedere, California in 1989.[2] Performers share music from Johann Sebastian Bach and his contemporaries during the Classical era, including Handel, Vivaldi, and Mozart, with modern audiences.[1]
History[]
Since 1998, ABS has performed Handel's Messiah at Grace Cathedral during the Christmas season.[1]
In February 2020, ABS released a compilation album featuring Bach's cantatas and other early music pieces.[3]
American Bach Soloists Academy[]
In 2010, ABS began hosting the American Bach Soloists Academy, an annual two-week summer training program at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.[2] Each year, more than 50 advanced students of early music convene for coaching, rehearsals, and classes.[1] Following the academy, musicians publicly perform baroque selections as a part of the ABS Festival.[4][5]
Music director[]
The American Bach Soloists are led by artistic and music director Jeffrey Thomas.[2][6] Jeffrey is a conductor and tenor vocalist. He studied at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Manhattan School of Music, the Juilliard School of Music and at Cambridge University.[7]
Discography[]
- Section in progress
Notable performers[]
Collaborations[]
- Performances at the Berkeley Festival and Exhibition
- Henry Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas with the San Francisco Opera Center and The Crucible in Oakland, CA
- Works by Claudio Monteverdi, George Frideric Handel's Dixit Dominus, and Virgil Thomson's Four Saints in Three Acts with the Mark Morris Dance Group
- George Frideric Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks with laser lighting display by Lighting Systems Design, Inc. (Orlando, FL) in Grace Cathedral, San Francisco
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d Littlejohn, David (2013-07-31). "A Boost to the Country's Early-Music Capital". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-06-11.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c MacNamara, Mark (2017-09-05). "The Historically Informed Ego: Young Musicians Take Up the Early Music Challenge". www.sfcv.org. Retrieved 2021-06-11.
- ^ Zwiebach, Michael (2020-04-07). "American Bach Soloists Grant Us Much Needed Tranquility". www.sfcv.org. Retrieved 2021-06-11.
- ^ Kotapish, Paul (2021-06-08). "The American Bach Soloists Festival Goes Live This Summer". www.sfcv.org. Retrieved 2021-06-11.
- ^ Rowe, Georgia (2018-07-31). "American Bach Soloists explore Dresden in SF summer festival". The Mercury News. Retrieved 2021-06-11.
- ^ Rowe, Georgia (2019-07-25). "Summer with American Bach Soloists brings a bounty of Bach and more". The Mercury News. Retrieved 2021-06-11.
- ^ Oron, Aryeh (May 2001). "Jeffrey Thomas (Conductor, Tenor) - Short Biography". www.bach-cantatas.com. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
- ^ "Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen's Impressive Debut Recording". www.sfcv.org. Retrieved 2021-06-11.
- Musical groups established in 1989
- Chamber orchestras
- Musical groups from San Francisco
- Choirs in the San Francisco Bay Area
- Early music choirs
- Early music groups
- Early music orchestras
- Early music record labels
- 1989 establishments in California
- Orchestras based in California
- Bach orchestras