Collaboration and Outreach

Collaboration with other Dayton area arts organizations and outreach to many parts of the community and especially to young people are part of the fabric of the Bach Society. They are integral to our mission and our vision, and are a major factor in our planning for each concert season. We have been fortunate to secure grant funding for these collaborations from the Montgomery County Arts and Cultural District (MCACD), the Ohio Arts Council (OAC), and the Miriam Rosenthal Memorial Trust Fund.

2008-2009 – The Magnificat through Art, Music, and Dance
The 2008-2009 season included two collaborative and outreach projects. The first of these involved a partnership with the Gem City Ballet in the performance of Peter Merz’s new ballet set to J.S. Bach’s choral masterpiece, the Magnificat. This project was supported by a generous grant from the Miriam Rosenthal Memorial Trust Fund. The second collaboration, “The Art of the Magnificat,” utilized the rich resources of the Marian Library at the University of Dayton for a multimedia presentation of art from two different eras in conjunction with the performances of both J.S. Bach and John Rutter’s settings of the Magnificat. . The collaboration was funded in part by a grant from MCACD.

2007-2008 – Project Sing
The 2007-08 community outreach project entitled “Project Sing” was partially supported by a Learning and Partnership Grant from the Ohio Arts Council. Eight students from Xenia High School rehearsed and performed with the Bach Society chorus, soloists, and instrumentalists for the March 16, 2008 concert. The project enabled students to demonstrate their musical skills and gain experience with literature not normally performed by church or school groups. As a result, they not only deepened their knowledge of great choral music, but also learned about the possibilities and rewards of continuing to make music and perform beyond high school. The Xenia High School choirs, directed by Brent Manley, have been honored to sing in Washington, DC as well as in New York City and have consistently received superior ratings at both district and state contests sponsored by the Ohio Music Educators Association.

2006-2007 – Project Sing
For the May 2007 concert featuring selections from Brahms’ Opus 52 Liebeslieder Waltzes, student chamber choirs from Wayne High School, Centerville High School, and Sinclair Community College joined in performance with the Bach Society chorus. Each of the student choirs also prepared one of the Liebeslieder Waltzes which they performed on their own during the concert. This approach gave these students an invaluable learning experience through public performance of serious choral music, in a foreign language, in a professional environment, and gave the participating schools an opportunity to showcase their music programs. This outreach project was made possible through a grant from the MCACD.

2005-2006 – Commissioned Work Project
In the 2005-2006 season, the Bach Society of Dayton Chorus undertook its first commissioning project with the support of an OAC Arts Innovation grant. Because we believe it is important to focus on the rich talent within our own state, this new choral work was composed by an Ohio artist for performance by an Ohio cChorus accompanied by Ohio guest artists for a largely Ohio audience. The composer was Dr. Donald Busarow, well-known Wittenberg University professor, composer, and performer. Our musical partners were the Carillon Brass, five of the most talented Dayton-area musicians;, Ms. Jane Varella, former Principal Percussionist of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra;, and Dr. R. Alan Kimbrough, organist and Bach Society of Dayton accompanist.

The commissioned work was "A Psalm Triptych" based upon Psalm 100 with three contrasting movements with a total length of about 15 minutes. We chose the text for its strong emotional content, and the other complementary musical forces to demonstrate the interplay between brass and voices as the centerpiece of a program of diverse musical styles.
The commissioning also gave us a unique opportunity to reach out to young musicians and help them understand and appreciate serious choral music. For this part of the project, we collaborated with the faculty of the Stivers School for the Arts in Dayton, offering selected Stivers students face-to-face contact with the composer, and a "mini-master class" in composition.

2003-2004 – St. John Passion Project
The outreach project in the 2003-2004 season took place in conjunction with the Bach Society of Dayton’s performance of J.S. Bach’s “St. John Passion”. Select students from The Muse Machine member schools participated in part of the performance and were introduced to baroque performance practices through workshops. The performance of this major work with local musicians and modern instruments also attracted new audience members. The outreach goal was enhanced by a pre-concert lecture on the “St. John Passion” by former Dayton Bach Society music director and musicologist, Dr. Richard Benedum. The involvement of The Muse Machine member schools, helped increase our contribution to the Dayton arts community as a whole, while expanding our audiences. The project was funded in part by a grant from MCACD.

2003-2004 – “Sing, My Soul” Project
As part of its 2003-2004 concert season, the Bach Society of Dayton enlisted the services of prominent African-American regional soloists and university faculty members, plus a chamber orchestra of Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra players and other regional instrumentalists to present a program of distinctly different but complementary sacred music. The primary goals for this project were to: expand the appreciation of classical choral music within the African-American community in the Miami Valley with a concert that included both traditional repertory (a Bach cantata) and targeted music (collection of spirituals); introduce Montgomery County minority youth to the positive role models of successful African-American artists; encourage these young people to attend the concert, with the hope of increasing attendance and interest on the part of the adults who accompanied them; and diversify the potential audience of the Bach Society of Dayton. The project’s educational component included development of classroom materials and a workshop demonstration by the Bach Society director, the group’s accompanist, the four soloists, and members of the Bach Society Chorus for Stivers High School choral/vocal students. The project was partially funded by a grant from MCACD.