Surprise
yourself

Since 2018, when the festival’s orchestra was formed, exceptional musicians have come together to share their love for J.S. Bach’s repertoire with our devoted festival audience. The artistic mastery of our guest conductors is a source of inspiration for both the orchestra and our audience for which we are proud and grateful.

J.S. Bach’s emotional depth and intellectual rigor have influenced a wide range of musical genres, composers and artists in timeless fashion. Was Beethoven influenced by J.S. Bach? According to Sir Andràs Schiff Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations would not exist without Bach’s Goldberg Variations who obviously served as model. For the first time we will have the Diabelli Variations as part of our festival program and they will be in good hands with the Ukrainian pianist Serhiy Salov.
Boundaries will be pushed during our concert Sampling Baroque Bach. Burak Özdemir, born in Turkey, now living in Berlin, and his ensemble Musica Sequenza will engage in a dialogue of genres and styles. Historical instruments from the 18th century will be heard alongside synthesizers and digital sound elements – a musical expedition into the undiscovered world of 21st century electro-baroque.
The universality of Johann Sebastian Bach’s music is also apparent when listening to masterworks such as the Musical Offering interpreted by Les Musiciens de St. Julien, France, or the Motets by the baroque collective Solomon’s Knot from London, United Kingdom.
J.S. Bach’s music is universal, it transcends cultural boundaries and is accessible and inclusive in nature.

The Off-Bach, taking place during the main festival, is the perfect place to experience J.S. Bach’s humanitarian inclusiveness. People of all ages and backgrounds gather at the Festival’s highly accessible downtown venue to experience recitals, mini-conferences and impromptu performances – all with free admission.

Alexandra Scheibler founded the Bach-Academie de Montréal in 2003 and has been artistic director of the Montréal Bach Festival since 2007. She was awarded a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in musicology from the University of Hamburg with a dissertation on religious aspects in Leonard Bernstein’s life and work. She was employed in various German public broadcasters in classical music departments as well acting as assistant director for several productions at the State Opera Bern in Switzerland. As a freelance author Alexandra Scheibler wrote radio features and programme notes. In Cologne and Hamburg, she studied violin and viola and played in numerous orchestras and chamber music ensembles under such conductors as Sebastian Lang-Lessing, Frank Beerman and Alun Francis. In October 2019 the President of the Federal Republic of Germany awarded the Order of Merit (Bundesverdienstkreuz am Bande) and in August 2024 the Governor General of Canada awarded the Meritorious Service Decoration (Civil Division) to Alexandra Scheibler.