FESTIVAL BACH MONTRÉAL

Exceptional ensembles from Québec have taken active role in the festival over the years: Orchestre symphonique de Montréal with Kent Nagano, Orchestre Métropolitain conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Arion Baroque Orchestra, Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal, Pallade Musica, Ensemble Masque, Les Violons du Roy, Suzie LeBlanc, Clavecin en concert, and many more.

Johann Sebastian Bach, among few others, resides at the center of humanity’s musical heritage.
He was born in 1685, 43 years after the founding of Montreal, and both Bach’s music and our vibrant city are alive today.

We are proud to open this year’s festival with one of J.S. Bach’s most celebrated achievements, the B-minor Mass. The Argentinian conductor Maestro Leonardo García Alarcón will lead the Orchestre et Choeur Festival Bach Montréal on this occasion. Conducted by Maestro Clemens Schuldt in his Montreal debut, the festival’s orchestra will offer us an encore at the Bach Gala, this time performing with the French choir Les Éléments. It is Maestro Schuldt’s debut in Montreal.
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.

We know that J.S. Bach himself enjoyed the occasional glass of wine at celebratory communal gatherings, so, come visit us at the festival and let's celebrate his legacy and joy for life together!

Alexandra Scheibler
Founder and Artistic Director


Alexandra Scheibler founded the Bach-Academie de Montréal in 2003 and has been artistic director of Festival Bach Montréal 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) to Alexandra Scheibler.