By Julia Goldman
Photo caption: A collection of historic media from the Long Beach Bach Festival’s 44-year span, from photos of costumed musicians to local news headlines from publications like the Press Telegram, the Herald American and Call-Enterprise and the Daily 49er. Graphic by Julia Goldman
Families, musicians and children, decked out in long stockings, garters, petticoats and spiral-bound power wigs once joined together every year in Long Beach, in the name of music and Johann Sebastian Bach.
In an ultimate celebration of baroque classical music and the works it inspired, the Long Beach Bach Festival spanned nearly 44 years. Though the festival ended in 2018, dive into the festival’s evolution – from its small beginnings to its beloved traditions and impact today.
Inspired by a world-wide revival of baroque music and modeled after other international festivals, Frank Allen launched the project in 1974 after nearly two years of planning. It featured the chorus Allen founded eight years prior: the Vocal Arts Ensemble – which eventually was renamed the Camerata Singers of Long Beach.
After those first two years of initial planning and practice, the very first Bach Festival was held over two weekends at the Covenant Presbyterian Church and Long Beach City College. It upheld the musical works of its namesake and featured the VAE alongside music groups like the Arrowbear Consort, the Long Beach City College Madrigal and the California State University of Long Beach’s Brass Ensemble.
By 1982, the festival became recognized as a 501(c)(3) non-profit alongside the VAE. One year later, Frank Allen retired, and University of Southern California professor David Wilson took his place as artistic director and organizer of the festival.
Under Wilson’s leadership, the Bach Festival expanded its repertoire, with titles beyond its own namesake. Concerts began to feature other baroque composers like Antonio Vivaldi and George Frideric Handel. Additionally, other American composers like Aaron Copland and Geroge Gershwin, who is well known for the piece, Rhapsody in Blue, also were heard – despite their works differing from the ‘baroque’ genre.
Beyond repertoire, the ‘90s also marked a focus on educational development for the festival. In 1991, the winners of the Long Beach Music Teachers Association’s own Junior Bach Festival were invited to perform as a regular feature in the festival each year.
Photo caption: A ticket stub from the 1990 iteration of the Long Beach Bach Festival, featuring five performances across the month of May for $12. As the festival grew over time, the number of performances and weekends increased as well, with the celebration lasting nearly a month and a half toward its end. Photo credit: Long Beach Camerata Archives
After Wilson retired in the mid 2000s, Director of CSULB vocal studies Jonathan Talberg led Camerata Singers and took over the tradition of the Bach Festival. Under his lead emerged a Junior Bach Festival presented by Camerata, which offered performance experience to 30 school-age musicians. Talberg also received praise and continued to make headlines in local publications like the Grunion Gazette for his artistic direction with the festival.
In the 2010s, Bach Festival audiences saw traditions continue and also grow under new artistic director Robert Istad, who came from the California State University of Fullerton. The festival saw more concerts that spanned a month and a half. With more performances came expanded genres, with 2013 shows like “Bach & Blues,” and “Bach a Bacchus,” which featured a guitar performance.
With the 2017-2018 season, the tradition of the Bach Festival came to an end as James K. Bass, the Director of Choral studies at the University of California, took over as artistic director of Camerata. For its 44 years, the Bach Festival was nearly half of Camerata’s performance season, alternating between the fall or spring season each year. In its slot, under Bass’s direction, Camerata brought a new vision in the shape of the “Peace Project” – which explored topics of social and environmental justice like cultural celebration, equity, racial justice, healing, LGBTQ+ acceptance and the worth of water.
From the very start, the Long Beach Bach Festival saw coverage from local newspapers that told its origin story. By the mid-late ‘90s and on, however, the festival became a regular review in local news cycles, being featured in the Press Telegram each year and growing throughout its four-decade cycle.
Photo caption: The very last line of 1992 Press Telegram article, “Bach Festival Chorus delights audience.” Written by staffwriter David Levingson, the article reviews repertoire and performance of that year’s Bach Festival. Photo credit: Long Beach Camerata Archives