Waupaca festival begins Sept. 25

By Angie Landsverk

The 2017 Bach Festival will feature seven days of music, programs and activities.

Sponsored by the Waupaca Community Arts Board (WCAB), the event will begin Monday, Sept. 25 and end Monday, Oct. 2.

“We’ve been doing a classical music event for probably 15 years,” said Marci Reynolds, the board’s president.

Eventually, the board decided to turn the event into a Bach Festival, held every other year.

There are several reasons why WCAB chose to develop a festival centered on the music of composer Johann Sebastian Bach.

“He was prolific,” Reynolds said. “He was the master of Baroque music. He wrote music for many instruments of that time. It’s been adapted to all instruments today and put into different ensembles.”

She said the board also learned many area residents appreciate Bach’s music.

“What we found is there are a lot of closet Bach freaks,” Reynolds said. “Playing Bach is really fun. It makes sense. It makes perfect mathematical sense.”

The board’s past classical music events included the music of various composers.

“People said, ‘Why not just Bach?’” Reynolds said. “What we found doing Bach is the musicians were so happy to come and just do Bach. People really love playing Bach, and people love listening to it, and people love learning about Bach.”

She said the festival could stand up to any Bach festival in the United States.

“This is a Bach festival, but we also have a writing marathon, a painting event, a lecture,” Reynolds said.

The festival will include events by Winchester Academy, several churches, the Waupaca Historical Society and businesses.

It is being supported by a grant from the Waupaca Area Community Foundation.

Those who attend may pick up a Passport at Embellishments, The Book Cellar and the Waupaca Area Chamber of Commerce and try to go to all the events.

Attendees going to six or more events will be eligible to win the grand prize of a Bach-themed basket.

“It just makes it fun for people to see how many events they can go to,” Reynolds said.

Schedule of events

• The festival will kick off Monday, Sept. 25 with Trevor Stephenson and the Madison Bach Musicians.

Winchester Academy is sponsoring an afternoon program at Waupaca Middle School and a 6:30 p.m. concert at First United Methodist Church.

The program for the students will be interactive.

Stephenson is an early-keyboard specialist based in Madison.

He is the artistic director and harpsichordist of the Madison Bach Musicians, a nonprofit dedicated to presenting the music of Bach and other early-music composers.

Cellist Steuart Pincombe will be part of the opening concert.

• On Wednesday, Sept. 27, there will be the opportunity to make Bach-inspired art.

Artist Sharon Radley will lead “Bach and Imbibe” at 6:30 p.m. at the Waupaca Train depot, 520 Oak St.

Space is limited to create an acrylic on canvas while sipping wine and listening to Bach’s music.

The cost is $25 and includes supplies and refreshments.

Seats may be reserved by calling 715-258-9999 or visiting Embellishments, at 119 N. Main St.

The other event that day will be the Get Your Bach On Silk Screen T-Shirt Event.

It will begin at 6:30 p.m., in the lower level of the Holly History and Genealogy Center, 321 S. Main St.

Participants will make a silk screen T-shirt with the image of Bach on it.

The $5 fee covers all materials.

Resigration is not required. It will be first come, first served.

• A Community Bach Concert will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28, at Trinity Lutheran Church.

It will feature vocal and bell choirs, quartets, dance, instrumentalists and a Bach sing-a-long.

The concert will highlight Pianist Kayme Henkel, from the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music.

There is no charge for the concert. Donations will be accepted.

• Bach in the Brewery will be presented at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29, at Central Waters Brewery, Amherst.

That venue will host Classical Guitarist Miles McConnell.

There is no fee for the community concert, which is being sponsored by T-Dub’s Public House. Donations will again be accepted.

• On Saturday, Sept. 30, Brunch with Bach will take place from 9:30-11:30 a.m., at Little Fat Gretchen’s.

People will listen to the music of J.S. Bach, played by Stevens Point musician William Weinemann, while they eat brunch.

There will also be a writing marathon this day.

Waupaca’s Shannon Holmes Anderson will lead the New Orlean style writing marathon from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Participants will meet at Waupaca Danes Hall at 11:30 a.m. to receive instructions.

It will take place at four different venues in Waupaca’s downtown area, with each site playing a different style and genre of Bach music.

The $5 Write Around fee includes instruction and materials.

• The Bach Chamber Concert will take place at 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 1, at St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church, N2845 Shadow Road, Waupaca.

The program will consist of works by Bach and two of his sons.

The conductor will be Andres Moran, director of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Symphony Orchestra and artist/teacher of horn at the university.

The concert will feature oboist Stacey Berk, professor of oboe and music theory at UW–Stevens Point, and pianist Nell Buchman, who has a private studio, teaches class piano, music for the very young and is the accompanist and manager of two girl choirs at the Lawrence Academy of Music.

Tickets are $25 and available at Embellishments, the Waupaca Area Chamber of Commerce, The Book Cellar and at the door.

The $25 ticket will include the program and a catered Baroque era reception.

• Winchester Academy will sponsor the final Bach Festival program at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 2, in the Waupaca Area Public Library’s lower level meeting room.

It will be a presentation about Bach Inspired Art with artist Mark Brueggeman.

Brueggeman created a series of paintings and drawings based on Bach’s suites for solo cello.

• His work will be featured and on display at the Phantom Art Gallery, in the former Office Outfitters building, at the corner of Main and Fulton streets.

The gallery is in the back portion of the building, with an entrance off Fulton Street.

It will be open 5-7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28; noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30; and 3-6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 2.

Also on display there will be examples of creative writing and poetry from last spring’s WCAB-sponsored writing contest.

Students at Waupaca and Iola-Scandinavia high schools did creative writing while listening to Bach’s music.

Excerpts from the finalists and the winning entries will be on display at the gallery.