On Saturday, March 5, 2016, beginning at 10:00 a.m. in the Church, St. Philip’s Friends of Music presents the 25^th Annual Bach Marathon, a celebration of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. The 10:00 a.m. concert features University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music international touring performers — UA Musicians on Tour —performing Bach in some unusual combos, such as a bassoon quartet and a saxophone quartet, in addition to the more usual voice, strings, harpsichord, piano, organ, and oboe. Their programs will highlight not only music by J.S. Bach but also transcriptions of music by his contemporaries and other musicians that Bach influenced. These gifted musicians will articulate the immense diversity, texture and influence of the master with a variety of instruments, repertoire, and style.

The morning concert is followed by a “Bach’s lunch” — a box lunch for a modest fee available to order at the door prior to the morning performances. Join fellow concertgoers, friends and family for a light repast and stimulating conversation about the performances.

Continuing at 2:00 p.m., acclaimed organist Jonathan Biggers will perform on the 1986 Holtkamp Organ Bach’s Sinfonia from Cantata 29; Two Chorale-Preludes: Allein Gott in der Höh sei ehr (“All Glory be to God on high”), BWV 662 and Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir (“Out of the depths I cry unto Thee”), BWV 686; Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C-major, BWV 564; concluding with Prelude and Fugue in E-major, BWV 566. Hailed by NPR as “one of the most outstanding concert organists in the United States,” Jonathan Biggers maintains an active career as both a professor of organ and harpsichord, and as a concert recitalist of the first order. He holds the prestigious Edwin Link Endowed Professorship in Organ and Harpsichord at Binghamton University (State University of New York) and has presented hundreds of concerts in music halls, church and university settings throughout the U.S.A., Canada, and Europe. He will bring incomparable flair, style and energy to the organ music of Bach.

The concert admission is $25 per person for either the morning session only or the afternoon session only; $40 for both; $10 Bach’s lunch on sale at the door prior to the morning performances. Student admission is $10 for both morning and afternoon sessions.

The mission of Friends of Music is to enrich the musical experience of the parish and community through events such as concerts, outreach, education, scholarships, commissions, and support of special musical events. Click here for more information or call 520.222.7277.

St. Philip’s is located at 4440 N. Campbell Avenue at River Road. Ample parking is available in the north parking lot or under our solar parking structure on the east side. The Friends of Music phone number is (520) 222-7277.

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION

UA Musicians on Tour is an outreach program sponsored by the Fred Fox School of Music that presents music majors in a variety of performance venues throughout corners of the Southwest. Students participate in organized tours, on concert series, for schools, and in a variety of community settings. The School believes that the hands-on experience gained through performance out in the real-world and through student interaction with presenters, teachers and diverse audiences is essential to the musical education of its students.

Jonathan Biggers, hailed by NPR as “one of the most outstanding concert organists in the United States,” maintains an active career as both a professor of organ and harpsichord, and as a concert organist of the first order. He holds the Edwin Link Endowed Professorship in Organ and Harpsichord at Binghamton University (State University of New York), and has presented hundreds of concerts in concert hall, church and university settings throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, including solo and concerto performances for several regional and national conventions of the American Guild of Organists, including the opening solo concert for the 2010 AGO convention held in Washington D.C. He has appeared as a featured soloist with orchestras in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, including performances with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, and has been featured frequently on NPR (“Pipedreams”), the Canadian Broadcast Corporation, and on Radio and Television Suisse Romande broadcasts in Geneva, Switzerland. Scott Cantrell of The Dallas Morning News, writes that Biggers’ performances demonstrate “authority and eloquence,” and adds: “were there more performers like this, the organ would be far less a minority interest.”