1791: Against the backdrop of worldwide unrest and revolution, Mozart composed his masterful Requiem – as he lay dying. Struggles for democracy were unfolding around him, in France, Haiti, and the fledgling United States. As the 35-year-old Mozart raced to finish his Requiem, death overtook him. He laid bare his soul in a work that remained incomplete.

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Mozart’s REQUIEM: A Tapestry

St. Bernard Catholic Church

Cleveland Institute of Music

Bach’s magnificent Mass features a large and colorful orchestra, including several unusual instruments. Praised for her “revelatory performance” (Opera News) of Bach’s sacred works, conductor Jeannette Sorrell leads the festive forces – including trumpets, timpani, strings, choir, and soloists.

Bach Mass in B Minor

Saint Christopher Parish Religious Education · St Christopher's School

St Paul's Episcopal Church Akron

Trinity Cathedral Episcopal Church

Sound the trumpet! Jeannette Sorrell and the acclaimed Apollo’s Singers are nationally renowned for their dramatic interpretation of Messiah. The soloists become musical storytellers, bringing spirituality and drama to Handel’s richly layered masterpiece.

Handel’s MESSIAH

Saint Raphael School

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church

This orchestral concert with vocalists includes works by Jean-Baptiste Moreau (1656-1733) and George Frederic Handel (1685-1759), both connected to French dramatist Jean Racine’s play Esther, based on the Old Testament story. Moreau wrote the incidental music for Racine’s Esther, which was first performed at Maintenon’s school for girls in 1689, while Handel’s version is known to be his first English oratorio. The concert will be co-directed by harpsichordist Justin Taylor and Opera Lafayette Artistic Associate Jonathan Woody (returning after his performance in Couperin le Grand).

From Saint-Cyr to Cannons: Moreau and Handel's Esther

St. Peter’s Church

Handel's beloved oratorio Messiah, with performances both in English and Spanish featuring BCSD's commissioned Spanish libretto by Mario Montenegro, and delivered with BCSD's customary virtuosity and vibrancy. The final performance on December 12 at Centro Cultural Tijuana will form part of a joint celebration marking the bicentennial of diplomatic relations between the United States and Mexico.

Messiah Vis À Vis El Mesías

Tijuana Cultural Center

Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church

All Souls' Episcopal Church

One night only! – Catch Jeannette Sorrell’s acclaimed adaptation of Israel in Egypt before she and Apollo’s Singers head east to perform it with the NY Philharmonic. This is a gripping emotional journey, from the haunting Lamentations of the Israelites on the Death of Joseph, to the plagues of frogs, locusts, and hailstones… to the triumphant crossing of the Red Sea. Storms leap off the page in this colorful orchestral showpiece, which includes trumpets, sackbuts, timpani, strings, choir, and soloists.

Handel’s Israel in Egypt

Purcell and Handel gave artistic voice to the British royal family’s most festive and poignant moments. Jeannette Sorrell leads a sumptuous orchestra in Handel’s lively Water Music. The acclaimed Apollo’s Singers and soloists join for Purcell’s heartbreakingly beautiful Funeral Music for Queen Mary and sparkling selections from King Arthur. Handel’s splendid Zadok the Priest, with a timpani procession, rounds out this festive program.

Splendour in London

Though stolen from their homeland and scattered across the world, both Jews and Africans found strength in their music. Discover the rhythms of the Jewish ghetto in 1620 – dances and prayers from the Ashkenazi, Sephardic, Jewish baroque, and North African traditions. A company of 24 musicians – including Jewish, Arab, and African-American artists – raise their voices in love and celebration.

Exile & Resilience

The Cleveland Museum of Art

The sensuous allure of the East and the structure of the West. They met in Venice in 1610 – and the splendor resounded. Jeannette Sorrell leads chorus, strings, brass, lutes, and soloists in Monteverdi’s sumptuous masterpiece.

Monteverdi Vespers of 1610

First Baptist Church of Shaker Heights

Four emerging vocal stars from our VBA Masterclass program perform Baroque masterpieces with members of the Festival Orchestra.

The Carmel Bach Festival 36th annual Vocal Masterclass is comprised of Morgan Balfour, soprano; Kristen Dubenion-Smith, mezzo-soprano; Jacob Perry, tenor; and Ryne Cherry, baritone.

In a typical season, the VBA quartet comes to Carmel in July to train with Festival artists, and explore ways to communicate Baroque repertoire more vividly. In a light-hearted atmosphere of discovery, the VBA Master Class participants experience a wealth of vocal music and examine all aspects of style, technique, communication, language, performance skills, and artistry.

The Master Classes are held at the Carmel Presbyterian Church and are free and open to the public.


The Adams Masterclass is distinguished by the Festival’s master teachers. Conductor and harpsichordist MICHAEL BEATTIE is Masterclass Director. Sessions are also led by Festival Associate Conductor ANDREW MEGILL (Director of Choral Activities at the Univ. of Illinois) and by Festival vocal soloists from the US and UK.

Virginia Best Adams Showcase Concert

Carmel Presbyterian Church

Handel’s great oratorio Messiah springs to life by way of the fruitful collaboration of Charles Jennens’ carefully conceived libretto and Handel’s supreme skill as a composer of the theatre. BCSD’s performance of Messiah, delivered by a dynamic cast in the manner of Handel’s dramatic operas, has become one of its crown jewels.

G.f. Handel: Messiah Hwv 232

St. Matthew's Parish School

First United Methodist Church of San Diego

The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center

Ringing with urgency in our time, this acclaimed program created by Jeannette Sorrell returns in a fresh version. Honoring the peoples whose music and faith brought such vibrancy to the Middle East, 26 artists from Jewish, Palestinian, Muslim, and Christian backgrounds perform on oud, theorbo, medieval harp, zither, strings, and exotic percussion.

In this musical tour of the four quarters of Old Jerusalem (Jewish, Christian, Arab, and Armenian), surprising cross-influences emerge. A Sephardic ballad leads to a classical Arabic love song; selections from Monteverdi’s great Vespers of 1610 echo the exotic and rapturous singing of the Jewish cantors in the temples. The rhythms of daily life – love, singing, dancing and prayer – culminate in a joyous celebration of shared humanity.

Jacob Perry

Events

Upcoming events

5 - 7 Dec, 2025

G.f. Handel: Messiah Hwv 232 · Bach Collegium San Diego

9 - 11 Apr, 2026

O Jerusalem! Crossroads of Three Faiths · Apollo's Fire

Past events

7 - 8 Nov, 2025

Mozart’s REQUIEM: A Tapestry · Apollo's Fire

4 - 8 Apr, 2025

Bach Mass in B Minor · Apollo's Fire

Future and recently performed repertoire

Singer in Messiah by Handel

Bach Collegium San Diego

Singer in Five Freedom Songs by Montgomery

Apollo's Fire

Singer in An African American Requiem by Geter

Apollo's Fire

Singer in 1791: Requiem for the Ancestors by Gould

Apollo's Fire

About

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