Old First Concerts

Junior Bach Festival

An all-J. S. Bach concert showcasing some of the most talented young musicians in Northern California. Hear J. S. Bach’s music played with great skill and youthful exuberance! Selected through professionally adjudicated auditions, the Festival showcases performers under age 21 who are both technically virtuosic and capable of communicating the genius of Bach’s compositional language.

The Junior Bach Festival is a well-respected Bay Area institution. (In 1965, the California State Assembly issued an official proclamation in the Festivals honor!) The Festival presents annually a concert series around the time of Bach’s birthday on March 21 in venues throughout the Bay Area. The Festival also promotes the appreciation and study of Bach’s music by offering an annual public Workshop; with the audience, Bach experts examine topics such as baroque style, ornamentation, or ensemble playing. In recent years, the Festival has collaborated with local music organizations to offer students an opportunity during the Workshop to try out a period keyboard, stringed instrument, or wind instrument like those from Bach’s time.