The Oregon Bach Festival Chorus and Period Orchestra explore the universal human experiences of grief, healing, acceptance, and joy. Join “exuberant” conductor (Gramophone) John Butt for an emotional journey, from the opening text of BWV 21 – “I had much grieving in my heart” – to the lively, trumpet-dominated choruses and exquisite vocal solos of Bach’s “Ascension” Oratorio.

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Bach: Ascension Oratorio

Beall Concert Hall

Join members of the OBF Modern Orchestra for a humorous musical story about 14 fun animals. From elegant swan serenades to playful kangaroo capers, the enchanting composition captivates music lovers of all ages. The event includes face painting, photo booth, snacks, and arts and crafts.

OBF Family: Carnival of the Animals

Hult Center for the Performing Arts

The wildly popular Portland Cello Project returns to OBF with an evening of classical-pop crossover. Known for performing music on the cello you wouldn’t normally associate with the instrument, audiences can expect to hear Bach, Led Zepplin, Taylor Swift, and more.

Portland Cello Project: Bach with a Twist

Conductor and OBF artistic partner designate Craig Hella Johnson offers a pre-concert lecture to enhance your listening experience.

Let’s Talk: Mass for the Endangered

Frohnmayer Marabel B Music Building

Called “a prayer for wildlife and their imperiled environments” by the composer and “powerful and delicate” by BBC Music Magazine, this re-imagined mass is a hymn for the voiceless and the discounted – a requiem for the not-yet-gone.

Snider: Mass for the Endangered

Rising stars violinist Claire Wells and pianist Pualina Lim offer an evening of
chamber music, including Vaughan Williams’ pastoral favorite, The Lark Ascending. Presented in partnership with Chamber Music Northwest.

The Lark Ascending

The legendary John Butt returns to OBF with a spin on the iconic Festival Discovery Series. The Bach historian and recording artist breaks down and examines works heard in the Dresden court during the first half of the 18th century, including pieces from Johann Georg Pisendel, Czech composer Jan Dismas Zelenka, and the prolific Georg Philipp Telemann. The evening also features Bach’s BWV 191 - the only church cantata Bach wrote in Latin.

Discovery: Music of the Dresden Court

Members of the Berwick Academy faculty and OBF Period Orchestra present an afternoon of free chamber music. Repertoire to be announced from the stage. 

On the House: Berwick Academy Faculty Chamber Music

The wildly popular stadium concert and fireworks spectacular returns! OBF and Emeralds Baseball partner with Grammy-winning Rebirth Brass Band – the undisputed leader of the New Orleans brass pack – for a thrilling, outdoor summer evening of jazz, funk, big brass bands, and hip-hop. Arrive early for a performance from local favorite, Marichi Monumental.

Big Brass and Boom II with Rebirth Brass Band

PK Park

Season Packages available now. Single tickets go on sale May 1. Artists, dates, times, rep, and venues are subject to change.

On the House: SFYCA Soloists

University of Oregon

Conductor and OBF artistic partner designate Jos Van Veldhoven offers a pre-concert lecture to enhance your listening experience.

Let’s Talk: Mozart Mass in C Minor

The powerful “Great” Mass in C Minor offers us Mozart at the height of his brilliance. A work of mysterious origins, the music is a layered, shimmering tapestry. Moods shift constantly, sometimes dazzling, sometimes movingly somber. Left unfinished at Mozart’s death, the mass is lovingly and studiously reimagined by Jos van Veldhoven.

Mozart Mass in C Minor

Take a journey through space with Eugene Science Center and OBF. Embark on a self-guided scavenger hunt and experience a planetarium show during a morning of learning, exploration, and fun!

OBF Family: Planets, Myths, and Music

Alton Baker Park

Grammy Award-winning composer and conductor, Eric Whitacre – among today’s most popular choral musicians – dives into the life of a composer, discusses the discipline needed to become a multi-hyphenate, and previews his July 12 performance of The Sacred Veil.

Hinkle Distinguished Lecture

Grammy Award-winning composer and conductor, Eric Whitacre – among today’s most popular choral musicians – leads a choir of community members through several of his most engaging musical works. Information on how to participate as a singer will be announced soon! 

Community Sing with Eric Whitacre

Pianist Aaron Diehl has redefined the lines between jazz and classical, and built a global career around his nuanced, understated approach to music-making. Praised for his “traditional jazz sound with a sophisticated contemporary spin” (The Guardian), Diehl has been a soloist with the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, and Cleveland Orchestra. Joined by bassist David Wong, Diehl performs Roland Hanna’s 24 Preludes, alongside works by J.S. Bach and Bud Powell.

24 Preludes with Aaron Diehl and David Wong

Let’s Talk: The Planets

A spectacular adventure through the cosmos! Projected in HD on a giant screen over the stage, the latest images from modern space – produced in cooperation with NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratories, and filmmaker Duncan Copp – provide a stunning visual canvas as the OBF orchestra performs Holst’s glorious musical score. The jolting rhythms, grand tunes, and eerie atmospheres have been the inspiration for sci-fi and adventure films since the late 1910s. The concert also includes Stravinsky’s beloved Symphony of Psalms.

Holst: The Planets – An HD Odyssey

First violinist of the classical London Haydn Quartet, Catherine Manson leads members of the Berwick Academy through an afternoon of free chamber music. Repertoire to be announced from the stage.

On the House: Berwick Academy Chamber Music with Catherine Manson

Grammy-winning organist and director of the OBF Organ Institute, Paul Jacobs, offers a pre-concert lecture to enhance your listening experience.

Let’s Talk: Organ Institute 10th Anniversary

Central Lutheran Church

Praised as “extraordinary in the classical music world” (PBS Wisconsin Life) and a “musical star” (Channel 3000), OBF Organ Institute alum, Greg Zelek, returns to the festival for a solo recital on the acclaimed Brombaugh organ.

Greg Zelek Organ Recital

For more than 25 years, Stangeland Family Youth Choral Academy has been a flagship educational and training program for the nation’s most talented high school choral singers. Led by Dr. Anton Armstrong, SFYCA performs various works including pieces by Eric Whitacre and a performance of Bach’s Cantata BWV 29.

Stangeland Family Youth Choral Academy

Let’s Talk: Mozart Piano Concerto No. 24

Dubbed ‘‘The Indiana Jones of Early Music’’ by BBC Radio 3, Portland Baroque Orchestra artistic director Julian Perkins brings a dynamic and adventurous spirit to all his music-making. He leads Berwick Academy through a program that includes Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24 – the largest orchestra Mozart ever used in a piano concerto – Haydn’s “Lamentatione” Symphony, and Marianna Martinez’s La Tempesta cantata for soprano and orchestra.

Mozart Piano Concerto No. 24 with Julian Perkins

Before celebrated conductor Sharon J. Paul and the award-winning UO Chamber Choir embark on their tour of New Zealand and Australia, you’re invited to preview the music they’ll perform at the 2024 World Choir Games.

UO Chamber Choir Bon Voyage Concert

Let’s Talk: Organ Symphony

Grammy-winner Paul Jacobs returns to Oregon Bach Festival to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the OBF Organ Institute! The centerpiece of the anniversary celebration is an OBF co-commission and west coast premiere of a new organ concerto by Lowell Liebermann. The program includes the Saint Saëns “Organ Symphony” and a new Bach transcription by composer Damien Geter.

Organ Symphony with Paul Jacobs

Central Lutheran Church organists ElRay Stewart-Cook and Lindsey Rodgers present an afternoon of free music on the acclaimed Brombaugh organ.

On the House: Organ Interlude with ElRay Stewart-Cook and Lindsey Rodgers

Eric Whitacre and the world-renowned OBF Chorus present a hauntingly beautiful, intimate, and compelling story of courtship, love, and loss. Called “heartbreaking” and “[a way to] memorably celebrate the precarious beauty of life” by the Los Angeles Times, “The Sacred Veil” promises to be a cathartic, emotional, and deeply personal concert.

The Sacred Veil

OrgelKids brings their incredible organ-building kits to Eugene for a morning of family fun at the Saturday Market. Learn about the history and structure of the “king of instruments” while experiencing one of the town’s most enjoyable weekend events.

OBF Family: Pipes and Pedals

Eugene Saturday Market

On the House: Organ Institute Showcase

First Methodist Church

Called “pure as magic” by The New York Times and “jaw-dropping” by The Washington Post, the young, energetic percussion ensemble brings down the house as OBF participates in the world-premiere weekend of John Luther Adams’ Prophecies of Fire.

Sandbox Percussion

Let’s Talk: Beethoven Symphony No. 9

The festival reaches its grand conclusion with one of the greatest compositions of all time. Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is made even more remarkable by the fact that, at its premiere in 1824, Beethoven was completely deaf. The triumphant work culminates with the iconic, transformative finale - the famous Ode to Joy chorus.

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9

A powerhouse trio of current and former Chamber Music Northwest artistic directors opens the 2024-25 season with duos and trios by Brahms, Ravel, Bartók, and Stravinsky, including The Soldier’s Tale.  Presented in collaboration with Chamber Music Northwest.

Chien, Kim, and Shifrin Trio

Named one of the greatest string quartets of the last 100 years by BBC Music Magazine, the Grammy-nominees will perform an “American” program featuring works by Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate and Mason Bates, closing with Dvorak's “American” Quartet. Presented in collaboration with Chamber Music Northwest.

Dover Quartet

Comprised of artists with thriving solo careers who celebrate racial, ethnic, and gender diversity, Kaleidoscope Vocal Ensemble performs a program of works by Monteverdi and Purcell, as well as contemporary composers Caroline Shaw, Reena Esmail, and more.

Kaleidoscope Vocal Ensemble

Winners of a 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant, the New York City-based quartet cultivates joyful experiences that create community by exploring the power of the collective to uplift the individual. Their program, “Unrequited,” offers string quartets from Mozart, Childs, and Beethoven.

Isidore String Quartet

Grammy-winning organist and perennially sold-out performer at Oregon Bach Festival, Paul Jacobs helps celebrate the 100th anniversary of Beall Concert Hall with an unforgettable performance on the Jürgen Ahrend organ.

Paul Jacobs, organ

Celebrated violinist Soovin Kim presents part one of a two-part residency with Oregon Bach Festival. Performing all of J.S. Bach’s works for solo violin, part one features Partita No. 3 in E Major, Sonata No. 2 in A Minor, and Partita No. 2 in D Minor. Part two will be presented during the OBF 2025 season. Presented in collaboration with Chamber Music Northwest.

Soovin Kim, violin

The all-female vocal and instrumental ensemble presents laments and lamentations from 16th- and 17th-century Italy as they might have been heard in that most exclusively female environment: the convent. Presented in collaboration with Oregon Bach Festival Musicking Conference.

Oregon Bach Festival

28 - 29 Jun, 2024

Bach: Ascension Oratorio

Jun 29, 2024

OBF Family: Carnival of the Animals

Jun 29, 2024

Portland Cello Project: Bach with a Twist

Jun 30, 2024

Let’s Talk: Mass for the Endangered

Jun 30, 2024

Snider: Mass for the Endangered

Oregon Bach Festival

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