“I believe classical music is for everybody,” says Dr. Christopher Jackson, Artistic Director and Conductor of the Bach Choir of Bethlehem.

“We have expanded our concert locations around the Lehigh Valley and will appear in places that we have either never performed or perhaps not in a very long time,” Jackson says.

For 2025-26, the 128th season began with the “Bach at Noon” free concert series, Sept. 9, and continues on the second Tuesday of the month in Central Moravian Church, Bethlehem. Each concert includes music in celebration of “America250,” the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence.

Says Jackson, “For the ‘Bach at Noon’ series, I decided to lean into what the musical world might have sounded like here in 1776 and will feature a lot of Moravian composers right along with J.S. Bach.”

One of the season’s new performance venues is the Musikfest Café, ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks, where the Bach Choir’s annual dinner concert and fundraiser takes place Oct. 4 with pianist Dan Tepfer’s “Inventions/Reinventions.”

Tepfer interweaves Bach’s “Two-Part Inventions” with his own improvisations.

Proceeds benefit the Bach Choir’s Youth Education and Community Engagement programs.

“My idea for the Christmas concerts was to really imagine what Christmas might have sounded like in Leipzig during Bach’s time,” says Jackson.

Performances are Dec. 13 at a new venue for the “Allentown Christmas Concert,” Egner Memorial Chapel, Muhlenberg College, and Dec. 14, per usual at First Presbyterian Church, Bethlehem.

The concert program is Bach’s 1725 Christmas cantata “Unser Mund sei voll Lachens,” BWV 110 and two Advent cantatas, “Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland,” BVW 62 (1724) and “Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben,” BWV 147 (1723).

BWV 147 includes “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.” The melody was composed around 1664 by German violinist and composer Johann Schop (1590-1667) from which Bach created his beautiful orchestration.

On Feb. 22, 2026, in Baker, Hall, Zoellner Arts Center, Lehigh University, is the “Greg Funfgeld Family Concert.”

Performed will be the world premiere of “The Nightingale,” an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale, in a collaboration with Mock Turtle Marionette Theater. The work is by Doug Roysdon, Greg Funfgeld and Bridget George.

“I love seeing people bring their families because sometimes it’s the first time young people are seeing live classical music, and here we use marionette puppets to further bring the story to life,” Jackson says.

“For our ‘Spring Concert’ on March 29 at the First Presbyterian Church, Bethlehem, we had a choice of dates and I decided if we’re going to do a concert on Palm Sunday, we may as well lean in and program one of the most moving and really dramatic accounts of the Passion. Bach’s ‘St. John Passion,’ BWV 245, is a perfect piece for Holy Week,” says Jackson.

The Bach Choir’s signature event, the Bach Festival in its 118th year, May 7 - 10, 2026, continues the four-day format introduced in 2025, is May 7 through May 10, 2026.

Festival highlights include:

“Outside the Bachs,” Time for Three, a Grammy Award-winning trio, Musikfest Café

“Films from the Archives,” led by Bach Archivist Cory Dieterly

Barnette Distinguished Scholar Lecture: “Moravian Soundscapes: A Sonic History of the Moravian Missions in Early Pennsylvania,” by Dr. Sarah Eyerly, Professor of Musicology, Director of the Early Music Program and Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development, Florida State University’s College of Music

“Bach at 4”: Festival Artists-in-Residence SYNNET, vocal soloists, and Bach Choir members perform the music of J.S. Bach’s family relatives

Festival Dinner: Talk by Dr. Larry Lipkis, Professor of Music and Composer-in-Residence, Moravian University

“Bach at 8”: J.S. Bach’s “Mass in A Major” and W.A. Mozart’s “Great Mass in C Minor”

“Ifor Jones Chamber Music Concert”: Bach Festival Orchestra and Artists-in-Residence SYNNET perform J.S. Bach’s “The Musical Offering”

J.S. Bach’s “Mass in B Minor,” Parts 1 and 2

“Zimmermann’s Coffee House”: Chamber music performed by young musicians

“Chamber Music in the Saal”: Guest viola da gamba artist Loren Ludwig performs works by Abel, Marais, Buxtehude and Telemann

“Testament of Freedom”: America250 combined performance of the Bach Choir and the Allentown Band, Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks.

“This year, as our nation marks its 250th anniversary, we celebrate in our own way by honoring the Moravian musical traditions that shaped our choir,” says Jackson.

“Through collaborations with Moravian partners here and abroad, music from the archives and our expanded four-day Festival format, we explore where we came from, and why it still matters,” Jackson says.

Bach Choir auditions: The Bach Choir of Bethlehem is holding auditions for all voice parts (soprano, alto, tenor, bass), but is encouraging altos, tenors and basses to apply. Information: https://bach.org/auditions/

Bach Choir of Bethlehem ticket information: Bach Choir office, 440 Heckewelder Place, Bethlehem; office@bach.org; 610-866-4382 ext. 110 or 115; https://bach.org/tickets/

“Classical View” is a column about classical music concerts, conductors and performers. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com