“I first heard about Dan Tepfer through the network of professional conductors and singers that I have built throughout my career,” says Christopher Jackson, Artistic Director and Conductor of the Bach Choir of Bethlehem.

“All of my colleagues who worked with Dan spoke so highly of both his skill at the piano and his immense creativity. And this is before I learned that he was a fellow Bach lover.

“In a fun twist of fate, when the Bach Choir toured Leipzig in 2024 we were walking past the beautiful town square where an outdoor concert was being held as part of the Leipzig Bach Fest. And there was Dan, performing Bach in the square at the center of the Bach Universe. It was then that I knew we had to bring him to Bethlehem.”

For its 2025 Dinner Concert and Fundraiser, the Bach Choir of Bethlehem presents “Dan Tepfer - Inventions/Reinventions,” with a cocktail reception, 5 p.m.; “Inventions-Reinventions” performance, 5:45 p.m., and three-course dinner and program, Oct. 4, Musikfest Café, ArtsQuest Center, SteelStacks, Bethlehem.

“I like to think of music as living at the intersection of the algorithmic and the spiritual,” says Tepfer.

“The art I love is the culmination on the one hand of emotion and intuition and on the other hand, maybe in equal part, rules and constraints.”

Tepfer’s mother, an opera singer, influenced his interest in music beginning with piano at an early age and later adding guitar, saxophone, clarinet, bass and drums.

“My father was a biologist and I found science fascinating. One day, he brought home a Macintosh Plus from the lab and I started programming and figuring stuff out. It was fascinating that I could program the computer to do whatever I wanted to do.”

Tepfer played Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Goldberg Variations.”

“I love Bach’s harmony and counterpoint and found the work stimulating, moving and just absolutely beautiful music.

“I realized the components of ‘Goldberg’ are similar to what jazz musicians do so I took Bach’s core structure and ideas and decided to do things my way.

“Bach tells us about classical structure as applied to music. With free improvisation there is still a beginning, middle and end so I looked at Bach’s ‘15 Inventions.’ Recognizing that there are 24 major and minor keys, nine inventions were missing. I then created ‘Inventions/Reinventions.’”

Tepfer’s 2023 album “Inventions/Reinventions” was a best-seller, topping the U.S. Billboard Classical Albums chart for two weeks.

“While I believe art and beauty are in the eye of the beholder, I present something that I believe is authentically beautiful.

“I take people on a musical journey and hope they are moved by the experience.”

Says Jackson, “We are so honored that Dan will be coming to Bethlehem and playing at this event.

“He has told us repeatedly how important he believes education and outreach programs are in the world today. He’s proud to be joining us for this event and I sincerely hope we Lehigh Valley residents turn out for the concert.”

The dinner and concert fundraiser benefits the Bach Choir’s Youth Education and Community Engagement programs.

Bach Choir of Bethlehem, “Dan Tepfer - Inventions/Reinventions,” 5 p.m. Oct. 4, Musikfest Café, ArtsQuest Center, SteelStacks, 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem; Tickets: Bach Choir office, 440 Heckewelder Place, Bethlehem; office@bach.org; 610-866-4382 ext. 110 or 115; https://bach.org/tickets

The Gabriel Chamber Ensemble is presenting “A Trailblazer Amongst Giants,” 3 p.m. Oct 5, Jerusalem Evangelical Lutheran Church, Schuylkill Haven.

“This program is designed to give audiences perspective and context regarding familiar and less familiar classical composers,” says Dana Allaband, Gabriel Chamber Ensemble Artistic Director.

The concert will open with “5 Pieces for 2 Violins and Piano” by Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975).

“Shostakovich’s compositions are dramatic and exciting to some listeners and jarring to others. However, this piece showcases his whimsical side,” says Allaband.

Each movement, drawn from a prior ballet or film score, includes: “I. Prelude. Moderato” from “The Gadfly, Op. 97;” “II. Gavotte. Tranquillo, molto leggiero” and “III. Elegy. Andantino” from “Ballet Suite No. 3;” “Waltz. Tempo di valse, moderato” from “The Tale of the Priest and His Servant Balada, Op. 36,” and “V. Polka. Vivace” from “Ballet Suite No. 1, Op. 84.”

“Our heroine and trailblazer in this program is American composer Florence Price [1887-1953],” Allaband says.

“Although she is notably the first African-American woman to be recognized as a composer, she was rewarded limited success during her lifetime due the social constrictions in early to mid-20th-century America.” says Allaband.

The ensemble performs Price’s “Piano Quintet in A minor,” which includes spirituals, hymns and the percussive Juba dance.

The concert closes with Robert Schumann’s (1810-1856) masterpiece “Piano Quintet in E flat major, Op. 44” (1842).

Comprising movements “I. Allegro brillante;” II. In modo d’una marcia. Un Poco largamente; “III. Scherzo: Molto vivace,” and “IV. Allegro ma non troppo,” the work served as a model for quintets by composers César Franck, Johannes Brahms and Antonin Dvořák.

“Filled with memorable melodies and themes, this tuneful program will warm the hearts of our audience and create interest to further explore some of the music of all three composers,” Allaband says.

Gabriel Chamber Ensemble, “A Trailblazer Amongst Giants,” 3 p.m. Oct 5, Jerusalem Evangelical Lutheran Church, 252 Dock St., Schuylkill Haven; Tickets: 570-385-2657; https://gabrielensemble.org/calendar/

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