Upcoming classical music concerts are highlighted by performances of The Bach Choir of Bethlehem and the Lehigh Valley Chamber Orchestra.

“As I was looking at our calendar for this spring, it jumped out at me that the Bach Choir may have a chance to perform one of the ‘Passions’ right around Holy Week,” says Christopher Jackson, Artistic Director and Conductor of the Bach Choir of Bethlehem.

“This year, we’re performing the ‘St. John Passion’ on Palm Sunday, which is about as close as we could get to when it was initially performed on Good Friday 1724.”

The Bach Choir of Bethlehem’s “Spring Concert: St. John Passion” is at 4 p.m. March 29, First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem.

Johann Sebastian Bach was Cantor and Music Director from 1723 to 1750 at the Thomaskirche, Leipzig, Germany, where one of his many duties was to provide music, which he called “Passions,” for the Good Friday Vespers service.

A “Passion” is a dramatic, sacred, Protestant musical oratorio relating “the story of Jesus’ death and always taken from the same general set of text no matter from which gospel it’s taken, Matthew, Mark, Luke or John, to describe what happened,” explains Jackson.

Bach wrote five “Passions” of which only two survive in their complete form: the “St. John Passion” and “St. Matthew Passion.”

St. John Passion opens with a sense of foreboding. As events unfold and Judas betrays Christ, the Bach Choir performs the role of the crowd exclaiming their judgment until the drama ends with crucifixion and death.

Four soloists play prominent roles in the performance. Dann Coakwell, tenor, is the Evangelist who sings the narration of Christ’s passion, crucifixion and burial. Jonathan Woody, baritone, portrays Christ as solemn and calm as events unfold. Katelyn Grace Jackson, soprano, is the lyrical and emotional commentator reflecting on the suffering of Christ. Aryssa Burrs, mezzo-soprano, serves as the contemplative and emotional voice of the devout believer.

Specializing in the Evangelist and tenor roles of J.S. Bach, Dann Coakwell frequently performs Bach’s major oratorios as well as many of his Cantatas. Other prominent solo roles performed include numerous Handel oratorios, Haydn’s “Creation,” Mozart’s “Requiem” and “Mass in C minor.” Coakwell received an Artist Diploma from the Yale School of Music-Institute of Sacred Music, Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music from Texas Tech University and Bachelor of Music from the University of Texas at Austin.

Bass-Baritone Jonathan Woody is a performer and composer in New York City and across North America. An accomplished chamber musician, Woody often performs as a member of the Grammy-nominated Choir of Trinity Wall Street. He received degrees from McGill University and the University of Maryland, College Park.

Soprano Katelyn Grace Jackson grew up in Berks County and spent a good portion of her singing career in Washington, D.C. She received a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Maryland and Master of Music in Historical Performance: Voice from The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University.

Mezzo-soprano Aryssa Burrs is a recent graduate of Northwestern University where she received a Master of Music in Voice and Opera Performance. She received a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance and Bachelor of Music Education in Choral and General Music from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Bach Choir of Bethlehem, “Spring Concert: St. John Passion,” 4 p.m. March 29, First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem, 2344 Center St., Bethlehem. Tickets: Bach Choir office, 440 Heckewelder Place, Bethlehem; office@bach.org; 610-866-4382 ext. 110 or 115; https://bach.org/tickets/

“The Lehigh Valley Chamber Orchestra (LVCO) invites our community to join us for a wonderful afternoon of music, featuring Philip Glass’s ‘Company for String Orchestra’ and Ludwig van Beethoven’s ‘Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92,’” says Ryan Pereira, LVCO Orchestra Manager.

The Lehigh Valley Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Nikhil Bartolomeo, presents, “Relentless Motion: The Music of Beethoven & Glass,” 3 p.m. March 22, Christ Lutheran Church, Allentown.

“Relentless Motion refers to the drive, rhythm and movement that these two pieces exhibit, showcasing delightful contrast between Glass’s tense minimalism and Beethoven’s grandiose depth,” says Pereira.

The performance opens with Philip Glass’ “Company” (1983), a four-movement commissioned work to accompany a staging of Irish novelist Samuel Beckett’s “Company,” a prose work exploring solitude while a relentless voice describes a sense of tormented confinement and despair.

The work highlights the human need for companionship and “despite times of loneliness and despair in the present, the human condition always discovers a way to find company,” Pereira says.

The concert continues with Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 7,” known for its overall jubilant sense with a contrasting calm and lyrical second movement.

“At this point in his life, Beethoven was becoming increasingly ill and experiencing worsening hearing loss. Despite this, the symphony showcases his remarkable ability to transcend physical misery into brilliant writing, resulting in distinct musical characters across the four movements that cohere, all in dance forms from beginning to end,” says Pereira.

“The two pieces of the program, while from entirely different musical eras, share a unique rhythmic vitality that makes them pair so well. Heard together, these works trace a striking kinship across centuries: two sound worlds that propose motion itself as meaning, an act of survival, as if to say, ‘I move, therefore, I persist.’”

Nikhil Bartolomeo is a conductor, clarinetist and educator based in New York City. He is pursuing a Doctoral in Clarinet Performance at Stony Brook University and received a Master of Music from Boston Conservatory and Bachelor of Music from Ithaca College.

Lehigh Valley Chamber Orchestra, “Relentless Motion: The Music of Beethoven & Glass,” 3 p.m. March 22, Christ Lutheran Church, 1245 Hamilton St., Allentown. Tickets: https://www.lvchamberorchestra.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