“Bach at Noon” is back in Bethlehem.

“Bach at Noon,” held the second Tuesday of the month, is free and open to the public.

You can make a day of it in downtown Bethlehem.

Combine the approximate one-hour “Bach at Noon” with downtown shopping (the “Christmas City” is a great helper for that holiday gift list), a stroll down Main Street and a late lunch or dinner at one of the city’s many restaurants.

For the Oct. 13 “Bach at Noon” concert, Central Moravian Church, 73 W. Church St., Bethlehem. Daniel McCarthy brought several historical instruments from the viola family to the program.

McCarthy performed Bach’s “Sonata for Viola da Gamba in G Major,” BWV 1027, on tenor viola, followed by “Tritt auf die Glaubensbahn,” BWV 152, one of Bach’s few cantatas featuring the viola d’amore and part of the Bach Choir’s spotlight concert at the 2027 “Bachfest Leipzig.”

The return of “Bach at Noon” after a summer of three monthly concerts at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Allentown, to its home base, Central Moravian Church, Sept. 8, was a landmark: the 150th “Bach at Noon.”

The “Bach at Noon” concerts include members of the Bach Choir of Bethlehem and Bach Festival Orchestra, conducted by Dr. Christopher Jackson, Bach Choir of Bethlehem Artistic Director.

“Bach at Noon” is described as “a musical gift to our community.”

The 150th milestone concert Sept. 8 featured Danqi Zeng, Grand Prize winner of the 2025 Lillian & Maurice Barbash International J.S. Bach Competition.

The concert program was:

Antonio Vivaldi (1678 - 1741), “Concerto for violin and orchestra,” RV 208, “Grosso Mogul”; Danqi Zeng, violin;

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750), “Sonata No. 3 in C Major,” BWV 1005; Danqi Zeng, violin;

J.S. Bach, “Wer sich selbst erhöhet, der soll erniedriget werden,” BWV 47; Elizabeth Field, violin, and

J.S. Bach, “No. 7 Chorale” from “Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen,” BWV 65

Soloists included Anika Kildegaard, soprano, and Steven Eddy, bass.

The September “Bach at Noon” was supported in part by an endowment gift from Katherine S. Merle-Smith Thomas and was named in her honor.

Information: https://bach.org/