Welcome to the Web site of The Bach Chorale of Grand Rapids

The spring concert of our 2011/12 season will be on Sunday, April 29 at 7:30 PM at Central Reformed Church, 10 College NE, in Grand Rapids. The Bach Chorale of Grand Rapids will be featured along with a chamber orchestra, and soloists Gregory Maytan, violin, and Nicole Lee, piano.

The 2012 Spring Concert program will include:

Samuel Barber	Agnus Dei / Adagio for Strings
Felix Mendelssohn	Te Deum laudamus
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart	Misericordias Domini
Felix Mendelssohn	O be joyful in the Lord
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina	Exsultate Deo
Felix Mendelssohn	Concerto in d minor for Violin and Piano

Tickets for the performance are on sale now.

The Bach Chorale is an auditioned ensemble, and welcomes experienced choral musicians for all sections. We rehearse Wednesday nights from 7:30 to 9:30 pm at Central Reformed Church in Grand Rapids. Our first rehearsal for spring term 2012 will be February 29.

Auditions are held during the first rehearsals of each term, and consist of some vocalises and sight-reading. If you wish to join us, please contact Martin Werner and Stephanie Wiltse via the contact form.

CD Information Our official CD, recorded in 2008-2009, is available for purchase. Click here to purchase the CD or order concert tickets.

The Bach Chorale was originally assembled by Dr. Martin Werner to perform during the inaugural Grand Rapids Bach Festival in 1997. The chorale served as the core chorus in the 1999 Bach Festival performance of the Mass in B Minor and for the St. John Passion in 2001, under the direction of guest conductor Karl Hochreither.

Dr. Martin Werner studied orchestral conducting, cello and choral conducting in his native Germany before spending a year at California State University, Fullerton as a graduate student and student conductor of the University Singers. He received a Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting from the University of Michigan in 1985 and later served as assistant chorus master for the Concert Choir for the City of Düsseldorf, Germany. He was chorus master of the Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus from 1993 to 1999 and has also been choir director for several Grand Rapids churches. In 1997, he became music director and conductor for the Bach Chorale.

In the spring of 2009, the Bach Chorale was incorporated as The Bach Chorale of Grand Rapids. As of April 29, 2009, we have been confirmed as a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, able to receive tax-deductible contributions.