Linn Maxwell Keller - WKTV Journal

The Choir of Trinity Church Wall Street performs March 21 at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. (Supplied)

By Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk
Grand Rapids Symphony

It has motivated the work of nearly every great composer to follow in the history of Western Classical music. It continues to inspire those who hear it more than 269 years after Bach’s death.

The 12^th biennial Grand Rapids Bach Festival, the first under its new Artistic Director Julian Wachner, returns to West Michigan in March with a week of concerts and activities celebrating the life and work of the composer whose music represents the pinnacle of the Baroque Era.

An affiliate of the Grand Rapids Symphony, the Grand Rapids Bach Festival will present the inaugural Linn Maxwell Keller Distinguished Bach Musician Award, a $10,000 cash prize in memory of Keller, an accomplished singer who founded the festival in 1997.

Julian Wachner, a keyboardist, conductor, composer and a Grammy nominated recording artist, serves as Director of Music and the Arts at New York City’s historic Trinity Church Wall Street, and Wachner will bring his 28-voice choir to Grand Rapids during the eight-day festival opening March 17. The Bach Festival Artistic Director chair is sponsored by John & Mary Loeks | Studio C.

“Bach has been a lifelong fascination and passion of mine,” said Wachner, who grew up in a musical family. “I started playing Bach before I could speak.”

The Grand Rapids Bach Festival Artistic Director Julian Wachner servers as Director of Music and the Arts at New York City’s historic Trinity Church Wall Street. (Supplied)

At Trinity Church Wall Street, which is just down the street from the World Trade Center and 9/11 Memorial, Wachner has been leading performances of the choral and orchestral music of J.S. Bach every week for more than six years.

“I’m really excited about bringing that experience to Grand Rapids,” he said. “There have been incredible artists who have joined the Grand Rapids Bach Festival including pianist Angela Hewitt and the Bach Collegium Japan under the director of Masaki Suzuki.”

“It’s an incredible honor to follow in all of their footsteps in being part of this wonderful festival,” Wachner said.

Besides musical performances, “Bach in the City” will include such activities as BACHBends yoga and KinderBACH for young children and adults. Locally, the Donut Conspiracy and Love’s Ice Cream have created special, limited-time taste treats especially for the 12^th biennial festival.

A special $40 Bach Pass, in addition to priority seating at all concerts and entry to two exclusive post-concert receptions, includes discounts at local restaurants including MeXo Restaurant, Littlebird Restaurant, and Linear Restaurant as well as at Apothecary Off Main on Monroe Center.

Several events are free admission or freewill offering thanks to the support of major sponsors including: Prince Conference Center at Calvin College; Daniel L. & Ellen VanderMey; Grand Rapids Community College; and the Cathedral of Saint Andrews.

Dashon Burton is one of the Grand Rapids Bach Festival soloists. (Photo by Tatiana Daubek)

Bach Pass

The Grand Rapids Bach Festival’s Bach Pass, which admits holders to all ticketed concerts and provides preferred seating at free events, is available for $40 adults, $20 students. Order online.

The Bach Pass offers:

Access to all 10 Bach Festival Concerts
Exclusive post-concert receptions on Monday, March 18 at Linear Restaurant and on Thursday, March 21 at MeXo Restaurant.
Free dessert at Littlebird Restaurant with the purchase of a meal
Free first course at Linear Restaurant with the purchase of an entrée
20 percent off at Apothecary Off Main

Single Tickets

Single tickets are available in advance or at the door for Grand Rapids Bach Festival programs. The GRS ticket office is open weekdays 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at 300 Ottawa Ave. NW, Suite 100, (located across from the Calder Plaza), or by calling 616.454.9451 x 4. (Phone orders will be charged a $2 per ticket service fee, with a $12 maximum.)

Tickets also may be purchased online at GRSymphony.org.

Nola Richardson is competing in the GR Bach Festival Linn Maxwell Keller Award. (Supplied)

Festival schedule

Sunday, March 17
BACH IN SACRED SPACES
Sunday morning
Area Churches
Grand Rapids Symphony musicians

Musicians of the Grand Rapids Symphony present the music of J.S. Bach and other composers inspired by Bach in Sunday services in centers of worship throughout the community to comfort and inspire. A jubilant opening to this year’s festival, presented free of charge.Tickets for these concerts are FREE

Monday, March 18
BACH FESTIVAL ARTISTIC DIRECTOR ORGAN RECITAL
7:30 p.m. Monday
Basilica of St. Adalbert, 654 Davis Ave. NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504
Julian Wachner, organ

During his life, J.S. Bach was little-known as a composer, but he was widely regarded as one of the greatest organ virtuosos of his day. Bach’s music for organ has astonished and mesmerized audiences ever since. Three powerful showpieces, including Charles-Marie Widor’s famous Toccata, will thunder from 3,883 pipes of the Wicks Organ in the Basilica of St. Adalbert. As a bonus, Bach Festival Artistic Director Julian Wachner will improvise at the keyboard based on themes suggested by the audience. Tickets are $10 adults, $5 students. Free with the 2019 GR Bach Festival’s Bach Pass.

Tuesday, March 19
LINN MAXWELL KELLER DISTINGUISHED BACH MUSICIAN AWARD SEMI-FINAL
2 p.m. Tuesday
Cathedral of St. Andrew, 301 Sheldon Ave. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Vocal Competition Semi-Finalists

Hear the next generation of voices in a FREE concert showcasing the six Keller Award semi-finalists. The $10,000 Linn Maxwell Keller Distinguished Bach Musician Award competition aims to encourage and support gifted young singers in pursuit of professional careers in music. During each Festival cycle, one award of $10,000 will be granted, with intention to advance the career and professional developments of the recipient. Tickets for this concert are FREE

Tuesday, March 19
MARIMBACH
7:30 p.m. Tuesday
Fountain Street Church, 24 Fountain St. NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Grand Rapids Symphony percussion section

It’s Bach – with a backbeat! In the reverberant, Romanesque splendor of Fountain Street Church, a battery of percussion and percussionists will present MarimBACH – thrilling, percussive pronouncements on the Baroque. Tickets for this concert are FREE

Wednesday, March 20
ORGAN RECITAL featuring ISABELLE DEMERS
12 p.m. Wednesday
Grace Episcopal Church, 1815 Hall St. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506
Isabelle Demers, organ

“Terrific,” raves the Chicago Tribune of young organ sensation Isabelle Demers, who has attracted a legion of followers. “Her technical and musical dexterity proved that the next generation of organists is well capable of carrying the profession forward,” declared The American Organist. Experience her artistry on Grace Episcopal Church’s three-manual, 40-rank Noack tracker organ. FREE will offering

Wednesday, March 20
BACHBENDS
12 p.m. Wednesday, St. Cecilia Music Center, 24 Ransom Ave. NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503
7 p.m. Wednesday, First United Methodist Church, 227 E. Fulton St., Grand Rapids, MI 49503

J.S. Bach’s masterful counterpoint can provide the perfect accompaniment to lead you through such yoga poses as tree, warrior or downward-facing dog. Licensed yoga instructor and WOTV’s wellness expert Michele Fife leads a specially-curated playlist for both restorative and flow-type classes. Don’t just sit and listen when you can listen, feel and move. Tickets are $10 adults, $5 students. Free with the 2019 GR Bach Festival’s Bach Pass.

Thursday, March 21
LINN MAXWELL KELLER DISTINGUISHED BACH MUSICIAN AWARD FINALS
3 p.m. Thursday
Cathedral of St. Andrew 301 Sheldon Ave. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Vocal Competition Finalists

The three finalists of the $10,000 Linn Maxwell Keller Distinguished Bach Musician Award competition will perform a FREE recital. Each candidate will perform two contrasting arias by J.S. Bach plus one vocal work by another composer of the singer’s choice. Tickets for this concert are FREE

Thursday, March 21
MASS REIMAGININGS
7 p.m. Thursday
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 134 N. Division Ave., Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Julian Wachner, conductor
Daniel Taylor, countertenor
Dashon Burton, bass-baritone
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street

From the famous Trinity Church Wall Street in New York City, The Choir of Trinity Wall Street will travel to Grand Rapids to perform Bach’s Mass in A for choir, flute, strings and basso continuo, and Julian Wachner’s own Epistle Mass, which draws upon 1,000 years of musical influences from Gregorian Chant to contemporary times. Enjoy the music in historic St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, the oldest existing public building in Grand Rapids, dating from 1848. Tickets are $15 adults, $5 students. Free with the 2019 GR Bach Festival’s Bach Pass.

Friday, March 22
NOONTIME BACH
12 noon Friday
First United Methodist Church, 227 E. Fulton St., Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Julian Wachner, conductor
Molly Netter, soprano
Daniel Taylor, countertenor
Dashon Burton, bass-baritone

Bach composed more than 200 cantatas. This aching, exquisite trio of cantatas can be counted among his most personal. The radiant Cantata No. 170 surveys the world and begs for release. Cantata No. 51 is a sterling duet for soprano and trumpet. And, in “Ich habe genung,” as the solo tenor’s flesh weakens, his spirit soars. His weary words are frequently punctuated by pauses, and in those long pauses is heard the most poignant music of all. The truths found in Bach’s music will reveal themselves in the Tiffany windowed First United Methodist Church. Tickets are $5. Free with the 2019 GR Bach Festival’s Bach Pass.

Saturday, March 23
KINDERBACH
11 a.m. Saturday
Phyllis Fratzke Early Childhood Learning Laboratory at GRCC, 200 Lyon St. NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Join us for an opportunity to play with your little one in an hour-long interactive KinderBach class. Inspired by Anna Harwell Celenza’s book, Bach’s Goldberg Variations, the session will be led by a Grand Rapids Symphony musician and a dancer from Grand Rapids Ballet. Tickets are $10 adult plus one child (age 5 and under). Free with the 2019 GR Bach Festival’s Bach Pass.

Soprano Molly Netter is another Grand Rapids Bach Festival soloist. (Supplied)

Saturday, March 23
BACH MAGNIFICAT
7:30 p.m. Saturday
Basilica of St. Adalbert, 654 Davis Ave. NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504
Julian Wachner, conductor
Molly Netter, soprano
Daniel Taylor, countertenor
Brian Giebler, tenor
Dashon Burton, bass-baritone
Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus, Pearl Shangkuan, director

Music for the season as well as music for all seasons. Bach’s Magnificat, his first liturgical composition with a text in Latin, soars and sings, inspiring choirs and listeners for nearly three centuries. Cantata No. 110 radiates joy for the coming of man with alternating biblical texts and arias. And Martin Luther’s own hymn is rejuvenated centuries later by Igor Stravinsky. The Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus joins soloists and orchestra for the performance in the sonic splendor of the Basilica of St. Adalbert. Tickets are $26 adults, $5 students. Free with the 2019 GR Bach Festival’s BachPass.

Sunday, March 24
BACH IN SACRED SPACES
Sunday
Area Churches
Grand Rapids Symphony Musicians

In the spirit of Bach’s evergreen renewal of the soul, the festival concludes as it began as musicians from the Symphony again perform in Grand Rapids churches. All events are FREE, and bring the festival to a glorious conclusion – until 2021! Tickets for these concerts are FREE

This October, GVSU dedicated the Linn Maxwell Keller Black Box Theatre.

By Matthew Makowski

Grand Valley State University

Grand Valley State University’s new Linn Maxwell Keller Black Box Theatre is providing students and faculty who are studying and teaching the performing arts with opportunities to tackle new types of productions.

The Grand Valley community celebrated the formal dedication of the Keller Theatre, located in the Thomas J. and Marcia J. Haas Center for Performing Arts, on Oct. 17.

To honor Linn’s memory, the Keller family established the Linn Maxwell Keller Professional Vocalist Experience Endowment at Grand Valley in 2017. The fund provides enrichment opportunities for committed vocal performance students and will aim to encourage them in their professional career development. The Keller Theatre was named in appreciation for their generosity.

“The Linn Maxwell Keller Endowment will facilitate and empower our vocal students to move beyond their academic studies and ascend to distinguished achievement by providing needed resources to build artistic capability through advanced study, professional production and community outreach,” said Danny Phipps, chair of the Music, Theatre, and Dance Department. “These experiences are critical to their success as they launch their professional careers as the next generation of performing artists.”

Fred Keller, Linn’s husband, said that the endowment supports her long-held desire to inspire young, aspiring musicians, especially vocalists.

The dedication included an inaugural cabaret in the theater, including six vocal performances by multiple Grand Valley students and alumni of the Music, Theatre, and Dance Department.

“Linn was an incredible artist, and I’m so proud that we can have this space in her memory, and an endowment that is going to be inspiring students in the future,” he said. “You’ll never remember what somebody did or said, but you’ll remember how they made you feel, and that’s what Linn brought to the stage.”

Linn Maxwell Keller was a dedicated professional singer who performed in 28 countries throughout her career. The only child of two musicians, Linn was a mezzo soprano, performing on many operatic and concert stages, from the Essen Opera House in Germany to Puerto Rico and Carnegie Hall.

She went on to write and develop numerous original shows, including the critically acclaimed “Hildegard of Bingen and the Living Light,” and “St. Hildegard, Trumpet of God,” both of which were made into movies.

The dedication ceremony included an inaugural cabaret in the theater, including six vocal performances by multiple Grand Valley students and alumni of the Music, Theatre, and Dance Department.

President Thomas J. Haas said the endowment and the Keller Theatre align with Grand Valley’s mission of encouraging students to reach their full potential.

“No matter what we do in the Linn Maxwell Black Box Theatre, we are going to be driven by sustained attention to excellence and quality,” said Haas.

A black box theater is an indoor performance space with plain black walls and a level floor, typically designed to provide flexibility in stage configuration and audience seating. Black box theaters gained popularity in the 1960s and the unique performance space creates a closer proximity between the audience and performers.