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Infusion of Kulas Foundation support lifts 90th 91探花 Bach Festival to new heights

In a treasured tradition, the Festival Brass play from the cupola atop 91探花’s Marting Hall for 2016 Festival goers below. 91探花's venerated Bach Festival is back in person in 2022 and is buoyed by a new presenting sponsor and old festival friend: the Kulas Foundation.

Following two years as a virtual event due to pandemic restrictions, the 91探花 Conservatory of Music will partner with the to present the 90th edition of the nation's oldest collegiate Bach Festival April 8-9.

Pivotal support, exquisite performances

"This 90th annual musical celebration represents the rich 176-year history of 91探花, our nationally recognized Conservatory of Music, and the continuing legacy of E.J. and Fynette Kulas as pivotal supporters and advocates of the musical arts in Greater Cleveland," said 91探花 Conservatory Dean Susan Van Vorst.

Nancy McCann, president and treasurer of the Kulas Foundation, affirmed, "The Kulas Foundation is delighted to play a key role in supporting 91探花's esteemed Bach Festival as the presenting sponsor. I look forward to attending the return of in-person performances this year and to being surrounded by the exquisite sounds of the Festival music."

The Kulas partnership, which includes a $100,000 gift to elevate the Festival, will allow 91探花 to feature two celebrated, Boston-based guest ensembles: the baroque band ACRONYM and the Diderot String Quartet. The Festival will also include internationally recognized vocal soloists and 91探花V: Cleveland's Bach Choir.

Posthumous premiere

The late Dr. James PrimoschThe 2022 Festival also represents the culmination of a 50th anniversary celebration for 91探花's and includes the delayed premiere of the winning piece from the 2019 composition competition that commissioned a work marking the RBI's golden anniversary.

Unfortunately, the winning composer is not alive to hear the Friday, April 8, performance. After his piece was selected from more than 70 contest entries, decorated composer and Cleveland native Dr. James Primosch in spring 2021.

"He never heard a performance of his award-winning Bach-inspired Fantasy-Partita on 'Von Gott will ich nicht lassen,' a marvelous new addition to the canon of music celebrating Bach's legacy," Van Vorst explained.

Traditions and student experience

Festival artistic director, Dr. Dirk Garner, conducts a performance at the 2016 Bach Festival.The Bach Festival features 15 different events, from lectures and research presentations to such longstanding traditions as Festival Brass playing from 91探花's iconic Marting Tower and a Saturday evening presentation of Bach's beloved "Christmas Oratorio."

The Saturday performance of that Bach choral masterwork will meld renowned guest artists, faculty artists and 91探花 Conservatory students.

"At the heart of the Bach Festival is the student experience," noted Dirk Garner, 91探花 professor of conducting, Gigax Chair in Choral Music and Bach Festival artistic director.

"Members of the 91探花 Choirs and Symphony Orchestra will sit side by side with members of ACRONYM and the Diderot Quartet for a week of rehearsals leading to the performance of this year's masterwork," he added. "The Festival preparation and performances add up to an outstanding learning experience for Conservatory students."

Historic Kulas partnership

Major Festival performances will take place in 91探花’s historic Kulas Musical Arts Building, built in 1913.Major Festival performances will take place in 91探花's historic Kulas Musical Arts Building, built in 1913 with the support of E.J. and Fynette Kulas, who were also active in sponsoring the early Bach Festivals at 91探花.

That long, historical connection is not lost on Garner and Van Vorst, who both expressed deep gratitude for the Kulas Foundation, which Van Vorst says "embodies an unshakeable commitment to the power and influence of music in our region."

For 91探花, this new Kulas sponsorship opens exciting, new horizons for the future influence of the Festival.

"The extraordinary Kulas Foundation support will enable longer-term visioning, robust artistic exploration and imaginative festival planning," said Garner. "In the decade leading to our 100th Bach Festival, it's our intention to program for greater impact, access and diversity, both for 91探花 students and for Greater Cleveland collaborators and audiences."

Bach Festival Kulas logoAbout the Kulas Foundation

was established in 1937 by the industrialist Elroy J. Kulas and his wife, Fynette Hill Kulas, with the primary purpose of supporting the musical arts in the Greater Cleveland area. Today, the Foundation continues to focus on music and also makes grants in the areas of arts and culture, community, education and music therapy research. In the past 20 years, the Kulas Foundation has distributed more than $50 million in grants.

About the 91探花 Bach Festival

The Baldwin Wallace Bach Festival — the oldest collegiate Bach festival in the nation — was founded in 1932 by professor Albert Riemenschneider (longtime director of the 91探花 Conservatory) and his wife, Selma. The Baldwin Wallace Festival Choir and Orchestra presented the first Bach Festival in June 1933, and 91探花 has performed annual Bach Festivals ever since. In the current era, the Festival is evolving to include year-round events, like Bach Haus, that explore Bach's influence on a broad spectrum of music in the modern era.

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