Engaging With Bach and his St. Matthew Passion

The OLLI Distinguished Speakers Series presents:

Engaging With Bach and his St. Matthew Passion
with Jack Brown, artistic director of Berkshire Lyric

Wednesday, May 13 at 9:30 a.m. ET

In-person at Berkshire Community College and
Online via Zoom

Sponsored by Kimball Farms Life Care

Berkshire Lyric presents J.S. Bach’s Saint Matthew Passion on May 31, at Seiji Ozawa Hall, Tanglewood. Lyric’s long time Artistic Director Jack Brown explores the background of this monumental work that many believe may be the greatest single work of music in the entire western canon. This three hour work combines all of Bach’s dramatic and poetic power to tell this grand story of betrayal, judgment, sacrifice and death. Above all, it is the story of the power of love.

In this program, Jack will go deep into parts of the music and also share his behind the scenes view of the special preparation for this concert. The massive work calls for two choruses, a children’s chorus, two orchestras and six top level vocal soloists. The Matthew Passion was not conceived as a concert work or as an opera, but as a transformative ritual that continues to reach across time and space. It approaches perfection yet calls forth a deeply personal emotional connection. It has special resonance not only to fully professional musicians and scholars, but to amateurs and the broader public. Jack will provide an opportunity for many to share in this journey of musical wonder.

Jack Brown, Artistic Director of Berkshire Lyric, brings a wide range of musical experience to the regions oldest and largest choral organization. He is renowned for the energy and passion of his musicianship and the interpretative insight he brings to repertoire of the widest stylistic and historical breadth. His authoritative performances are founded on uncompromising drive and vision, alongside a hunger for new challenges.

He has conducted the Berkshire Lyric Chorus since 2007 in concerts ranging from Stravinsky and Rachmaninoff to Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana and Karl Jenkins’ Requiem. His recent journey with the Berkshire Lyric Chorus through the classical masters of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms and Bruckner at Tanglewood’s Seiji Ozawa Hall were broadcast on WMHT-FM. Maintaining predecessor Bob Blafield’s tradition, he continues to do important year-round work with our own Lyric Children’s Chorus. He enjoys working closely with young singers and choruses, and continues to add fresh educational outreaches to Berkshire Lyric. ​

Well known to area audiences as a bass soloist in oratorios of Bach, Handel, Mozart, Mendelssohn and Brahms, Jack has sung professionally throughout the United States and Canada. He has been a frequent recitalist and has given premiere performances by a number of contemporary American composers. Jack is currently on the faculty of the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Ct., where he teaches voice and directs the choral program. He is also on the staff of the nationally known Austen Riggs Center in Stockbridge where he explores the healing power of music with the patient community. Jack also enjoyed long running relationships directing choruses at Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, the Buxton School and was the founding conductor of the B’Shalom Chorale of the Berkshires. Jack was recently honored by Berkshire Magazine as a member of The Berkshire 25: Most Dedicated, Most Creative and Most Influential.

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This lecture will be recorded and available for viewing at the convenience of registrants.

Ticket information:

Admission is $10 for OLLI at BCC members and $15 for the general public.

Admission is free for students, staff and faculty from Berkshire Community College, MCLA, and Williams; youth 17 and under, and those holding WIC, EBT/SNAP, or ConnectorCare cards.