The Australian Bach Society Inc was founded in October 2011 to celebrate the music of J.S. Bach. In November 2012 we will connect the tradition of Saturday motet singing at St. Thomas Leipzig with the German Church East Melbourne on two consecutive Saturdays, 3 and 10 November 2012 at 3:00 pm with the Australian Chamber Choir (Directed by Douglas Lawrence) and adding two of Bach’s most popular Cello Suites, played by Rebecca Diederich (violoncello).
The Australian Chamber Choir was founded by its current director, Douglas Lawrence in 2007. In July that year, the choir already undertook a 20-concert tour to Europe to great acclaim. This meteoric rise to international success was largely due to the 24 years Douglas Lawrence worked as director of the Choir of Ormond College, University of Melbourne.
The Australian Chamber Choir draws upon the large pool of elite singers trained during Lawrence’s Ormond College years and is open to talented singers of all backgrounds. The performance of new Australian compositions in Europe and Australia has become a hallmark of the Australian Chamber Choir. In addition to the concerts mentioned above, the ACC has produced a CD and made several ABC classic FM recordings. Read and hear more about the Choir at their website www.auschoir.org.
The choir has a special interest in the unaccompanied motets of JS Bach. ”Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf” was described as “Bach vocal interpretation of high quality, with a bouncy energy and unwavering unanimity of pitch” in a review entitled “Sacred and Spine-Chilling” (Clive O’Connell, The Age, August 24, 2010). As part of the 3rd European Tour in 2011, the ACC gave a concert in St Thomaskirche, Leipzig, where Bach was director of music for 27 years. One of Bach’s six motets was performed alongside Australian works by Philip Nunn and Ronald Nagorcka. The next tour in 2013 again will include concerts at St. Thomas.
Cellist Rebecca Humphrey moved to Melbourne, Australia in 2009. Prior to Melbourne, Rebecca lived in Philadelphia, PA, where she was an active freelancer. She also spent much of her time playing in Washington DC with the Washington Bach Consort, in Baltimore with the Handel Singers of Baltimore, and in New York City with Rebel and Quicksilver while touring internationally with Belladonna. Rebecca lived in Switzerland for three years where she was the principle cellist for Kammerensemble Luzerne and in Basel with Capriccio Basel. Her recordings with Tempesta di Mare on the Chandos Label have received wide acclaim.
How you can help
As part of Bach@Trinity 2012 – an International Bachfest - we have the unique opportunity to perform all six Bach motets by one of Australia’s leading choirs in the beautiful setting of the historic German Lutheran Trinity church in East Melbourne. Your donation will make this happen.