Early Music Vancouver (EMV) invites audiences to experience the acclaimed works of baroque composer J.S. Bach, in its 2024 summer festival, BACH UNTAMED. From July 30-August 8, EMV presents bold, new interpretations, incorporating world music traditions, at venues around Vancouver.
“We are thrilled to offer audiences an adventurous program of some of Bach’s seminal works, but with a twist,” says EMV’s Artistic & Executive Director Suzie LeBlanc. “From traditional compositions reworked for unique instruments, such as mandolin and oud, to the introduction of vocal improvisation, inspired by Bach’s own customary practice of instrumental extemporization, BACH UNTAMED welcomes listeners to seek out new perspectives of Bach’s well-known and beloved classics.”

This year’s festival features nearly 50 participating emerging and established international and Canadian early music artists, some making their EMV debuts. These artists include up-and-coming Canadian cellist Cameron Crozman and Canadian pianist Meagan Milatz, Vancouver-based Hindustani and Jazz vocalist Shruti Ramani, and Montreal-based Lebanese-Palestinian Canadian tenor Haitham Haidar, who lend their artistry to several festival concerts. The highlight of the summer festival will be the rarely-performed Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610, which will include Cree-Métis Two-Spirit baritone Jonathon Adams, renowned tenor Charles Daniels, Czech soprano Hana Blažikova, and cornetto virtuoso Bruce Dickey among others, led by the Pacific Baroque Orchestra’s director Alexander Weimann.
Making both his EMV and Canadian debut, international multi-instrumentalist Alon Sariel is EMV’s 2024 Summer Festival Artist in Residence. In addition to headlining two concerts – Alon Sariel: Plucked Bach, in which he will premiere his own Bach-inspired Mandolin Partita, and EMV’s festival finale Bach & the Mandolin with Alon Sariel. Sariel will also perform in several other festival concerts, in addition to teaching a workshop on Bach for plucked instruments.

The 2024 festival also welcomes the third edition of EMV: The Next Generation, whose emerging artists have been hand-selected by LeBlanc. Featuring music by Bach, Schubert, and Abel, the afternoon concert will include the EMV debut of 21-year-old baritone and UBC graduate student from Santa Cruz, California, Hans Grunwald, in collaboration with the return of New York-based baroque cellist and gambist, Adrienne Hyde.
BACH UNTAMED runs July 30 to August 8, 2024 at venues across Vancouver, for the complete summer festival lineup plus ticket information, visit earlymusic.bc.ca