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For press inquiries or more information contact:

Janey Moskowitz
Director of External Affairs
janey@bachconsort.org

Latest Reviews

The Washington Post

At two historically informed concerts, refreshing takes on early music

March 26, 2024

The Washington Bach Consort offered an overdue and richly researched history lesson on female composers of the 17th century. This was a rich and richly varied program that hinted at much, much more. Kudos to the Bach Consort for stepping up and digging deep. Read more »

Washington Classical Review

Marsh makes his mark with Washington Bach Consort in “St. Matthew Passion”

May 22, 2022

For his first traversal of the piece with the ensemble since becoming music director in 2018, Dana Marsh led an outstanding rendition Saturday night at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on Capitol Hill. Read more »

Washington Classical Review

Bach Consort looks backward from Bach to another master of counterpoint

November 20, 2021

Marsh made the clever and historically appropriate decision to have the second tenor part, and other cantus firmus parts, played expertly by Michael Holmes on the sackbut. Read more »

Patrick D. McCoy

A New Meaning to ‘Performance Space’-2020 Year End Review

December 31, 2020

Artistic Director Dana Marsh, led the singers and instrumentalists of the Washington Bach Consort in a variety of virtual performances, from presentations of solo, choral and instrumental works by Bach. Read more »

The Washington Post

One aria sums up a joyful Washington Bach Consort ‘Christmas Oratorio’

December 23, 2019

When the Washington Bach Consort performed its namesake’s “Christmas Oratorio” on Sunday, all you needed to hear was a single aria to understand why the entire show, at National Presbyterian Church, worked as splendidly as it did. Read more »

Recording Reviews

The Living Church

Marvelous Musical Myths

March 26, 2024

The Washington Bach Consort offered an overdue and richly researched history lesson on female composers of the 17th century. This was a rich and richly varied program that hinted at much, much more. Kudos to the Bach Consort for stepping up and digging deep. Read more »

The Arts Desk

At two historically informed concerts, refreshing takes on early music

March 26, 2024

The Washington Bach Consort offered an overdue and richly researched history lesson on female composers of the 17th century. This was a rich and richly varied program that hinted at much, much more. Kudos to the Bach Consort for stepping up and digging deep. Read more »

The Whole Note

Myths Contested – Washington Bach Consort; Dana Marsh

December 8, 2023

The Washington Bach Consort manages Bach’s contrapuntal intricacies masterfully, and the orchestra shines in the opening movement, particularly through the virtuosic writing for wind instruments. Read more »

Infodad/Transcentury

That was then, this is now

November 16, 2023

The excellent period-instrument performance by the Washington Bach Consort thoroughly captures the colors and clever conceptual elements of the work… Read more »

Textura

Washington Bach Consort: Myths Contested: J. S. Bach and Trevor Weston

November 2023

Myths Contested, Washington Bach Consort’s first album in over a decade, is wonderfully rounded out by Trevor Weston’s A New Song… Read more »

Early Music America

Bach and Weston: ‘Singing My Song Tells My Story’

October 9, 2023

In all, this is a piece that deserves a place in many a concert setting — and not just alongside a Bach cantata performed with period instruments. Read more »

Classical-Modern Music Review

Myths Contested, Washington Bach Consort Plays and Sings Bach and Trevor Weston

October 5, 2023

I find this music everything I might expect, authenticity, beautifully written music, a rare gem from Bach and some nicely turned modernity from Weston, to which i say bravo, bravo, bravo. Read more »

All Music Guide

Myths Contested

October 3, 2023

Washington Bach Consort’s first album in more than a decade, the singers and director Dana Marsh deliver a smooth but lively performance with strong soloists who do not overdo the dramatic aspect. Read more »

Latest News

WETA, Classical Score

Washington Bach Consort Ponders the Power of Music Past and Present

September 14, 2022

The Washington Bach Consort offered an overdue and richly researched history lesson on female composers of the 17th century. This was a rich and richly varied program that hinted at much, much more. Kudos to the Bach Consort for stepping up and digging deep. Read more »

The Washington Post

Live classical music is picking up steam, with robust fall seasons

September 9, 2022

Pardon the easy pun, but it’s hard to imagine a nicer way to get “Bach” to business than an afternoon with the Washington Bach Consort… Read more »

The Opera Wire

The Washington Bach Consort Opens Seasons With World Premiere by Trevor Weston

September 2, 2022

The Washington Bach Consort offered an overdue and richly researched history lesson on female composers of the 17th century. This was a rich and richly varied program that hinted at much, much more. Kudos to the Bach Consort for stepping up and digging deep. Read more »

Smu Data Arts

Consort Ranked as a high performing arts organization

August 18, 2020

The release of SMU DataArts’ “The Alchemy of High-Performing Arts Organizations” report identified the Washington Consort as the nation’s 8th highest performing arts organization and 2nd highest music organization, among more than 16,000 arts organizations with annual budgets above $500,000. Read more »

The Middleclass Artist

The Unsung Heroes of COVID-19

April 8, 2020

Artistic director Dana Marsh should be commended for his statement: “The Washington Bach Consort is doing its best to look after all musicians involved in these cancelled concerts, knowing that performers have hit hard times financially. I’m proud to say that base fees for all rehearsals and one performance will still be paid out.” Read more »

The Washington Post

Early music, fresh start: A new leader for Washington Bach Consort

September 14, 2018

The Bach Consort is one of Washington’s semi-secret treasures. Read more »

DC Metro Theater Arts

They Are Bach! Washington Bach Consort Announces Their New Artistic Director and Kicks Off 41st Season

September 6, 2018

After a dramatic auditioning process that lasted the entirety of their 40th season, Washington Bach Consort has selected their new Artistic Director. Read more »

Early Music America

Dana Marsh: Basking In Bach In DC

September 4, 2018

In his youth, Dana Marsh savored the music his father played at home. Read more »

Washington Blade

Getting to know new Washington Bach Consort conductor Dana Marsh

August 22, 2018

It [music] was in my blood stream from a very early age. Read more »

Review Archives

THE WASHINGTON POST

Bach Consort celebrates new year, new leader

September 17, 2018

With works that celebrated new beginnings and the glory of music, the Washington Bach Consort opened its 41st season, and a new era, on Sunday afternoon. Read more »

PATRICK D. MCCOY

Turning the Page: Dana Marsh leads The Washington Bach Consort as their new artistic director

September 17, 2018

There were many emotions that wafted in the atmosphere of The Washington Bach Consort’s season opener on Sunday. Read more »

THE GEORGETOWNER

Dana Marsh’s Debut With Bach Consort

September 17, 2018

Even if you can’t tell Bach from Brahms, a recitative from an aria or a consort from a cantata, you could tell there was something special going on last Sunday… Read more »

WASHINGTON CLASSICAL REVIEW

Conductor Marsh makes admirable showing with Washington Bach Consort

December 10, 2017

The Consort’s sixteen singers sounded supremely confident in the opening chorus of Part I, the German diction—the ensemble’s pride and joy—crisp and articulate. Read more »

WASHINGTON CLASSICAL REVIEW

Washington Bach Consort begins a new era with “St. Matthew Passion”

March 13, 2017

Bach’s St. Matthew Passion is a work of countless intricacies. Coordinating its two orchestras, three choruses, and multiple soloists is hard enough. Read more »

ION ARTS

Washington Bach Consort struggles onward

November 6, 2016

Washington’s entire community of musicians was shocked and saddened when J. Reilly Lewis died from a sudden heart attack this past June. No group of musicians, however, was more deeply affected than the members of the Washington Bach Consort. Read more »

WASHINGTON LIFE MAGAZINE

Perfect Pitch: Beloved Standard

May 6, 2015

Bach’s expansive “Mass in B Minor” is one of those choral masterpieces that offers a new perspective each time you hear it. Read more »

THE WASHINGTON POST

C.P.E. Bach’s music soothes, thrills at National Presbyterian Church

May 5, 2014

Is there anything a composer wouldn’t give for a bit of Johann Sebastian Bach’s musical DNA? Bach’s own children were the winners of that lottery, of course, and perhaps none more so than second son Carl Philipp Emanuel, a superstar in his lifetime, who influenced composers from Haydn to Beethoven. Read more »

WASHINGTON POST

Washington Bach Consort presents an adventurous evening with an Italian flavor

September 23, 2013

Under its founder and director, J. Reilly Lewis, the Washington Bach Consort, one of Washington’s world-class chamber ensembles, presented an adventurous almost three-hour-long program of “Bach, Vivaldi and the Italian Influence” at the National Presbyterian Church on Sunday. Read more »

THE WASHINGTON POST

Washington Bach Consort’s Expressive Mass in B Minor

April 29, 2013

Why does Johann Sebastian Bach’s Mass in B Minor, BWV 232, draw the multitudes? You’d think that music for a solemn liturgy — with a Latin text and extended length — would discourage the public. On Sunday, J. Reilly Lewis led the Washington Bach Consort in this Olympian work at the capacious National Presbyterian Church in front of a sold-out audience requiring impromptu added seating. Read more »

THE WASHINGTON POST

J. Reilly Lewis, Washington Bach Consort bring to life Bach’s 18 Chorale Preludes

February 18, 2013

Together with the Consort singers and instrumentalists, Lewis brought Bach’s music to life in a revelatory performance, underlining its expressive heights and countless array of emotional shades — words expressed ingeniously in the music. Read more »

THE WASHINGTON POST

Washington Bach Consort’s welcome greeting to the holiday season

December 2, 2012

Led by J. Reilly Lewis, the Washington Bach Consort ushered in the holiday season Saturday at National Presbyterian Church with “Great Glad Tidings,” a program of Johann Sebastian Bach’s cantatas and a mind-blowing organ masterpiece, all geared to Christmas. From start to finish, the capacity audience loved it. Read more »

WASHINGTON LIFE MAGAZINE

The Virtuoso Bach

November 26, 2012

The word virtuoso is perhaps most associated with an instrumentalist who performs at an exceptional level. The recent concert by The Washington Bach Consort provided an opportunity to experience the voice in an almost equal fashion. Read more »

THE WASHINGTON POST

Washington Bach Consort celebrates 35th year

September 24, 2012

Sunday’s unusual program at the National Presbyterian Church was a successful venture, vocally as well as instrumentally.…Read more »

THE EXAMINER

A season of farewell: Washington Bach Consort says goodbye to Scott Dettra

May 1, 2012

During Sunday’s concert by the Washington Bach Consort, founder and music director Dr. J. Reilly Lewis offered moving and ultimately tearful words of farewell to Scott Dettra.…Read more »

THE WASHINGTON POST

Washington Bach Consort: Divine music-making at National Presbyterian Church

April 30, 2012

Bach’s music doesn’t give singers and wind players time to breathe. But you couldn’t tell that Sunday, when the Washington Bach Consort brought an exciting afternoon of his works to the National Presbyterian Church….Read more »

THE EXAMINER

Consort program gave the audience a little bit of Heaven on Earth

April 30, 2012

There are few ensembles that could pull off the expectations of such an ambitious concert theme. On yesterday afternoon, the Washington Bach Consort presented its last concert of the season entitled “Heaven on Earth.” The program certainly did not disappoint…Read more »

WASHINGTON POST

Washington Bach Consort has opens 34th season with insightful program

September 26, 2011

Music Director J. Reilly Lewis put together an insightful program, starring a little-known Mass by Domenico Scarlatti that turned out to be one of those where-have-you-been-all-my-life gems…Read more »

THE EXAMINER

Program of Bach keyboard music unique in scope

March 30, 2011

Sunday’s concert provided the rare opportunity to hear the harpsichord featured as a principal instrument, in solo concerti, alongside the great organ chorale preludes and trios of Johann Sebastian Bach. The Washington Bach Consort presented its artistic director and founder J. Reilly Lewis and associate conductor Scott Dettra in The Art of the Keyboard, a program that highlighted Bach’s music for the harpsichord and organ…Read more »

THE WASHINGTON POST

Music review: J. Reilly Lewis and Scott Dettra at National Presbyterian Church

March 29, 2011

On Sunday at the National Presbyterian Church, under the auspices of the Washington Bach Consort, organist/harpsichordists J. Reilly Lewis (the WBC’s music director) and Scott Dettra (the Washington National Cathedral’s organist) collaborated on a beautifully conceived program that focused on Bach’s music for organ (the “Choral Preludes”) and for harpsichord, with roots in numerous sources…..Read more »

THE EXAMINER

A Baroque Christmas with The Washington Bach Consort

December 22, 2010

J. Reilly Lewis conducted the consort in an all a cappella program of delightfully unfamiliar sacred polyphony including music by Byrd, Vulpius, Aleotti, Praetorius, Sweelinck and Morago. In his opening remarks, Lewis expressed the sentiment of the program being full of new discoveries. The Washington Bach Consort did not disappoint in the extraordinary program that followed….Read more »

DVM CLASSICAL MUSIC BLOG

Strike the Drum and Join the Chorus: Washington Bach Consort, December 19, 2010

December 20, 2010

Most Christmas concerts present ultra-familiar repertoire, seeking to distinguish themselves in presentation. At most, they’ll throw in a few lesser-known hymns or songs to pique the audience’s interest. For the Washington Bach Consort’s Christmas concert, on Sunday at the National Presbyterian Church, founder and music director J. Reilly Lewis did not choose this path….Read more »

WASHINGTON POST

Washington Bach Consort’s ‘Origins’ at National Presbyterian Church

October 5, 2010

The singers managed the solos and choral sections with resonant clarity, exuberance and fluidity in lengthy, embellished melodic passages. The orchestra and its luminous soloists played expressively and with artful technique…Read more »

WASHINGTONIAN

Break for Lunch with Bach

April, 2010

Read more »

THE WASHINGTON POST

Christmas in January

January 12, 2010

The Washington Bach Consort celebrated the recent holiday season Sunday with an exciting “International Christmas” program of choral, organ and harp music directed by J. Reilly Lewis at the National Presbyterian Church… Read more »

WASHINGTON POST MAGAZINE

Anne Midgette’s Pick: An International Christmas

December 20, 2009

Washington’s professional Bach departs slightly from it’s main mandate for a holiday concert of composers from around the continent… Read more »

THE WASHINGTON POST

Savor sacred sounds in a sacred space

November 26, 2009

Bach’s sacred cantatas are a gift that keeps on giving. He wrote more than 300, of which around 200 survive; chances are, you know no more than a handful of them. … Read more »

HILL RAG

Washington Bach Consort: Bringing Bach Back to Life

October, 2009

The power of live orchestral and chorale music has become a luxury, or at least a special occasion, for most of us. With its evening events, free cantatas, and student outreach, Washington Bach Consort (WBC), conducted by Dr. J. Reilly Lewis, offers everyone a chance at this moving experience..” Read more »

THE WASHINGTON POST

Bach Consort and Lewis, Again Transcendent

October 6, 2009

Once again the Washington Bach Consort’s performance of Bach’s monumental B Minor Mass…was a transcendent one.” Read more »

WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Credo J. Reilly Lewis

September 20, 2009

J. Reilly Lewis serves God with his music, filling Washington’s grandest spaces with the chords and choirs imagined by the world’s great composers. Read more »

THE WASHINGTON POST

Bach’s Organ Mass Proving Great, Indeed

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

This piece is the jewel of jewels, at once glorious to hear and architecturally astonishing as it winds its way through an unbelievable mixture of styles and forms…. Read more »

THE WASHINGTON POST

Washington Bach Consort

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Every year, the Washington Bach Consort’s Christmas program proves a refreshing break from the sugary … fare one finds at most of the city’s other choral holiday concerts … Read more »

THE WASHINGTON POST

’St. Matthew Passion:’ A Heavenly Sound

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

The hard work showed in a performance that captured the work’s power while embracing the principles of contemporary early music. … Read more »

THE WASHINGTON POST

Back Is Instrumental to Consort’s Success

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Timothy Haig and June Huang’s violin partnership unfolded with increasing emotional momentum as their interweaving lines echoed each other in a transfixing manner. … Read more »

THE WASHINGTON POST

Washington Bach Consort

Saturday, September 29, 2007

From start to finish, this chamber-size group of choristers, orchestra and soloists — both vocal and instrumental — made that leap beyond human abilities, which Bach demands, with compassion, tonal beauty and a sense of inevitable momentum… Read more »

THE WASHINGTON POST

Washington Bach Consort Hits a Milestone, Beautifully

Tuesday, May 9, 2006

The consort’s chorus soared and danced through Bach’s exalted counterpoint and blended lushly for the dramatic a cappella passages in the finale of BWV 63… Read more »

News Archives

The Washington Post

In J. Reilly Lewis’s footsteps

November, 17 2017

Lewis was a powerful presence in his musicians’ lives — these organizations had to embark on the search for a new music director to replace someone that no one had felt it was time to replace. Read more »

PATRICK D. MCCOY

Washington Bach Consort announces music director candidates in “Audition Series”

April, 14 2017

A New Era: After the death of Washington Bach Consort founder J. Reilly Lewis, the esteemed organization founded by Lewis in 1977, the venerable organization forges ahead to announce several candidates to carry out his legacy. Read more »

DC COLLABORATIVE STORY BANK

“Singing in German is cool!”

October 6, 2016

Before the concert, professional musicians and educators Barbara Hollinshead and John Moran from the Bach Consort visited DC Bilingual Public Charter School and discussed the upcoming Noontime Cantata concert to assist in preparing and exciting the students. Read more »

WETA

J. Reilly Lewis: A Tribute

September, 2016

A dear friend of music and of all of us, J. Reilly Lewis, passed away unexpectedly on June 9th. We celebrate Reilly’s life on Choral Showcase on September 18th with performances by the ensemble he founded—The Washington Bach Consort. Read more »

THE WASHINGTON POST

From players, pipes and pedals, a celestial song

July 29, 2016

There’s nothing like the swell of a powerful pipe organ in the right room. You can feel the lowest pedal notes in your stomach, or the lambent whisper of the tiniest pipes, with their delicate, shimmering sound. Read more »

THE GEORGETOWNER

Baroque and Choral Music Specialist J. Reilly Lewis Has Died

June 13, 2016

J. Reilly Lewis, 71, who sang in the Junior Boys Choir at Washington National Cathedral and went on to found Washington Bach Consort and serve as music director of the Cathedral Choral Society, died of cardiac arrest at his Arlington, Virginia, home June 9. Read more »

INSIDE NOVA

J. Reilly Lewis, fixture on local classical-music scene, dies at 71

June 13, 2016

J. Reilly Lewis, who served as organist and concertmaster at Clarendon United Methodist Church for more than 40 years and was a leading figure in the classical-music scene across the Washington region, died June 9 at his home in Arlington. He was 71. Read more »

THE WASHINGTON POST

J. Reilly Lewis, organist, choral director and Bach authority, dies at 71

June 11, 2016

J. Reilly Lewis, an organist and conductor who founded the Washington Bach Consort and spent three decades as the music director of the Cathedral Choral Society, becoming one of the most prominent figures in Washington’s classical music circles, died June 9 at his home in Arlington, Va. He was 71. Read more »

THE WASHINGTON POST

RIP: J. Reilly Lewis, 1944-2016

June 10, 2016

Like many in the Washington music community, I am left shaken and deeply saddened at the news that J. Reilly Lewis died suddenly on Thursday night of a massive heart attack. Read more »

IONARTS

J. Reilly Lewis (1944-2016)

June 10, 2016

J. Reilly Lewis, the indomitable organist and conductor, died suddenly last night at the age of 72. The cause was a massive heart attack, while he was at home with his wife, Beth. Read more »

THE WASHINGTON POST

Surprise bequest to D.C. music group is a money-Bach guarantee

December 23, 2015

Cecil “Cy” Richardson and his wife, Pearl, attended performances of the Washington Bach Consort for about 15 years. They were a frugal couple, preferring the lower-priced, obstructed-view seats in the Bach Consort’s home performance space, National Presbyterian Church on Nebraska Avenue NW. Read more »

DC COLLABORATIVE STORY BANK

More Than 2,100 Students Go ‘Bach to School’ This Year

June 10, 2015

This year, the DC Collaborative sent nearly 2,100 students to the Washington Bach Consort’s education programs – ‘Bach to School’ – through the Arts for Every Student (AFES) program. Read more »

GERMANY INFO

Ambassador Wittig Hosts Concert by Washington Bach Consort

April 21, 2015

Ambassador Peter Wittig welcomed Dr. Lewis, the Consort and honored guests by highlighting the international profile the ensemble has developed under its founding director. Read more »