Bach Virtuosi Festival

06/12/2026

🚨 Low Ticket Alert! 🚨

🎵 Our summer series of performances in Maine kicks off next week! 🎻

🕯️One of our most intimate and special experiences – Bach by Candlelight on Tuesday, June 22 – only has limited tickets available. The 6pm performance is SOLD OUT, but limited tickets are still available for our 8pm performance. Now is the time to get your tickets for the Bach Virtuosi Festival! You don’t want to miss this extraordinary experience!

👉 Get your tickets to Bach by Candlelight on June 22nd at 8pm! 🔗 in bio!

Our full Maine performance schedule:

Tuesday, June 16 at 7:30 pm - *LIMITED TICKETS AVAILABLE*
Celebrate Summer with Bach
University of Southern Maine Crewe Center for the Arts

Thursday, June 18 at 7:30 pm
The Goldberg Variations
Etz Chaim Synagogue

Monday, June 22
6 pm *SOLD OUT*
8 pm *LIMITED TICKETS AVAILABLE*
Bach by Candlelight
St. Luke’s Cathedral, Emmanuel Chapel

Tuesday, June 23 at 7:30 pm
Bach’s Coffee Cantata: Good to the Last Note
University of Southern Maine Crewe Center for the Arts

Buy tickets now through the 🔗 in bio!

06/10/2026

J.S. Bach produced music with profound depth and complexity. with compositions that are known for their mathematical and structural beauty. His intellect and genius reverberates with each performance of his work, creating opportunities for the listener to experience the divine.

Come experience the intellect of Bach at the Bach Virtuosi Festival!

Portland, ME: June 16-23

TICKETS ON SALE!

Tuesday, June 16 at 7:30 pm
Celebrate Summer with Bach
University of Southern Maine Crewe Center for the Arts

Thursday, June 18 at 7:30 pm
The Goldberg Variations
Etz Chaim Synagogue

Monday, June 22 at 6 pm and 8 pm
Bach by Candlelight
St. Luke’s Cathedral, Emmanuel Chapel

Tuesday, June 23 at 7:30 pm
Bach’s Coffee Cantata: Good to the Last Note
University of Southern Maine Crewe Center for the Arts

Full performance details and tickets at www.bachvirtuosifestival.org

06/04/2026

Laughter may not be the first feeling you associate with J.S. Bach, but he explored a range of emotions in his music. Humor and wit run through works such as The Goldberg Variations and the comedic opera, Coffee Cantata, both of which you can experience at the Bach Virtuosi Festival’s upcoming programs in Maine!

Come experience the humor of Bach at the Bach Virtuosi Festival!


Portland, ME: June 16-23

TICKETS ON SALE!

Tuesday, June 16 at 7:30 pm
Celebrate Summer with Bach
University of Southern Maine Crewe Center for the Arts

Thursday, June 18 at 7:30 pm
The Goldberg Variations
Etz Chaim Synagogue

Monday, June 22 at 6 pm and 8 pm
Bach by Candlelight
St. Luke’s Cathedral, Emmanuel Chapel

Tuesday, June 23 at 7:30 pm
Bach’s Coffee Cantata: Good to the Last Note
University of Southern Maine Crewe Center for the Arts

Full performance details and tickets at www.bachvirtuosifestival.org

06/02/2026

🎼 Limited tickets are still available for what many consider to be the gem of the Bach Virtuosi Festival - Bach by Candlelight! This is a rare chance to hear Bach’s music as it was meant to be —up close, immersive and thoroughly enjoyable. 💎

🕯️ On Monday, June 22, you can be part of this special, intimate performance. Surrounded by the warm glow of candlelight, the audience will be seated in a small semi circle close to acclaimed artists such as Emi Ferguson, Ariadne Daskalakis, and Renee Jolles. Guests will enjoy a deeply personal musical experience, with wine and hors d’oeuvres served between performances.
Get your tickets today!

TICKETS ON SALE!

BACH BY CANDLELIGHT PROGRAM:
Sonata in A Major, BWV 1015
Renée Jolles, violin
Arthur Haas, harpsichord
“Schlummert ein, ihr matten Augen,” BWV 82
Emily Donato, soprano
Bach Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra

Full Performance Schedule:

TICKETS ON SALE!

Tuesday, June 16 at 7:30 pm
Celebrate Summer with Bach
University of Southern Maine Crewe Center for the Arts

Thursday, June 18 at 7:30 pm
The Goldberg Variations
Etz Chaim Synagogue

Monday, June 22 at 6 pm and 8 pm
Bach by Candlelight
St. Luke’s Cathedral, Emmanuel Chapel

Tuesday, June 23 at 7:30 pm
Bach’s Coffee Cantata: Good to the Last Note
University of Southern Maine Crewe Center for the Arts

Full performance details and tickets at www.bachvirtuosifestival.org

05/29/2026

The Bach Virtuosi Festival features musicians and interpreters of Bach’s music who are among the greatest baroque artists worldwide. Two icons of violin will return to Maine once again to perform some of Bach’s most beloved works:

🎻 Ariadne Daskalakis – Praised as a “universal specialist” by MDR German Radio, Daskalakis is a unique performer of both baroque and modern violin, and is also a founding member of Ensemble Vintage Köln and artistic director of the international chamber music festival “Music from Land’s End Wareham.”

🎻 Renée Jolles – Hailed as a “real star” by The New York Times, Jolles enjoys an eclectic career as a soloist and chamber artist, and is also a concert-master of the Grammy-winning Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.

Don’t miss your chance to see these two incredible artists perform! Less than three weeks until Maine’s concert series premieres on June 16th and limited tickets are still available!

🎵 👉TICKETS ON SALE!

Portland, ME: June 16-23

Tuesday, June 16 at 7:30 pm
Celebrate Summer with Bach
University of Southern Maine Crewe Center for the Arts

Thursday, June 18 at 7:30 pm
The Goldberg Variations
Etz Chaim Synagogue

Monday, June 22 at 6 pm and 8 pm
Bach by Candlelight
St. Luke’s Cathedral, Emmanuel Chapel

Tuesday, June 23 at 7:30 pm
Bach’s Coffee Cantata: Good to the Last Note
University of Southern Maine Crewe Center for the Arts

Full performance details and tickets at www.bachvirtuosifestival.org

05/26/2026

J.S. Bach is known for his sacred music, including the masterpieces St John Passion and St Matthew Passion. While Bach touched the divine, his work also celebrates our shared humanity, capturing the full spectrum of human emotion and experience.

Come experience the passion of Bach at the Bach Virtuosi Festival!


Portland, ME: June 16-23

05/21/2026

In case you missed it - 207 and NEWS CENTER Maine aired Rob Caldwell’s interview with BVF Director Lewis Kaplan earlier this week!

As Rob says, “Could you possibly imagine a better ambassador for the music of Bach than Lewis Kaplan?” We couldn’t have put it better ourselves!

You can watch the full interview here: https://tinyurl.com/207kaplaninterview

Come experience the wonders of Bach at the Bach Virtuosi Festival, playing concerts in Portland, Maine June 16-23. "You'll find something that drugs won't give you, that nothing else will give you,” says Kaplan.

For tickets, visit bachvirtuosifestival/maine

Discover how Lewis Kaplan's lifelong passion for music inspires a festival experience like no other. From June 16-23, immerse yourself in an extraordinary musical journey.

05/20/2026

Bach lovers! Today, 5/20/26, is your last chance to receive the Early Bird discount on your Bach Virtuosi Festival (BVF) Maine concert tickets!

As the BVF wraps up in New York, the team in Maine is getting ready for the next round of concerts in Portland in June. You will enjoy world-renowned talent playing works by J.S. Bach in venues with sensational acoustics. This is a concert series that will fill you with wonder!

Come experience the excellence of Bach!

Tickets on sale now! EARLY BIRD PRICING ENDS TODAY, 5/20/26: https://porttix.com/whats-on-search/?partner=bach_virtuosi_festival

Tuesday, June 16 at 7:30 pm
Celebrate Summer with Bach
University of Southern Maine Crewe Center for the Arts

Thursday, June 18 at 7:30 pm
The Goldberg Variations
Etz Chaim Synagogue

Monday, June 22 at 6 pm and 8 pm
Bach by Candlelight
St. Luke’s Cathedral, Emmanuel Chapel

Tuesday, June 23 at 7:30 pm
Bach’s Coffee Cantata: Good to the Last Note
University of Southern Maine Crewe Center for the Arts

05/12/2026

Glorious music awaits you tonight as the New York Bach Virtuosi Festival begins! A limited number of tickets are still available for tonight's performance, so it's not too late to join us at St. Ignatius of Antioch Episcopal Church at 7:30 pm to experience the beauty of Bach’s Concerto for Three Violins in D Major, Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor, and A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. Purchase tickets here: www.bachvirtuosifestival.org/new-york

09/03/2025

Oh good, glad you’re seeing this!

Tonight at 8:00 PM EST, enjoy the opening night concert (June 18) from the 2025 Bach Virtuosi Festival Maine. Perhaps you attended this concert and you want to relive the beauty; perhaps you were on vacation and away; or perhaps you live in Europe, Asia or New York, so you will get to experience this concert for the first time through the power of digital technology. The performances were exquisite!

Maine Public Classical invites you to hear this concert either on the radio or streaming it on your computer/cell phone/tablet on Maine Stage. This concert will be available starting tonight and whenever you want in the archives.

Bach, from Cöthen to Leipzig, was a sold out performance (50 seats needed to be added in the back and along the sides). This all-Bach concert featured:

Sonata No. VI in G Major for violin and obbligato Harpsichord, BWV 1019
Ariadne Daskalakis, violin
Arthur Haas, harpsichord

Prelude, Trio, and Fugue in Bb, BWV 545b (variante)
Hentus van Rooyen, organ

Orchestral Suite No. 1, BWV 1066 in C major
Bach Festival Orchestra

Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147
Nacole Palmer, Sarah Bailey, sopranos
Andrea Graichen, alto
Jay Carter, countertenor
Steven Caldicott Wilson, Ben McVety, tenors
Paul Max Tipton, Paul Jessen, basses
Renée Jolles, violin
John Ferrillo, Amanda Hardy, oboes
John Thiessen, trumpet
Bach Festival Orchestra
Lewis Kaplan, conductor

To listen to MaineStage on Maine Public Classical, click the link below or visit https:/:MainePublic.org.

In the upper right hand corner, there will be a RED BUTTON that says, "DONATE." Below that button, you will see, "All radio streams." Click this button and a pop-up from the right will appear. In the pop up, you will see a big GREEN CIRCLE with a triangle in it. CLICK THIS BUTTON and you will begin hearing Maine Public Classical.

To stream MaineStage and Maine Public on a cell phone or tablet:

Visit MainePublic.org and in the bottom right hand corner, there will be a symbol that looks like "radio waves or an EKG or a diamond." This is the streaming logo. Click this button and a pop-up from the right will appear. In the pop up, you will see a big GREEN CIRCLE with a triangle in it. CLICK THIS BUTTON and you will begin hearing Maine Public Classical.

ENJOY Bach (and post a few comments on our page, so we know you love JSB and BVF as much as we do)!

Maine's premiere, independent public media resource, including PBS, NPR, BBC, and others.