Abbey Bach Festival
July 23, 24, & 25, 2025
Children’s concert July 26
Artistic Director Alon Goldstein
Artistic Director Alon Goldstein is one of the most original and sensitive pianists of his generation, admired for his musical intelligence, dynamic personality, artistic vision and innovative programming. A student of Leon Fleisher, he brings his superb piano skills and artistic vision to the Abbey Bach Festival. Learn more about Mr. Goldstein.
Festival Schedule & Performers
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Daily Festival Schedule
5:15 pm – Ringing of the bells
5:20 pm – Vespers (optional)
6:00 pm – Church performance
6:30 pm – Picnic buffet supper
8:00 pm – Feature performance-
Wednesday | July 23
6 pm in the Abbey church
Alon Goldstein, solo piano, performing Bach Partita No. 3
Alon Goldstein is one of the most original and sensitive pianists of his generation, admired for his musical intelligence, dynamic personality, artistic vision and innovative programming. He has played with the Philadelphia orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the San Francisco, Baltimore, St. Louis, Dallas, Houston, Toronto and Vancouver symphonies as well as the Israel Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Los Angeles and Radio France Orchestra. He played under the baton of such conductors as Zubin Mehta, Herbert Blomstedt, Vladimir Jurowski, Rafael Frübeck de Burgos, Peter Oundjian, Yoel Levi, Yoav Talmi, Leon Fleisher and others.Mr. Goldstein was recently honored with the “Society of Scholars” award given to him by his alma mater – the Johns Hopkins University. This was given in recognition of his accomplishments and contributions over the years. Mr. Goldstein is the first Peabody alumni to receive this award. He serves as the Artistic Director of the “Lieven Piano Foundation” summer and winter festival in Vienna, as well as the Artistic Director of the Mount Angel Abbey Bach Festival in Oregon, and Co-Director of The Distinguished Artists Concert & Lecture Series in Santa Cruz, California. He created the Emerald Coast Music Alliance, whose annual festival in Florida is devoted to sharing the beauty of classical music to under-served communities, at no charge. Last year the festival featured 12 musicians performing 63 concerts.
8 pm in the Damian Center
Brian Ganz, solo piano, performing an all Chopin program
Brian Ganz is widely regarded as one of the leading pianists of his generation.Mr. Ganz shared first prize in the 1989 Marguerite Long Jacques Thibaud International Piano Competition and was third prize-winner of the 1991 Queen Elisabeth of Belgium International Piano Competition. He has appeared as soloist with such orchestras as the St. Louis Symphony, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the Baltimore Symphony, the National Symphony (USA), the National Philharmonic, the City of London Sinfonia, and the Taipei Philharmonic Orchestra. Among the conductors he has performed with are Leonard Slatkin, Marin Alsop, Mstislav Rostropovich, Piotr Gajewski, and Yoel Levi.
The Washington Post has written: “One comes away from a recital by pianist Brian Ganz not only exhilarated by the power of the performance but also moved by his search for artistic truth.” For many years, Mr. Ganz has made it his mission to join vivid music making with warmth and intimacy onstage to produce a new kind of listening experience, in which great works come to life with authentic emotional power. As one of Belgium’s leading newspapers, La Libre Belgique, put it, “We don’t have the words to speak of this fabulous musician who lives music with a generous urgency and brings his public into a state of intense joy.”
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Thursday | July 24
6 pm in the Damian Center
Nina Bernat, double bass
The 24-year-old double-bassist Nina Bernat, acclaimed for her interpretive maturity, expressive depth, and technical clarity, has emerged onto the world stage with awards and accolades, thrilling audiences around the world. Honored as a recipient of a 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Nina has also been awarded first prizes including the Barbash J.S. Bach String Competition, the Minnesota Orchestra Young Artist Competition, the Juilliard Double Bass Competition, and the 2019 International Society of Bassists Solo Competition. Recent performances include a concerto debut with the Minnesota Orchestra and performances as guest principal of the Oslo Philharmonic.Beginning in the fall of 2024, Nina will be a member of the faculty of Stony Brook University, following the institution’s international search. A graduate of The Juilliard School, Nina performs on a beautiful and sonorous early-18th-century bass, attributed to Guadagnini, which was handed down to her from her father.
8 pm in the Abbey church
Hanzhi Wang, accordion
Acclaimed for her “staggering virtuosity,” Hanzhi Wang is the only accordionist to ever join the roster of Young Concert Artists in its 63-year history. Known for her captivating stage presence and performances that display both passion and finesse, Hanzhi is an ambassador for her instrument.Hanzhi’s groundbreaking achievements include being named Musical America’s “New Artist of the Month,” becoming the first solo accordionist featured on New York’s WQXR’s Young Artists Showcase, and releasing the Naxos label’s first-ever solo accordion CD, On the Path to H.C. Andersen, which was nominated for the prestigious Danish Radio P2 Prize in 2019.
As the First Prize Winner of the 2017 YCA Susan Wadsworth International Auditions, Hanzhi made her New York debut at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall and her Washington, DC debut at the Kennedy Center, opening the 40th Anniversary Young Concert Artists Series, co-presented with Washington Performing Arts. She holds the Ruth Laredo Prize and Mortimer Levitt Career Development Award for Women Artists of YCA.
Hanzhi won First Prize in the 40th Castelfidardo International Accordion Competition in Italy and continues to inspire the next generation of accordionists through lectures, performances, and masterclasses at prestigious institutions worldwide. Composers such as Martin Lohse, James Black, and Sophia Gubaidulina have written and dedicated works to her.
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Friday | July 25
6 pm in the Damian Center
Bach Cantata Choir, Ralph Nelson, artistic director, will perform J.S Bach Cantata and Motet
The Bach Cantata Choir was founded in 2005 with a simple mission – to sing all of J. S. Bach’s sacred church cantatas – most of which date from Bach’s time as the Thomaskantor in Leipzig, Germany (1723-1750). The choir performs one or two cantatas at each concert – plus other Baroque and Renaissance music that may be relevant to the liturgical season (i.e. Lent, Epiphany, Easter, Advent). The choir has 45+ regular volunteer members, and employs professional section leaders, vocal soloists and a professional orchestra of 10-20 orchestra musicians for each concert. Since the demands for singing Bach are quite high, choir members typically are proficient in singing in German and often sing with some of the best choirs in the Portland Area – among them Portland Symphonic Choir and Trinity Cathedral Choir. Orchestral musicians are often members of other select ensembles, including the Vancouver Symphony and the Portland Baroque Orchestra
Ralph Nelson, artistic director: Named Young Audiences’ “Artist of the Year” in 2011, composer/conductor Ralph Nelson is in demand as an Artist–in-Residence throughout the Portland area. A graduate of Amherst College and subsequently a composition and conducting student of Nadia Boulanger in France, Nelson has served in many capacities since moving to Portland over 35 years ago. For 22 years, he was a member of the administrative staff of the Oregon Symphony. Nelson was also the Executive Director of the Portland Symphonic Choir from 2002-2004. Nelson studied conducting with Dr. Bruce Browne at Portland State University and with Helmuth Rilling at the Oregon Bach Festival. In June 2024, Nelson led the Bach Cantata Choir on its second European tour. The choir was one of five American choirs featured at the prestigious Leipzig Bach Festival, singing a program that included three cantatas (#38, #80, #115) in the Nikolaikirche in Leipzig. The choir also sang concerts in Berlin, Potsdam, and Prague.
8 pm in the Abbey church
Balourdet Quartet and Nina Bernat
d. With more than 70 concerts per season, recent highlights include the Balourdet’s debuts at Carnegie and Wigmore Halls, and new string quartets by composers Karim Al–Zand, Paul Novak, and Nicky Sohn through grants from Chamber Music America (2021) and the Barlow Foundation (2023). They are currently the Graduate Quartet in Residence at the prestigious Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University and are recent graduates of the New England Conservatory’s Professional String Quartet Program.
In 2021, the Quartet won the Grand Prize at New York’s Concert Artists Guild Competition, which included joint management by Concert Artists Guild in the U.S., and Young Classical Artist’s Trust (YCAT) in the UK and Europe. In addition, the Balourdet has been prizewinners in Canada’s Banff International String Quartet Competition, the International Premio Paolo Borciani Competition in Italy, Gold Medal winners at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, and Gold Medal and Audience Prizewinners at the Yellow Springs Competition.
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Saturday | July 26 | Children’s Concert
Children’s Concert
Bring the family for an interactive children’s concert performed by Alon Goldstein, Artistic Director, Nina Bernat, and Balourdet Quartet.
A short concert designed especially for children and youth with the opportunity to meet and talk with the musicians over snacks. Note: Children under age 18 must be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian while at Mount Angel Abbey.