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
Enjoy supper on the lawn (tables and chairs provided). Abbey tradition highlights local sausage on Wednesday, barbecue chicken on Thursday, and seafood on Friday, along with many salads and tasty options for all diets, including vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free. Monastic hosts greet guests, assist with picnic choices and serve wine.
6 pm | Abbey church – In Mulieribus, choral
8 pm | Damian Center – Alon Goldstein, Artistic Director, piano
In Mulieribus, the Latin phrase meaning “Among Women”, is a Portland-based women’s vocal ensemble dedicated to strengthening community through the art of music. Founded in 2004 by Artistic Director Anna Song, the ensemble specializes in works written before 1750 and champions new repertoire by women composers and for women’s voices.
Recently, their 25/26 Season “Murmurs Of the Muse” has garnered critical acclaim. “The fantastic acoustics of this space add layers of color to a solo voice like this, and as the rest of the group joined, I was dumbfounded at the unisons being literal unisons: even as the whole group joined it sounded as though one voice, and one voice only was singing; it just kept getting bigger. It was a perfect match of pitch, timbre, diction and intonation…”(Lorin Wilkerson, Oregon ArtsWatch).
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, CA. 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.
6 pm | Abbey church – Luiz Fernando Venturelli, cello
8 pm | Damian Center – Cerus Quartet, Saxophone Quartet
Luiz Fernando Venturelli is a Brazilian cellist who is rapidly gaining recognition as one of the most promising young musicians in the country. Born and raised in a musical family, Luiz began his musical studies at the age of three and took up the cello at the age of eight at the Instituto Baccarelli, a non-profit social organization based in São Paulo’s Heliópolis, which provides free music education to children. Luiz subsequently pursued his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees at Northwestern University, graduating with Honors Distinction under the acclaimed pedagogue Hans Jørgen Jensen.
Luiz’s performances have spanned North and South America, Europe, and Asia, encompassing recital programs, chamber collaborations, solo concertos, and international competitions. In 2023, Luiz was awarded the second annual $50,000 Gurrena Fellowship from the Meadowmount School of Music and was the winner of the Astral Artists National Competition. He was also recognized as a prize winner of the 24th annual Sphinx Competition, the Paulo Bosisio, and the Samuel and Eleanor Thaviu Strings competitions, as well as the concerto competitions of the Goiás Philharmonic and the Symphony Orchestra of São Paulo.
Emerging as one of the most compelling chamber ensembles of their generation, the Cerus Quartet is dedicated to showcasing the dynamic and versatile sound of the saxophone quartet. With a repertoire spanning contemporary compositions and transcriptions of classical masterworks, the quartet seeks to establish the saxophone quartet as a leading voice in 21st-century classical music. Their mission is driven by diverse, engaging programming and innovative visual elements that captivate audiences.
Cerus champions both new music and timeless repertoire. They have premiered works by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon, Karalyn Schubring, and Joey Karz, with a significant commission by Ryan Lindveit debuting in 2025. Their unique programming approach—pairing newly commissioned works with transcriptions of classical mainstays—has not only earned them critical acclaim and competition success but has also shaped a distinctive ensemble sound, allowing them to seamlessly adapt to a wide range of performance settings and musical styles.
6 pm | Abbey church – Paul Klemme, organ
8 pm | Damian Center – Galvin Cello Quartet, cello
Paul Klemme is presently in his twenty-seventh year as Artistic Director & Conductor of the Willamette Master Chorus. His full-time position is Director of Music Ministries at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Salem, where he conducts four choirs and serves as parish organist. He completed his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Washington and was a member of the Washington State University faculty from 1988-1997.
He also served as conductor of the Washington Idaho Symphony Chorale in Pullman, Washington from 1990-1996 and the Spokane Symphony Chorale from 1997-1998. He is an Artist-Associate at Willamette University where he teaches organ. Dr. Klemme has sung in the all-professional Oregon Bach Festival Chorus in Eugene and Cantores in Ecclesia in Portland.
Praised as a quartet whose “cellists are brilliant instrumentalists and thoughtful musicians individually, but their renditions as a group are glorious,” (Arnold Steinhardt, Guarneri String Quartet) the Galvin Cello Quartet burst onto the scene after capturing the Silver Medal at the 2021 Fischoff Competition. Riding on the momentum of their Fischoff success, Galvin went on to win the 2022 Victor Elmaleh Competition and joined the Concert Artists Guild roster. With members from Brazil, South Korea, and the United States, the Quartet takes its name from the Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, where three of its members – Sydney Lee, Haddon Kay, and Luiz Fernando Venturelli – met as students in the studio of acclaimed pedagogue Hans Jørgen Jensen. In June of 2024, the Quartet welcomed James Baik, another former student of Jensen, as their newest member.
With their untamable desire to create, change, and ultimately bring joy through music, the Galvin Cello Quartet is incredibly excited to make the undeniable case that the cello quartet belongs at the center of the expressive lexicon for chamber music alongside other traditional forms. The group’s vibrant international spirit reflects its artistic mission to bring together new works from diverse cultural backgrounds and dazzle audiences with the cello’s limitless capabilities. Each a true virtuoso with a distinct voice, the members of the Galvin Cello Quartet are able to authentically occupy a wide array of styles, colors and moods, as well as shifting roles within given arrangements. Recent highlights include performances and educational residencies at Rockport Music Festival, Bravo! Vail, Ravinia, Ascent International Cello Festival, Merkin Hall, and a reappearance at Newport Classical.
10:30 am | Damian Center – Bach for Kids
A short concert for children. Afterwards, meet the musicians!
Ages 6 and up. Minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Artistic Director Alon GoldsteinArtistic 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.
Our Wounds
Here I am. Another wounded.
Who is not wounded?
We all are wounded,
And the wounds cannot close.
Open wounds
—yours and mine—
and by being near them together,
by tending to them,
the wounds bequeath a wisdom,
they pulse with light and life.
Life wounds me. Brightly.
Finding myself in the midst of things.
Who am I? Where did I come from?
How did I get here? Here. Now.
I was given a name. You can call my name.
Death is a wound.
I’m not dead yet, but I will be.
And this wound directs the wound of my living,
and so I live amazed that I should be here at all,
now, for a while.
The world wounds me—
beautiful, immense, multiform,
diverse and unified:
Night and Day,
Season upon Season.
The vault of the sky,
the oceans and the lands set upon them.
I see it. I am in it. These wonders wound me.
You wound me.
You wound me because you are beautiful.
I see your face, I find your eyes.
Without speaking, they say to me,
“Do not kill me. Keep me company.”
“I will not kill you,” I say.
Here I am beside you.
My wounds beside yours.
Tell me your name.
— Jeremy Driscoll
Our Words
I sing to you by talking,
for every word is a song,
and my songs would keep you company.
“Here we are,” I say.
And what music in that thought
and in those sounds!
More world, more life,
more of you—
this is what I want,
and so I sing to you,
I say my simple words.
They are my song.
My words make more world,
more life,
more you, more you
if you hear me, and then you sing too.
Silence too is a song.
I have planted my words in it— for you.
Listen how softly silence sings its song.
— Jeremy Driscoll
