FENCES: Music of Bach, Pärt, Brahms & Sisask 
BWV: Cleveland's Bach Choir
Dirk Garner, conductor
Saturday, April 18, 2:00pm
Lindsay-Crossman Chapel

“Fences" explores the technical boundaries composers set for themselves—self-imposed constraints that clarify musical thought while fueling ingenuity. Featuring works by Pärt, Sisask, Brahms, and Bach, the program reveals how limitation can become a powerful engine of invention.

This intimate performance features music by one of the most influential composers of our time, Arvo Pärt. His music is often described as ethereal, austere, and contemplative. Pärt is recognized for creating his systematic compositional approach known as tintinnabuli. His Berliner Mass and Magnificat are quintessential examples of this process. Pärt’s music is profoundly intellectual while at the same time deeply powerful—qualities we also find in the music of J. S. Bach, where intellect and emotion are fused.

BWV: Cleveland’s Bach Choir was founded to bring the finest ensemble singers to our campus. Each year, four students from the Baldwin Wallace Motet Choir are selected to sing alongside BWV during a week of performances and concerts. This opportunity is truly unique for undergraduate students, as similar experiences are only at the graduate level at a handful of elite institutions. The choir’s mission is to introduce BW students to professional-level consort singing while helping them make the contacts that will support their careers beyond opera and into the broader world of vocal performance.