American Bach Soloists

The American Bach Soloists ("ABS") is an American baroque orchestra and early music chorus dedicated to preserving the heritage of early music through historically informed performances on period instruments, community outreach through free educational programs, and the development of young artists through an annual summer Academy. The not-for-profit arts organization frequently performs the cantatas, concertos, overtures, oratorios, passions, and chamber music of Johann Sebastian Bach and his baroque period contemporaries including Vivaldi, Handel, Monteverdi, and Telemann, as well as music by classical composers including Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven. Performing forces typically range from 20 to 75 singers and instrumentalists, depending on repertoire. American Bach Soloists have made eighteen recordings on Koch International Classics, Delos International, and their own American Bach Soloists label.
==History==
American Bach Soloists ("ABS") were founded in 1989 by Jeffrey Thomas and Jonathan Dimmock with the mission of introducing contemporary audiences to the cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach through historically informed performances. The first concerts were given at St. Stephen's Church in Belvedere, CA—where the ensemble still serves as Artists-in-Residence—but by the fifth season, ABS had added regular performances in San Francisco and Berkeley. As their audience increased, so the artistic direction expanded to include Bach's purely instrumental and larger choral masterpieces, as well as music of his contemporaries and that of the early classical era. The American Bach Soloists present an annual subscription series with performances in Belvedere, Berkeley, Davis, and San Francisco. Their annual holiday performances of Handel's Messiah—presented each December before capacity audiences since 1992—have become a Bay Area tradition.
In conjunction with ABS' 15th Anniversary Season in 2003-04, Maestro Thomas announced the Bach Cycle, an ambitious plan to present all of Bach's major oratorios, including two Passions, the oratorios for Christmas and Easter, and the Mass in B Minor; the violin and harpsichord concertos, Brandenburg concertos, and orchestral suites; the major cantatas from Bach's years in Mühlhausen, Weimar, and Leipzig; and the sonatas and suites for violin, flute, cello, and viola da gamba. The Chorus of the American Bach Soloists has shone in repertoire from the Baroque and early Classical eras. With the inception of the Choral Series in 2004, these fine singers have been featured on programs exploring over five centuries of choral music. To acknowledge this splendid work, the American Bach Soloists announced in 2006 a new name for their choral ensemble: American Bach Choir.
In addition to their regular subscription seasons, the American Bach Soloists have presented an annual "SummerFest" chamber music festival each July, featuring concerts, lectures, recitals, and related events presented in Belvedere, Davis and San Francisco. The ensemble has been presented at some of the world's leading early music festivals, and has also made appearances in Santa Fe, Pittsburgh, Singapore, and Hong Kong. In addition, ABS has developed a close relationship with Mondavi Arts which produces a prestigious concert series in the state-of-the-art Robert & Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of the University of California, Davis. The American Bach Soloists Festival is presented annually in July at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and includes performances by members of ABS and its summer Academy.
==Collaborations==
*Performances at the Berkeley Festival and Exhibition,
 produced by CalPerformances at University of California, Berkeley 
*Henry Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas with the San Francisco Opera Center and The Crucible in Oakland, CA
*Works by Claudio Monteverdi, George Frideric Handel's Dixit Dominus, and Virgil Thomson's Four Saints in Three Acts with the Mark Morris Dance Group
*George Frideric Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks with laser lighting display by Lighting Systems Design, Inc. (Orlando, FL) in Grace Cathedral, San Francisco
==Educational Programs==
In 1998, in conjunction with the Fifth Biennial Berkeley Festival & Exhibition, ABS established the American Bach Soloists & Henry I. Goldberg International Young Artists Competition as a way to foster emerging musicians who wish to pursue a career in early music. The focus of the competition changed from year to year: harpsichord in 1998; violin in 2000, flute and oboe in 2002, voice in 2006, violin in 2008. The winners of the Laurette Goldberg First Prizes are Michael Sponseller (1998), Simos Papanas (2000), Debra Nagy and Amy Guitry (2002), Ian Howell (2006), Andrew Fouts and Johana Novom (2008).
Beginning in 2010, the competition was absorbed into the American Bach Soloists Academy, which offers emerging professionals and advanced conservatory-level singers and instrumentalist opportunities to study and perform Baroque music in a multi-disciplinary learning environment. The Academy is held at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
American Bach Soloists present free public masterclasses at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, free choral workshops for amateur singers, free pre-concert "Insights" for all concert-goers, and offer free tickets to K-12 music educators.
==Discography==
1685 & The Art of Ian Howell
Bach: Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust! (BWV 170); Scarlatti: Salve Regina; Handel: Arias from Saul, Giulio Cesare, Orlando, Rinaldo, and Serse 
Ian Howell with Corey Jamason and Debra Nagy; Jeffrey Thomas, conductor. AMERICAN BACH SOLOISTS (2009).
Bach: Brandenburg Concertos
John Abberger, Aldo Abreu, Elizabeth Blumenstock, John Butt, Judith Linsenberg, Anthony Martin, Sandra Miller, Cynthia Roberts, Jörg-Michael Schwarz, John Thiessen, Elly Winer; Jeffrey Thomas, conductor. AMERICAN BACH SOLOISTS (2007).
Bach Cantata Series: Vol. I - Solo Cantatas
Widerstehe doch der Sünde, BWV 54; Ich habe genug, BWV 82; Ich armer Mensch, ich Sündenknecht, BWV 55; Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, BWV 51; Julianne Baird, Drew Minter, William Sharp; Jeffrey Thomas, music director. Original release on Koch International Classics 3-7138-2H1 (1992); re-released on AMERICAN BACH SOLOISTS (2007).
Bach Cantata Series: Vol. II - Trauerode
Laß, Fürstin, laß noch einen Strahl (Trauerode), BWV 198; Ich steh mit einem Fuß im Grabe, BWV 156; Liebster Gott, wann werd ich sterben, BWV 8; Julianne Baird, Judith Nelson, Judith Malafronte, Steven Rickards, William Sharp, James Weaver; Jeffrey Thomas, music director. Original release on Koch International Classics 3-7163-2H1 (1992); re-released on AMERICAN BACH SOLOISTS (2007).
Bach Cantata Series: Vol. III - Cantatas from Mühlhausen & Weimar
Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit, BWV 106; Tritt auf die Glaubensbahn, BWV 152; Komm, du süße Todesstunde, BWV 161; Christine Brandes, Drew Minter, William Sharp; Jeffrey Thomas, music director. Original release on Koch International Classics 3-7164-2H1 (1992); re-released on AMERICAN BACH SOLOISTS (2007).
Bach Cantata Series: Vol. IV - Early Cantatas for Holy Week 
Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4; Aus der Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir, BWV 131; Himmelskönig, sei willkommen, BWV 182; Julianne Baird, Christine Brandes, Judith Nelson, Judith Malafronte, Drew Minter, Daniel Taylor, Benjamin Butterfield, Kurt-Owen Richards, James Weaver; Jeffrey Thomas, music director. Original release on Koch International Classics 3-7235-2H1 (1995); re-released on AMERICAN BACH SOLOISTS (2007).
Bach Cantata Series: Vol. V - Cantatas from Mühlhausen & Weimar 
Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, BWV 12; Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fällt, BWV 18; Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 61; Julianne Baird, Drew Minter, Benjamin Butterfield, James Weaver; Jeffrey Thomas, music director. Original release on Koch International Classics 3-7332-2H1 (1995); re-released on AMERICAN BACH SOLOISTS (2007).
Bach Cantata Series: Vol. VI - "Favorite Cantatas" 
Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140; Jesu, der du meine Seele, BWV 78; Ein feste Burg, BWV 80; Catherine Bott, Daniel Taylor, William Sharp; Jeffrey Thomas, music director. Original release on Koch International Classics 3-7234-2H1 (1996); re-released on AMERICAN BACH SOLOISTS (2006).
Bach: Harpsichord Concertos
Concerto for Harpsichord, Strings, and Basso continuo in D Minor, BWV 1052; Concerto for Harpsichord, Recorders, Strings, and Basso Continuo in F Major, BWV 1057; Concerto for Harpsichord, Flute, Violin, Strings, and Basso Continuo in A Minor, BWV 1044; Concerto in D Major, BWV 972, after Antonio Vivaldi's Concerto for Violin, op. 3, no. 9. Michael Sponseller, harpsichord; Hanneke van Proosdij, recorder; Judith Linsenberg, recorder; Sandra Miller, flute; Elizabeth Blumenstock, violin; Jeffrey Thomas, conductor. Original release on American Bach Soloists (2004); rereleasd on DELOS INTERNATIONAL DE-3359 (2005).
Bach: Mass in B Minor
Julianne Baird, Judith Nelson, Nancy Zylstra, Jennifer Lane, Zoila Muñoz, Steven Rickards, Patrick Romano, William Sharp, James Weaver; Jeffrey Thomas, conductor. Original release on Koch International Classics 3-7194-2 Y6x2 (1992); re-released on AMERICAN BACH SOLOISTS (2006).
Bach: St. Matthew Passion
Jeffrey Thomas, Evangelist; William Sharp, Christus. Catherine Bott, Tamara Matthews, Judith Malafronte, Dana Marsh, Benjamin Butterfield, David Munderloh, James Weaver, Nathaniel Watson; Jeffrey Thomas, conductor. KOCH INTERNATIONAL CLASSICS 3-7424-2 HI (2000).
Bach: Transcriptions of Italian Music
Concerto in A Minor for Four Harpsichords, BWV 1065; John Butt, Phebe Craig, Jonathan Dimmock, Jeffrey Thomas; Tilge, Höchster, meine Sünden, Psalm 51 (Pergolesi: Stabat Mater); Benita Valente, Judith Malafronte; Jeffrey Thomas, conductor. Original release on Koch International Classics 3-7237-2H1 (1995); re-released on AMERICAN BACH SOLOISTS (2007).
Beethoven: Ninth Symphony 
Tamara Matthews, Judith Malafronte, Benjamin Butterfield, David Thomas; American Bach Choir, Pacific Mozart Ensemble, UC Berkeley Chamber Chorus; Jeffrey Thomas, conductor. AMERICAN BACH SOLOISTS (2007).
Corelli: Concerti Grossi
Concerto in D Major, opus 6, no. 4; Concerto in D Major, opus 6, no. 7; Concerto in D Major, opus 6, no. 1; Concerto in G Minor, opus 6, no. 8 "Fatto per la notte di natale"; Concerto in C Minor, opus 6, no. 3; Concerto in F Major, opus 6, no. 12. Dan Laurin and Hanneke van Proosdij, recorders; Elizabeth Wallfisch and Katherine Kyme, violins; Tanya Tomkins, violoncello; Michael Sponseller, harpsichord; Jeffrey Thomas, conductor. Original release on ABS (2004); re-released on DELOS INTERNATIONAL DE-3358 (2005).
Handel: Messiah
Arianna Zukerman, Daniel Taylor, Steven Tharp, William Sharp; Jeffrey Thomas, conductor. DELOS INTERNATIONAL DE-3360 (2005).
Haydn: Masses 
Missa in Angustiis ("Lord Nelson Mass"); Missa brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo ("Little Organ-Mass"); Tamara Matthews, Zoila Muñoz, Benjamin Butterfield, David Arnold, Jonathan Dimmock, American Bach Soloists Choir, Pacific Mozart Ensemble; Jeffrey Thomas, conductor. Original release on Koch International Classics 3-7407-2H1 (1997); re-released on AMERICAN BACH SOLOISTS (2007).
Schütz: Choral and Vocal Works 
Musicalische Exequien SWV 279-281; Kleine Geistliche Konzerte SWV 285, 283, 309, 310; Symphoniae Sacrae SWV 360, 356; Christine Brandes, Judith Nelson, Emily Van Evera, Judith Malafronte, Daniel Taylor, Jeffrey Thomas, Benjamin Butterfield, Nils Brown, James Weaver, Kurt-Owen Richards, American Bach Soloists Choir, San Francisco Bach Choir Concentus; Jeffrey Thomas, conductor. Original release on Koch International Classics 3-7432-2H1 (1998); re-released on AMERICAN BACH SOLOISTS (2007).
What Sweeter Music - Carols for Christmas
Works by Britten, Darke, Gibbs, Kodály, Lauridsen, Ord, Pearsall, Rutter, Vaughan Williams, Walton, Willcocks. Jeffrey Thomas, conductor. AMERICAN BACH SOLOISTS (2002).
==References==
Category:Musical groups established in 1989
Category:Chamber orchestras
Category:Musical groups from San Francisco, California
Category:American orchestras
Category:Choirs in San Francisco Bay Area
Category:Early music choirs
Category:Early music groups
Category:Early music orchestras
Category:Early music record labels