Flutist Emi Ferguson
Pianist Boris Giltburg
Renowned Performers Emi Ferguson, Kit Armstrong, and Boris Giltburg Headline a Five-Concert Bach Weekend
What makes this year’s BACHtoberfest especially thrilling is that all three guest artists—Emi Ferguson, Kit Armstrong, and Boris Giltburg—belong to the next generation of leading Bach interpreters.”— Chris Shepard, Artistic DirectorWORCESTER, MA, UNITED STATES, August 20, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — THE COMPLETE BACH (TCB), Music Worcester’s ambitious 11-year endeavor to present every work of Johann Sebastian Bach in live performance, will hold its third annual BACHtoberfest Weekend from October 23 to 25. This five-concert weekend, curated by TCB’s Artistic Director Chris Shepard, will feature flutist Emi Ferguson and keyboardist Kit Armstrong performing the Flute Sonatas on Friday evening, followed by internationally acclaimed pianist Boris Giltburg playing The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1 on Saturday. Complete details and ticket information can be found at musicworcester.org.
The festival opens on Friday, October 23 at WAMS Works, where Emi Ferguson and Kit Armstrong will present Bach’s Flute Sonatas (BWV 120 and 130–132), along with two works by his son, C.P.E. Bach: the Sonata in C Major and Sonata in G Major.
Ferguson returns to Music Worcester after performing with Ruckus in summer 2025. A recipient of the 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant, she is a flutist, vocalist, composer, arranger, radio host, and writer. As a performer, she collaborates as a soloist and partner at major festivals and concert halls worldwide. She hosts WQXR’s Young Musician Showcase, serves as principal flute for the Handel & Haydn Society, and frequently performs with AMOC*, the New York New Music Ensemble, and Ruckus, among others. Joining her on harpsichord is Kit Armstrong. Since stepping onto the international music scene two decades ago, Armstrong has given recitals in major series, collaborated with premier orchestras, and forged close artistic relationships with leading instrumentalists and vocalists globally.
On Saturday afternoon, October 24, CONCORA (Connecticut Choral Arts), directed by Shepard, will perform three of Bach’s choral cantatas at WAMS Works: Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend warden (BWV 6), Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot (BWV 39), and Herr, wie du willt, so schick’s mit mir (BWV 73).
Saturday evening at Assumption University’s Curtis Hall, world-renowned pianist Boris Giltburg makes his Massachusetts debut with The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1. This near-meditative journey through every key signature—each containing two movements (Prelude and Fugue)—lets the audience hear Bach’s keyboard writing as originally conceived: musical exercises exploring all modes of composition.
Giltburg, a Moscow-born Israeli pianist, won his first international competition at age 13 and has since earned additional competition victories and performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras and in top concert halls. He is praised for blending poetic imagination with analytical insight—qualities that have fueled his deep explorations of major composers such as Rachmaninov, Beethoven, and Ravel. A recording of The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1 on Naxos is scheduled for release in May 2027.
“One of the most exciting aspects of this year’s BACHtoberfest is that all three guest artists come from the rising generation of leading Bach performers,” said Shepard. “This is especially significant because they ‘came of musical age’ after the battles between period performers and traditional instrumentalists had largely subsided. As a result, Emi Ferguson, Kit Armstrong, and Boris Giltburg either move effortlessly between the two worlds or have found creative, well-informed ways to bring the two traditions together.”
Audiences are invited to attend the free Music Sunday service, where the First Church Unitarian Choir will sing Bach’s cantata Was mein Gott will, das g’scheh allzeit (BWV 111), highlighting the sanctuary’s beautiful acoustics.
On Sunday afternoon, the BACHtoberfest Choir—joined by members of the Hartford Chorale—will gather under Shepard’s direction at Mechanics Hall for the third annual performance concluding the 2026 BACHtoberfest Weekend. The BACHtoberfest Choir is made up of individual singers from across the region and the country who assemble for this concert, rehearsing a series of Bach’s cantatas together over the weekend before this culminating event.
THE COMPLETE BACH continues through Music Worcester’s 2026–2027 season with five concerts during Bach’s Birthday Bash Weekend (March 20–22), a 300th anniversary presentation of the St. Matthew Passion on April 11, and Clavier Ubung III—considered Bach’s greatest organ work—on April 25.
In the first two years of TCB, Music Worcester has already presented live performances of nearly one-fifth of Bach’s vast output.
THE COMPLETE BACH is Music Worcester’s bold decade-plus project to perform all known works of J. S. Bach, concluding on March 21, 2035—the 350th anniversary of the Baroque master’s birth. Launched in 2024, each season includes a dozen concerts spanning every genre of Bach’s immense body of work.
Music Worcester is collaborating with regional music partners such as Handel & Haydn Society and Baroklyn; world-renowned musicians including Jeremy Denk, Simone Dinnerstein, Vijay Gupta, and Zlatomir Fung; and members of the Worcester Bach Collective (a broad coalition of musical organizations in Worcester) in what is believed to be the first project to present live performances of all of J.S. Bach’s works since his own lifetime.
In addition to stage performances, THE COMPLETE BACH also features an online component: three distinct podcast series designed to help audiences get to know the man and his music.
Music Worcester
Founded in 1858, Music Worcester continues its long tradition of bringing internationally acclaimed artists and ensembles to Central Massachusetts, with programming spanning classical, jazz, global traditions, and dance.
Music Worcester’s education and community engagement initiatives include in-school workshops, masterclasses, and free and reduced-price ticket programs. This season, in addition to historic Mechanics Hall, Music Worcester will present concerts at The Hanover Theatre, JMAC’s BrickBox, WAMS Works, Tuckerman Hall, Assumption University’s Curtis Hall, Trinity Lutheran Church, First Unitarian Church, and Doherty Memorial High School.
In 2026–2027, Everett McCorvey continues his Artist-in-Residency, following past residents Simone Dinnerstein and Vijay Gupta, as part of the organization’s biannual residency program focused on deep and lasting community connection.
Tickets and information for THE COMPLETE BACH and all Music Worcester programs can be found at musicworcester.org
Adam R. Klein
CK Communications Group Inc
+1 617-504-6156
adam@ckcommgroup.com
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About THE COMPLETE BACH
