BachLab by Emmanuel Music

Hear from composers Elena Ruehr and Marti Epstein ahead of their two upcoming motet premiers: Ruehr’s Your Healing Word on February 4th and Epstein’s Prayer on February 25th. Learn about the influences and structures behind the motets, and further, what each composer feels is their purpose and place in the trajectory of classical music.Timestamps:Elena Ruehr interview: 00:55Marti Epstein interview: 16:15

On Wednesday July 19th, Emmanuel Music held a “Masterclass for All”, where community members were invited to perform Bach and learn from artistic director Ryan Turner and Bach Institute Director Pamela Dellal. In this episode of BachLab, host Claudia Dorian brings you the music and insights of three masterclass participants; soprano Carolyn Roosevelt, pianist Frank Bunn, and flautist (+ executive director) Jaclyn Dentino. In conversations from before and after the class, hear the emotions of preparing solo Bach, the musical takeaways from working with Pam and Ryan, and the personal takeaways from participating in this courageous opportunity for connection.

Acclaimed contemporary composer and Emmanuel Music founding member John Harbison joins host Claudia Dorian for a conversation centered around his history composing service music for Emmanuel music, his approach to composition, the importance of text, the magic of vocal music, and more. John shares a few examples of his service music that has been tried (successfully, and not) at Emmanuel Church over the years— you can follow along and see the examples on our website or Facebook page!

Peek behind the scenes of This Love Unbound, Emmanuel Music’s upcoming collaboration with Urbanity Dance. Through conversation with dancers Haley Day and Alex Davis, choreographer Shura Baryshnikov, and artistic director Ryan Turner, learn about the process of bringing this collaboration to life.

Composer Mason Bynes joins Bachlab to chat about the upcoming premiere of her motet Epiphanytide on Sunday, February 5. The motet was commissioned by Emmanuel Music to be paired with Bach Cantata BWV 92. We explore her compositional style, musical outlook, as well as influences and insights on her new motet. Visit emmanuelmusic.org to learn more about attending the presentation this Sunday!

Board president Dana Whiteside lets us behind the scenes of Emmanuel Music to learn about the board’s purpose and impact. In learning about our vision, we are able to see its impacts - once again realizing the power of art and community. 

Bach cantatas are at the heart of our work at Emmanuel Music. But what is a cantata? In part one of our conversation exploring these works, Pamela Dellal talks Claudia through the history and context of cantatas, how Bach encountered and worked with them, the sources of text, their purpose, and more. 

We bring you a conversation with composer Reena Esmail and Artistic Director Ryan Turner ahead of Emmanuel Music's performance of her piece, This Love Between Us, on Saturday October 1st. Learn about Reena’s cross-cultural compositional style, the ideas that inspired the piece, and how it will be paired with Bach at Emmanuel Music. Visit emmanuelmusic.org for tickets to This Love Between Us on October 1!