Founded in 1972 as a chapter of the Neue Bachgesellschaft, the American Bach Society supports the study, performance, and appreciation of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach in the United States and Canada.
The ABS produces Bach Notes and Bach Perspectives, sponsors a biennial meeting and conference, and offers grants and prizes for research on Bach.
Information on membership is available here, along with a short history of the Society and information on its administration.
On this site you can also find links to other Bach organizations and to Bach festivals, as well as a small selection of interesting Bach illustrations.
“Global Bach”
Biennial Meeting of the American Bach Society
Emory University (Atlanta, Georgia)
September 26–29, 2024
Call For Papers
For questions about the upcoming conference, please contact Ellen Exner: vicepresident [at] americanbachsociety.org
November 6, 2023
Episode 19 of Tiny Bach Concerts, which will be the last in this series, features Joel Speerstra (Gothenburg University) discussing and performing on clavichord Bach’s Ciaccona from Violin Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004/4. Read more…
October 31, 2023
Bach Notes no. 39 (Fall 2023) is now live and copies have been mailed to members who have requested them. This issue features a report on the first Ruth Monte Memorial Bach Competition by Derek Stauff; a report on Bachfest Leipzig 2023 by Yo Tomita; a call for papers for the 2024 ABS conference, “Global Bach”; information on ABS Grants and Awards; Announcements; and Member News. Read more…
May 31, 2023
The schedule for the inaugural Ruth Monte Memorial Bach Piano Competition has been released, and you can find it on our website. Read more…
May 9, 2023
Bach Notes no. 38 (Spring 2023) is now live and copies have been mailed to members who have requested them. This issue features a review of Tanya Kevorkian’s Music and Urban Life in Baroque Germany by Derek Stauff; a review of the documentary film Bach and Expression by Nathaniel Brown; a report on the ABS Meeting at Temple University by Vivian Teresa Tompkins; Announcements; and Member News. Read more…
January 5, 2023
Pianists ages 12–18 living in North America (but of any nationality) are encouraged to participate in the first Ruth Monte Memorial Bach Competition; applications are now open! Initial application deadline is March 1, 2023. Read more…
December 16, 2022
This month’s episode of Tiny Bach Concerts features a performance by The Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity (New York City) of the Sinfonia, Adagio, and “Kommt, eilet und laufet” from J. S. Bach’s Easter Oratorio, BWV 249, with introductory remarks by Daniel R. Melamed. Read more…
October 14, 2022
This month’s episode of Tiny Bach Concerts features a performance by Filament Baroque of 5. “So glaubt man denn, dass die Musik verführe” and 6. “Schweigt, ihr Flöten, schweigt, ihr Töne” from O holder Tag, erwünschte Zeit, BWV 210, with introductory remarks by Tanya Kevorkian. Read more…