Welcome

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.

Bach Notes no. 42 (Spring 2025) available for download

April 15, 2025

Bach Notes no. 42 (Spring 2025) features Annika Fabbi’s report on the 2024 ABS Meeting: Global Bach; Daniel R. Melamed’s review of Michael Fuchs and Bradley Jensen’s Bach’s St. John Passion for the Twenty-First Century; Lynn Edwards Butler’s report on George Stauffer and Gregory Butler being named Honorary Lifetime Members of the ABS; Stephen Roe’s obituary for Teri Noel Towe; the list of ABS Grant Winners; Announcements; and Member News. Read more…

Teri Noel Towe (1948–2025)

March 20, 2025

The American Bach Society mourns the passing of Teri Noel Towe, long-time advocate and champion of Bach, with an obituary prepared by Stephen Roe. Read more…

Bach Notes no. 41 (Fall 2024) is now live

September 8, 2024

Bach Notes no. 41 (Fall 2024) is now live and copies have been mailed to members who have requested them. This issue features Christina Fuhrmann’s report on the 2024 Baldwin Wallace Bach Festival, including a review of the first St. John Passion performance featuring a female Evangelist; the schedule for the American Bach Society’s 2024 conference; Yo Tomita’s report on Bachfest Leipzig 2024; Brian Hodges’ review of Rachel Podger, Chad Kelly, and Brecon Baroque’s recording, Bach Goldberg Variations Reimagined; ABS Election Results; Announcements; and Member News. Read more…

Launching the ABS Virtual Book Club

August 22, 2024

The ABS is pleased to announce the launch of a members-only virtual book club in Fall 2024, hosted by Carrie Tipton. Our first book club pick is David Schulenberg’s recent Bach biography for Oxford University Press, enriched by its companion website. The book club will meet twice late this fall via Zoom. Full details…

Program available for our biennial meeting at Emory University

July 11, 2024

The full schedule is now available for our upcoming biennial meeting at Emory University, September 26–29, 2024. Make sure you register soon, and book a room in the hotel before the conference rate is no longer available.

Bach Notes no. 40 (Spring 2024) now available

April 7, 2024

Bach Notes no. 40 (Spring 2024) is now live and copies have been mailed to members who have requested them. This issue features Ellen Exner’s interview with Geoffrey Burgess about a Bach-era oboe now housed at the Bach-Archiv; Annika Fabbi’s report on her publication history research at the Riemenschneider Bach Institute; Rebekah Franklin’s interview with Dirk Garner and Margaret Carpenter Haigh about the upcoming Baldwin Wallace Bach Festival performance of Bach’s St. John Passion featuring a female Evangelist; Publications; the ABS Conference announcement; Obituaries for Judith McCartin Scheide and Peter Schickele; Announcements; ABS election results; and Member News. Read more…

Final episode of Tiny Bach Concerts, episode 19, now live

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…

Bach Notes no. 39 (Fall 2023) now available

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…

Monte Competition Schedule Announced

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…

Bach Notes no. 38 (Spring 2023) is now live

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…

Applications open for the Ruth Monte Memorial Bach Competition

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…

Episode 18 of Tiny Bach Concerts now available

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…

Just Released: Episode 17 of Tiny Bach Concerts

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…

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AT RIGHT:

  1. Oil painting of J. S. Bach by Elias Gottlob Haussmann, 1748
  2. Engraving of St. Thomas Church, Leipzig
  3. Title page of Bach’s Calov Bible, 1681 (Concordia Seminary Library, St. Louis)
  4. First page of autograph score of Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, 1721