
2026 ABS Biennial Meeting and Conference
Celebrating Bach
1–4 October 2026
Riemenschneider Bach Institute at
Baldwin Wallace University — Berea, Ohio
Overview | Program | Abstracts | Registration & Accommodations
| Thursday, October 1 | |
| 6–8 pm | Opening reception (Durst Welcome Center) |
| Friday, October 2 | |
| 8:30–9 am | Coffee (Kulas 115) |
| 9–10:30 am | Paper Session 1 (Fynes Hall) |
| Luke Dahn, “Notational Implications from the Fasch Chorale Manuscript” | |
| Markus Rathey, “Abbé Vogler's Choral-System: A Monument Against Johan Sebastian Bach” | |
| 10:30–11 am | Coffee (Kulas 115) |
| 11 am–12:30 pm | Roundtable 1 (Lindsay-Crossman Chapel) |
| Organ Performance – Ruben Valenzuela, moderator | |
| 12:30–2 pm | Lunch (on your own); ABS Editorial Board Meeting (Kulas 115) |
| 2–3:30 pm | Roundtable 2 (Fynes Hall) |
| Bach Festivals & Commemorations – Rebekah Franklin, moderator | |
| 3:30–4 pm | Coffee (Kulas 115) |
| 4–5:30 pm | Paper Session 2 (Fynes Hall) |
| Kailan Rubinoff, “Performing Bach Diverse: QueerPassion, Pride and Community-Building at the 2025 Bachfest Leipzig” | |
| Noelle Heber, “Celebrating Bach in the German Classroom” | |
| 5:30–7:30 pm | Dinner (on your own) |
| 7:30 pm | Recital – Balint Karosi, organist (United Methodist Church of Berea) |
| Saturday, October 3 | |
| 8:30–9 am | Coffee (Kulas 115) |
| 9–10:30 am | Paper Session 3 (Fynes Hall) |
| Joevan Caitano, “Beyond the Concert Hall: The Legacy of the Sociedade Bach de São Paulo and the Making of a Brazilian Bach Culture (1935–1977)” | |
| Ricardo de la Torre, “Pastiche, Counterfeit, Homage: Manuel Ponce and the Reception of Bach in the Spanish-speaking World in the 20th Century” | |
| 9–10:30 am | Masterclass – Balint Karosi (United Methodist Church of Berea) (concurrent) |
| 10:30–11 am | Coffee (Kulas 115) |
| 11 am–12 pm | Keynote Address – Bettina Varwig (Fynes Hall) |
| 12–1:30 pm | Lunch (on your own); ABS Advisory Board Meeting (Kulas 115) |
| 1:30–3 pm | Roundtable 3 (Fynes Hall) |
| Ich liebe den Höchsten BWV 174 – Daniel Melamed, moderator | |
| 3–3:30 pm | Coffee (Kulas 115) |
| 3:30–4:15 pm | Paper Session 4 (Fynes Hall) |
| David Schulenberg, “Quantz and the Bach Circle” | |
| 4:15–5:45 pm | Riemenschneider Bach Institute Open House and Display |
| 5:45–7:15 pm | Dinner and ABS Biennial Meeting (Fynette Kulas Hall) |
| 7:30 pm | Concert – Les Délices (Fanny Nast Gamble Auditorium) |
| Sunday, October 4 | |
| 8:30–9 am | Coffee (Kulas 115) |
| 9–11:15 am | Paper Session 5 (Fynes Hall) |
| Stephen Crist, “William H. Scheide, the Bach Aria Group, and Music Advocacy since World War II” | |
| Christopher Doll, “Foursquare Gambits Across Bach's Catalog” | |
| Marcelo Rebuffi, “Singular Episodes: H(a)unting hidden voices in J. S. Bach's Solo Violin Fugues” | |