American Bach Soloists | |
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Chamber orchestra on period instruments | |
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Short name | ABS |
Founded | 1989 |
Location | San Francisco |
Principal conductor | Jeffrey Thomas |
Website | americanbach |
The American Bach Soloists (ABS) is an American baroque orchestra based in the San Francisco Bay Area. [1] The orchestra was founded in Belvedere, California, in 1989. [2] Performers share music from Johann Sebastian Bach and his contemporaries during the Classical era, including Handel, Vivaldi, and Mozart, with modern audiences. [1]
Since 1998, ABS has performed Handel's Messiah at Grace Cathedral during the Christmas season. [1]
In February 2020, ABS released a compilation album featuring Bach's cantatas and other early music pieces. [3]
In 2010, ABS began hosting the American Bach Soloists Academy, an annual two-week summer training program at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. [2] Each year, more than 50 advanced students of early music convene for coaching, rehearsals, and classes. [1] Following the academy, musicians publicly perform baroque selections as a part of the ABS Festival. [4] [5]
The American Bach Soloists are led by artistic and music director Jeffrey Thomas. [2] [6] Thomas is a conductor and tenor vocalist. He studied at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Manhattan School of Music, the Juilliard School of Music and at Cambridge University. [7]
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