Submitted Photo The 22nd Bach & Beyond Baroque Music Festival features an intimate group of top musicians from throughout North America who are specialists in and passionate about Baroque performance. Many are Festival veterans and have included (l to r) Violinist/Concert Mistress Julie Leven, Violinist Margie Cooper, Violinist Smiliana Lozanova, Flutist Dr. Susan Royal and Violist Brian Walnicki. The festival will be held June 9-11, at the 1891 Fredonia Opera House.

The Bach & Beyond Baroque Music Festival celebrates its 22nd year when it returns to the 1891 Fredonia Opera House June 9-11. Under Artistic Director Grant Cooper, the series of three concerts explores both the masterworks and lesser-known orchestral music of 17th and 18th century Baroque composers.

Performances focus on music by familiar composers such as Bach, Vivaldi and Handel, but the “beyond” in the festival’s name refers to the inclusion of works of others who are artistically linked to those superstars. This year’s program will feature some of the Baroque era’s most glorious trumpet music performed by acclaimed trumpet player Roderick MacDonald, who will perform on all three concerts.

“We also will include, for the first time, works by German composer Johann Wilhelm Hertel,” notes Opera House Executive Director Rick Davis. “And as part of Sunday’s concert, local violist Brian Walnicki will perform a Vivaldi lute concerto on the mandolin.”

In addition to accomplished area musicians, such as MacDonald and Walnicki, Cooper brings to the festival top musicians from throughout North America who are specialists in and passionate about Baroque performance. Many are festival veterans. “The players have a strong sense of loyalty to the Festival from year to year,” he says.

Audience members who are new to the Festival will appreciate “performances that attempt to capture the essence of the Baroque period,” says Cooper. “Through the use of Baroque bows, for instance, we make a sound less massive and more intimate than one hears from modern instruments and playing techniques.”

The festival’s three concerts are scheduled for Friday and Saturday, June 9 and 10, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, June 11, at 3 p.m. Special pre-concert discussions will begin an hour before each concert in the theatre. Admission to the pre-concert discussions is free to concert ticket holders.

Complete concert programs are listed on the Opera House website at www.fredopera.org. Tickets are $20 reserved seating for each concert; student tickets are $10. A subscription to all three concerts is available for $51. Tickets may be purchased in person at the Opera House Box Office or by phone at 679-1891, Tuesday through Friday, 1-5 p.m. They also may be purchased anytime online at www.fredopera.org.

The Bach & Beyond Festival is made possible, in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. Funding is also provided by the United Arts Appeal of Chautauqua County. Founding Festival Benefactors are Carol & Jim Boltz. Festival Sponsors are June & Barry Dietrich, and W. Stanley Hooper with the Hooper Family Foundation. Concert Sponsors are Minda Rae Amiran and Evans & Evans Law Offices. Support also comes from the Gloria Garretson Memorial Fund.

The 1891 Fredonia Opera House is a member-supported not-for-profit organization located in Village Hall in downtown Fredonia. A complete schedule of Opera House events is available at www.fredopera.org.