2026-2027 SEASON

SEP 20 &
OCT 10
3:00PM

SEP 20
3:00 PM

BBS CONCERT | THE BERKSHIRE BACH HARPSICHORD FESTIVAL
Two leading harpsichordists play for Berkshire Bach

BERKSHIRE WALDORF HIGH SCHOOL
6 Main Street | Stockbridge, MA

KENNETH WEISS: J.S. BACH’S CLAVIER UBUNG I | THE SIX PARTITAS

Distinguished harpsichordist KENNETH WEISS performs the Six Partitas for Keyboard, BWV 825-830, to open our Festival. The works are the last and most demanding of the three great keyboard collections that Bach wrote between 1713 and1730/31, including the so-called English and French Suites. The event follows the masterful performance of the ‘Goldberg’ Variations for BBS last season. Kenneth Weiss is Professor of Chamber Music at the Paris Conservatory, a frequent performer with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and principal harpsichordist for BBS’s flagship Bach at New Year’s concert series. 

J.S. Bach:
Partita No. 1 in B♭ Major, BWV 825
Partita No. 2 in C minor, BWV 826
Partita No. 3 in A minor, BWV 827
Partita No. 4 in D Major, BWV 828
Partita No. 5 in G Major, BWV 829
Partita No. 6 in E minor, BWV 830

The program lasts about 105 mins and has one intermission.

Oct 10
3:00pm

PETER SYKES: MUSIC FOR HARPSICHORD AND CLAVICHORD

Distinguished keyboard artist PETER SYKES plays a program of Baroque music on clavichord and harpsichord, two of the most iconic instruments in the late Renaissance and Baroque eras. Hear the difference between the private and public instruments in repertoire ideally suited to each. Peter Sykes is Principal Instructor of Harpsichord and a core faculty member of the Historical Performance Department at the Juilliard School and Boston University.

Specific program to be announced soon. The program lasts about 75 mins and has no intermission.

NOV 07
3:00pm

BBS PORTALS BOOKS | EUGENE DRUCKER: THE SAVIOR

STUDIO E, THE LINDE CENTER FOR MUSIC AND LEARNING
Lenox / Stockbridge

Berkshire Bach collaborates with the Tanglewood Learning Institute to present a book reading and live performance by author, BBS Artistic Director, and violinist EUGENE DRUCKER. THE SAVIOR is a character study of a young violinist in Nazi Germany who is ordered to play for prisoners in a concentration camp. He struggles with his own moral compass as he sees first-hand what the camps are about and is devastated by the realization of his own complicity. The novel invokes the music of J.S. Bach, especially the Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004, which concludes with the great Chaconne. The Portals event includes a conversation with the audience hosted by Eugene Drucker after the presentation.

Live Performance: J.S. Bach Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004: Chaconne played by violinist Eugene Drucker

Mr. Drucker’s performances of Baroque music in the Berkshires are exclusive to the Berkshire Bach Society.

BBS Portals—Films, Books, and Talks about Bach is a quarterly series that explores creativity and the impact the music of JS Bach has had across artistic disciplines.

Dec 06
3:00PM

BBS SPECIAL EVENT | EDWARD ARRON AND JEEWON PARK: J.S. BACH’S SONATAS FOR VIOLA DA GAMBA

SAINT JAMES PLACE
352 Main Street | Great Barrington, MA

Cellist EDWARD ARRON and pianist JEEWON PARK play Bach’s late masterpieces, the Sonatas for Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord plus selected chorales in a special concert for Berkshire Bach. This is the first of three concerts featuring different artists that highlight Bach’s iconic works for cello. Arron and Park are co-artistic directors of the Performing Artists in Residence series at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, MA.

Sonata No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1027
Sonata No. 2 in D Major, BWV 1028
Sonata No. 3 in G minor, BWV 1029

The program lasts about 75 mins and and has no intermission.

Dec 30
Dec 31
Jan 1

BBS SPECIAL EVENT | BACH AT NEW YEAR’S: A JOYFUL NOISE - ORCHESTRAL SUITES & ARIAS BY BACH, HANDEL, AND OTHERS

A holiday favorite returns with BBS Artistic Director EUGENE DRUCKER, Concertmaster, and Principal Conductor JAMES BAGWELL teaming up to lead the Berkshire Bach Ensemble and vocal soloists in performances of Orchestral Suites and Arias by Bach, Handel, and others. This year’s event combines two great Baroque musical traditions—orchestral and vocal music—in a grand show of thrilling pomp, circumstance, and virtuosity.

Come for the joy that Baroque music brings and celebrate the New Year with Berkshire Bach!

Wednesday, December 30, 2026 | 7pm
Academy of Music |Northampton, MA
Tickets: 413-584-9032 • boxoffice@aomtheatre.com
Box Office Hours: Tues-Fri, 3-6pm

Thursday, December 31, 2026 | 6pm
The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center |Great Barrington, MA
Tickets: 413-528-0100 • boxoffice@mahaiwe.org
Box Office Hours: Wed-Sat, Noon-4pm

Friday, January 1, 2027 | 3pm
Co-presented with WMHT
Troy Savings Bank Music Hall |Troy, NY
Tickets: 518-273-0038 • tickets.troymusichall.org
Box Office Hours: Mon-Fri, 10am-3pm

The program lasts about 2 and a half hours and has one intermission.

Specific program to be announced soon

JAN 30
3:00pm

BBS PORTALS FILM & RECITAL | WORKING MUSICIAN – BACH PLAYS THE BERKSHIRES

STUDIO E, THE LINDE CENTER FOR MUSIC AND LEARNING
Lenox / Stockbridge

Berkshire Bach collaborates with the Tanglewood Learning Institute to present a new film by documentarian Anthony Rossello about the evolving significance of Bach’s music in today’s culture told through the lens of Berkshire Bach. BBS “working musicians” violinist EUGENE DRUCKER and harpsichordist KENNETH WEISS play Bach’s music live and are joined by the filmmaker for a conversation with the audience.

Live Performance: J.S. Bach Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord played by Violinist Eugene Drucker and harpsichordist Kenneth Weiss

Mr. Drucker’s performances of the music of JS Bach in the Berkshires are exclusive to the Berkshire Bach Society.

BBS Portals—Films, Books, and Talks about Bach is a quarterly series that explores creativity and the impact the music of JS Bach has had across artistic disciplines.

FEB 06 &
APR 17
3:00PM

BBS CONCERT | BERKSHIRE BACH PRESENTS THE ORGAN MASTERS
Two historic organs - Two consummate organists

FEB 06
UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST MEETING OF SOUTH BERKSHIRE
1089 Main Street | Housatonic, MA

APR 17
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
251 Main Street | Great Barrington, MA

feb 06
3:00pm

RENÉE ANNE LOUPRETTE PLAYS THE HISTORIC JOHNSON ORGAN

Housatonic, MA

Renée Anne Louprette, one of the finest organists performing today, Director of Music Ministries and Organist at Third Presbyterian Church in Rochester, NY, and a BBS audience favorite, returns to kick off the series with a recital suited to the delicate and musical voice of the 1893 Johnson Organ—the hidden gem of the Berkshires.

Specific program to be announced soon. The program lasts about 75 mins and has no intermission.

Apr 17
3:00pm

PETER SYKES PLAYS THE GREAT ROOSEVELT ORGAN

Great Barrington, MA

Master Organist Peter Sykes, recently retired from a 41-year career as Director of Music and Organist at Frist Church in Cambridge, MA, returns to conclude The Organ Masters series with a recital on the great 1883 Roosevelt Organ, a true cultural treasure.

Specific program to be announced soon. The program lasts about 75 mins and has no intermission.

Mar 20
3:00pm

BBS PORTALS TALK | BRUCE ADOLPHE CELEBRATES BACH’S BIRTHDAY

STUDIO E, THE LINDE CENTER FOR MUSIC AND LEARNING
Lenox / Stockbridge

Berkshire Bach collaborates with the Tanglewood Learning Institute to celebrate Bach’s 342nd birthday with Master of Ceremonies Bruce Adolphe, the original “Piano Puzzler,” current Resident Lecturer and Director of Family Concerts of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and special friend of BBS. Bruce Adolphe presents an entertaining and thought-provoking program that enriches the way we hear music. After the presentation he joins BBS Artistic Director Eugene Drucker in a conversation with the audience, and helps celebrate Bach’s birthday with insight, wit and wisdom.

BBS Portals—Films, Books, and Talks about Bach is a quarterly series that explores creativity and the impact the music of JS Bach has had across artistic disciplines.

May 15
3:00pm

BBS PORTALS TALK | EDWARD KLORMAN AND COLIN CARR DISCUSS Bach: THE CELLO SUITES

STUDIO E, THE LINDE CENTER FOR MUSIC AND LEARNING
Lenox / Stockbridge

Berkshire Bach collaborates with the Tanglewood Learning Institute to present a book reading of the instant classic, The Bach Cello Suites, by Edward Klorman, published in September 2025. The author traces the history of the Suites and the dance movements that Bach used to create them, providing excellent scholarship in a handbook for performers and general readers alike. Distinguished cellist Colin Carr joins the team to demonstrate some of the performance practice and compositional issues highlighted in the book and to perform two of Bach’s Suites live. After the presentation, BBS Artistic Director Eugene Drucker hosts a conversation with the presenters and the audience.

Live Performance: Cellist Colin Carr performs two Bach cello suites

BBS Portals—Films, Books, and Talks about Bach is a quarterly series that explores creativity and the impact the music of JS Bach has had across artistic disciplines.

Jun 20
3:00PM

BBS SPECIAL EVENT | PAUL WATKINS PLAYS BACH CELLO SUITES AND CANONS

BERKSHIRE WALDORF HIGH SCHOOL
6 Main Street | Stockbridge, MA

In a special performance for Berkshire Bach that completes our exploration of Bach’s iconic works for cello, Paul Watkins of the legendary Emerson String Quartet, plays two Bach Suites. He is joined by his former ESQ partner, Eugene Drucker, in playing selected Bach canons that explore the depths of artistic creativity.

The program lasts about 75 mins and has no intermission.