The Twin Cities Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, in cooperation with Minnesota Public Radio, presented a very successful “Before Bach’s Birthday” Bash in Minneapolis on Saturday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on March 20, 2010.  Five free hour-long concerts, morning and afternoon, featured a varied collection of instruments at churches in or near the downtown core (1928 Welte-1983 Moeller at St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral; 1962 Holtkamp at 1st Unitarian Society; 2001 Lively-Fulcher at St. Olaf Catholic Church; 2008 Dobson in the chapel at Westminster Presbyterian; 1964 Phelps-Casavant at Central Lutheran). Audiences of from 120-330 attended the various events, taking advantage of a sunny, if crisp, spring day to walk between venues.
 
The 9 o’clock morning concert, broadcast live by MPR, included performances by the St. Mark’s Cathedral Choir and the Bach Society of Minnesota Chorus, plus harpsichordists Paul Boehnke and Tami Morse and organist Raymond Johnston (who interpolated Ronald Watson’s cagy “Happy Birthday Bach” into a complete performance of the famous ‘Wachet auf!’ chorale prelude, causing many smiles with his surprise).

Dee Ann Crossley and Helen Jenson deftly blended Holtkamp and Steinway with arrangements borrowed from Busoni and Vronsky & Babin. Lawrence Lawyer and Michael Ferguson reveled in the resources of the St. Olaf instrument, with Ferguson’s dramatic completion of the unfinished Contrapunctus No. 14 from The Art of Fugue providing real excitement and adventure.

Organists Andrew Hackett and Melanie Ohnstad, with flutist Karen Wasiluk, charmed an overflow audience at the intimate Westminster Church chapel, while the grand finale showcased Carolyn Diamond, Roger Ruckert and Aaron David Miller, who exploited the 107-rank Casavant in the best possible ways.
 
Last year’s Bach Birthday was similarly celebrated in Minnesota’s Twin Cities with a sequence of programs at churches along Summit Avenue in Saint Paul.  Is this the beginning of a tradition?