Music

Chamber Orchestra Gets Bach to Basics

Barbara Arnold |

The Eau Claire Chamber Orchestra's Frank Watkins.
The Eau Claire Chamber Orchestra's Frank Watkins.

The Eau Claire Chamber Orchestra will be going for baroque in its second concert of the season at 7:30 pm Saturday, Nov. 5, at Grace Lutheran Church, 202 W. Grand Ave.  Performed under the baton of Music Director Frank A. Watkins, the concert will present “Baroque Arias and Concerts” by Johann Sebastian Bach and his son Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach. The program includes vocal arias, sinfonias, and concertos, concluding with J.S. Bach’s third Brandenburg Concerto. Soloists drawn from the orchestra include violinists Ryan Poquette and Benjamin Cheney and flutist Jeanne Kolis, and for the first time the ensemble will welcome mezzo-soprano Julie DeBoer. Gary Don will present an introduction to the evening’s music at 6:45pm prior to the concert. Ruth Lundblad’s works will be on display, and the North High School Orchestra Boosters will present refreshments during intermission. Other compositions on the program by the elder Bach include his Double Concerto for Two Violins; various sacred arias – including Erbarme dich – from St. Matthew Passion; and his beloved Air on the G String from Orchestral Suite No. 3. C.P.E. Bach’s Flute Concerto in D minor also is on the program. Tickets are available at Neff’s Piano Shop and Festival Foods; through PayPal purchase at eccochambermusic.org; and at the door. Tickets are $23 for adults, $20 for seniors, and $8 for students. For additional information, visit eccochambermusic.org email eccochambermusic@gmail.com, or call 715-831-3331.