Washington Bach Consort

Founded in 1977 by J. Reilly Lewis, the Washington Bach Consort is a professional chorus and orchestra noted for its performance of 18th-Century music on period instruments. Its mission is to perform to the highest artistic standards the music of J.S. Bach and his Baroque contemporaries.  

As one of the nation’s critically acclaimed and widely recognized performing arts institutions, it has appeared at numerous festivals and has made three European tours. Recordings include Bach’s complete motets, both J.S. and C.P.E. Bach’s Magnificats, the first American recording of the F Major and G Minor Masses, and three solo soprano cantatas featuring opera superstar Elizabeth Futral.  

In 2006, after 16 seasons, the Washington Bach Consort completed the entire cycle of 215 cantatas at the Noontime Cantata series and has subsequently begun the cycle again to new audiences. The archival recordings and programs from the series were welcomed into the Library of Congress’s permanent collection the following year. Among its many honors, the Washington Bach Consort was selected as the winner of the American Prize in Choral Performance for 2011 in the professional chorus division.