Warming things up for Bach

June 26, 2006

From The Register-Guard

The Oregon Bach Festival has been sending J.S. Bach out into the community over the past month, courtesy of more than a dozen University of Oregon saxophone players, as preparations continue for the festival’s opening here on June 30.

The community outreach program, called “Bach on the Bus,” was originally going to include performances on Lane Transit District buses, said festival marketing director George Evano. Then cooler heads prevailed.

“Our original idea was to put musicians on the bus and drive around,” he said. “But I think musicians were a little less enthusiastic about that than the marketing people. Have you ever tried to play a violin on a moving bus?”

With the help of University of Oregon School of Music saxophone instructor Idit Shner, the festival rounded up about 15 saxophonists who have been playing Bach in various combinations and in a series of unlikely places, from the LTD station downtown to the Leaburg Community Center.

Audiences, Evano said, have been surprised but supportive.

“I believe, and maybe some other people do, that after you get the music to people in a way that is relevant to their lives, they’ll be interested in the festival,” Evano said.

The student musicians took a break for finals, but will start up again next week.

The saxophonists will play at the downtown Eugene LTD bus station at 11th Avenue and Willamette Street at 4:30 p.m. Monday through next Thursday.

A handful of early-rising musicians will be on hand at 6 a.m. Monday to serenade commuters who catch the PeaceHealth shuttle from the Lane County Fairgrounds.

In addition, groups are playing several performances at Fifth Street Public Market: The Idit Shner Quartet will play at noon on Monday; Sons of Bach, a jazz group led by Glenn Griffith, will play chamber contrapuntal jazz at noon Wednesday; and Mitsuki Dazai, a performer in the festival itself, will play the Japanese koto at noon on Friday, June 30.