Director: Ellen Frye

We are an informal group of musicians who meets weekly at the Howe Library in Hanover to study the vocal music of J.S. Bach. We immerse ourselves in each work for 4 to 8 weeks, rehearsing movements, discussing musical and textual details, and performing a final run-through at the end of the study period. Founded in 1983, the group currently numbers around 50 and includes singers (SATB) and instrumentalists (flutes, recorders, oboes, oboe d’amour, English horn, bassoon, strings, and piano). We read from scores borrowed from the Drinker collection of the Philadelphia Free Library.

Audition Information: No auditions. Interested musicians are invited to call Ellen Frye or simply come to any meeting.

Rehearsal Schedule: Fridays, 10:00-11:45 AM, September through July, excluding holidays, in the Mayer Room of the Howe Library in Hanover, N.H.

Repertoire: Bach cantatas, oratorios, and passions

Contact Information: Ellen Frye, 802-295-9587

Additional Information: Current work under study, fall and winter 2009–2010: Christmas Oratorio

Ellen Frye conducting with soprano Joan Snell in background.

Pamela Whitfield, who plays oboe, English horn and flute, with the late Dorothea Stibitz, BSG’s oldest member in 2005.