In 1976, a composer named Carl Wirth invited some musicians over to his home in Twain Harte. Wirth had studied and taught in Rochester, New York, and he was best known for writing music for classical saxophone. A 2016 retrospective in The Pine Tree says the first Sonora Bach Festival happened on his front porch and at the Eproson House Restaurant, and that it was informal. Everyone brought their own instrument.
The festival's own history tells it the same way. Wirth, "a local pianist, conductor, and composer, gathered friends, neighbors and music lovers on his Twain Harte deck," and that started a fall tradition that has run for half a century.
The 50th season opens this Sunday, and it still looks a lot like that first gathering. Two of the four programs are built around local performers, including youth finalists from Tuolumne and surrounding counties. Two of the four concerts are in Twain Harte, where the festival started. The opening concert is free.
Four Sundays, Two Addresses
The 50th Annual Sonora Bach Festival takes up every Sunday afternoon in October. Here is the schedule from the festival's season page.
| Date | Event | Venue | Tickets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun., Oct. 4, 2–5 p.m. | Bach's Big Bang | Indigeny Reserve, 14679 Summers Lane, Sonora | Free |
| Sun., Oct. 11, 3 p.m. | Youth Concert | Chapel in the Pines, 18580 Cherokee Drive, Twain Harte | $10, under 18 free |
| Sun., Oct. 18, 3 p.m. | Locals' Concert | Chapel in the Pines, Twain Harte | $20, under 18 free |
| Sun., Oct. 25, 3 p.m. | House Concert with Duo Sonik | Indigeny Reserve, Sonora | $35 presale, $40 later |
The concerts don't have a permanent home, and they never have. In 2016, festival director Sandra Betti said the festival puts on "a different and diverse event each weekend in October." That year's concerts were at the Church of the 49ers in Columbia, the Country Cowboy Church in Sonora, and Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church in Sugar Pine. Over the years the festival has also used the Sonora Opera Hall, the Sonora High School Auditorium, and many of the county's historic churches. This year it splits between Indigeny Reserve on Summers Lane and Chapel in the Pines on Cherokee Drive.
Sunday One Is Free, and It's Mostly Brass
The festival's about page calls Bach's Big Bang "an unusual free event," and the Sonora Area Foundation is helping pay for it. From 2 to 5 p.m. on Oct. 4, two groups will trade sets at Indigeny Reserve.
The first is the Lucky CuZn Brass Band. The festival says the band is made up mostly of local music teachers. The name is a chemistry joke, since copper, Cu, combines with zinc, Zn, to make brass. The second group comes from Opera Modesto, with tenor Salvatore Atti, soprano Bianca Orsi, and Diego Bustamante on piano.
Atti is a graduate of The Boston Conservatory who recently moved to Northern California from Boston. Orsi recently sang Adina in L'elisir d'amore with Opera Modesto. Bustamante grew up in Chico, lives in Modesto, and works as a collaborative pianist for Opera Modesto and Modesto Junior College. The Union Democrat's Oct. 1–7 weekly roundup listed the free concert as the start of the festival's 50th year.
The Middle Two Sundays Carry the Original Idea
The festival says its purpose hasn't changed in 50 years. It gives "community members of all ages" a chance to perform classical music "under professional guidance and conditions." The music is mostly Baroque, and Bach is at the center of it. The two concerts at Chapel in the Pines are where that purpose is easiest to see.
The Youth Concert, Oct. 11. This one started 10 days ago. Students under 18 from Tuolumne and surrounding counties auditioned on Sunday, Sept. 20, at Chapel in the Pines. Each one played a memorized Baroque or Classical piece for a panel of judges. Twenty finalists will perform on Oct. 11, and each one gets a $100 award. Gail Johnson started the youth concert when she was the festival's executive director. She later retired after 29 years in the Columbia College music department, and she still teaches and accompanies musicians.
The Locals' Concert, Oct. 18. The festival describes this one as "lovely music … performed by people you know." The program includes Bach, Handel, and Telemann. You may recognize some of the performers:
- Mark Seiver has been part of the local music scene since 1989. He spent 18 years as resident musical director at Sierra Repertory Theatre, and now he plays Sundays at Soulsbyville United Methodist Church and Saturday evening Mass at St. Patrick's.
- Sandra Betti is music director at St. Patrick's Catholic Church and also teaches private flute lessons.
- The Columbia College Community Chorus and the Columbia College Community Orchestra with Dr. Daniel Godsil.
- The Mother Lode String Quartet, plus Ellora Maggs, Mamie and Hazel Weston, Shiloah Fenn, and Anthony Dossi.
Betti is the same person who was quoted as festival director in 2016. Ten years later she's on the Locals' Concert program as a performer. The festival works that way all the way through. It became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2003, and volunteer Executive and Advisory Boards still run it. Diane Wright is the current executive director.
The Last Sunday Brings Back a Thunderstorm Story
The season ends Oct. 25 back at Indigeny Reserve. Guitarists Guy Powell and Travis Silvers, who play together as Duo Sonik, are returning to the festival. People who were there still bring up their last Sonora Bach Festival concert a few years ago. The festival describes "thunder and lightning boomed outside and rain pounded on the roof" while the duo kept the audience's attention the whole time. This year's program is called Music of Bach and Beyond, and refreshments come with the ticket.
Silvers teaches World Music and Guitar full time at Modesto Junior College. He also co-founded ¡Guitarraganza!, the Central Valley Guitar Festival held every other year.
Tickets are $35 before Oct. 21 and $40 after, and the presale price includes free parking. The ticket page calls the $40 price at-the-door and only if seats are left, so buying early is the safer move.
Something to know for planning: Indigeny Reserve's fall festival runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 24 and 25, so the House Concert lands on the second day of it. The fall festival also runs Oct. 17 and 18, with live music, cider, food and craft vendors, and activities for kids.
Building the Rest of October Around the Sundays
The concerts all fall on Sunday afternoons, and Sonora's other October events mostly land on Saturdays. If you want to plan a full weekend around them:
- Oct. 2–31: Sierra Repertory Theatre's Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors at East Sonora Theatre, 13891 Mono Way.
- Sat., Oct. 10, 5–8 p.m.: 2nd Saturday Art Night along Washington Street, with artists, music, and food and drink specials at the businesses taking part.
- Sat., Oct. 10, 8–10 p.m.: The Summer Send-Off Concert with King Hippo at Coffill Park, 120 S. Washington St.
- Sat., Oct. 17, 2–7 p.m.: Mountain Misery Brewfest at Mother Lode Fairgrounds, 220 Southgate Drive, for ages 21 and over.
- Sat., Oct. 24, 4–5:30 p.m.: Trick or Treat Street & Spookytown at Courthouse Park downtown.
For example, the Art Night weekend could start with gallery stops on Washington Street Saturday night and end with the Youth Concert in Twain Harte on Sunday. The Brewfest weekend could end at the Locals' Concert, where the program is Bach, Handel and Telemann played by what the festival calls "people you know." Updates are posted on the festival's Facebook page.
For Leeann Lupo Properties, the fall Sundays are a good example of the community we're proud to call home. If you've got family coming up this month and want help planning a weekend around the Big Bang or the Locals' Concert, Talk with Leeann. Your Hometown Specialist is glad to share where we'll be sitting.
