Bach at the Sem, presented by Concordia Seminary and the American Kantorei, is pleased to announce the program for their last performance of the season on April 6. The concert features two complete cantatas by J. S. Bach – Jesu nahm zu sich die Zwölfe, BWV 22, and Himmelskönig sei willkommen, BWV 182 – and two choruses from a third, Lobe den Herrn, meine Seele, BWV 143, as well as George Frideric Handel’s “Worthy is the Lamb,” the final chorus from Messiah.

Our esteemed guest conductor Dr. Jeffrey S. Wilson is professor of music, director of choral activities, and chair of the music department at Greenville College, where he teaches conducting, voice, choral techniques and church music. He earned his B.Mus. at Augustana College in Illinois, and his M.Mus., and D.M.A. are both from the University of Illinois. Dr. Wilson studied conducting and choral music with Chet Alwes, Louis Halsey, Donald Morrison, Helmuth Rilling, Fred Stoltzfus, Paul Vermel, and David Willcocks. He became the third conductor of the Greenville College Choir in 1996. Under his direction, the Greenville Choir has achieved a strong reputation. They have performed with the American Kantorei and the Boston Camerata and have also been invited to sing at multiple Illinois Music Educators Association State Conventions, American Choral Directors Association Central Division Conferences, and the Calvin Symposium on Worship.  The choir is also featured on nine compact disc recordings.

Bach at the Sem is in its 21^st season. All concerts are at 3:00 p.m. in the Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus on the campus of Concordia Seminary in Clayton, Mo. A free will offering is taken at each concert.

The American Kantorei, the performing group of Bach at the Sem, was founded in 1969 by its first musical director, the Rev. Robert Bergt, a member of the Concordia Seminary faculty. Following a hiatus of some 20 years, the Kantorei was resurrected in 1993 at the behest of its major sponsors, Richard and Phyllis Duesenberg and Robert and (the late) Lori Duesenberg, and has since presented to the communities of Concordia Seminary and St. Louis at large nearly 100 concerts of the music of premier Lutheran composer, Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as music of Schütz, Buxtehude, Mendelssohn and other Lutheran composers.

Following the death of Maestro Bergt in 2011, Interim Music Director Dr. Jeral Becker, director of choral and vocal activities at Saint Louis University, prepares the chorus for each concert.

For additional information, please call 314-505-7009, email brewerm@csl.edu, or visit http://bach.www.csl.edu. We look forward to seeing you on April 6!