Bach Festivals & Cantata Series
BachFest Cochabamba

Name:

BachFest Cochabamba

Location:

Cochabamba, in the heart of Bolivia which is the heart of South America

Venues:

The Palace at Centro Simón I. Patiño, a building which belongs to the Patiño Foundation in Geneva, Switzerland and the Universidad de San Simón, the state university in Cochabamba. Convento de Santa Teresa, a colonial church in the heart of the city.
A new chamber music auditorium has been built especially for the BachFest and other chamber music events, the BACH-HAUS, which includes a center with practice rooms and dormitories for visiting musicians.
Iglesia del Convento de Santa Teresa, a colonial church in the heart of the city.

Years:

Since 2008 (Annual Festival)

Months:

March-April

Artistic Director:

Elizabeth Schwimmer, harpsichordist/pianist/conductor. Founder and main organizer of the BachFest

Ensembles:

BachFest Ensemble
SumaqWayra Consort
BachFest Chorale
Coro Madrigalista
Orquesta Hombres Nuevos.

Website:

Bachfest Bolivia (Official Website)

History:

In September, 2007, Bolivian Pianist/Harpsichordist/Conductor Elizabeth Schwimmer, together with the German flutist Benjamin Kiersch, started a festival dedicated to the interpretation and study of the music of the great J.S. Bach.
On March 6, 2008, the first BachFest in Bolivia took place with the participation of 60 musicians, both Bolivians and some foreigners invited to participate in the festival. During a whole month, the Bolivian public enjoyed J.S. Bach’s music. The BachFest Chorale was created, a small chamber choir of 16 members. Also, the BachFest Ensemble was formed. The festival was a big success, with full house concerts in every event.
In 2009, 120 musicians from all over Bolivia came to Cochabamba to perform. Some musicans from other countries came to participate. The American cellist, Crispin Campbell came to perform the 3 sonatas for Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord. Ligia Gutierrez, a Baroque Soprano from Madrid participated in the Cantata BWV 106 Actus Tragicus as well as the Argentinean tenor, Rafael Montero. In 2009, the cantata BWV 4 Christ lag in todesbanden was performed by the BachFest Corale and Ensemble and young singers from Cochabamba had their first time in their lifes singing solos by J.S. Bach.
During the BachFest 2010 a summer extension (summer in Bolivia is from December 21 to March 21) was offered to the public. The Magnificat (BWV 243) was performed for the first time in Bolivia. All the wind players where invited from Buenos Aires, Argentina, the Mexican Baroque tenor, Adolfo Mendoza joined us for the performances. The concerts were a tremendous success.

In 2011, the BachFest had two outstanding musicians visiting Bolivia: the double bass player Richard “Dobbs” Hartshorne who played his own transcription of the 6 Suites for Cello Solo and the Catalonian Baroque violinist Jorge Jiménez who played solo violin recital and gave workshops on Baroque violin to local violinists. Motets and cantatas were performed by the BachFest Chorale and visting solo singers from La Paz.
In 2012, the BachFest has three visiting musicians: Dobbs Hartshorne will be playing his own transcriptions of the 3 sonatas for viola da gamba, Michael Kevin Jones, cellist will play a solo cello recital and will be part of the BachFest orchestra and Ruben Dario Reina, a Colombian-Spanish violinist who will be working and playing with the BachFest Orchestra.

Mission

The mission of the BachFest Cochabamba is simply that: to study, perform and enjoy J.S. Bach's wonderful works.

Recent Festivals:

1^st Festival: Mar 13-Apr 3, 2008
2^nd Festival: Mar 21-Apr 18, 2009
3^rd Festival: Mar 26-May 4, 2010
4^th Festival Mar 19-Apr 9, 2011
5^th Festival: Mar 21-Apr 14, 2012
6^th Festival: Mar 21-Apr 23, 2013
7^th Festival: Mar 21-Apr 12, 2014
8^th Festival: Apr 25-26, 2015
9^th Festival: Mar 21-May 1, 2016
10^th Festival: Nov 4-26, 2017

Logo:

Source: Elizabeth Schwimmer - BachFest Cochabamba (December 2009- October 2017)

Prepared by Aryeh Oron (December 2009 - October 2017)

Elizabeth Schwimmer: Short Biography | BachFest Cochabamba