The summer 2020 “Bach at Noon” series at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Allentown, will not be open to the public.

The sixth annual “Bach at Noon” at St. John’s begins June 9 with the first of three virtual “Bach at Noon” performances presented by The Bach Choir of Bethlehem.

Because of restrictions on large gatherings during the COVID-19 outbreak, the concerts will be videotaped, featuring smaller ensembles of musicians who incorporate safe social distancing in lieu of the Choir and The Bach Festival Orchestra.

The summer 2020 “Bach at Noon” concert series offers solo pieces, duets and small ensemble compositions performed by favorite vocal soloists and featuring members of the Orchestra.

The concerts will be presented on the second Tuesday in June, July and August on The Bach Choir You Tube channel.

No audience members will be admitted to St. John’s during tapings. Only a few musicians will perform for each concert. One videographer and one sound engineer will be present.

“Bach at Noon” is a series of 10 free concerts the Choir performs each year, led by Bach Choir of Bethlehem artistic director and conductor Greg Funfgeld.

The summer series in center city Allentown is presented in collaboration with the “Arts at St. John’s” program at the church.

“Bach at Noon” is presented September through March at Central Moravian Church, Bethlehem.

“Our ‘Bach at Noon’ concerts have come to mean a great deal to so many people,” said Funfgeld.

“This musical and spiritual oasis is our gift to the community, offered to young and old, any and all, who wish to listen to Bach’s extraordinary music and hear his profoundly spiritual message of hope and peace.

“Though the pandemic precludes our gathering together, these musical offerings will be available this summer online and for that we are grateful and glad,” Funfgeld said.

Here is the “Bach at Noon” summer program, subject to change:

June 9

The June program is supported by The Baker Foundation in honor of Dorothy Hess Baker and her mother Elizabeth Leith Hess, both former members of The Bach Choir of Bethlehem, and includes:

Soloists Sherezade Panthaki, soprano; Robin Kani, flute; Loretta O’Sullivan, cello

J.S. Bach, Soprano Arias with Flute obbligato from “The Coffee Cantata” and “The Saint John Passion”; Soprano Aria from “Cantata 61 - Öffne dich”; “Flute Sonata in G Minor,” BWV 1020; Felix Mendelssohn, “O for the wings of a dove”

July 14

The July program is in honor and memory of Alice Anne Miller, and made possible in part by The Century Fund and Alice’s sister, Joan Miller Moran.

Soloists: Sherezade Panthaki, soprano; Dashon Burton, bass-baritone; Mary Watt, oboe; Loretta O’Sullivan, cello

J.S. Bach: Duet from “Cantata 140 - Mein Freund ist mein”; Soprano Aria from the “Magnificat - Quia respexit”; Gabriel Fauré: Soprano Aria from the “Fauré Requiem - Pie Jesu”; Ralph Vaughan Williams, “Five Mystical Songs - Love Bade Me Welcome”; Georg Philipp Telemann, “Oboe Sonata in G Minor,” TWV 41

Aug. 11

The August performance is endowed by the Rev. Ronald R. Miller in memory of Maestro James A. Simms.

Soloists: Nola Richardson, soprano; Janna Critz, mezzo-soprano; Elizabeth Field, violin

J.S. Bach: Arias and duets include the duet from “Cantata 78 - Wir eilen”; George Frederick Handel: “Violin Sonata”

Nola Richardson and Janna Critz are winners of the bi-annual Young American Singers Competition, sponsored by The American Bach Society and The Bach Choir of Bethlehem.

Information: www.bach.org