Having returned from a successful summer performance at the Bachfest Leipzig in Germany, Bach Choir of Bethlehem Artistic Director and Conductor Christopher Jackson is excited for the upcoming 127th season.

Says Jackson, “I try to program really intriguing, delightful and moving performances and the core concerts this year are really fun.”

The “Bach at Noon” free concert series, held the second Tuesday of the month, returns Sept. 10 to Central Moravian Church, Bethlehem, with violin soloist Emmanuel Coppey, 2023 winner of the Lillian and Maurice Barbash J.S. Bach Competition, Long Island, N.Y.

The Bach Choir performs two major works during the Dec. 7 and 8 Christmas concerts. This “Heavenly Concert” comprises Bach’s festive chorale Cantata BWV 1 “How Brightly Shines the Morning Star,” based on Philipp Nicolai’s 1599 hymn “Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern,” and composer Kile Smith’s 2014 commissioned work, “The Consolation of Apollo.”

The latter piece, says Jackson, “takes as its premise the Apollo 8 moon mission and the dialogue between the astronauts and Houston ground control. And the connection to Christmas is that on Christmas Eve the astronauts rounded the moon, saw the earth, broadcast a reading of the Genesis creation text and wished the entire planet Merry Christmas.”

The “Greg Funfgeld Family Concert: Youth Choirs Festival, ” Feb. 23, Zoellner Arts Center, Bethlehem, is truly a “festival of choirs.” In addition to movements from Mozart’s “Requiem in D Minor” and Bach’s “Mass in B Minor,” the audience will enjoy music from around the world, gaining a better understanding of each work’s cultural elements.

Guest vocalists are from the Bel Canto Youth Chorus, Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts, Parkland High School, Nazareth High School and Westminster Choir College.

“On March 8 at Central Moravian Church, we are fortunate to host the world-renowned professional Thomanerchor [St. Thomas Boys Choir] from Bach’s church in Leipzig, the Thomaskirche,” says Jackson of the Bach Choir’s annual Gala Concert. “It’s of the same tradition and choir Bach would have had in his time.

“For the March 30 spring concert at the First Presbyterian Church in Bethlehem, the Choir takes on the challenge in performance of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s ‘Op. 37, All Night Vigil’ [“Rachmaninoff Vespers”],” continues Jackson. “We identify this as one of the mountaintop pieces in the choral canon.”

The performance of the work features a 130-voice choir to include the Bach Choir; guest soloists Luthien Brackett, mezzo-soprano; Steven Brennfleck, tenor, and Glenn Miller, basso profundo, and Westminster Choir College members.

“The 117th Bethlehem Bach Festival is going to be very different this year,” says Jackson. “We’ve expanded our offerings beginning with Thursday May 8 through Sunday May 11.”

Program highlights include:

New: “Outside the Bachs,” guitarist William Coulter and violinist Edwin Huizinga partner with flamenco dancer Fanny Ana, alternating between Bach’s string-writing and music from the Iberian Peninsula.

Barnette Distinguished Scholar Lecture: “J.S. Bach and His String Players,” by presenter Daniel R. Melamed, Professor of Musicology, Indiana University School of Music.

“Bach at 4”: Festival Artist-in-Residence Rachell Ellen Wong and Bach Festival Orchestra Concertmaster Elizabeth Field explore the world of virtuosic string-playing, then are joined by vocal soloists of The Bach Choir and the Festival Orchestra principal strings.

Festival Dinner: Talk by Dr. Larry Lipkis, Professor of Music and Composer-in-Residence, Moravian University.

“Bach at 8”: Performance by the Bach Festival Orchestra, The Bach Choir, festival soloists, Festival Artist-in-Residence, featuring Bach’s “Violin Concerto in D Minor,” BWV 1052r

“Ifor Jones Chamber Music Concert”: Bach Festival Orchestra and Rachell Ellen Wong perform Chevalier de Saint-Georges’ “Violin Concerto in G, Op. 8 No. 9” and works by W.A. Mozart and J.S. Bach.

J.S. Bach’s “Mass in B Minor,” Parts 1 and 2.

“Zimmermann’s Coffee House”: Chamber music performed by auditioned young musicians.

“Chamber Music in the Saal”: Guest artist Andrew Gonzalez performs on a rare violoncello de spalla, a five-stringed mini-cello positioned on the shoulder.

New: “Christian Family Lovefeast”: A song service and “agape meal.”

New: “Cantata in Context”: Lecture by Daniel R. Melamed.

“We’re doing things this year that aren’t all Bach and I think the audience will find the programs exciting, creative and incredibly moving,” says Jackson.

Bach Choir of Bethlehem ticket information: Bach Choir office, 440 Heckewelder Place, Bethlehem; office@bach.org; 610-866-4382, ext. 110 or 115; https://bach.org/tickets/

“Classical View” is a column about classical music concerts, conductors and performers. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com