This weekend, Peterborough will be alive with the sounds of Bach, as Viva Bach Peterborough returns for the fourth year.
Cathy Lanigan, who co-founded the festival with Veronika Schreiber in 2022, said the event has gone far beyond her initial vision.
“It is more than just bringing this amazing music to Peterborough,” Lanigan said. “It’s about creating a community celebration, inviting local singers to join the chorus, engaging schools and families, and bringing people of all ages together. Our goal is to share this music with as many people as possible.”
Lanigan, who moved to Peterborough from Long Island in 2010, says she was drawn to Peterborough’s rich arts scene and community. A lifelong musician and Bach aficionado, she got involved with the local music scene immediately.
“I joined one chorus, and then another, and another,” Lanigan said.
In 2022, Lanigan met violinist Veronika Schreiber through the Monadnock Chorus. Schreiber mentioned that she had founded a Bach festival in Portugal, and told Lanigan she dreamed of recreating the festival in the U.S.
“So I said, why don’t just do it right here in Peterborough?” Lanigan recalled. “We said, we’ll just do one weekend a year, and just Bach. When we started, we had no funding, but we knew we would never run out of material, and we knew if people really love Bach they will support it.”
From the start, Lanigan and Schreiber envisioned a single autumn weekend dedicated entirely to Bach’s genius. With little initial funding but an abundance of determination, they built a festival that quickly found its audience.
“I just started asking friends, ‘If we did this, would you come?’ And the response was overwhelmingly positive,” said Lanigan.
Schreiber agreed to serve as artistic director, and Colin Mann, who had also worked with Monadnock Chorus and Monadnock Music, volunteered to direct the chorus.
Since the outset, one goal of the festival was to “pay musicians what they are worth.”
“The musicians work incredibly hard—there are countless hours of preparation that no one sees. We wanted to recognize that,” Lanigan said.
According to Lanigan, Viva Bach Peterborough’s impact has extended “well beyond the concert hall.”
“Each year, dozens of musicians travel from New Hampshire, Boston, New York and beyond, many staying with local host families,” Lanigan said. “The friendships that have formed are amazing. Some musicians come back and ask to stay with the same hosts every time. It creates lasting connections.”
This year’s Viva Bach Peterborough festival begins on Friday, Oct. 23, with a performance at All Saints Church featuring organist Aaron Tan. Tan, winner of the Canadian International Organ Competition, will perform with cellist Ignacy Gaydamovich.
On Saturday, Oct. 24, the acclaimed Lydian Quartet will take the stage at the Peterborough Town House with a performance of The Art of Fugue. The quartet will be joined by soprano Mary Bonhag and organist Gregory Hayes.
The festival culminates on Sunday, Oct. 25, with a grand celebration of Bach Cantatas performed by the Festival Chorus and Festival Ensemble at the Peterborough Town House. The performance will feature more than 60 choral singers, including students, vocal apprentices, soloists and an orchestra of 20 musicians.
“Young people are central to what we do,” Lanigan said. “When they experience this music live many of them fall in love with it. That’s how the next generation of audiences and performers is born.”
Lanigan encourages everyone—even those unfamiliar with classical music—to attend.
“Hearing Bach played by world-class musicians is something everyone should experience,” she said. “We always tell people: Give it a try. No one ever walks out—because they discover they love it.”
Performances take place at All Saints Church and the Peterborough Town House. For tickets and full details, visit www.vivabachpeterborough.org.
