Lexington Bach Festival brings classical music and artists to Michigan's Thumb

The 24th annual Lexington Bach Festival begins Wednesday, bringing classical music and musicians to the Blue Water Area.

The Bach Festival is held each year to celebrate the music of its namesake, German composer Johann Bach. The festival will also host performances of other classical pieces from Henry Purcell, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven.

The festival begins with a free performance by the Lexington Bach Festival String Quartet at 7 p.m. Wednesday in St. Denis Catholic Church in Lexington. The string quartet will also perform for free at St. Clair County Community College in Port Huron at noon and 7 p.m. Thursday.

On Friday, guitarist Colin Davin will perform his arrangement of Bach's Cello Suite No. 6 at St. Denis Catholic Church at 7 p.m.

On Saturday, solo violinist Geneva Lewis will perform Ralph Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending at the St. Denis Catholic Church alongside the Lexington Bach Festival Orchestra. Lewis will return to the church on Sunday with the orchestra to perform Beethoven's Violin Concerto. The Saturday performance will be at 7 p.m., while Sunday's will be at 4:30 p.m.

Liz Jackson of the Lexington Arts Council said the Bach Festival brings the community together as local residents host the musicians, who come from all over the country to perform for the Blue Water Area.

"There used to be a Bach Festival in Cass City, and a group of people said, 'We enjoy going up to Cass City for the Bach Festival, so why not do it here,'" Jackson said.

Tickets for the performances are available online at https://lexington-arts.org/ .

Contact Johnathan Hogan at jhogan@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Lexington Bach Festival brings classical music and artists to Michigan's Thumb