Arts & Culture
12 June, 2026
Classical music fans in for a treat this weekend
Fans of Johann Sebastian Bach are in for a treat this weekend with Bach Akademie Australia performing at the Bowral Memorial Hall.
Fans of Johann Sebastian Bach are in for a treat this weekend with Bach Akademie Australia performing at the Bowral Memorial Hall.
Established in 2016 by violinist Madeleine Easton, Bach Akademie Australia aims to make the music of J.S Bach more accessible through performances, recordings and educational opportunities.
Sunday afternoon’s performance of Collegium Musicum in Bowral is being described as a “three-stop celebration of music and enlightenment”.
It will feature artistic director Easton and guest performances from some of Australia’s leading Baroque instrumentalists.
Australia’s leading Baroque ensemble will focus its attention on the institution that shaped generations of performers and composers alike – the Collegium Musicum of Leipzig.
Bach Akademie Australia will perform music by its famous founder George Phillip Telemann and other figures associated with the Collegium Musicum including Fasch and J.S. Bach.
Sunday’s performance at the Bowral Memorial Hall will follow shows at the Mosman Art Gallery on Friday (June 12) and ACO On The Pier in Dawes Point on Saturday.
The Collegium Musicum - described as a ‘student musical society’ - was established by Teleman in 1702.
By 1729 it was run by Bach who extended its influence to the artistic melting pot of Leipzig’s coffee houses.
It was in these coffee houses that Bach’s most famous works were written and adapted.
“The Collegium Musicum was an extraordinary institution fostering the talents of both composers and performers alike,” Easton said.
“The confluence of Europe’s best musicians with composers of the time has provided a legacy of music that has lasted throughout the centuries.”
Sunday’s program acknowledges the founder of the Collegium, Telemann, with his ‘Tafelmusick’ and his successor Fasch with his Sinfonia in G.
As Bach’s great inspiration, Vivaldi is acknowledged with his famous variations on ‘La Folia’.
The program will conclude with a celebration of the great concerti written by J.S. Bach for his students at the Collegium including his famous Concerto in D minor for two violins and a movement from his Concerto in F major for solo harpsichord.
The full list of performers includes Madeleine Easton and Simone Slattery on violin, Mikaela
Oberg and Jessica Lee on flute and Nathan Cox on harpsichord.
Sunday afternoon’s performance will commence at 2.30pm. Tickets are available online at https://www.bachakademieaustralia.com.au/events
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