Bach Collegium Japan Chorus and Orchestra
Masaaki Suzuki, conductor

BACH: Christmas Oratorio

Conducted by Masaaki Suzuki, the world-renowned Bach Collegium Japan Chorus and Orchestra makes a special appearance on the Society’s holiday series performing Bach’s Christmas Oratorio.

A leading authority on the works of Bach, Masaaki Suzuki combines his conducting career with his work as organist and harpsichordist. In 2012 Suzuki was awarded the Leipzig Bach Medal and in 2013 the Royal Academy of Music Bach Prize. Masaaki Suzuki and Bach Collegium Japan received the prestigious 45th Suntory Music Prize in 2014.

Hailed in BBC Music Magazine as “Kings from the East,” Bach Collegium Japan comprises a baroque orchestra and choir that is widely recognized as one of world’s leading interpreters of J.S. Bach and his contemporaries. Their recent recording of Bach Motets was honored with a German Record Critics’ Award (Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik), Diapason d’Or de l’Année 2010 and also in 2011 with a BBC Music Magazine Award. In 1995, Maestro Suzuki and the Bach Collegium Japan began a project of recording Bach's complete Church Cantatas. 2014 saw the triumphant conclusion of their recorded cycle, comprising more than fifty CDs, and this major achievement was recognized with a 2014 ECHO Klassick "Editorial Achievement of the Year" award.