“Superbly musical ... wonderfully suave ... fresh, different”
— Gramophone

"Thomas' Bach orchestra is superb!"
— Goldberg Magazine

Named “the best American specialists in early music” by The Washington Post, the American Bach Soloists (“ABS”) were founded in 1989 with the mission of introducing contemporary audiences to the cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach through historically informed performances. Under the leadership of Co-founder and Music Director Jeffrey Thomas, the ensemble has achieved its vision of assembling the world’s finest vocalists and period-instrument performers to bring this brilliant music to life.

Critical acclaim has been extensive. The San Francisco Chronicle recently extolled the ensemble’s “Divinely inspired singing,” and has called ABS’ performances “a model of what the early music movement can offer at its best: a thoughtful, passionate rendition of great music, attuned to both the stylistic characteristics of the past and to the artistic requirements of our own time.” The Wall Street Journal named ABS “a flawless ensemble…a level of musical finesse one rarely encounters,” and San Francisco Classical Voice declared: “There is nothing routine or settled about their work. Jeffrey Thomas is still pushing the musical Baroque envelope.”

The first concerts were given at St. Stephen’s Church in Belvedere—where the ensemble still serves as Artists-in-Residence—but by the fifth season, ABS had added regular performances in San Francisco and Berkeley. As their audience increased, so the artistic direction expanded to include Bach’s purely instrumental and larger choral masterpieces, as well as music of his contemporaries and that of the early Classical era. The American Bach Soloists present an annual subscription series with performances in Belvedere, Berkeley, Davis, and San Francisco. Their annual holiday performances of Handel’s Messiah—presented each December before capacity audiences since 1992—have become a Bay Area tradition.

In conjunction with ABS’ 15th Anniversary Season in 2003-04, Maestro Thomas announced the Bach Cycle, an ambitious five-year plan to present all of Bach’s major oratorios, including two Passions, the oratorios for Christmas and Easter, and the Mass in B Minor; the violin and harpsichord concertos, Brandenburg concertos, and orchestral suites; the major cantatas from Bach’s years in Mühlhausen, Weimar, and Leipzig; and the sonatas and suites for violin, flute, cello, and viola da gamba. The Chorus of the American Bach Soloists has shone in repertoire from the Baroque and early Classical eras. With the inception of the Choral Series in 2004, these fine singers have been featured on programs exploring over five centuries of choral music. To acknowledge this splendid work, the American Bach Soloists announced in 2006 a new name for their choral ensemble: American Bach Choir.

In addition to their regular subscription season, the American Bach Soloists present an annual SummerFest chamber music festival each July, featuring concerts, lectures, recitals, and related events presented in Belvedere, Davis and San Francisco. The ensemble has been presented at some of the world’s leading early music festivals, and has also made appearances in Santa Fe, Pittsburgh, Singapore, and Hong Kong. In addition, ABS has developed a close relationship with UC Davis Presents, which produces a prestigious concert series in the state-of-the-art Robert & Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of the University of California at Davis.

In 1998, in conjunction with the Fifth Biennial Berkeley Festival & Exhibition, ABS established the American Bach Soloists & Henry I. Goldberg International Young Artists Competition as a way to foster emerging musicians who wish to pursue a career in early music. To ensure the broadest scope in this endeavor, each of the three past competitions has focused on a different instrument, attracting musicians from around the globe. The first competition, in 1998, was for harpsichord. Violin took the spotlight in 2000, followed by flute and oboe in 2002. The competition was postponed in 2004, and in 2006 the focus was voice. The winner of the Laurette Goldberg First Prize in 2006 was countertenor Ian Howell, who will be featured as a soloist on a subscription concert during ABS’ 2007/08 Season. In June 2008, the Young Artists Competition will be for Baroque violinists.

The American Bach Soloists have a discography containing seventeen discs on the Koch International Classics, Delos International, and American Bach Soloists labels, including six volumes of Bach cantatas, many performed one on a part. The ensemble’s critically acclaimed disc of Bach’s Mass in B Minor has been called a benchmark recording and a “joyous new performance” (The Washington Post). One of their most recent offerings is a historically significant version of Handel’s Messiah, recorded live during performances in 2004 at the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts at UC Davis, and released in November 2005 on the Delos International label. Other recent releases on Delos include Six Concerti Grossi Op. 6 by Arcangelo Corelli with recorder virtuoso Dan Laurin and celebrated violinist Elizabeth Wallfisch, and a disc of Harpsichord Concertos by J.S. Bach featuring harpsichordist and ABS competition winner Michael Sponseller. Future releases include Bach’s Violin Concertos featurng Elizabeth Blumenstock, and Ian Howell’s debut CD recording of works by Bach, Handel, and Domenico Scarlatti. The end of 2007 brought two new and much-anticipated releases: Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos.

The American Bach Soloists are recipients of major grants from The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, Grants for the Arts/San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund, the Marin Community Foundation, The William E. & Aenid R. Weisgerber Foundation, The Wallis Foundation, and the City of Davis Arts Contract Program. An administrative staff and Board of Trustees support ABS’ activities as a non-profit organization.