According to festival organizers, Johann Sebastian Bach’s music can be seen as a translation of dance and motion. The rhythms and energetic melodic lines all find their roots in the Italian, French and German dances Bach heard around him.

The summer program, entitled Bach and Music of the Americas, will feature other dances as well. Cowboy music and a suite of Latin American dances from Mexico, Brazil, Cuba and Argentina are on the program.

Much of this summer’s program demonstrates the continuing influence of Johann Sebastian Bach’s on the work of composers in the Western hemisphere.

In additional to a full week of formal evening concerts, the schedule is full of other activities. These include noon chamber music concerts, movies, dance lessons for all ages, a exhibit, sale and demonstration area featuring selected members of the Association of Virginia Artisans, and a youth symphony orchestra concert conducted by Brian Wiebe of North Newton, Kansas.

Performers include soprano Henriette Schellenberg, tenor Robert Petillo, mezzo soprano Katrina Zook, bass Lawrence Evans, and many others.