Carmel Bach Festival

About Us

The Carmel Bach Festival (CBF) began in 1935 as a four-day series of concerts at the Sunset School Auditorium and the Carmel Mission Basilica. Over the years, it grew to a two-week celebration of concerts, recitals, master classes, lectures, and open rehearsals in July. The Festival’s mission is to celebrate the works, inspiration and ongoing influence of Johann Sebastian Bach worldwide by immersing audiences in a festival experience integrating music, education and ideas. Under the leadership of Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Grete Pedersen and Executive Director Steve Friedlander, the organization offers innovative artistic programming.

Our Mission is to celebrate the works, inspiration, and ongoing influence of J.S.Bach worldwide by immersing audiences in a festival experience integrating music, education and ideas, and by meaningful community engagement throughout the year. Our Vision is to be a world class festival of music and ideas transcending the traditional boundaries of performance and presentation, both at the Festival and in communities, and to provide fresh musical contexts that spark the imagination, stimulate the mind and enrich people's lives in multi-faceted ways.