Bachground: My name is Anthony Ray and I am a tenor with the Los Angeles Master Chorale. My initial background was in orchestral music. I played oboe and clarinet in various orchestras as well as the organ for local churches. However, about five years ago, I slowly started making a drastic shift from orchestral to choral music. Now I primarily focus on choral and organ music.

Thinking Bach: You’d be hard pressed to find someone who’s never heard of Johann Sebastian Bach. And even if they’ve never heard his name, they’ve probably heard the first few measures of the Toccata in D minor. While I was familiar with Bach growing up, I didn’t really become “acquainted” with him until I started studying the organ at age seventeen. It was then that I got a glimpse at the genius of his music – the complexities, the intricacies, the sincerity, and the beauty of it all. My understand of Bach has continued to broaden, particularly this past December when we performed the six motets in the Los Angeles Master Chorale. That concert was one of the most emotionally, musically, and spiritually satisfy concerts I’ve ever performed. As a result, I’ve decided to take this entire year to really study Bach’s life, music, and the environment in which he was composing and performing this music.
I think the reason Bach’s music has lasted for over three hundred years is because of who he was as a person. His musical and spiritual focuses were on creating “well regulated church music to the glory of God.” The breadth of emotions spans the entire human experience: anger, sadness, joy, happiness, anxiety, despair, celebration… It’s all there, and each of us can find something in it to which we can relate.

BitS LA Impact: Bach in the Subway holds a special place in my heart. It is the largest event of its kind, offering free performances throughout the entire day to people who might otherwise have no access to live performances of Bach’s music. People from all backgrounds and walks of life are united for a brief moment to celebrate the human experience as conveyed through the music of Bach. It’s such a privilege and an honor to be able to bring this music to the public and to work alongside many of my wonderful colleagues in the music community. This is truly a special moment for everyone.
Anthony Ray is a 2nd year participant of the 10 Hour Bach Marathon.

We would like to thank Church Keyboard Center for their generous donation of the the use of the Roland C-30 Harpsichord. For more information about the instrument, please visit — https://www.churchkeyboard.com

Bachground: Praised for his “lush sound…[and] passionate playing” (CASA Magazine) and “formidable technical powers” (Santa Barbara News-Press), classical violinist Niv Ashkenazi is an active soloist and chamber musician. He has made several Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center appearances, and has performed in Europe, the Middle East, and across the United States.

Highlights of his past season include an appearance as a guest artist at La Sierra University and a residency with the Perlman Music Program performing on the Violins of Hope in Sarasota, Florida. Mr. Ashkenazi was invited to perform and speak at the Jewish Funders Network Conference and collaborated with TranscenDanceGroup as the music arranger and featured soloist on the multimedia show, G*D. Other recent performances include recitals at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall, the Granada Theatre in Santa Barbara, and as a guest artist at Westmont College, as well as solo appearances with the Los Angeles Doctors Symphony Orchestra and the California State University, Northridge Orchestra. As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Juilliard String Quartet, Cavani Quartet, and Ariel Quartet. Mr. Ashkenazi holds both a B.M. and an M.M. from The Juilliard School, where he was a student of Itzhak Perlman and Glenn Dicterow.

Thinking Bach: I fell in love with the violin at the age of two, when my parents and I stopped to listen to a violinist playing on the street in Tel Aviv. A few minutes later my parents were ready to move on, but I was captivated and didn’t want to leave. After that day, I started asking for a violin of my own. That chance encounter changed my life, but over the years, I’ve come to realize that my story isn’t so unique—many musicians I know were first exposed to classical music because of performances that took place in their own community. I went on to study at Juilliard and now have a busy career traveling, performing, and teaching. Playing in different settings and getting to interact with my audiences has come to be one of the most fulfilling parts of what I do.

I have recorded Bach’s solo violin music more than music by any other composer, and yet I always feel that there is new work to be done. This music has been with me for most of my musical life and my interpretations have continued to change and grow with me. Some people find working on Bach to be a very intellectual exercise, and it’s true that it is intricate and complex, but I find that it has a very human core. Bach in the Subways is a fantastic way to celebrate our community and how much his music still speaks to us today. I’m excited to be a part of this event once again.

BiTS LA Impact: Bach in the Subways is a fantastic way to celebrate our community and how much his music still speaks to us today. I’m excited to be a part of this event once again.
Instagram: @ashkenaziniv

Bachground: Felix Hernandez is a Violinist and Violist. He resides in Los Angeles and enjoys a diverse career of free-lance playing in Orchestral and Chamber Music ensembles and teaches through several Music schools and programs in the Greater Los Angeles area. When he isn’t performing or teaching, he can be found walking his dog Icarus, sipping coffee, and polishing his Viola, an Otto Erdesz.

Thinking Bach: The music of J.S. Bach represents an incredible cultural zenith of imagination and genius in polyphonic writing and its’ popularity has only grown since its’ creation in the 18th century.
In this day and age of instant gratification and sensorial overload the music of Bach, to me, represents and facilitates an inward approach to music making. One must contemplate and commune with the Spirit of music making to effectively perform any of his works. Many of his finest works border on religious testaments and strafe into the realm of mysticism. While there is no question of Bach’s genius it is often tempting to forget that he was in some senses an ordinary family man of the 18th century. He sired nearly 20 children, several of whom died in childhood. This sense of mortality, depth of feeling, immediacy, and embracing of the present moment is so skillfully woven into the musical texture of all Bach’s music that it is no small wonder that after 300 years it still resonates with our deepest longings and aspirations as people.

BitS LA Impact: This will be my 5th year participating in BiTS. It’s been incredibly rewarding to see this social movement grow from a handful of colleagues to a deeply committed larger team of musicians and volunteers who, out of devotion and camaraderie return year after year. It is immensely rewarding as well sharing the music of Bach with the numerous audience members and particularly moving to see very young children moved to the point of swaying and engaging in open spontaneous movement. My hope is that the torch is passed from this generation to the next generation of musical questers and I draw immense inspiration from the possibility of having shepherded a single child into the global community of music-makers.

Bachground: Noir Quartet (comprised of Dr. Lee Worley Raby, Steven Ragsdale, Nicholas Casillas & Dr. Cameron Domingues) is a southern California based saxophone quartet featuring classical, contemporary, jazz, and popular works. The group was formed over a lunch in 2013. Cameron and Lee, went to school together at USC’s Thornton School of Music and have worked together in various musical capacities, including chamber ensembles, orchestras, wind ensembles, recording sessions, and new music performances. Nicholas Casillas, a graduate of UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music, merged his talents with Noir Quartet shortly after. The newest addition to the quartet, Steven Ragsdale, a graduate of Cal-State Fullerton, joined in 2016. Together, these four saxophonists and educators blend their artistry, creating a unique and captivating ensemble. They perform a variety of repertoire, including everything from Bach to Ellington, as well as new music written for the saxophone quartet idiom.

Thinking Bach: We love performing the music of J. S. Bach because of the challenge that his music brings and the many types of interpretations to explore. We love a good challenge! Bach’s music lends itself to being performed as if it was improvised on the spot. The harmonic and contrapuntal structures have laid the foundation that many following composers through the decades studied. There is so much music by Bach that one could spend a lifetime performing his catalogue alone. One of the greatest challenges performing his music is that he did not have the fortune to write for the saxophone as it was not invented until much later. Thus we must adapt his music and make it our own. Some of these adaptations include phrasing that allows for breathing since we are playing wind instruments, changing the key of the original piece to better fit the range of the saxophone, and arranging pieces to suit four saxophones. Ideally as we absorb the music of J.S. Bach we leave more of these concepts to the mercy of the moment dictated by our interaction with the audience.

BitS LA Impact: This will be our 4th year playing with Bach in the Subways LA. The audience is always so warmly welcoming of our performance of his music. The whole event gives Bach a chance to feel like a rock star. There are “oohs” and “ahhs,” followed by cheers that come over the crowd. This just makes it exciting for us to see people enjoying this music that we love so much. It is the greatest feeling to be able to share that with the visitors at Union Station. It also gives us an opportunity to share with the audience what the saxophone can do in a not-so-standard idiom. We believe that if the saxophone had existed during Bach’s time, he would have written music for it.

Nathaniel Yue, 10 has been studying cello with Vardan Gasparyan since 2013. Under the guidance of Mr. Gasparyan he has already had the honor of performing at Carnegie Hall,Musikverein in Vienna, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and Disney Concert Hall. In the summer of 2017, he attended Meadowmount to study with Jonathan Koh. Additionally, Nathaniel received a scholarship for the second time to attend Montecito International Music Festival where he has studied with Robert deMaine and Ko Iwasaki. Despite his young age, Nathaniel is very enthusiastic about giving back to the community. In March 2017, he participated in the 10-Hour Bach Marathon organized by Bach in the Subways to celebrate Bach’s music in public spaces. For over two years, he has appeared regularly at Evergreen Baptist Church Los Angeles and at the CAPS Alzheimer’s day center in Pasadena, CA. Surrounded by so much support, Nathaniel feels music continuously opens new doors, experiences, and connects him to some amazing, wonderful people.
Nathaniel is a 2nd year participant of the 10 Hour Bach Marathon.
He will be performing:
Bach Cello Suite 3
Bach Fugue Duo for violin and cello in A minor with Holly Lacey