The Neue Bachgesellschaft (New Bach Society), founded in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century, became an international organization after the Second World War. Germany was divided into two separate, independent states, and the Bachgesellschaft was no longer administered by one central office but rather by one in East and one in West Germany. This stimulated the search for and development of new chapters, and a group of Bach Society members in the United States became primary candidates to form one of those chapters.

The oldest American Bach organization was the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, founded around the same time as the Neue Bachgesellschaft. The conductor (1970-1980) of the Bethlehem Bach Choir, Alfred Mann, offered the Bach Choir’s headquarters as the American office; thus in 1971 preparations for organizing an American chapter of the Neue Bachgesellschaft were begun.

The American Bach scholar Arthur Mendel agreed to call a meeting at Princeton University to inaugurate the American chapter. At that meeting, later in 1971, Gerhard Herz, Bach scholar at the University of Louisville, Kentucky, was elected the first chairman of the American Chapter of the Neue Bachgesellschaft, and a board consisting of Herz, Mendel, and Mann (the latter acting as chapter secretary), was named to administer it.

The chapter held its first membership meeting in Bethlehem during the Bach Choir’s 65th Festival at the end of May, 1972. Successive chairmen of the American Chapter were: Robert Marshall, Brandeis University; Robert Freeman, then of University of Rochester and Director of the Eastman School of Music; and George J. Buelow, Indiana University. On assuming the chairmanship in 1987, Buelow suggested to the board that the growth of the chapter warranted its independence. He helped to establish the American Bach Society (ABS), which included the important step of achieving the status of a non-profit corporation in 1988, and became its first President in 1989. Buelow was succeeded as President by Don O. Franklin, University of Pittsburgh (1992-1996), George B. Stauffer, then at the City University of New York (1996-2000), and currently, Robin A. Leaver, Westminster Choir College of Rider University.

The ABS is the ideal organization for anyone devoted to Bach and his music--specialist, nonspecialist, or general enthusiast. It is the best way to be "in the loop" on the latest information about Bach scholarship and performance and Bach festivals nationwide.

The membership in the ABS offers an array of benefits and price savings to individuals, institutions, and libraries, including:
- The American Bach Society Newsletter, which appears twice a year and provides detailed, up-to-date information on Bach publications, recordings, performances, festivals, and workshops, as well as reviews by America's leading Bach experts of recent Bach books and recordings.
- Bach Perspectives (University of Nebraska Press), a hard-bound series of essay collections on Bach's life, works, and times.
- Membership gifts (including unique recordings and facsimiles of Bach's music).
- Discounts on Bach books and other Bachiana.
- Notification of the biennial meetings of the ABS, which feature performances of Bach's music, reports on Bach scholarship, and round-table discussions with leading American and European Bach scholars and performers.
- Eligibility for the William H. Scheide Prize for the best publication on Bach or composers in his circle.
- Eligibility for the William H. Scheide Fellowship, to assist in a research project on Bach or composers in his circle.
- Participation in the American Bach Society Performance Award.

Grants and Prizes

The William H. Scheide Research Grant, a stipend ordinarily ranging from $500 to $4000, awarded biennially to a member of the Society, provides support for a research project on Bach or figures in his circle. This grant is ordinarily available to Ph.D. candidates as well as those who have held the doctorate for no longer than seven years. Awards will normally go to citizens or permanent residents of the United States or Canada.

The William H. Scheide Prize, a sum of $1000 to be awarded biennially, honors a publication of exceptional merit on Bach or figures in his circle by a member of the Society in the early stages of his or her career. Awards will normally go to citizens or permanent residents of the United States or Canada.

COMMITTEE

President
Robin A. Leaver
101 Walnut Lane
Princeton, NJ 08540
Tel. (609) 921-7100, ext. 274
Fax (609)921-8829
leaver@americanbachsociety.org

Vice-President
Daniel R. Melamed

Secretary-Treasurer
Mary J. Greer

Editor of the Newsletter
Frank Morana

Editorial Board for Bach Perspectives
George J. Buelow (Indiana University)
Gregory G. Butler (University of British Columbia)
Don O. Franklin (University of Pittsburgh)
Walter B. Hewlett (Center for Computer-Assisted Research in the Humanities)
Robert L. Marshall (Brandeis University)
Russell Stinson (Lyon College)
George B. Stauffer (Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers Univ.)
Christoph Wolff (Harvard University)