Celebrate Bach’s 339th birthday with an in-gallery talk and performance by guitarist Mak Grgic, beginning at 2:00 p.m. in the West Building, Main Floor, Gallery 29. At 3:00 p.m. he is joined by harpsichordist Stephen Ackert in the West Garden Court to perform their transcriptions of preludes and fugues from Bach's Well-tempered Clavier and his most beloved cantata movements, as well as Grgic's transcription of Bach's iconic Sonata no. 1 for solo violin, BWV 1001.
About Mak Grgic
Two-time Grammy-nominated artist Mak Grgic is an internationally acclaimed guitarist. An expansive and adventurous repertoire attests to his versatility and wide-ranging interests. From the music of his native Balkans to the extreme avant-garde and microtonal, his roles as soloist, collaborator, and recording artist are fueled by curiosity, imagination, and boundless energy.
About Stephen Ackert
Stephen Ackert studied at the Frankfurter Hochschule für Musik as a Fulbright scholar under Maria Jäger-Jung (harpsichord) and Helmut Walcha (organ). He has performed at the Kennedy Center, the National Cathedral, Georgetown University, The Catholic University, and the embassies of Germany, Austria, Italy, and the Netherlands. From 1990 to 2003 he was the organist and choir director at The United Church in Washington, where he presented a series of 40 Bach lecture-recitals. He currently gives a concert series at Georgetown Lutheran Church titled "The Well-tempered Clavier as Bach Might Have Heard It." Ackert's lecture-recitals and preconcert talks on the interrelationships between music and art were a regular feature at the Gallery, where he headed the music department from 2004 to 2014. He has also lectured and performed at the Amalfi Coast Music and Art Festival in Italy and Baltimore’s Walters Art Museum, as well as on university campuses throughout the United States.