Birgit Matzerath Performs J.S. Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier

(Maplewood, New Jersey--August 15, 2019) For the coming season, the Ethical Culture Society of Essex County invites you to embark on a very special journey. Once a month, pianist Birgit Matzerath will give the audience a guided tour through two Preludes and Fugues from J.S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier. In the course of one year the project will cover all 24 Preludes and Fugues of Book 1, beginning with an introduction on September 15, 2019 and ending with a performance of the entire book on September 11, 2020.

With her project, the artist intends to create a space where people can take a break, refuel and be inspired through the music. There is a great need for this in a time where the struggle for justice, human rights and the preservation of the planet has become more urgent than ever. "Bach’s compositional technique of counterpoint represents in music what we encounter in life: a network where everything hangs together," explains Matzerath. "What happens in one voice has an impact on the entire system of independent, but not self-sufficient voices that share responsibilities in a common task."

The Introductory presentation will take place on Sunday, September 15, 11 am, and will be followed by monthly Friday evening sessions (9/20/19, 10/18/19, 11/15/19, 12/20/19, 1/17/20, 2/21/20, 3/20/20, 4/24/20,5/15/20, 6/19/20, 7/17/20, 8/14/20) and a culminating performance on Friday, Sept. 11, 2020. The suggested donation is $10 per session and $25 for the final concert. Admission for students is free. Proceeds will benefit the Ethical Culture Society of Essex County and the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Essex County. All programs will take place at the Ethical Culture Society of Essex County, 516 Prospect St., Maplewood.

Matzerath holds a degree in piano and a teaching degree in Music and English from Hochschule fur Musik, Cologne, and the University of Cologne in Germany. Additionally she pursued piano studies with Oxana Yablonskaya and Seymour Bernstein, whom she considers her most important teacher. In 2009 she moved to Maplewood, where she maintains a private studio.

The Ethical Culture Society of Essex County is a progressive non-theist religion dedicated to living ethically in a complex world. Founded in 1876 and established in Maplewood in 1945, over the years the ethical culture movement (known as The American Ethical Union) has been instrumental in launching Planned Parenthood, the NAACP, Visiting Nurses, New York Settlement House, Fieldston School, and National Ethical Service at the UN. The Society began a long-running Ethics for Children program and most recently, Essex Time Exchange (a time bank facilitating the exchange of services) among other initiatives. The Maplewood Society was the first peace site in the country. Its motto is: to act so as to bring out the best in ourselves by bringing out the best in others.

The Interfaith Hospitality Network's vision is a community in which every family has a home, a livelihood and the chance to build a better future. Its mission is to help homeless and at-risk families achieve self-sufficiency by providing shelter, social services and housing assistance through a community-based approach.

Contact information: 973-763-1905; ecsec.nj@gmail.com; www.essexethical.org