St. Louis classical calendar for the week of May 15, 2017

The Bach Society of St. Louis presents Coffee With Bach on Wednesday, May 17, at 10 a.m. "Enjoy coffee and doughnuts before a morning presentation of The Coffee Cantata, Bach's mini-opera, and other favorite arias and duets from classical and musical theatre repertoire." The performance takes place at the Sheldon Concert Hall on Washington in Grand Center. For more information: bachsociety.org.

The Bach Society at St. Stanislaus Church

The Bach Society of St. Louis presents Bach's Christmas Oratorio on Sunday, May 21, at 1:30 p.m. “As the grand finale to our Bach Festival 2017, the Chorus and Orchestra present Bach's rarely heard Christmas Oratorio, a collection of six cantatas for the feast days of the Christmas season. Soprano Sherezade Panthaki, one of today's leading Baroque soloists, will be joined by Australian contralto Eleanor Greenwood, tenor Kyle Stegall, and bass-baritone Stephen Morscheck. Concert is preceded by a FREE lecture by Bach Specialist, David Gordon, entitled Christmas in Leipzig. The six magnificent cantatas stretch the limits of the performers and create a magical and unforgettable musical landscape. In a pre-concert talk, David Gordon describes the work's fascinating origins, and its first performance in 1734.” The performance takes place at First Presbyterian Church of Kirkwood, 100 East Adams Ave. For more information: www.bachsociety.org.

The St. Louis Academy for Guitar presents guitarist Tyler Rhodes, along with the Bella Corda chamber ensemble, on Friday, May 20 at 7:15 p.m. The free concert takes place at St. Thomas Holy Spirit Lutheran Church, 3980 S. Lindbergh Blvd. in Sappington, MO. For more information: stlguitar.com.

The St. Louis Civic Orchestra collaborates with The Brothers Lazaroff rock band for a blending of symphonic and popular music on Thursday, May 18 at 6:30 p.m. The groups will play of The Brothers Lazaroff compositions, fully orchestrated for symphony by Sam Golden, and each group will also perform its own set as well. The free performance takes place at the Chesterfield Amphitheater, 631 Veteran's Place Dr. in Chesterfield, MO. For more information: stlco.org.

The St. Louis Wind Symphony presents a program of music by Spears, Grainger, Reed, Persichetti, Holst and Vaughan Williams, on Sunday, May 21, at 3 PM. The performance takes place at Christ Church Cathedral downtown. For more information: stlwindsym.org