I thought I would share with you all a little about my continuing education experience this summer as it, like the trip to Cameroon, was a little out of the ordinary. I had the good fortune of attending the annual Bach Festival in Leipzig, Germany.

For those of you who may not know, Leipzig is in the part of Germany that was once the former East Germany. I had not been in any part of the former Eastern Block since shortly after the wall came down. So, it was very interesting to see how the country has developed in the last 20 years or so.

Due to the city’s wonderful 19^th century architecture, Leipzig is beautiful. It was very enjoyable just to see the homes, apartments, churches and public buildings that were true architectural delights.  Unfortunately, many of the buildings are in a state of disrepair due to the years of neglect under Communism. On top of that, the former Communist government had seized most private property.  Often, those original owners are now deceased, and it has been difficult for the current government to fairly decide which descendants should now have the property returned to them.  Or, if a group of family members does take ownership of property, they can’t always agree on what should be done with a property.  So, there is still work to be done for the former East to “catch up” with the former West.

The music festival, held in the city where Johann Sebastian Bach worked from 1723 until his death in 1750, was absolutely top-notch.  It surpassed my every hope and expectation in terms of the quality of the programs, the skill of the performers, and the pride that everyone involved in the festival took in seeing to it that those in attendance had the best possible experience.  The opening concert and one organ concert, in the Thomas Church where Bach worked, were amazing. I just couldn’t believe that I was hearing the music of Bach, beautifully played and suing in the church where he had worked (and is now buried).  We heard a concert at the famous Gewandhaus concert hall-everything about it was stunning.  There were demonstrations of famous historical organs and lectures on how Bach was know to have influence the building of that organ.  We were able to hear beautiful chamber music concerts which featured marvelous singers and instrumentalists. To say that the music was inspiring is an understatement.

There is much, much more to share. If you like, check the website again in the coming days for more thoughts about my summer travels.  If you have questions about any of my experiences, I’ll be happy to speak with you!

Photo above is from inside St. Thomas Church with one of the organ in the background and the burial location of Bach in the foreground.