“Bach in the (Cincinnati) Subway”

“Bach in the Subways” is an annual occurrence intended to bring awareness to not just the work of Johann Sebastian Bach, but classical music in general. The tradition started in 2010 when cellist Dale Henderson performed in the New York City Subway. He was joined by a few more musicians the next year, but as of 2023—his movement has spawned an event celebrated the world over. Performances take place around March 21st in observance of the iconic Baroque musician’s birthday.

From Henderson’s website:

“At heart, Bach in the Subways is an invitation. It’s an invitation for musicians to connect with their audience in an unusually pure and open way. It’s an invitation to the audience, most importantly to the multitudes who would otherwise never encounter live classical music, to experience the magic of an art form which is cloistered away from the mainstream for reasons having nothing to do with the pure experience of musician and audience.”

The website also offers some loose guidelines for participants, but performing within an underground subway system isn’t a hard and fast rule. Which is good, because Cincinnati doesn’t technically have one. Although my coworker, Liz, did some performances in similar public venues (such as outside of the city’s underground bus station and on a platform of the light rail/streetcar line), we still wanted to honor the event’s namesake.

So, here’s violist Liz Asgian performing in the abandoned Hopple St. tunnel of the never-finished Cincinnati Subway system. Created for Cincinnati Public Radio/90.9 WGUC FM’s contribution to “Bach in the Subways.”

If you want to know more about the Cincinnati Subway, here’s a bunch of stuff I put together over the years.