Andrew Brownell
Andrew Brownell
June 23, "The Power of Organ and Brass"
Barry Scott Williamson, Founder and Artistic Director of the Texas Bach Festival, has a lengthy and revered international record of innovation and accomplishment as conductor, educator and program builder. Known for his dynamic performances of a variety of choral and orchestral repertoire, his expertise and affinity with the works of J. S. Bach, Mozart and their contemporaries has been of particular significance. His tenure with the Austin Civic Chorus (now Chorus Austin Symphonic Chorus) elevated ACC into one of Austin’s leading choral organizations, including founding the popular “Sing-It-Yourself” Messiah in 1989. Dr. Williamson’s work with eminent Bach conductor/scholar Helmuth Rilling led to his conducting of several major works with the Oregon Bach Festival and his European conducting debut at the 1991 European Music Festival in Stuttgart. As Founding Artistic Director of the Texas Choral Consort (now Panoramic Voices), Dr. Williamson envisioned and led a plethora of highly acclaimed performance/educational projects, including biannual choral symposia, three international tours and 20+ CD/DVD recordings.
Since its triumphant 2017 inaugural Festival, TBF has established a progressive artistic and educational presence in the Georgetown and Central Texas areas, presenting an annual summer series of solo organ/piano/vocal, chamber music, chamber orchestra and mass/oratorio concerts in local venues. On September 20, 2025 TBF presented
its debut performance project in Houston, featuring world-renowned Italian tenor Angelo Ferrari.
June 27, "Inspiration and Introspection"
Patrice Calixte
Rick Rowley has given concerts with many of the world’s finest instrumentalists and singers and his solo and collaborative performances have taken him throughout the United States, to Europe and Latin America. He has recorded several solo CD’s, as well as chamber music and songs for voice and piano. His recording with flutist Marianne Gedigian, “Revolution,”was one of the first CD’s on the University of Texas Longhorn Label. In addition to his performing career, Mr. Rowley has been on the faculty of the Butler School of Music for the past twelve years. He coaches singers, works with collaborative pianists and has taught classes in a variety of subjects. He has also performed Beethoven’s “Choral” Fantasy and Bernstein’s “Age of Anxiety” with Gerhardt Zimmermann and the University of Texas Symphony Orchestra. His performance of Schumann’s C major Fantasy, Op. 17, won the Austin Critics’ Table award for Instrumentalist of the Year, and was named one of the 10 Best Performances of Music and Dance by the Austin Chronicle.
See bio above.
Rick Rowely
Meet The Talented 2026 Performers
In 2002, Douglas Harvey became the youngest principal cellist in the almost 100 year history of the Austin Symphony Orchestra. In 2005 he became the principal cellist of the Austin Lyric Opera Orchestra, which received recent reviews from the NY and LA Times for the US Premiere of Phillip Glass's 21st opera, "Waiting for the Barbarians." He has performed as soloist with orchestras such as the San Antonio, Flint, Austin, and San Angelo Symphony Orchestras, the Bear Valley Festival Orchestra, and the Austin Chamber Music Center Festival Orchestra, as well as many other chamber and university orchestras. Live solo broadcasts and recorded live performances have been heard on KMFA, KUT and other radio stations. Douglas has performed chamber music with the Salon Concert Series, Austin Chamber Music Center and the Chamber Soloists of Austin, the Austin Quartet, and guest appearances with other chamber music series. He has also performed in concert alongside legendary virtuosos Aaron Rosand and Douglas's teacher, Paul Olefsky, at Steinway Hall in New York City 2006, and The Miro String Quartet and Friends Concert at the 2006 International Debussy Congress Live webcast. He has premiered solo and chamber works by first class composers Lowell Liebermann, Kathryn Mishell, Kevin Puts, Dan Welcher and others.
Barry Scott Williamson
June 25, "JT, Gord and Friends/Q & A with the Maestro"
For 2025’s Bach, Mozart and Beethoven: Succession of Genius, TBF was delighted once again to present an esteemed roster of performance artists in a series of transformative concert events, featuring great and timeless repertoire for classical guitar, string quartet, orchestra, organ, piano, voice and mass/oratorio, highlighted by the iconic Mozart Requiem K 626, Clarinet Concerto in A Major K 622 and Sonata in A (K 331), Beethoven early and late string quartets and Bach secular cantata Amore traditore (BWV 203.)
For TBF’s 2026 Festival, Onward and Upward, Dr. Williamson has envisioned and scheduled another thrilling concert series, including its inaugural High School Vocal Masterclass on May 16. To purchase tickets or TBF recordings, make a donation or obtain information on 2026 concerts and performers, please go the homepage and click on the appropriate links. And, for more information about the High school Vocal Masterclass, feel free to contact Dr. Williamson directly at barry@texasbachfestival.org.
June 24, "Bach's Lunch"
Dr. David Polley
Patrice Calixte
May 17, "Meditations on Faith and Love"
David Polley is an adjunct Professor of Organ at Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX and currently serves as the Music Director of Grace Episcopal Church in Georgetown. He earned degrees from Concordia University, Seward NE; Northwestern University, Evanston, IL; and the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE. He has served Lutheran, Catholic, and Methodist churches in Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Texas. He has performed as a featured recitalist in concerts in the Georgetown Festival of the Arts playing music of Schubert, Schumann, Saint-Saens, and Vierne as well as Scandinavian and Latin American composers. His most recent invited recitals include the Church of the Heavenly Rest in Abilene, TX, St. Austin Catholic Church in Austin, TX, and Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Austin.
Since winning 2nd Prize at the 2006 Leeds Competition, Andrew Brownell has pursued an active and varied international performing career. Critics regularly remark on his creative programming and interpretive insight. Musical Opinion has described him as “potentially one of the most significant pianists of his generation”, and The Oregonian wrote that Brownell “impresses as much with his mind as with his hands… the anti-Lang Lang.” A native of Portland, Oregon, Andrew Brownell began studying the piano at the age of four. His teachers have included Nancy Weems and Horacio Gutiérrez at the University of Houston; John Perry at the University of Southern California (Los Angeles); and Joan Havill at the Guildhall School of Music in London, where he earned a doctorate. An enthusiastic collaborative artist, Andrew Brownell was a member of a prize-winning trio at the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition (USA) and has appeared in concert with principals of orchestras such as the Philharmonia, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, and Vienna Philharmonic. In 2017, he joined the faculty of the Butler School of Music, The University of Texas at Austin.
Michael Hix
Entering its ninth season, the Texas Bach Festival Choir has distinguished itself as Central Texas’ preeminent performance ensemble of the great and timeless music of Johann Sebastian Bach and subsequent composers inspired by him. Led by Founder Barry Scott Williamson.
Douglas Harvey
TBF Choir
June 26, "Kings of the German Romantic"
TBF Camerata
See bio above.
June 28, "Music of the Spheres"
Founded by Barry Scott Williamson, the TBF Camerata is the performance partner of the TBF Choir and presents its own Festival concerts primarily of 18th century repertoire. Comprised of the finest performance artists in Central Texas, previous concerts have included the Bach Brandenburg No. 2, St. John Passion and Magnificat, Handel Messiah excerpts, Mozart Exsultate jubilate, Gran Partita and Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and Vivaldi’s complete The Four Seasons.
Beginning the violin at the age of eight, Canadian violinist Patrice Calixte was later admitted into a highly competitive high school music program in Montréal, Québec, where he studied with Francine Pépin He then went on to study with Claude Richard, at Université de Montréal where he obtained his Undergraduate and Master's degree in music performance. A very experienced orchestra musician, Patrice has worked with may orchestras in Québec and Ontario, including the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Orchestre Symphonique de Québec and the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra. He was then hired in the first violin section of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra where he stayed for two years. Leaving Calgary in search of more personal development, Patrice is now finishing his Artist Diploma at the University of Texas in Austin where he studied with Daniel Ching. He has also had the occasion to perform as soloist with various orchestras in Montreal and surroundings. In August 2018, Patrice was hired as an associate concertmaster of the Austin Symphony Orchestra.
Baritone Michael Hix is celebrated for his "expressive voice" and "commanding stage presence," earning high praise from critics across the globe. His illustrious career boasts performances at renowned venues such as Carnegie Hall, Tanglewood Music Center, Boston’s Symphony Hall, and Vienna’s Musikverein.
Hix is a distinguished performer of concert and orchestral works, with an impressive repertoire that includes over 75 oratorio, cantata, and concert roles. His recent album, featuring solo bass cantatas by Baroque composer Christoph Graupner, has been warmly received by audiences and critics alike, and is available through the Affetto Label. In 2019, he was honored with 3rd Place in the American Prize in Art Song and Oratorio Performance.
His European engagements have included standout performances of bass solos in Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass and Heligmesse at the International Haydn Festival in Vienna. Additionally, he has captivated audiences with song recitals in Leipzig, Dresden, Lobau, and Lindlar, Germany.
Hix’s distinguished career includes collaborations with prestigious ensembles such as the Boston Pops, Oregon Bach Festival, Arizona Bach Festival, Santa Fe Symphony, and Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra among others. His extensive stage experience features over 20 diverse roles, from Mad King George in Peter Maxwell Davies’ Eight Songs for a Mad King to Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte and the Drunken Poet in The Fairy Queen.
Academically, Dr. Hix holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Theory from Furman University, master’s degrees in Voice and Historical Musicology from Florida State University, and a Doctorate of Music in Voice Performance from the same institution. He currently serves as a Professor of Voice and Chair of the Department of Music at the University of New Mexico.
Beyond his professional achievements, he shares a life of joy with his wife, soprano Ingela Onstad. For updates on his performances and more, follow Hix on social media @mhixbaritone and visit his website at www.michaelhixbaritone.net.
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