Professor Christopher Cock
Music carries a profound power to inspire the imagination and the soul, and for Valparaiso University music professor Dr. Christopher Cock, the great classical composer J.S. Bach stands above all others in expressing that power.
“The deep and genuine spirituality in Bach’s music transmitted through a cohesive and wonderfully complex musical language are the elements that make its sum transcendent,” Dr. Cock says.
Through his work as director of the Bach Institute at Valpo, Duesenberg chair in Lutheran church music and director of Valpo’s Chorale (one of the premier Lutheran collegiate choirs in the country), Dr. Cock shares that passion for Bach with his students.
The Chorale and other Valpo musical ensembles regularly perform Bach’s music, including a March 20 performance of his “St. Matthew Passion” at the Chapel of the Resurrection.
“The students work very hard – Bach’s music at a basic technical level is very challenging, so performing it is a wonderful way to improve one’s skills,” Dr. Cock says. “At the same time, I am always inspired by seeing Valpo students become deeply engaged with the theological essence of the “St. Matthew Passion” and other works by Bach. Their commitment to the music and its message is obvious as we prepare for performance.”
Dr. Cock, a critically-acclaimed tenor, has performed the role of the Evangelist in Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion” and “St. John Passion” throughout the United States and abroad. He first began learning about Bach as an undergraduate student, and his interest grew deeper after meeting Helmuth Rilling, one of the world’s premier conductors of Bach’s music, through the Oregon Bach Festival.
In 2004, Dr. Cock was named director of the newly-established Bach Institute at the University, a center dedicated to the performance and study of Bach’s music. In addition to annual performances of Bach’s music on campus, Dr. Cock has led the Chorale on tours to Germany.
“Our visits to historic churches in Germany have always inspired me and my students,” Dr. Cock says. “Our performance of Bach’s “St. John Passion” at the Castle Church, where members of the Chorale stood in close proximity to the crypt of Martin Luther, and performing Bach’s cantatas in the church where they were first performed, the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, were especially memorable.”
Helping students discover inspiration in music, he says, is among the most rewarding aspects of his work.
“Watching first year students grapple with a monumental work such as the “St. Matthew Passion” and immediately come to love it is one of the great joys I experience as a teacher,” Dr. Cock says.
