About Us
 

The Bach Ensemble is a vocal group dedicated to presenting the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, his contemporaries — Handel, Vivaldi, Telemann — and other composers related to or inspired by his legacy.

Founded in 2002 by Vic Silvestri, The Bach Ensemble seeks to enhance the musical offerings of Naples and greater Southwest Florida by offering live performances and public education programs, thereby serving the community as a specialist in the Baroque period.

In Tribute
The Bach Ensemble was inspired by friends of founder Vic Silvestri; Loretta Walker Moylan, M.S.W. and Paul Moylan, Ph.D., who were godparents to his son, Marc. Loretta was a psychiatric social worker and Paul was a professor of foreign languages. In their late fifties, they made their own Peace Corps contribution by working among orphaned children in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Together with Vic they once hosted the Bach Aria Group, a prestigious roster of well-known opera singers and New York Philharmonic musicians, at Potsdam State College. The Moylans’ life together personified graciousness, taste, a warm outreach to humanity, and an abiding commitment to music, art, and intellectual growth.

The Bach Ensemble is in residence at the Community School of Naples on Livingston Road, Naples, Florida. If interested in auditioning, please e-mail: info@thebachensemble.org or call 732-1055.

The Bach Ensemble is a non-profit, tax exempt, 501(c)(3) organization funded by charitable contributions. To learn how you can support the work of The Bach Ensemble, please click here.

Vic Silvestri, Ph.D.
Founder and President
Vic Silvestri founded The Bach Ensemble as a tribute to his friends and son’s godparents, Loretta Walker and Paul Moylan. Dr. Silvestri is former Adjunct Professor of Communication at Florida Gulf Coast University, Ft. Myers, Florida. He is Professor Emeritus of Communication Studies at Emerson College, Boston, Massachusetts, where he taught for 31 years. He is the author of Becoming JFK: A Profile in Communication (Praeger, 2000), Interpersonal Communication, 3rd. ed. (American Press, 1991), as well as several articles on JFK, rhetoric, and political communication.

In his consulting practice, Communication Skills for Professionals, Dr. Silvestri provides training to profit and non-profit organizations in public speaking, interpersonal and presentational skills, media spokesperson work, speech and voice.

Dr. Silvestri holds a B.S. in Education from Indiana State Teacher’s College in Pennsylvania, a M.S. in Speech from Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, and a Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Public Address from Indiana University.

A resident of Naples, Florida and a tenor with The Bach Ensemble, he is also an Alumnus of the Naples Philharmonic Chorale.

Ronald Doiron, D.M.A.
Artistic Director and Conductor,
    The Bach Ensemble
Director of Music, St. Mark's Episcopal
    Church, Marco Island, FL
Since July 2003 Ronald Doiron has been at the musical helm as Artistic Director and Conductor of The Bach Ensemble, a vocal group dedicated to presenting the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, his contemporaries, and other composers inspired by his legacy. Dr. Doiron also currently serves as Director of Music Ministries at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Marco Island, Florida.

A church and synagogue musician for over 30 years, Dr. Doiron has held important positions as both organist and choirmaster in Southern California and Pennsylvania, including Director of Music at Temple Sinai, Director of Music Ministries at the First Presbyterian Church and Church of the Assumption in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

In addition to his work in sacred music, he was appointed an Associate Professor of Music and Departmental Chair at the Community College of Allegheny County, and was for 10 years the Founder and Conductor of the North Campus College Community Choir of CCAC, and a member of the adjunct faculty at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Dr. Doiron has had an impressive career as a choral conductor in Los Angeles and Pittsburgh. In 1985, he founded the St. Joseph Choir and Orchestra in Los Angeles as a musical extension of the St. Joseph Center in Venice. Benefit performances of great masterworks (including Bach’s Mass in B Minor, Beethoven’s Mass in C, Mozart’s Requiem, and many instrumental works) by the choir and orchestra provided assistance for those helping others. Dr. Doiron conducted several concerts assisting the Pittsburgh Recovery Center and in 2001 the combined choirs of Assumption Church and CCAC performed Brahms’ German Requiem to assist with music scholarship funds.

More recent appearances include:
Conductor - Faure’s Requiemat St. Mark’s Episcopal
                  Church, Marco Island
Conductor - Beethoven’s Mass in C at St. William’s
                  Catholic Church, Naples.
Conductor - 700-voice choir for the Diocese of Venice, Florida, a Jubilee Year  2000 event at Teco Arena
Conductor - Two performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony
                  in Pittsburgh.

Dr. Doiron has published a book on Beethoven’s Mass in C (USC Press) and journal articles on vocal pedagogy in The Choral Voice and the volunteer choir in Pastoral Music (both Pastoral Press), among others.

A former Dean of the Orange County Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, he is the immediate past Chair of the Choir Director’s Section for the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, and a recently retired member of the NPM National Council. He currently serves on the National Board of Directors for the Director of Music Ministries Division.

Dr. Doiron earned a Bachelor of Music magna cum laude in Organ Performance from Chapman University in Orange, California, a Master of Music in Church Music, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Music and Choral Conducting with secondary studies in Music History and Vocal Pedagogy with departmental honors from the University of Southern California. Additionally, he has studied choral literature with the renowned Sir David Willcock of the Royal School of Music in London.

The Troubadours

In 2004, through the generosity of a patron, The Bach Ensemble developed The Traveling Troubadours, a vocal group of 12 singers who present popular musical works from such composers as George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, etc. The group performs holiday music or special requests.

The Troubadours have presented programs at Naples Lakes Country Club, The Club at Pelican Bay, and the Naples Country Club. The Troubadours performed for a wedding service in June, 2005.
 

Board of Directors:

Vic Silvestri, Ph.D., Acting Chair
Founder and President, The Bach Ensemble and
Communication Skills for Professionals

Ronald Doiron, D.M.A.
Artistic Director and Conductor, The Bach Ensemble
Director of Music, St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Marco Island, FL

Ginny Goodman, Realtor
Naples Realty Services, Inc., Naples, FL
Founding Member of The Bach Ensemble
Vice President of Development, The Bach Ensemble

Diana Dearth
Secretary of the Board, The Bach Ensemble

Barbara Pikal
Treasurer of the Board, The Bach Ensemble

Bernard Brommel, Ph.D.
Advisor, Founding Board Member of the Bach Ensemble
Professor Emeritus, Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, IL

Jan Ortenzo
Assistant Principal, St. Francis School, Fort Myers, FL

Dr. Helga Drews
Advisor, The Bach Ensemble

The Bach Ensemble is a non-profit organization, responsible for filing the IRS Form 990-EZ. These financial records are available to the public, upon request. If you would like a copy, please contact us.
 

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Last modified: 08/02/08