Oregon Bach Festival terminates the contract of artistic director Matthew Halls

The Eugene Weekly and the Register-Guard report that Matthew Halls has has been fired from his position as the artistic director of the Oregon Bach Festival. Halls was only in the second year of a four-year contract with the festival; so the news is quite stunning. In a press release, the OBF states that it is switching to a programming that will be guest-curated.  Guest-curators can certainly be less expensive than an artistic director, but they can also be very hit-and-miss with no real vision for the festival and its future. The departure of Halls must surely be a blow to the Berwick Academy, a high-level period-music-institute for young professionals, especially in light of the fact that the Academy will be opening the doors to its new building in October.