The solo Bach Suites performances that grew an international music movement.

In 2010 Dale Henderson began frequent performances of the Bach Cello Suites in the subways of New York City. Convinced the decline in classical audiences was largely because many people never get a chance to experience this music live and up close, he believed Bach to be the perfect ambassador for his art form. Feeling the experience was infinitely more powerful with money removed from the equation, Henderson declined donations and instead offered audiences free postcards explaining that his intentions were to sow the seeds for future generations of classical music lovers. His efforts, which he called “Bach in the Subways,” attracted appreciative attention from fans, other musicians, and the media.

In celebration of Bach’s 326th birthday on March 21, 2011 Henderson invited other musicians to join him. Two cellists responded, offering Bach to New York City subway passengers in various stations throughout the day. The Bach in the Subways movement was born. The following year, 13 musicians in New York participated; in 2013, 40 musicians in New York, three other U.S. cities, and Montreal joined the cause. For Bach’s 329th birthday in 2014, 77 musicians in 8 U.S. cities along with cities in Canada, Germany, and Taiwan offered their gift of Bach to the world.

Over the following year Bach in the Subways caught fire around the world. Henderson’s initiative sparked the work of similarly impassioned people everywhere and on Bach’s 330th birthday in 2015 thousands of musicians in 150 cities in 40 countries offered Bach’s music freely to the public in subway stations, in train stations, on moving trains, on street corners, in cafés, malls, restaurants, zoos, and concerts open to all. Every March since, thousands of musicians around the world unite to celebrate Bach’s birthday by connecting countless multitudes with this extraordinary music.