The Bachian Swing Consort is a North American genre-blurring ensemble that reimagines the music of J.S. Bach as a springboard for improvisation, groove, and creative exchange. Rooted in both historically informed performance and modern improvising traditions, the group approaches Bach not as museum music, but as a living foundation for dialogue, spontaneity, and invention.

Combining new arrangements of Bach’s works with moments of free group improvisation, the Consort draws on extended harmony, flexible phrasing, and spontaneous interaction to reveal the deep connections between Baroque structure and contemporary creative freedom.

Brought together through the support of the City of Austin’s Live Music Fund, the ensemble represents a dynamic convergence of diverse musical paths. Led by guitarist and director Kevin Metzger, alongside Canadian organist and genre-defying composer Rashaan Allwood and New York-based multi-instrumentalist and producer R. Aaron Walters, the group is completed by Austin vocalists mezzo-soprano Page Stephens and soprano Rebekah Smeltzer-Staley—versatile artists equally at home in early music, opera, and experimental contexts. Together, they channel Bach’s enduring musical imagination into performances rich with rhythmic vitality and improvisational daring.

The Consort’s debut album and live film, The Bachian Swing Consort, recorded live in Austin over two nights in January 2024, captures their vibrant synthesis of historical depth and contemporary freedom.