The Bach Festival Society of Winter Park was founded in 1935. The beauty of Central Park during this holiday season, it’s worth pausing to appreciate a civic dream that continues to resonate in the arts community.
by Rick Baldwin
Guest Commentary
As the holiday season arrives in Winter Park, thousands gather in Central Park for Christmas in the Park, one of our city's most cherished traditions. The illuminated Tiffany windows from The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art glow against the night sky as the Bach
Festival Society Choir fills the air with timeless carols. It’s a scene that feels uniquely ours, a blend of beauty, music, and community that truly captures the spirit of Winter Park.
But beyond the festive cheer, this annual celebration tells a deeper story. The convergence of art and music in Winter Park’s Central Park is no coincidence. It’s the realization of a cultural vision that took root nearly a century ago, when the city’s founders and Rollins College leaders
dreamed of building a community defined by education, music, and the arts.
Guest Commentary
In March 1936, during the festival’s first full year, President Holt hosted President Franklin D. Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt for a Bach concert at Rollins.
That vision came to life through the leadership of remarkable individuals like former Rollins presidents Hamilton Holt and Hugh McKean. Holt, a journalist and reformer, believed that a liberal education was incomplete without appreciation for the arts. McKean, a Rollins College professor of art who later became president of the institution, shared that belief and helped translate it into action. His influence extended even further when he eventually became director of The Morse Gallery of Art, further solidifying the town’s cultural triangle of academia, music, and visual art. The Bach Festival Society of Winter Park, founded in 1935, remains one of the most enduring expressions of that early vision. As one of the oldest continuously operating Bach festivals in the country, it has long been intertwined with Rollins College and the Winter Park community. From its earliest performances in Knowles Memorial Chapel, the festival has served as a bridge between professional artistry and community engagement, bringing world-class music to local audiences while giving Rollins students the chance to learn directly from experienced musicians. Its prestige was recognized early on. In March 1936, during the festival’s first full year, President Holt hosted President Franklin D. Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt for a Bach concert at Rollins. The visit drew national attention and symbolized the growing cultural stature of both the college and the city.
They are the embodiment of a civic dream that continues to resonate through every note sung
Just a few years later, in 1942, Rollins College benefactor and wife of Hugh McKean, Jeannette Genius McKean, founded The Morse Gallery of Art on campus, naming it in honor of her grandfather, Charles Hosmer Morse. Under her and her husband’s guidance, the gallery flourished, eventually moving to Park Avenue and evolving into The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art we know today. The museum’s world-renowned collection of works by Louis Comfort Tiffany stands as a testament to the same belief Holt and McKean held: that art should be accessible, inspiring and integral to community life. Each year, when those Tiffany windows are prominently displayed in Central Park during Christmas in the Park, we see more than decorative beauty. We see a living connection between three institutions – Rollins College, the Bach Festival Society and The Morse Museum – that together helped define our city’s identity. As we stare in awe at the beauty of Central Park during this holiday season, it’s worth pausing to appreciate the enduring partnership that has made Winter Park a cultural haven for nearly 100 years. They are the embodiment of a civic dream that continues to resonate through every note sung, every window illuminated and every generation that gathers to celebrate in our beloved Winter Park.
Rick Baldwin is the recently retired Chief Executive Officer of Baldwin Brothers Cremation Society, operating from 19 locations in Central Florida. He grew up in Winter Park and graduated from Winter Park High School in 1965. He currently serves as Vice President of the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park Board of Trustees, among other board positions.
