The Bach Project, an ambitious attempt by Baltimore filmmaker Michael Lawrence to get to the heart of Bach through musicians who are drawn to his work, is moving along. Lawrence has already filmed interviews and performance segments with several artists, and more are on the schedule (a separate music-only DVD is planned to supplement a documentary-style disc). And earlier this month at the starry Entertainment Gathering 2007 at the Getty Center in Los Angeles -- which drew the likes of comedian Jonathan Winters, pianist Leon Fleisher, authors Amy Tan and Marvin Minsky and film director Jesse Dylan -- Lawrence made a successful pitch for funding to complete the project.

A sample of the Bach film was screened on the first day of the L.A. conference. "It was very well received," Lawrence says in an email, "and when the house lights came up, people were still applauding. After the screening, I gave a brief talk and mentioned the funding needs of the project. I closed my presentation with the story of Carl Sagan asking Dr. Lewis Thomas what we should include in the Voyager 1 mission - the first probe to search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Thomas suggested to Sagan, ‘I think we should send all of Bach -- but of course we would be bragging.’ I ended the presentation by commenting that Voyager 1 has now left our solar system and is streaking through the Milky Way with Bach as our calling card.

"A number of people came up to me after the screening offering to contribute to the project including John Abele, the founder and chairman of Boston Scientific. When I returned to Baltimore, I received an email from John saying that he will donate a significant amount to the project in an out right grant and also put up an even larger amount in matching funds. A check from the Argosy Foundation, his family foundation, will be sent to the Bach Project's non-profit sponsor The Handel Choir of Baltimore."

To get an advance look at the Bach Project, go to http://www.mlfilms.com/productions/bach_project. There are clips of Baltimore-based guitarist Manuel Barrueco, cellist Matt Haimovitz and others. Next week, Lawrence will film a segment with pianist Simone Dinnerstein, whose recent recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations caused quite a stir.