Helmuth Rilling, the Grammy‑winning German conductor who co‑founded the Oregon Bach Festival, died on Wednesday at age 92, according to reporting by Oregon Public Broadcasting. His influence on choral and orchestral music on the West Coast stretched far beyond Eugene, touching community music programs, university ensembles, and regional festivals throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington.

Rilling helped launch the University of Oregon’s first festival dedicated to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach in 1970. Over more than four decades as artistic director, he shaped the event into an internationally recognized gathering point for performers, students, and composers. His tenure concluded in 2013, but the festival continued to carry his imprint.

Dave Goudy, the festival’s former director of education activities, told KLCC that Rilling’s approach balanced historical authenticity with modern orchestral performance. Goudy recalled festival participants hearing interpretations of Bach they could not find elsewhere, crediting Rilling’s musical philosophy with elevating Eugene’s profile and helping lay groundwork for the construction of the Hult Center.

Rilling returned to Eugene every summer with his family, even as his international reputation expanded. Colleagues remembered him as soft‑spoken in person but forceful in artistic impact, known for long days of teaching, heavy coffee consumption, and cigar breaks in the University of Oregon’s cemetery.

The University of Oregon has announced that the Oregon Bach Festival will honor Rilling’s legacy with tributes this summer and in 2027. The festival did not immediately release details about the planned commemorations.

For communities across the Pacific Northwest—including Cowlitz County, where local choirs, chamber groups, and school music programs routinely engage with Bach’s repertoire—Rilling’s influence is likely to be felt indirectly for years. Many regional musicians have trained with, performed under, or studied recordings produced during his leadership of the festival.

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