The world has been loud. Relentlessly, exhaustingly loud — with fear, with grief, with things that feel too large to hold. We all carry this weight with us as we try to make sense of it all.
Music has always known what to do with that.
Music doesn’t fix it or pretend the weight it isn’t there. Music stands with you and says “you are not alone in this, and this is not the end of the story.”
That is what Choral Arts is offering you this season.
A requiem that has consoled the grieving for 150 years, because Johannes Brahms knew that loss deserves more than silence.
Caroline Shaw asking an ancient question: where is home, and how do we find our way back?
A Christmas that gives your family something to hold onto. A night in a beer garden where strangers become a choir. A season that begins with belonging and ends with the courage to go forward.
Embrace the Unknown is not an instruction to accept what is hard. It is a declaration that we will not look away from it, and that we will not face it without music, without each other, without you.
Choral Arts 2026–2027 Season: Embrace the Unknown
Choral Arts Society of Washington brings world-class choral and orchestral music to Washington DC. Explore our cornerstone performances for our 2026-2027 season below.
Subscription Packages will go on sale on Friday, May 29, 2026, and Single Tickets will go on sale on Friday, June 12, 2026. Individual Tickets starting at $30.
Community Sing
Saturday, September 19, 2026 (tentative) | Location TBD
Choral Arts kicks off its 2026–2027 season with a spirited Community Sing in partnership with the German Embassy. The ticketed evening experience combines live performance with museum access and a beer garden setting.
“In Search of Home”
Sunday, October 25, 2026 | Church of the Epiphany | 1317 G St NW, Washington, DC 20005
A program for full ensemble and chamber forces exploring humanity, displacement, and belonging. Featuring staged performance elements alongside both historical and contemporary repertoire, the concert integrates multiple perspectives on refuge, identity, and human connection.
Featured works:
Leonard Bernstein — Chichester Psalms
Caroline Shaw — To the Hands (staged)
Dietrich Buxtehude — selections from Ad Manus
Johannes Brahms — An die Heimat
Jeffrey Derus — Whoever You Are
“Wonder” – 46th Annual Holiday Concert and Gala
Sunday, December 13, 2026 | Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium | 1301 Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC 20240
The holiday season opens with an immersive gala experience at one of Washington’s most magnificent venues. Integrating live performance with the gala setting, the evening features the Chamber Ensemble with chamber orchestra.
“Family Christmas“
Saturday, December 19, 2026 | Capital Turnaround | 700 M St SE, Washington, DC 20003
Two performances (11 AM and 2 PM) at this exciting new venue bring holiday magic to Navy Yard. The family-friendly event includes a charming Tea with Mrs. Claus add-on experience, designed to welcome new audiences and create cherished traditions for families across the region.
“O Night Divine”
Wednesday, December 23, 2026 | The Music Center at Strathmore | 5301 Tuckerman Ln, North Bethesda, MD 20852
The beloved signature holiday tradition returns to Strathmore with the full symphonic chorus and orchestra. The only large-scale choral-orchestral Christmas offering in the region, O Night Divine remains the definitive holiday concert experience in the Washington area.
Spring Collaboration Concert with Madrigalchor München
Wednesday, March 18, 2027 | Church of the Epiphany | 1317 G St NW, Washington, DC 20005
The Choral Arts Chamber Ensemble and the Madrigalchor München share the stage in an a cappella program celebrating the musical traditions of both ensembles. The concert features individual ensemble performances alongside shared American and German repertoire, and concludes with a Unity Sing that invites the audience into the experience of cultural exchange through song.
“Facing the Unknown: Brahms’ Requiem”
Friday, March 20, 2027 | The Music Center at Strathmore | 5301 Tuckerman Ln, North Bethesda, MD 20852
A major symphonic program at Strathmore exploring grief, acceptance, and the unknown. Johannes Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, the centerpiece of the season and the German Embassy partnership, is paired with Jake Runestad’s A Silence Haunts Me in a program that moves through loss and silence toward acceptance, comfort, and hope.
“Echoes and Horizons”
Saturday, June 12, 2027 | Church of the Epiphany | 1317 G St NW, Washington, DC 20005
A festive send-off celebration before the ensemble departs for Germany, featuring a preview of international repertoire and a reflection on the season’s journey. The Bon Voyage Concert marks the culmination of “Embrace the Unknown” at home before the Germany Tour carries Choral Arts’ artistry to Munich, Leipzig, and Berlin.