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Press Releases
Music Worcester's Fall Schedule Includes BACHtoberfest Weekend, Orchestra National de France and Kyung-Wha Chung
The first half of Music Worcester’s 2025-2026 season continues with its multi-year project THE COMPLETE BACH (TCB) with Simone Dinnerstein headlining BACHtoberfest Weekend. It will also welcome Orchestra National de France making its first North American tour in decades; and legendary violinist Kyung-Wha Chung celebrating her 60th year in music with a recital at Mechanics Hall. Tickets and information for the entire season can be found at musicworcester.org.
The season opens Sunday, October 5 with Boston-based early music ensemble Musicians of the Old Post Road performing Bach’s Cantatas BWV 170, 173, and 209 one of only two that he wrote in Italian. This is the first of eleven concerts that are part of the second year of THE COMPLETE BACH, Music Worcester’s project to present live performances of all the known works by J.S. Bach culminating in March 2035 on the 350th anniversary of his birth.
“We could not be more excited for Simone Dinnerstein to headline the Second Annual BACHtoberfest Weekend,” said Music Worcester Executive Director Adrien Finlay. “As Music Worcester’s first Artist in Residence during the 2018-2019 season, she engaged deeply with our community and knows Greater Worcester like few others. Having her return to Mechanics Hall with Baroklyn, the string ensemble she founded and brought to Worcester for her most recent album, serves as an ideal way for Music Worcester to continue THE COMPLETE BACH programming.”
Friday October 24, Dinnerstein will make her conducting debut, leading Baroklyn from the keyboard, performing Bach compositions from their recently released chart-topping album Complicité, which was recorded in Mechanics Hall. They will be joined by CONCORA (Connecticut Choral Arts) to perform the several choral cantatas including Es ist das Heil uns kommen her (BWV9) featuring guest mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano.
Saturday afternoon October 25, Peter Krasinski will perform a selection of Bach’s organ works on Mechanic Hall’s iconic Hook Organ.
Saturday evening, Ms. Dinnerstein will join long-time collaborator cellist Alexis Gerlach to bring a unique interpretation of J.S. Bach’s Viola da Gamba Sonatasalongside the complete Inventions and Sinfonias.
Sunday afternoon October 26, the BACHtoberfest Choir will perform Cantatas BWV 29, 41, and 190. The Choir, led by Chris Shepard, artistic director of THE COMPLETE BACH, is composed of more than one hundred singers from around the country who gather for a weekend of rehearsals that culminates in the performance on the stage at Mechanics Hall. Singers interested in being part of the 2025 BACHtoberfest Choir can find information and applications at thecompletebach.org.
On Sunday, November 2, violinist Kyung-Wha Chung, recognized as one of the leading performers of her generation, will appear in recital with pianist Kevin Kenner, performing works by Debussy, Schubert, Schoenberg, and Franck. This program is part of a limited eight-stop North American tour. Over the past six decades, Chung has built an international career connecting audiences through the expressive range of the violin. Her frequent recital partner, Kevin Kenner, earned top prizes at the 1990 Chopin Competition in Warsaw, as well as in the Tchaikovsky and Terence Judd Competitions.
On Friday, November 7, Orchestre National de France brings an all-French program to Mechanics Hall in its Music Worcester debut under the baton of Cristian Macelaru. Working with Grammy Award-winning Daniil Trifonov who The Times of London notes, is “without question the most astounding pianist of our age,” the Orchestre National de France will be playing repertoires that lie at the core of its identity: Maurice Ravel (to commemorate the 150th anniversary of his birth), Elsa Barraine, and Camille Saint-Saëns.
Grammy Award-winning conductor Cristian Macelaru is the Music Director Designate of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, where he leads his inaugural season as Music Director in 2025/26. The concert will include Ravel’s lush Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2, and the compact Second Symphony by Elsa Barraine. Daniil Trifonov won the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Solo Album of 2018, was named Gramophone’s 2016 Artist of the Year and Musical America’s 2019 Artist of the Year. He was made a “Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” by the French government in 2021.
Grammy Nominated American Patchwork Quartet will perform at the Prior Performing Arts Center at Holy Cross on Friday, November 14. A co-presentation by Music Worcester and The Prior, the concert by American Patchwork Quartet blends timeless American folk songs with jazz sophistication, country twang, West African hypnotics, and East Asian ornamentation.
The holiday season kicks off with the Worcester Chorus’s annual performance of Handel’s Messiah at Mechanics Hall on Saturday, December 6, and the Worcester Chorus Women’s Ensemble will present their annual Holiday Concert at Trinity Lutheran Church in Worcester on Sunday, December 21.
Music Worcester has been bringing world-renowned musicians and ensembles to Central Massachusetts since its founding in 1858. Today, the organization regularly presents world-renowned orchestras, soloists, and ensembles from the worlds of classical, jazz, folk, world music, and dance to audiences of all ages and backgrounds.
In 2024, Music Worcester launched THE COMPLETE BACH, an 11-year project to present live performances of all J.S. Bach’s known works. Music Worcester’s education and outreach initiatives include in-school workshops and masterclasses, and the availability of free and reduced-price tickets. In 2026, Dr. Everett McCorvey will serve as the Artist-in-Residence, a bi-annual program that establishes deep community relationships with an individual artist.
Subscriptions for the 2025-2026 season are available with packages that include the full season, THE COMPLETE BACH packages, or Choose Your Own packages that start at just three events, as well as single tickets to all events on the 2025-2026 season. Tickets and information can be found at musicworcester.org
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For Additional program information and photos contact:
please contact:
David Balsom/CK Communications Group 617.510.2316 -dbalsom@ckcommgroup.com
Adam Klein/CK Communications Group 617.504.6156- adam@ckcommgroup.com
Full calendar here
*Part of THE COMPLETE BACH
Musicians of the Old Post Road
Bach Cantatas BWV 170, 173, 209
Sunday, Oct. 5 at 4 pm
First Unitarian Church of Worcester
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BACHTOBERFEST WEEKEND October 24-26
All concerts at Mechanics Hall
CONCORA & Baroklyn, featuring Simone Dinnerstein
Cantatas BWV 9, 82, 1053
Friday, Oct. 24 at 8 pm
Peter Krasinski, organ
Saturday, Oct. 25 at 2 pm
Simone Dinnerstein, piano; Alexis Gerlach, cello
Inventions, Sinfonias, and Viola da Gamba Sonatas
Saturday, Oct. 25 at 8 pm
BACHtoberfest Choir
Cantatas BWV 29, 41, 190
Sunday, Oct. 26 at 4 pm
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Kyung-Wha Chung, violin with Kevin Kenner, piano
Debussy Violin Sonata in G minor, Schubert Fantasie in C major,
Franck Sonata in A Major, Schoenberg Phantasy for Violin
Sunday, Nov. 2 at 4 pm
Mechanics Hall
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Orchestre National de France & Daniil Trifonov, piano
Elsa Barraine Symphony No. 2, Saint-Saëns Concerto No. 2
Ravel Concerto in G, Ravel Daphnis & Chloé
Friday, Nov. 7 at 8 pm
Mechanics Hall
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American Patchwork Quartet
Friday, Nov. 14 at 7:30 pm
Prior Performing Arts Center at Holy Cross
Co-presented with The Prior Performing Arts Center
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Handel Messiah
The Worcester Chorus
Saturday, Dec. 6 at 8 pm
Mechanics Hall
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Holiday Concert
Worcester Chorus Women’s Ensemble
Sunday, Dec. 21 at 4 pm
Trinity Lutheran Church
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American Spiritual Ensemble
Start of Everett McCorvey’s Residency
Saturday, Jan. 10 at 7 pm
Mechanics Hall
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Bach Christmas Oratorio
The Worcester Chorus with the Winchendon Players
Saturday, Jan. 24 at 8 pm
Mechanics Hall
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Emmanuel Music
Solo Cantatas, BWV 60, 158, 199
Saturday, Feb. 21 at 8 pm
Curtis Hall at Assumption University
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Aaron Diehl Trio
Friday, Feb. 27 at 8 pm
Prior Performing Arts Center at Holy Cross
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Refugee Orchestra Project
Sunday, March 1st at 5 pm
Mechanics Hall
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Nelson Goerner, piano
Liszt Ballade No. 2 & Valse oubliée No. 2
Albéniz Iberia, Book IV
Thursday, March 5 at 7 pm
Curtis Hall at Assumption University
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BACH’S BIRTHDAY BASH
All concerts at Mechanics Hall
The Sebastians
Brandenburg Concertos
Friday, March 20 at 8 pm
Keyboards Up Close
Piano and Harpsichord
Saturday, March 21 at 4 pm
Worcester Chamber Music Society
Musical Offering, Italian Concerto, and Toccata in F sharp minor
Featuring Randall Hodgkinson on piano
Saturday, March 21 at 8 pm
Cantatathon 2026
BWV 3, 14, 121, 124, 144
First Baptist Church Choir, Salisbury Singers, Voices of Concinnity with Consonare Choral Community, Worcester Children's Chorus
Sunday, March 22 at 4 pm
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Catherine Russell & Sean Mason Duo
Thursday, March 26 at 7 pm
BrickBox Theater at JMAC
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Jordi Savall: Un Mar de Musicas
Early Music icon leads Hespèrion XXI in works from trans-Atlantic crossings
Saturday, April 11 at 7:30 pm
Mechanics Hall
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Alexandre Kantorow, piano
Liszt – Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen S. 179 (Variations on Bach’s BWV 12), Medtner – Piano Sonata in F minor Op. 5, Chopin – Prelude in C-sharp Minor, Op. 45, Scriabin – Piano Sonata No. 10, Op. 70, Beethoven – Piano Sonata No. 32
Saturday, April 17 at 8 pm
Mechanics Hall
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FREDERICK: Cantata on the Life of Frederick Douglass
Composed by Brian Story
Worcester Chorus, Clark University Choir & New England Repertory Orchestra
Conducted by Cailin Marcel Manson with Malcom J. Merriweather soloist
Saturday, April 25 at 8 pm
Mechanics Hall
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I Rise: Women in Song
Worcester Chorus Women’s Ensemble & Cantilena
Composed by Reena Esmail
Friday, May 8 at 8 pm
Trinity Lutheran Church
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Dance Theatre of Harlem
Saturday, May 9 at 7:30 pm
Hanover Theatre
Co-presented with The Hanover Theatre
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