MUSIC WORCESTER ANNOUNCES

2025-2026 SEASON

Orchestre National de France, pianist Simone Dinnerstein, The Aaron Diehl Trio, The Sebastians and Dance Theatre of Harlem Highlight the 29-Show Schedule

Summer@Music Worcester Returns with 3 Concerts

(Worcester, MA May 6, 2025) Music Worcester announced its 2025-2026 season of 29 concerts, spanning musical genres, featuring celebrated pianist Simone Dinnerstein, Orchestra National de France with pianist Daniil Trifonov, the American Spiritual Ensemble, 11 different concerts continuing Music Worcester’s multi-year project THE COMPLETE BACH,  and the return of Summer@Music Worcester with three concerts.  Tickets and information can be found at musicworcester.org.

 Summer@Music Worcester begins with Ladysmith Black Mambazo Friday July 18^th at Mechanics Hall in a co-presentation with Crocodile River Music.  Emi Ferguson, principal flute of the Handel & Haydn Society, and early music band Ruckus perform at the BrickBox Theater at JMAC on Friday, July 25^th, and the Hermitage Piano Trio is playing at Tuckerman Hall on Friday, August 15^th. 

 Adrien Finlay, Music Worcester’s Executive Director stated that “Next season brings a stunning array of talent from across the globe, representing multiple performing arts disciplines and genres, right here to Central Massachusetts. From solo recitals to large-scale dance and choral-orchestral presentations, the 2025-2026 promises to delight, inspire, and deepen one’s engagement with composers from over six centuries.”

Boston-based early music ensemble Musicians of the Old Post Road will open the season Sunday, October 5^th at First Unitarian Church in Worcester performing Bach’s Cantatas BWV 170 173, and 179.  This is the first of eleven concerts that are part of the second year of Music Worcester’s international project THE COMPLETE BACH, which will present live performances of all the known works by J.S. Bach culminating in March 2035 on the 350^th anniversary of his birth.

The Second Annual BACHtoberfest Weekend, October 24-26, offers four concerts at Mechanics Hall, beginning Friday October 24th with pianist Simone Dinnerstein leading her string ensemble Baroklyn performing Bach compositions from their soon-to-be released album Complicité, which was recorded in Mechanics Hall.  They will be joined by CONCORA (Connecticut Choral Arts) with guest mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano. Saturday afternoon October 25^th , Peter Krasinski will perform a selection of organ pieces by Bach and others on the Mechanic Hall Hook Organ; in the evening Ms. Dinnerstein along with cellist Alexis Gerlach will present Inventions, Sinfonias, and Gamba Sonatas, BWV 772-801 10027 10258, and 1029. 

 On Sunday afternoon October 26^th,  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 singers from around the country who will gather for the 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.

 Mechanics Hall will be the venue for two concerts in November.  Considered one of the finest violinists of her generation, Kyung-Wha Chung, along with pianist Kevin Kenner will perform a recital of works by Debussy, Schubert, and Franck on Sunday, November 2^nd, and  Orchestre National de France with pianist Daniil Trifonov will perform works by Ravel, Saint-Saëns, and Barraine on Friday, November 7^th. 

 Grammy Nominated American Patchwork Quartet will perform at The Prior Performing Arts Center, at Holy Cross on Friday, November 14^th.  Their  program, which blends timeless American folk songs with jazz sophistication, country twang, West African hypnotics, and East Asian ornamentation, is a co-presentation by Music Worcester and The Prior Performing Arts Center at the College of the Holy Cross. 

 The holiday season kicks off with the Worcester Chorus’s annual performance of Handel’s Messiah at Mechanics Hall on Saturday, December 6^th,, the Worcester Chorus Women’s Ensemble will present their annual Holiday Concert at Trinity Lutheran Church in Worcester on Sunday, December 21^st.

 The first concert of the new year on January 10^th features the return of Dr. Everett McCorvey and the American Spiritual Ensemble to Mechanics Hall, who made their Central Massachusetts debut in 2024.  This concert marks the beginning of Dr. McCorvey’s term as Music Worcester’s 2026 Artist-in-Residence, during which he’ll spend weeks at a time living in Worcester collaborating with a number of educational and community non-profit organizations.

 THE COMPLETE BACH continues with two mid-winter concerts.  Three cantatas from Bach's Christmas Oratoriowill be performed by the Worcester Chorus with the Winchendon Music Festival Players on Saturday, January 24^thin Mechanics Hall.  Boston’s Emmanuel Music will present solo cantatas BWV 60, 158, and 199 on Saturday February 21^st at Assumption University’s Curtis Hall.

 Led by contemporary jazz pianist Aaron Diehl, his eponymous trio will perform in concert Friday February 27^th  at The Prior Performing Arts Center at the College of the Holy Cross.  The Refugee Orchestra Project, which attempts through music to demonstrate the vital role that refugees from across the globe continue to play in our culture and society, will perform a concert on Sunday March 1^st  in Mechanics Hall.

 Argentinian pianist Nelson Goerner, winner of ??the Geneva International Music Competition, will play a recital of works by Liszt and Albéniz at Assumption University’s Curtis Hall on March 5^th. 

 BACH’S BIRTHDAY BASH weekend at Mechanics Hall kicks off on Friday March 20^th with The Sebastiansperforming The Brandenburg Concertos, among the most popular works in the Bach canon.  On Saturday afternoon March 21^st, Keyboards Up Close invites audiences to sit on stage for performances on harpsichord and piano. That evening Worcester Chamber Music Society, featuring pianist Randall Hodgkinson, will perform Musical Offering, Italian Concerto and Toccata in F sharp minor. 

 The weekend concludes Sunday afternoon with the 2nd annual Cantatathon, with Worcester Children’s Chorus, Salisbury Singers, Voices of Concinnity, and All Saints Church Choir singing five cantatas, with birthday cake and champagne during intermission.

 Nominated for a 2025 Grammy Award for their latest album My Ideal, celebrated jazz vocalist Catherine Russell and renowned pianist Sean Mason will bring their highly praised interpretations of new and standard jazz repertoire to the BrickBox Theater at JMAC on Thursday, March 26^th.

 Early Music icon Jordi Savall leads Hespèrion XXI in Un Mar de Musicas, a musical journey through five centuries of music and countless Atlantic crossings on Saturday, April 11^th at Mechanics Hall.

 Described by Gramophone as a "fire-breathing virtuoso with a poetic charm" and Grand Prize winner of the 2019 International Tchaikovsky Competition, pianist Alexandre Kantorow makes his Music Worcester debut when he performs in recital at Mechanics Hall on April 17^th.

 Brian Story’s FREDERICK: Cantata on the Life of Frederick Douglass will make its world premiere April 25th at Mechanics Hall.  It will be  performed by the Worcester Chorus, Clark University Choir, and New England Repertory Orchestra, conducted by Cailin Marcel Manson with soloist Malcom J. Merriweather. A music educator for 40 years and a member of the Worcester Chorus, Story composed for marching and concert bands and choral music. He passed away in April 2025, and FREDERICK is his final composition.

 The Worcester Chorus Women’s Ensemble and Cantilena will perform Reena Esmail’s I Rise: Women in Song on Friday May 8^th at Trinity Lutheran Church.

 Music Worcester’s 2025-2026 season comes to a close on Saturday May 9^th when Dance Theatre of Harlem returns to Worcester for a performance co-presented by The Hanover Theatre and their new Dance Series.

Subscriptions for the 2025-2026 season are now available with packages that include the full season, THE COMPLETE BACH packages, or Choose Your Own packages that start at just three events. Individual show tickets for the three Summer@Music Worcester concerts will go on sale on Monday, May 12 and the rest of the season will go on sale Monday, June 23.

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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

 SUMMER@MUSIC WORCESTER

Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Friday, July 18 at 7 pm

Mechanics Hall

Co-presented with Crocodile River Music

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Emi Ferguson & Ruckus play Bach

Fly the Coop: Bach  Flute Sonatas & Keyboard Preludes

Friday, July 25 at 7 pm

BrickBox Theater at JMAC

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Hermitage Piano Trio

Suk Piano Trio in C minor, Op. 2, Ravel Piano Trio in A minor, and

Dvorák Trio No. 3 in F minor, Op. 65
Friday, Aug. 15 at 7 pm

Tuckerman Hall
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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 3 pm

Simone Dinnerstein, piano; Alexis Gerlach, cello*

Inventions, Sinfonias, and 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

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

The Prior 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

The Prior Center at Holy Cross

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Refugee Orchestra Project

Sunday, March 1^st 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, 111, 121, 124, 144, 300,

Worcester Children’s Chorus, Salisbury Singers, Voices of Concinnity, and All Saints Church Choir

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

Bach/Liszt Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen S. 179,

Medtner Piano Sonata in F minor Op. 5, Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 32
Friday, 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