The Washington Chorus Unveils 2026-2027 And 65th Anniversary Season

 The Washington Chorus is celebrating its 65th anniversary during the 2026-2027 season. The season begins with TWC's guest appearance with the National Symphony Orchestra for Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, conducted by Gianandrea Noseda at Wolf Trap's Filene Center on Friday, August 14, 2026 at 8:00 p.m. On Thursday, October 15, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. at Joseph Myerhoff Symphony Hall; Saturday, October 17, 2026 at 8:00 p.m. at Music Center at Strathmore; and Sunday, October 18, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. at Meyerhoff TWC joins Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for John Adam's On the Transmigration of Souls as part of the BSO's Alsop Conducts Tchaikovsky's Pathétique concert.

The Washington Chorus's own season kicks off with two weekends of A Candlelight Christmas concerts in December, continuing its beloved holiday tradition now reimagined in new venues across the city. This cherished program brings together The Washington Chorus with the National Capital Brass and Percussion Ensemble, alongside award-winning music director, organist, and conductor Paul Byssainthe Jr., soprano Colleen Daly, and jazz-mezzo Christie Dashiell. The program will also feature the premiere of a new work by Evelyn Simpson-Curenton. Blending timeless carols with vibrant new voices, A Candlelight Christmas offers a warm and luminous celebration of the season – honoring tradition while embracing the rich musical spirit of our community. Venue and performance info are listed below.

In the new year, The Washington Chorus presents A Song Flung Up to Heaven: Honoring 65 Years of TWC on Sunday, February 28, 2027 at 3:00 p.m. at DAR Constitution Hall. The program juxtaposes two major works from contrasting origins – Nkeiru Okoye's When the Caged Bird Sings and Poulenc's Gloria – that treat sacred themes with a striking blend of reverence and theatricality. Together, these two major works meld European and American musical traditions into a powerful, life-affirming concert experience with a deep connection to spiritual rituals, while each composer's innovation imbues them with new discoveries and uncovers mysteries of the human condition.

The centerpiece of this performance is the East Coast premiere of Dr. Nkeiru Okoye's dramatic work When the Caged Bird Sings – a “musical ceremony” fusing many genres, including opera, musical theater, spoken word, and choral singing, and American musical styles including gospel, spirituals, traditional anthems, and jazz. Okoye's evocative new piece celebrates the spirit of rising above expectations and transforming adversity into triumph through the milestones in the life of one Black woman. Partly in tribute to the activist and poet laureate Maya Angelou, the work celebrates and explores the transformative ability of the human spirit, commemorating those who have paved a path for future generations. The concert opens with a cornerstone of 20th-century sacred music, Francis Poulenc's Gloria, which first premiered in 1961, the same year as TWC's founding. 

In May, TWC partners with The National Philharmonic to present Requiem and Renewal featuring Mozart's monumental Requiem. This will be preceded by Jocelyn Hagen's large-scale symphonic work, What the Soul Already Knows, on Saturday, May 8, 2027 at 7:30 p.m. at Music Center at Strathmore. Jointly commissioned by Pacific Chorale under the direction of Robert Istad and The Washington Chorus, the work will have its East Coast premiere as part of TWC's 65th Anniversary Season.

Rooted in an exploration of the sacred – in both the physical world and the unseen – the work invites listeners to reflect on the deep interconnectedness of all life. At its core, What the Soul Already Knows is a meditation on our shared humanity and the potential for beauty that arises when we live in alignment with gratitude, unity, and service. The title received inspiration from the book Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul by Celtic spiritual teacher John Philip Newell, whose writings illuminate the sacred as present not only in heaven, but within the earth and all living beings. Both Hagen's and Mozart's works are meditations on the soul in a program that asks: What is the soul, what is sacred, and how should we live – before and beyond death?

Closing the season is a theatrical version of Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and conducted by its Artistic Director Jonathon Heyward on Friday, June 11, 2027 at 8:00 p.m. at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall; Saturday, June 12, 2027 at 6:00 p.m. at Music Center at Strathmore; and Sunday, June 13, 2027 at 3:00 p.m. at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. This staged performance of Verdi's masterpiece is our third collaboration with Heyward and the BSO's multi-year Verdi Opera Initiative.

Beethoven's Ninth Symphony

Friday, August 14, 2026 at 8:00 p.m.
Filene Center, Wolf Trap | 1551 Trap Road | Vienna, VA 22182
Tickets: $57 - $132
Link: https://www.wolftrap.org/show/26filene/081426/

Program:

• Beethoven - The Consecration of the House – Overture
• Beethoven - Elegiac Song, Op. 118
• Beethoven - Symphony No. 9

Artists:

• National Symphony Orchestra
• Gianandrea Noseda, conductor
• Tessa McQueen, soprano
• Cecelia McKinley, alto
• Demetrious Sampson, tenor
• Jonathan Patton, baritone
• The Washington Chorus
• Eugene Rogers, artistic director

---

Alsop Conducts Tchaikovsky's Pathétique

Thursday, October 15, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall | 1212 Cathedral Street | Baltimore, MD 21201

Saturday, October 17, 2026 at 8:00 p.m.
Music Center at Strathmore | 5301 Tuckerman Lane | North Bethesda, MD 20852

Sunday, October 18, 2026 at 3:00 p.m.
Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall | 1212 Cathedral Street | Baltimore, MD 21201

Tickets: Subscriptions are on sale now, with single tickets on sale August 2026
Link: https://my.bsomusic.org/20342/20381

Program:

• Barber - Adagio for Strings
• John Adams - On the Transmigration of Souls
• Tchaikovsky - Symphony No. 6, Pathétique

Artists:

• Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
• Marin Alsop, conductor
• The Washington Chorus
• Eugene Rogers, artistic director

---

A Candlelight Christmas

Saturday, December 11, 2026 at 3:00 p.m.
Sunday, December 12, 2026 at 3:00 p.m.
Cramton Auditorium, Howard University | 2455 6th St NW | Washington, DC 20059
With Howard University Chorale

Friday, December 18, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, December 19, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. & 3:00 p.m.
Lisner Auditorium, George Washington University | 730 21st St NW | Washington, DC 20052

Monday, December 21, 2026 & Tuesday, December 22, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
Music Center at Strathmore | 5301 Tuckerman Lane | North Bethesda, MD 20852

Link: https://thewashingtonchorus.org/2026-27-season

Program:

• Evelyn Simpson-Curenton - NEW WORK (World Premiere)

Artists:

• Eugene Rogers, conductor
• Christie Dashiell, soloist (Dec. 11, 12, 21 & 22)
• Howard University Concert Choir (Dec. 11 & 12)
• Eric Poole, conductor
• National Capital Brass and Percussion Ensemble
• Paul Byssainthe Jr., organ & piano (Dec. 18–22)
• Reservoir High School (Dec. 18 & 19)
• Gregory Knauf, conductor
• South Loudon Youth Chorale (Dec. 21 & 22)
• Laura Lazarevich, conductor

---

A Song Flung Up to Heaven: Honoring 65 Years of TWC

Sunday, February 28, 2027 at 3:00 p.m.
DAR Constitution Hall | 1776 D Street NW | Washington, D.C. 20006
Link: https://thewashingtonchorus.org/2026-27-season

Program:

• Poulenc - Gloria
• Nkeiru Okoye - When the Caged Bird Sings

Artists:

• Eugene Rogers, conductor
• Denyce Graves, narrator
• Cyrus Chestnut, piano
• Angela Brown, soprano
• Christie Dashiell, jazz mezzo
• Issachah Savage, tenor
• Michael Preacely, baritone
• The Washington Chorus
• Howard University Chorale
• Dr. Eric Poole, director

---

Requiem and Renewal

Saturday, May 8, 2027 at 7:30 p.m.
Music Center at Strathmore | 5301 Tuckerman Lane | North Bethesda, MD 20852
Tickets: Single tickets are on sale beginning Thursday, July 23, 2026
Link: https://nationalphilharmonic.org/event/what-the-soul-already-knows-requiem-renewal/

Program:

• Jocelyn Hagen - What the Soul Already Knows
• Mozart - Requiem in D Minor

Artists:

• National Philharmonic
• The Washington Chorus
• Eugene Rogers, conductor
• Rabihah Dunn, soprano
• Ashley Dixon, mezzo-soprano
• Brian Giebler, tenor
• Alan Williams, baritone

---

Heyward Conducts Verdi's Requiem

Friday, June 11, 2027 at 8:00 p.m.
Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall | 1212 Cathedral Street | Baltimore, MD 21201

Saturday, June 12, 2027 at 6:00 p.m.
Music Center at Strathmore | 5301 Tuckerman Lane | North Bethesda, MD 20852

Sunday, June 13, 2027 at 3:00 p.m.
Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall | 1212 Cathedral Street | Baltimore, MD 21201

Tickets: Subscriptions are on sale now, with single tickets on sale August 2026
Link: https://my.bsomusic.org/overview/20358

Program:

• Giuseppe Verdi - Requiem

Artists:

• Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
• Jonathon Heyward, conductor
• The Washington Chorus
• Eugene Rogers, artistic director

Don't Miss a Washington, DC News Story
Sign up for all the news on the Summer season, discounts & more...