Cambridge Symphony Orchestra: Brahms, Bach, and Poulenc at NEC's Jordan Hall

The Cambridge Symphony Orchestra (CSO) opens its 2026/27 Masterworks season on Friday, October 30 at 8pm at NEC’s Jordan Hall with a program exploring mortality, reflection, faith, and transcendence. Led by Music Director Cynthia Woods in her 20th season as conductor, the concert program moves from darkness toward light, beginning with Brahms’ meditation on mortality in Nänie, Bach’s unmistakably gothic Toccata and Fugue in D minor arranged for orchestra by Leopold Stokowski, and culminates in Poulenc’s celebratory Gloria. The program repeats on Sunday, November 8 at 4pm at the Moloney Performing Arts Center at UMass Lowell.

Soprano Laura Santamaria joins the orchestra for Gloria, alongside the combined voices of the UMass Lowell University Choir and Chamber Singers, directed by Jonathan Richter, D.M.A., and the Nashoba Valley Chorale, directed by Anne Watson Born.

Program: Johannes Brahms, Nänie Featuring the UMass Lowell University Choir and Chamber Singers, directed by Jonathan Richter, D.M.A., and the Nashoba Valley Chorale, directed by Anne Watson Born

Johann Sebastian Bach, Toccata and Fugue in D minor, arranged by Leopold Stokowski

Francis Poulenc, Gloria Featuring Laura Santamaria, soprano; the UMass Lowell University Choir and Chamber Singers; and the Nashoba Valley Chorale

Spotlight Partner For each Masterworks performance, the Cambridge Symphony Orchestra highlights a local community organization as its Spotlight Partner. The October 30 concert will feature Parenting Journey, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping parents and caregivers build stronger families and communities. The CSO's November 8 concert in Lowell will feature the Lowell Art Council as its Spotlight Partner.

Concert Information

Cambridge Symphony Orchestra: Masterworks by Brahms, Bach, and Poulenc Friday, October 30 at 8pm NEC’s Jordan Hall, 30 Gainsborough Street, Boston, MA 02115 https://www.cambridgesymphony.org/concerts Tickets: $25 and up

Sunday, November 8 at 4pm Moloney Performing Arts Center at UMass Lowell, 35 Wilder Street, Lowell, MA, 01854 https://www.cambridgesymphony.org/concerts Tickets: Free with RSVP