The Washington Chorus Launches New Brand Identity and Unveils 2025–2026 Season

The Washington Chorus is stepping into a new era with the launch of a redesigned brand and logo—its first significant visual overhaul since 1998—and a season that reflects on themes of light, love, and collective resilience.

Alongside signature programs like A Candlelight Christmas, the season features collaborations with the National Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and National Philharmonic, as well as a long-awaited return to National Presbyterian Church.

The rebrand, developed by DC-based design firm Eighty2degrees, emphasizes color, movement, and a people-first visual identity. The abstract logo mark is designed to evoke the image of choristers standing together in performance, an intentional gesture toward community, inclusivity, and the ensemble’s mission of “transformative and joyous” music-making.

The project has been years in the making. According to Jennie Weyman, Director of Marketing and Communications, several earlier rebranding attempts failed to take root.

The logo replaces a placeholder design that had been in use since 2018.

The 2025–2026 season explores spirituality, ritual, and cultural exchange through a mix of traditional works and contemporary voices. Several programs reflect on the idea of unity across divides—musical, cultural, and historical.

One Song: Exultávit!

October 25, 2025 – Music Center at Strathmore

TWC opens its season in collaboration with The National Philharmonic, pairing Bach’s Magnificat with Reena Esmail’s This Love Between Us, a multi-movement work built on texts from seven major religions of India. The program reflects on the idea that spiritual traditions may differ in form but share a common longing for justice, humility, and connection.

A Candlelight Christmas

December 13–21, 2025 – Kennedy Center & Strathmore (Dates TBA)

TWC’s annual holiday tradition returns with its usual blend of carols, brass fanfare, and community collaboration, including guest pianist Rod Vester and student choirs from Detroit and Annandale. Now in its 16th year, the program continues to evolve with new repertoire alongside returning favorites like Glenn Rudolph’s The Dream Isaiah Saw.

“We always try to include something new,” said Rogers, “even as we honor the classics.”

Songs of Destiny & Fate

January 22–24, 2026 – Kennedy Center Concert Hall

In three concerts with the National Symphony Orchestra, TWC takes on three of Brahms’ major choral works, exploring existential questions of fate and loss. Noseda pairs them with pieces by Vivaldi, Bach, and Schumann in a program that charts a path from turmoil to renewal.

Faith, Hope, and Light

March 14, 2026 – National Presbyterian Church

This concert marks TWC’s first return to National Presbyterian Church since 2019—now with a program designed specifically for the building’s acoustics and mid-century design. Works by Timothy Takach, William Grant Still, and Sweet Honey in the Rock members Bernice Johnson Reagon and Ysaÿe Barnwell explore themes of persistence and illumination. A new woodwind arrangement of Dvořák’s Mass in D anchors the evening.

Opera in Concert: Puccini’s Il trittico

April 29–May 1, 2026 – Kennedy Center
May 3, 2026 – Carnegie Hall

In one of the season’s most high-profile ventures, TWC joins Gianandrea Noseda and the NSO for a full performance of Puccini’s Il trittico, featuring a cast of international soloists. After three performances in DC, the ensemble will take the work to Carnegie Hall, marking its first return to that stage in over a decade—and the first NSO/TWC tour since 1997.

Verdi’s Rigoletto with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

June 12, 2026 – Meyerhoff Symphony Hall
June 14, 2026 – Strathmore

The season concludes with Verdi’s Rigoletto, part of conductor Jonathon Heyward’s ongoing Verdi Opera Initiative with the BSO. TWC joins a cast that includes Quinn Kelsey, J’Nai Bridges, and Raven McMillon, in a concert performance of one of Verdi’s darkest and most iconic operas.