St. Charles Singers Reveal 2025–2026 Season

The St. Charles Singers, led by founder and music director Jeffrey Hunt, will return for their 41st concert season in 2025–2026 with four choral programs celebrating musical discovery, collaboration, and international connection.

The season begins October 18–19 with Time to Explore, featuring the U.S. premiere of Charles Stanford’s rediscovered Irish folk-song settings, and concludes June 11–12 with You, Us, Connected, previewing the choir’s upcoming concert tour to Italy.

Highlights also include Candlelight Carols in December, with guest artist Goran Ivanovic, and the third annual Choral Connections outreach concerts with area high school ensembles in February.

Described by American Record Guide as “a national treasure,” the St. Charles Singers perform throughout the year in St. Charles and Wheaton, Illinois.

2025–2026 SEASON CONCERTS

TIME TO EXPLORE

October 18 at 7:30 p.m. | October 19 at 3:00 p.m. – Baker Memorial United Methodist Church, St. Charles

The season opener features the American premiere of five Irish folk-song settings by Anglo-Irish composer Charles Stanford, alongside Johannes Brahms’ playful Zigeunerlieder (Gypsy Songs), Op. 103. The program also includes Hymn to Time by Illinois composer Lee Kesselman, Jake Runestad’s Come to the Woods, Hem’s Half Acre arranged by Gregory Good, Stuart Churchill’s Black Is the Color of My True Love’s Hair, and Shawn Kirchner’s I’ll Be on My Way.

CANDLELIGHT CAROLS: CELEBRATING A WORLD OF CAROLS

December 5 at 7:30 p.m. – St. Michael Catholic Church, Wheaton
December 6 at 7:30 p.m. | December 7 at 3:00 p.m. – Baker Memorial United Methodist Church, St. Charles

This 41st annual holiday tradition includes seasonal carols from around the globe, joined by guest guitarist Goran Ivanovic. The program features works by Gustav Nordqvist, Ola Gjeilo, Stephen Paulus, John Rutter, Rikuya Terashima, Javier Busto, Jeffrey Van, Norman Luboff, Donald Fraser, Ben Parry, Hugo Cole, Andrew Carter, and more. The concert concludes with the choir’s signature surround-sound rendition of Silent Night.

CHORAL CONNECTIONS

February 20–21 at 7:30 p.m. – Baker Memorial United Methodist Church, St. Charles

This third annual educational outreach concert series brings together the St. Charles Singers and high school choirs from DuPage, Kane, and DeKalb Counties for collaborative performances. Each evening features separate lineups of student ensembles and a joint finale, showcasing choral unity across generations.

YOU, US, CONNECTED

June 11 at 7:30 p.m. – St. Michael Catholic Church, Wheaton
June 12 at 7:30 p.m. – Baker Memorial United Methodist Church, St. Charles

In anticipation of the choir’s June concert tour to Rome and Venice, this program of sacred a cappella works includes Aaron Copland’s In the Beginning, Hyo-won Woo’s Cum Sancto Spiritu, John Rutter’s Open Thou Mine Eyes, spirituals arranged by Moses Hogan and Brandon Williams, and works by Mendelssohn, Kirchner, Robert Boyd, Amy Beach, Molly Ijames, Sulpitia Cesis, Maurice Duruflé, and Palestrina.

Tickets for Time to Explore and You, Us, Connected are $50 for adults, $45 for seniors, and $12 for students. Candlelight Carols tickets are $60 for adults, $50 for seniors, and $12 for students. Tickets for Choral Connections are $25 for adults and seniors and $12 for students.