[photo credit: Pasadena Choral]
The organization announced nine concerts for 2026-2027 in a press release Wednesday, one fewer than last season, performed by four ensembles at two Pasadena churches and one in San Marino. All nine are free.
The season opens Wednesday, November 18, 2026, with Mozart’s Mass in C-Minor at First United Methodist Church of Pasadena, 500 East Colorado Boulevard. Three weeks later, on December 9, the Chorale was joined by the High Notes, its youth choir, for Shawn Kirchner’s “The Light of Hope Returning” at the same church.
The Pasadena Choral Society takes December 16 with “Baroque Christmas,” a program of Schütz, Vivaldi and Handel at San Marino Community Church, 1750 Virginia Road. That ensemble grew from 45 singers to 85 after auditions in April 2026, following its first full season, according to the Chorale. It returned to the same church on May 12, 2027, for Duruflé’s Requiem.
Sixteen singers drawn from the Chorale, a group that specializes in Renaissance music and chamber repertoire, performed “Awakenings” there on March 10, 2027. The High Notes give their annual solo concert, “Spring Sing,” at that church on May 3.
Spring also brings a two-part program back to First United Methodist. On April 7 the Chorale performs “The Explorers: Part 1,” built around Reena Esmail’s “Earth Speaks,” a 45-minute work the organization commissioned in 2015, when it performed as the Pasadena Master Chorale. Esmail wrote it around three Pasadena institutions, drawing on U.S. Geological Survey texts and a Tongva poem. “The Explorers: Part 2” follows on June 9 with Vaughan Williams’ “A Sea Symphony.”
The season closes June 19 at Pasadena Presbyterian Church, 585 East Colorado Boulevard, with “Listening to the Future,” an evening of world premieres by young composers. The program gives Pasadena-area high school students a year of instruction with a professional composer, then performs and records what they write. It has premiered 71 new works by 29 area students over ten years, according to the Chorale.
“Every concert this season is an invitation to step away from the ordinary,” Founding Executive & Artistic Director Jeffrey Bernstein said in the press release.
Bernstein lives in Altadena and lost his home in the Eaton Fire, which destroyed Altadena Community Church, where the Chorale had rehearsed since its founding in 2009. The group received the American Prize in Choral Performance in 2024 and sang behind Katy Perry on “Rise” at the FireAid benefit concert in Inglewood the following January.
After Chorale and Choral Society performances this season, the organization hosts free gatherings at the AC Hotel Pasadena, 19 South Madison Avenue, where audience members can meet performers and local composers. No donation is required.
Nineteen months ago the choir met at the Church of the Brethren in La Verne, its Altadena church gone. “Churches aren’t buildings… and choirs aren’t buildings. They’re groups of people,” Bernstein said then.
NEED TO KNOW: The Pasadena Chorale’s 2026-2027 season runs from Wednesday, November 18, 2026, through Saturday, June 19, 2027, and comprises nine concerts by four ensembles. Mozart’s Mass in C-Minor opens the season November 18, followed by “The Light of Hope Returning” on Wednesday, December 9, 2026; “Baroque Christmas” on Wednesday, December 16, 2026; “Awakenings” on Wednesday, March 10, 2027; “The Explorers: Part 1” on Wednesday, April 7, 2027; “Spring Sing” on Monday, May 3, 2027; Duruflé’s Requiem on Wednesday, May 12, 2027; “The Explorers: Part 2” on Wednesday, June 9, 2027; and “Listening to the Future” on June 19. Admission to all nine is free, and the Chorale says free ticket reservations will be announced concert by concert through the season. The November 18, December 9, April 7 and June 9 concerts are at First United Methodist Church of Pasadena, 500 East Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, (626) 796-0157. The December 16, March 10, May 3 and May 12 concerts are at San Marino Community Church, 1750 Virginia Road, San Marino, (626) 282-4181. The June 19 concert is at Pasadena Presbyterian Church, 585 East Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, (626) 793-2191. For more, email info@pasadenachorale.org or visit pasadenachorale.org.
