March 7, 2026 at 7:30 pm
A vibrant cultural mainstay in Boston and the surrounding areas, Cantata Singers is a musical destination, a place where art, community, and history intersect. A uniquely modern ensemble with deep roots in the past, built on a foundation of innovation and versatility, Cantata Singers promotes the rich heritage of choral music inspired by the musical genius of Johann Sebastian Bach. For this show, they will be performing Bach’s St. John Passion. Their pioneering spirit can be seen in the juxtapositioning of well-known, rarely performed and new music.
Cantata Singers illuminates our shared humanity through choral music, raising their voices together in song, and bringing artistry to an enduring tradition that has long cultivated relationships, shaped culture, and fostered mutual understanding. Through music making and community building, they create opportunities for people of all ages, cultures, and identities to engage with others in ways that uplift, inspire, and help them feel that their stories are being heard.
Choral music offers the unique opportunity for musicians and audiences to explore together what it means to be human, acknowledging that when we better understand our shared humanity, we develop deeper connections and amplify what unites us. Cantata Singers is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and access across all aspects of the organization, to make the organization even more welcoming and accessible to all performers and audience.
Co-founded by a group of friends, colleagues, and classmates, Boston-based Cantata Singers was created with the goal of exploring and performing the cantatas and choral canon of Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach. It cemented its position as an innovative outlier in the field when it expanded its repertoire to include earlier music by other composers as well as works by modern composers. The organization also began to record commercial albums, preserving and sharing music of all times, from Bach’s cantatas to new works.
Today, Cantata Singers offers fresh, inspiring interpretations of iconic music interspersed with intriguing, unfamiliar yet accessible works, including those by female composers and composers of color. Committed to adding to the choral canon, to date Cantata Singers has commissioned 16 works by some of the 20th and 21st centuries’ distinguished composers. It has presented more than fifty Boston premieres of both old and new music.
Bach’s music, from the cantatas to the passions, remains an essential part of Cantata Singers’ repertoire, even as the ensemble’s repertoire has expanded. The organization’s commitment and dedication to challenging programming, including the commissioning of new works has been acknowledged with an ASCAP/Chorus America Award for Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music.