Cleveland Chamber Choir Announces 2025/26 11th Season

The Cleveland Chamber Choir, the region’s premier professional choral ensemble, continues its mission of performances of unique and diverse repertoire in its 2025/26 season 11th Season. Under the direction of Artistic Director Gregory Ristow, the pay-what-you-wish concerts blend music by living composers with nine centuries of choral tradition. At each concert, the choir will partner with a local charity to help raise awareness of and funds for their work.

The season will open and close at Trinity Cathedral, where Cleveland Chamber Choir is Artist in Residence. The Cathedral has a storied history of bringing vibrant performances to downtown Cleveland.

On October 24 & 25, 2025, the choir presents Sergei Rachmaninoff’s beloved All-Night Vigil in the atmospheric glow of candlelight. The Vigil sets to music the prayers for the canonical hours from dusk to dawn. One of the composer’s favorite works, Rachmaninoff requested the fifth movement (the Nunc dimittis) be sung at his funeral.

The Vigil is paired with Reena Esmail’s A Winter Breviary, whose poetry takes us figuratively from winter’s darkness to spring’s light, and whose harmonic language is drawn from Indian Carnatic raags (melodic modes) that are associated with the hours of prayer from dusk to dawn. From poet Rebecca Gaye Howell who wrote the words to A Winter Breviary: “For more than a thousand years, across the world and often without knowing, these two spiritual traditions have met, together, in song. Both raags and canonical prayers offer a constancy that marks a life by the well-loved day; they both act as a kind of clock for the soul.”

Embark on a profound journey of light and hope, where we invite our listeners to consider how the idea of vigil – a period of wakefulness and watchfulness – can help us find peace in a chaotic world.

Inspired by musical themes of creating peace and community, a portion of all donations will be directed to Re:Source Cleveland, helping them further their mission of helping Cleveland’s newest neighbors to create roots within our Cleveland community. They work with children and adults who come to Cleveland as refugees, humanitarian parolees, asylum seekers, and those with temporary protected status. Their work focuses on supporting newcomers in building thriving lives through education, mentoring, tutoring, mental health and wellness, urban agriculture, employment, content creation, youth sports and recreation, and social services and benefits enrollment.

On February 6-8, 2026, join us for Love in Bloom, an enchanting evening of music inspired by romance and nature, including music by Benjamin Britten, Tōru Takemitsu, Eric Whitacre, Morten Lauridsen and Brandon Waddles. Local high school choirs will join the performances, as part of the choir’s continuing commitment to education and providing invaluable experiences to future generations of musicians.

“We’re so excited to be sharing the stage with singers from some of Northeast Ohio’s top choral programs, in these joyful concert programs,” says artistic director Gregory Ristow. “Our region has such a wealth of great singing, and it’s a delight to showcase that.”

A portion of all donations will be directed to Heights Tree People, helping them further their mission of urban forestry and environmental stewardship. Whether you’re a lifelong lover of choral music or simply looking for a memorable way to celebrate the upcoming Valentine’s Day Holiday, Love in Bloom promises to be a night of beauty, harmony, and giving back.

The season concludes on May 8 & 9, 2026 with La Fleur de la Renaissance, devoted to the French masters of the Renaissance. Step into the rich, resplendent world of Renaissance polyphony, celebrating the timeless works of Josquin des Prez and Guillaume Dufay. These two towering figures shaped the soundscape of the 15th and early 16th centuries—Dufay, a pioneer of the early Renaissance, brought elegance and innovation to sacred music, while Josquin, hailed as the “master of the notes,” transformed vocal expression with emotional depth and technical brilliance. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to hear their sublime compositions brought to life—an evening of exquisite harmony, historic beauty, and musical flowering.

“Renaissance music is the root of so much of who we are as a choir, and I’m excited to return to this repertoire with these amazing singers,” said Ristow.

Inspired by the Center for Arts-Inspired Learning’s mission of nurturing the creative spark in youth across the NEOhio region, the choir will direct a portion of all donations to them, as their charitable partner for this concert.

Prior to each concert this season, Charles Edward McGuire, PhD, from Oberlin College & Conservatory, will present a pre-concert talk, offering insightful perspectives on the music to be performed that evening. He will delve into the historical context of the works performed, as well as techniques the composers used. A distinguished scholar and captivating speaker, McGuire’s pre-concert talks promise to heighten the appreciation and understanding of the music for the listeners. “I am looking forward to this season, and the future of CCC: Greg has created an incredible season of provocative, beautiful music that will be as fun to talk about as it will be to hear,” McGuire remarked.

The choir is grateful for the full season grant support provided by The Louise H. and David S. Ingalls Foundation and the Ohio Arts Council, and support by Trinity Cathedral as named Artist in Residence.

Vigil: Rachmaninoff’s Vespers
Friday, October 24, 2025, at 7:30pm at Trinity Cathedral, 2230 Euclid Ave., Cleveland
Saturday, October 25, 2025, at 7:00pm at Fairchild Chapel, 50 W. Lorain St., Oberlin

Love in Bloom
Friday, February 6, 2026, at 7:30pm, Kent United Church of Christ, 1400 E. Main St., Kent
Saturday, February 7, 2026, at 7:30pm, Trinity Cathedral, 2230 Euclid Ave., Cleveland
Sunday, February 8, 2026, at 5:00pm, Bethany Lutheran Church, 933 Michigan Ave., Ashtabula

La Fleur de la Renaissance
Friday, May 8, 2026, at 7:30pm, Trinity Cathedral, 2230 Euclid Ave., Cleveland
Saturday, May 9, 2026, at 7:30pm, First Lutheran Church, 1019 W. 5th St., Lorain

All tickets are “pay what you wish”. Thank you for your support!