Fifty years is a remarkable run for any ensemble, and Folger Consort has spent all of them as the early music ensemble-in-residence at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington. Co-artistic directors Robert Eisenstein and Christopher Kendall, the founding directors who built this institution from its first season, are marking the golden anniversary with a 2026-27 program that ranges from 13th-century Spain to Elizabethan England, with stops in Venice, West Africa, the Arabic world, and colonial New England along the way.
The season opens September 11-13 with “Monteverdi’s Legacy,” a deep dive into early Baroque Venice featuring madrigals, motets, sonatas, and operatic excerpts by Monteverdi and his circle. December brings a centuries-spanning English Christmas program including music by Thomas Tallis and William Byrd, closing with Christmas anthems by William Billings in honor of America’s 250th anniversary. February’s program draws connections between West African griot traditions, Arabic hakawati storytelling, and medieval Provençal singer-poets, a genuinely ambitious cross-cultural program. The season closes May 7-9 with a return to music performed during Folger Consort’s very first season five decades ago.
Subscription packages for the 2026-27 season are on sale now starting at $162, with discounted packages available for patrons under 35. Single tickets go on sale in the summer.
Folger Consort 2026-27 Season:
Monteverdi’s Legacy
September 11-13, 2026
An English Christmas for the Ages
December 11-20, 2026
Folktales and Storied Traditions: Troubadours, Griots, and Hakawatis
February 12-14, 2027
Folger Consort’s Golden Jubilee
May 7-9, 2027