Nicholas McGegan leads Kaleidoscope Vocal Ensemble and Cantata Collective in Bach’s rarely heard 1725 St John Passion. With altered opening and closing movements and substituted arias, this version reveals the work’s drama anew—urgent, expressive, and deeply human—guided by one of early music’s most revered interpreters

GRAMMY® award-winning “orchestra of voices” Chanticleer joins Kaleidoscope Vocal Ensemble for a radiant Festival opening. Renaissance and Baroque gems meet spirituals and modern reflections in a collaboration celebrating vocal brilliance, diversity, and artistic friendship.

Nicholas McGegan leads Kaleidoscope Vocal Ensemble and Cantata Collective in Bach’s rarely heard 1725 St John Passion. With altered opening and closing movements and substituted arias, this version reveals the work’s drama anew—urgent, expressive, and deeply human—guided by one of early music’s most revered interpreters.

A century-old Broadway songbook meets modern wit. Studio for the Early American Musical revives classics by Kern, Berlin, Gershwin, Rodgers, and more in a playful, historically informed cabaret—clever, hilarious, and surprisingly wise.

Berkeley’s legendary Gamelan Sekar Jaya makes its Festival debut with the joyful sounds of gamelan angklung. Interlocking rhythms, dance, and vibrant communal energy create an irresistible celebration of Balinese tradition.

Marking 400 years since John Dowland’s death, this intimate program explores his unmatched eloquence—from aching melancholy to radiant beauty—featuring voice, lute, and viol consort.

Founded in 2025, the Berkeley Youth Choir brings fresh voices to Renaissance and Baroque treasures by Byrd, Buxtehude, Bach, Pergolesi, and Mozart—led by Derek Tam and sung with joy, skill, and community spirit.

 Discover the clarinet’s rise to brilliance in this elegant chamber program curated by Thomas Carroll, from Mozart’s beloved quintet to rarely heard gems performed on period instruments.

 Baroque meets drag in this dazzling cabaret starring bass-baritone John Taylor Ward’s flamboyant Countess. Campy, intimate, and boldly theatrical—history has never felt so alive.

 Selections from Bach’s monumental Clavier-Übung III unfold on Hertz Hall’s famed organs—an encyclopedic journey through Lutheran chorales and contrapuntal mastery.

Cut Circle explores Josquin des Prez’s astonishing early mastery with music from the 1480s, blending cutting-edge research with thrilling performance under the direction of Jesse Rodin.

Baroque meets drag in this dazzling cabaret starring bass-baritone John Taylor Ward’s flamboyant Countess. Campy, intimate, and boldly theatrical—history has never felt so alive.

 Early medieval songs exploring music, science, and mythology come alive through Sequentia’s legendary insight, drawing from sources such as the 11th-century Cambridge Songs.

 Celebrate early American music and dance through the vibrant works of Francis Johnson, a pioneering Black composer and bandleader, performed with period instruments and historic choreography.

 Baroque vocal masterpieces by women composers take center stage, featuring soprano Paulina Francisco in a program of expressive, virtuosic, and emotionally rich works.

 Berkeley native Lillian Gordis returns home with an all-Bach recital inspired by her recent album, exploring symbolism and intimacy through The Well-Tempered Clavier and the Sixth Partita.

Marches, arias, and readings recreate the soundscape of the American Revolution, revealing how music shaped morale and identity during the fight for independence

 A dazzling survey of traditional Chinese music featuring historic instruments and styles, showcasing the extraordinary breadth and living traditions of Chinese musical culture.

A gripping medieval tale of sin, suffering, and redemption retold through sung Middle High German verse and Romanesque harps in Sequentia’s powerful reconstruction.

 The Festival culminates in Handel’s spellbinding opera Alcina, presented in a co-production with Festival Opera. Seduction, illusion, and transformation unfold on a magical island in this semi-staged production—Baroque opera at its most thrilling and emotionally charged.

 The Festival culminates in Handel’s spellbinding opera Alcina, presented in a co-production with Festival Opera. Seduction, illusion, and transformation unfold on a magical island in this semi-staged production—Baroque opera at its most thrilling and emotionally charged.