21st Century Consort

Founded in 1975 as the 20th Century Consort, the group became a resident ensemble at the Smithsonian Institution three years later. In its concerts at historic St. Mark’s on Capitol Hill, at the Hirshhorn Museum and at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Consort has presented exciting programs frequently related to museum exhibitions, featuring music by a diverse array of living composers – often world premieres – along with 20th century classics.

Under the direction of its founder and conductor, Christopher Kendall, the Consort’s artists include members of the National Symphony Orchestra and other prominent chamber musicians from Washington, D.C. and elsewhere. The ensemble is managed by Boyd Sarratt.

For over forty-five years the Consort’s concerts have been professionally recorded and archived, complementing the Consort’s produced studio recordings. This vast, living archive is permanently preserved at the University of Maryland, and can be heard without charge on our archive page, where it can be searched for any concert, composition or composer.

To read more about us, click here. And to see our full concert season, click here.

  • Echoes of Earth Day

    at 5pm on Saturday April 292023

    St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 3rd & A St. SE

    Sebastian Currier
    Whispers
    Juri Seo
    Suite
    Wang Jie
    Sonata for the Other Shore (U.S. premiere)
    Valerie Coleman
    Danza de la Mariposa
    George Crumb
    Vox Balaenae (Voice of the Whale)
  • Echoes of Earth Day
    One week after the April 22nd celebration, a musical echo that is environmentally sound