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.

  • Who’s Counting?

    at 5pm on Saturday October 182025
    with pre-performance discussion at 4pm

    Hirshhorn Museum’s Ring Auditorium

    Sofia Gubaidulina
    Aus dem Visionen de Hildegard von Bingen
    George Crumb
    Ancient Voices of Children
    Guillaume de Machaut
    Rosa, lis
    Francois Andrieu
    Armes amour
    Magister Grimace
    A l’arme, a l’arme
    Juri Seo
    (world premiere)