Choral Evensong & Organ Recital

Legendary Estonian composer Arvo Pärt celebrates his 90th birthday in September 2025, and The Emmanuel Choir marks this milestone with a special service of Choral Evensong. The program begins with two of Pärt's most beloved chamber works: Fratres (1977, for violin and piano) and Spiegel im Spiegel (1978, for cello and piano). The liturgy at 4:00 p.m. features Pärt's stunning settings of the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis, and culminates with fellow Baltic composer Pēteris Vasks' mesmerizing work for choir, violin, and cello, Plainscapes (2002). This candlelit program brings together distinguished guest artists Qing Li, Principal Second Violinist of the Baltimore Symphony, and Michael Kannen, Professor of Chamber Music at Peabody Institute. Immerse yourself in the transcendent sound world that has established Arvo Pärt as the world's most-performed living composer for much of the past two decades.

• The Emmanuel Choir
• Qing Li, violin
• Michael Kannen, cello
• Christian Lane, direction & piano

Tickets are not required for this event. All are welcome.

Click "Reserve a Spot" to assure your spot, and to receive email updates about this event.

A free-will donation will be accepted at this program. Donations are also gratefully accepted here on Eventbrite by clicking the "Reserve a Spot" link.

We thank Emmanuel's Friends of Music for their ongoing and significant support of programming at Emmanuel. If you are intersted in becoming a Friend of Music, please click here.

Music at Emmanuel is grateful to the Maryland State Arts Council and the William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, creator of the Baker Artist Portfolios, www.BakerArtist.org, for their support of the 2025–2026 season.

The Emmanuel Choir is Maryland's premier professional liturgical choral ensemble.

A 16-voice fully-professional mixed-voice ensemble, its 12-member core is augmented by four Choral Scholars, each a local young artist. Rooted in the great and expansive choral traditions of the Anglican (Episcopal) Church, the Emmanuel Choir’s repertoire spans the centuries — from Italian Renaissance to English Romantic; from plainsong to the 21st century — and includes regular world-premiere performances of new music composed for the church of today and tomorrow. The choir is directed by Christian Lane.

Emmanuel Church is located at 811 Cathedral Street in Baltimore, on the corner of Cathedral & W. Read Streets in the Mt. Vernon neighborhood.

Ample street parking, both free and metered, is available in historic Mt. Vernon. After 6:00 p.m. on weekdays, and all day on Sundays, many meters do not require payment and most residential restrictions are lifted. Please be sure to consult signage carefully.

However, we strongly encourage our patrons to avoid the stress of searching for street parking, and to make a parking plan before arriving into our residential neighborhood. To that end, the following websites and associated mobile apps may be very useful:

The closest paid parking lot is directly behind Emmanuel Church, at 810 N. Charles Street. Public lots within a three-block radius of the church include:

• 810 N. Charles Street*
• 910 N. Charles Street*
• 917 N. Charles Street
• 926 N. Charles Street
• 1000 N. Charles Street*
• 1017 N. Charles Street
• 124 W. Read Street
• 230 W. Read Street
• 600 Cathedral Street

*SAVE $5 on Parking!* Park in a PMI lot at 810, 910, or 1000 N. Charles St. and add promo code EEC when using the Honk app or honkmobile.com.

The church is also served by local bus routes on both Cathedral and N Charles Streets, as well as the Charm City Circulator (Purple Route) and Baltimore LiteRail Link (Mt Vernon/Centre St Stop).

Emmanuel Church is a 15-minute walk from Baltimore's Pennsylvania Rail Station (with regular MARC and Amtrak services).

Emmanuel Episcopal Church is located in the heart of Baltimore's historic Mt. Vernon neighborhood. Its tremendous stone tower at the corner of Cathedral and W. Read Streets serves as a beacon in this community, and the nave's warm acoustic and gentle ambiance contribute to creating an ideal environment in which to hear choral and chamber music.

In 2022, the church building underwent a $3.2M transformation to make each space in its physical plant fully accessible to all; included in this project was an elevator, increased ramp access, and new restroom facilities.

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