After a jam-packed start to March, Philly’s classical concert calendar thins out at the end of the month. So like many local schools, we’ll be on spring break next week — but don’t worry, we won’t get too comfortable at the beach! We’ll be back with a fresh edition of Fanfare on Sunday, April 5.
Spotlight: PCMS 40th Anniversary Celebration — Tuesday, March 31, Perelman Theater
For four decades, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society has been an anchor of the region’s classical music scene, bringing thousands of extraordinary artists and ensembles to the City of Brotherly Love. As a proud PCMS patron, I am continuously amazed by the organization’s ethos, committed to cultivating a warm, welcoming concertgoing environment where exceptional musicianship thrives.
Much of PCMS’s sustained success can be attributed to Philip Maneval, its founding Executive Director, who is being honored in this star-studded gala concert. The East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO) will be joined by a quintet of superb soloists — clarinetist Anthony McGill, violinist Tai Murray, pianist Shai Wosner, harpist Sivan Magen, and double bassist Nathan Farrington — for concertos by Errollyn Wallen and Aaron Copland, Dvořák’s Serenade for Strings, and the premiere of one of Maneval’s own compositions.
March 31 at 7:30 p.m., Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, 300 S Broad Street, $40-$640; tickets and information.
Philadelphia Bach Collective — Tuesday, March 24, St. Mark’s Church
Relative to PCMS, the Philadelphia Bach Collective is in its infancy, having staged its first concert last September. An outgrowth of the vocal ensemble Variant Six and the period instrument ensemble Night Music, it’s a welcome newcomer, offering free lunchtime Bach concerts at St. Mark’s Church in Rittenhouse Square. The Collective’s March 24th performance features Bach’s Cantata BWV 99, “Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan” (“What God does is well done”), a vibrant expression of faith and steadfastness in the face of doubt.
March 24 at 1 p.m., St. Mark’s Church, 1625 Locust Street, Free (Donations Encouraged); tickets and information.
Curtis Symphony Orchestra — Thursday, March 26, Marian Anderson Hall
The Curtis Symphony Orchestra concludes its 2025-26 season with Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who, among his many titles, serves as the Institute’s Head of Conducting. The concert opens with Wagner’s Rienzi Overture, conducted by Nézet-Séguin's protégé Yoann Combémorel. Its theatrics are followed by more lyrical drama: Nézet-Séguin leads songs by both Gustav and Alma Mahler, featuring singers from the Curtis Opera Theatre program, and William Levi Dawson’s Negro Folk Symphony.
March 26 at 7 p.m., Marian Anderson Hall, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, 300 S Broad Street, $28-$60; tickets and information.
Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia — Saturday and Sunday, March 28 and 29, Goodhart Hall
From Goethe to Charlie Daniels, the trope of making a deal with the devil has loomed large in our collective imagination for centuries. Igor Stravinsky’s 1918 work L’Histoire du Soldat (A Soldier’s Tale) is one of the most idiosyncratic adaptations of the Faustian bargain, using a narrator and septet of musicians to tell the story of a soldier who sells his violin to the devil in exchange for promises of vast wealth. Musicians from the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and narrator Todd Thomas present two performances of Stravinsky’s parable, adding Philly grit to its vivid eclecticism and dark humor.
March 28 at 7:30 p.m. and March 29 at 2 p.m., Goodhart Hall, 150 N Merion Ave, Bryn Mawr, PA, $29-$120; tickets and information.
Charlotte Hu — Saturday, March 28, Rock Hall
Ahead of the release of her second album for the Pentatone label, Taiwanese-American pianist Charlotte Hu presents a free recital in Boyer College of Music’s Rock Hall on Temple’s main campus. A member of Boyer’s adjunct faculty, Hu lends her dazzling technique to Goyescas, a 1911 suite by the Spanish composer Enrique Granados inspired by the beguiling paintings of Francisco Goya.
March 28 at 5:30 p.m., Rock Hall, 1715 N Broad St, Free and open to the public; more information.
Vox Ama Deus — Friday, April 3, St. Katherine of Siena Church, Wayne
Gioachino Rossini was born only 12 weeks after Mozart’s death and inherited his preternatural ability to generate an endless stream of catchy, compelling vocal music. Both of their talents are on display in this spiritually profound Good Friday concert from Vox Ama Deus and conductor Valentin Radu, juxtaposing Rossini’s Stabat Mater with Mozart’s Requiem.
April 3 at 7 p.m., St. Katherine of Siena Church, 104 S Aberdeen Ave, Wayne, PA, $12-$27; tickets and information.
