The Santa Fe Desert Chorale 2026 season opens April 25 with a Big Sing community event. Courtesy/SFDC

Desert Chorale News:

SANTA FE — The Santa Fe Desert Chorale (the Desert Chorale) announces its 2026 season, bringing together 24 of the nation’s top ensemble singers for 27 choral concerts and community events in Santa Fe and Albuquerque. Its Summer Festival, taking place from July 12-Aug. 2, 2026, is one of the largest and most significant choral events in the United States. 

The Desert Chorale Summer Festival includes three commissioned world premieres by Shawn Kirchner, Moira Smiley, and Shavon Lloyd; the return of Rachmaninoff’s deeply spiritual All-Night Vigil, last performed by the Desert Chorale in 2016, and a collaboration with early music ensemble Incantare. In addition, a special Artist Spotlight Recital will showcase three ensemble singers performing solo repertoire.

“At the Desert Chorale, we often speak about ‘singing for our common humanity.’ Each concert stands as a vivid testament to the power of community,” Artistic Director Joshua Habermann said. “The extraordinary artistry of our choristers, the sheer power of the repertoire, and the electric connection our artists create with one another and with our audience invites everyone in the hall to become part of something greater than themselves. We are looking forward to meeting our audiences this summer and to sharing programs that we think are a most compelling case for the sheer beauty of this art form.”

The season begins on April 25 with a Big Sing community event led by GRAMMY®- nominated singer, composer, and educator Moira Smiley, followed by the Desert Chorale’s annual Summer Festival. The Desert Chorale will also release a new commercial album, Roots & Rivers, on June 12 with Navona Records. The Winter Festival, happening Dec. 12-22, 2026, welcomes the singers back to Santa Fe for cherished holiday programs.

The Desert Chorale’s 24 exceptional professional singers are carefully selected for their artistry, musicianship, and community mindedness. The organization programs its summer season so that audiences may experience all three programs over a course of a few days, establishing the festival as a highlight for its Southwest residents and cultural destination for visitors around the world.

2026 Season Highlights 

• Big Sing with Moira Smiley (April 25 at Chatter ABQ): GRAMMY®-nominated singer, composer, and educator Moira Smiley leads a joyful, all ages, all levels, all voices welcome community singing workshop. Participants will be amazed at the sound they create together through a series of fun exercises, folk songs, and gorgeous harmonies in collaboration with a string quartet of New Mexico musicians. That evening at 7pm, Smiley and the string quartet return for an intimate chamber-folk concert of songs from Smiley’s latest album The Rhizome Project. The Desert Chorale co-presents The Big Sing with AMP Concerts and Quintessence: A Community of Singers.
  
• Summer Festival: Renaissance Splendor (July 12, July 28, and Aug. 1 at Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi): Twenty Desert Chorale artists—joined by the early music ensemble Incantare, as well as a theorbo player and an organist—journey to the heart of Spain and Italy for a program of sacred and secular works from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Highlights include Monteverdi’s Beatus Vir, Victoria’s Vidi speciosam, and Allegri’s Miserere mei, Deus.
  
• Summer Festival: Homecoming (July 19, July 24, and Aug. 2 at Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi): Marking the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, this program celebrates the sounds of American roots choral music through world premieres by Shawn Kirchner and guest performer Moira Smiley, as well as new music by Shavon Lloyd, commissioned by the Desert Chorale’s Commissioning Club. Rounding out the program is Alex Berko’s Sacred Place and Cranes Coming Home by emerging composer Taja Astar, winner of Chicago a cappella’s HerVoice competition.
  
• Summer Festival: Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil (July 23, 26, and July 30 at Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi; July 25 at Cathedral of St. John, Albuquerque): The Desert Chorale continues the tradition of presenting Sergei Rachmaninoff’s profoundly beautiful and deeply spiritual All-Night Vigil (Vespers), featuring an expanded 32-voice choir.  One of the pinnacle experiences of a cappella choral music, the work traverses the full range of the human voice and creates a cathedral of sound.
• Summer Festival: Artist Spotlight Recital (July 29 at St. Bede’s Episcopal Church): Desert Chorale artists not only blend seamlessly as an ensemble, they shine as soloists on-stage. This program allows audiences to hear three Desert Chorale singers in an intimate art song recital with pianist Nathan Salazar.
  
• Santa Fe Sings! (September 19 at United Church of Santa Fe): This beloved community workshop led by Joshua Habermann invites singers of all backgrounds to come together to sing selections of choral music spanning different eras and genres. The event draws participants ranging in age from eighth graders to octogenarians and cultivates a joy for singing.
  
• Winter Festival: Carols & Lullabies (December 12 – 22 at Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi; December 13 at First Presbyterian Church, Albuquerque): The 2026 season concludes with cherished holiday carols and seasonal treasures performed by the Desert Chorale’s  24 professional vocalists. Programming will be announced later this year.
  
• New Recording: Roots & Rivers (June 2026): The Chorale will release its latest commercial recording, Roots & Rivers. The album features new works by American composers written specifically for the ensemble, including Shawn E. Okpebholo’s The American Road, which reimagines spirituals to honor resilience and hope, as well as music by Reena Esmail, Jocelyn Hagen, Shawn Kirchner, and Kile Smith. 

Ticket Information

Tickets to the 2026 season concerts are now available for purchase at desertchorale.org/tickets or by calling the Box Office at 505.988.2282, Ext. 1. Tickets for regular season performances range from $22-$129. The Desert Chorale offers a 50% discount for all students with IDs.

A complete list of concert dates and times is available here. 

A complete list of Summer Festival singers and repertoire is available here.

About The Santa Fe Desert Chorale

The Santa Fe Desert Chorale, a 501(c)(3) organization, is a nationally recognized professional chamber choir and one of the longest-running professional music organizations in New Mexico. Founded in 1982 by Lawrence “Larry” Bandfield, the Chorale has been praised as “the crème de la crème” (Dallas Morning News) of professional choral singers. Performing in historical venues such as the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, the Chorale is a centerpiece of cultural life in Santa Fe and its annual Summer Festival is one of the nation’s largest choral events.

Under the direction of Artistic Director Joshua Habermann since 2008, the 24-member ensemble performs a wide-ranging repertoire, attracting audiences from around the world, and earning a reputation as “a rara avis in the choral music world” (Santa Fe New Mexican). The ensemble’s first commercial release, The Road Home, debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard Classical Chart. The Chorale’s new commercial album, Roots & Rivers, will be released later this year.