Oct 18: The Gardner Museum Presents ACRONYM in Esther in the Age of Rembrandt - A Concert in Conjunction with the Museum’s Current Exhibition
ACRONYM, photo by Jeff Weeks. Press photos available here.
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Presents ACRONYM in
Esther in the Age of Rembrandt on October 18, 2026
A Concert Coinciding with the Museum’s Current Exhibition
The Book of Esther in the Age of Rembrandt
Sunday, October 18, 2026 at 1:30pm
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum | Calderwood Hall | 25 Evans Way | Boston, MA
Tickets: www.gardnermuseum.org/calendar/acronym-20261018
For press tickets, please contact Christina Jensen at christina@jensenartists.com
BOSTON, MA – The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum continues its Fall 2026 Weekend Concert Series, presenting ACRONYM in Esther in the Age of Rembrandt on Sunday, October 18, 2026 at 1:30pm. This ten-concert autumn season curated by Abrams Curator of Music George Steel runs from September 13 through November 22, 2026 and features world-class artists in the Museum’s extraordinary Calderwood Hall—a 300-seat “sonic cube” with three levels of balconies designed so that 80% of seats are front row, creating a uniquely intense and intentional listening experience.
Baroque band ACRONYM’s performance is presented in conjunction with the Museum’s exhibition The Book of Esther in the Age of Rembrandt, running from August 6, 2026 through January 18, 2027 in the Hostetter Gallery. The exhibition illuminates how the ancient story of a Jewish heroine became a source of inspiration for people across faiths in the 17th-century Netherlands. ACRONYM’s program offers rare performances of three Esther cantatas from Rembrandt’s time. It includes two works by women composers of the time – Esther from 1708 by the remarkable French composer Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre and Sinfonia à5, No. 5 from circa 1625–1650 by Flemish composer Leonora Duarte, who came from a Portuguese-Jewish converso family. The concert will also include Sinfonia grave à5 and Gagliarda Massara (c. 1607) by Jewish Mantuan composer Salamone Rossi, plus Regina Hester (c. 1640-50) by Giacomo Carissimi, Balletto, genandt das Narrenspitall (c. 1667) by Johann Heinrich Schmelzer, and Historia Esther from 1677 by Marc-Antoine Charpentier. ACRONYM will perform with a roster of leading vocal soloists as special guests: Amanda Forsythe and Teresa Wakim, sopranos; Kim Leeds, alto; Aaron Sheehan, tenor; and Jesse Blumberg, baritone.
Founded in 2012, ACRONYM is dedicated to giving modern premieres of the music of the 17th-century. The group has recorded ten critically acclaimed albums, many of which are the first modern recordings of composers whose works were nearly lost to time. The ensemble has been praised by The New York Times for playing with “consummate style, grace, and unity of spirit” and by the Boston Musical Intelligencer for its “unadulterated joy and funk” and “spirit of spontaneous adventure.”
George Steel’s music programming for the Museum continues founder and legendary arts patron Isabella Stewart Gardner’s vision of bringing together musicians and audiences for inspiring gatherings. Dating to 1927, the Gardner’s Weekend Concert Series is the longest-running museum music program in the country. Much like Isabella Stewart Gardner did in her time, Steel champions unknown repertoire and embraces new works, creates connections and builds community among musicians, and supports them by presenting them in new endeavors and collaborations. His programming also frequently draws on the history of the Gardner Museum, featuring instruments from the Museum’s collection and music by composers who were associated with its founder. In honoring Isabella Stewart Gardner’s musical legacy, Music at the Gardner remains strongly committed to broadening the repertoire of music presented to include previously overlooked and marginalized composers as well as performers of all backgrounds.
Fall 2026 At-a-Glance Concert Schedule
September 13 Rachel Barton Pine, violin
September 20: Twelfth Night Ensemble
September 27: Chamber Music Celebration
This annual concert celebrates the life and legacy of Scott Nickrenz, first Abrams Curator of Music at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
October 4: Ivalas Quartet
October 18: ACRONYM: Esther in the Age of Rembrandt
October 25: Celebrating Chrysanthemums
This performance is made possible by the Anne Hawley Fund for Programs.
November 1: Eleanor Alberga with Green Room Ensemble
November 8: Poiesis Quartet
November 15: Lysander Piano Trio
November 22: Jean Rondeau, harpsichord
This concert is made possible by the generous support of David Scudder in memory of his wife, Marie Louise Scudder.
All concerts take place on Sundays at 1:30 pm in Calderwood Hall at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (25 Evans Way, Boston, MA).
Ticketing Information
Tickets ($25-$99) go on sale to the general public on Wednesday, August 5, 2026 at 10:00 am and are available at gardnermuseum.org/about/music or by calling the Box Office at 617 278 5156. All concert tickets include Museum admission.
About the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum invites you to escape the ordinary in a magical setting where art and community come together to inspire new ways of envisioning our world. Embodying the fearless legacy of its founder, the Museum offers a singular invitation to explore the past through a contemporary lens, creating meaningful encounters with art and joyful connections for all. Modeled after a Venetian palazzo, unforgettable galleries surround a luminous Courtyard and are home to masters such as Rembrandt, Raphael, Titian, Michelangelo, Whistler, and Sargent. The Renzo Piano Wing provides a platform for contemporary artists, musicians, and scholars and serves as an innovative venue where creativity is celebrated in all of its forms.
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum • 25 Evans Way, Boston, MA 02115 • Hours: Open Weekends from 10 am to 5 pm, Weekdays from 11am to 5 pm, and Thursdays until 9 pm. Closed Tuesdays. • Admission: Adults $25; Seniors $22; Students $15; Free for members, children 17 and under, and all named “Isabella” • For information 617 566 1401 • Box Office 617 278 5156 • www.gardnermuseum.org
Music at the Gardner is supported by the Nora McNeely Hurley Foundation. The Museum thanks its generous concert donors: The Coogan Concert in memory of Peter Weston Coogan; Fitzpatrick Family Concert; James Lawrence Memorial Concert; Scott Nickrenz Concert; Alford P. Rudnick Memorial Concert; David Scudder in memory of his wife, Marie Louise Scudder; Wendy Shattuck Young Artist Concert; and Willona Sinclair Memorial Concert. The piano is dedicated as the Alex d’Arbeloff Steinway. The harpsichord was generously donated by Dr. Robert Barstow in memory of Marion Huse, and its care is endowed in memory of Dr. Barstow by The Barstow Fund. Music at the Gardner is also supported in part by Barbara and Amos Hostetter, Joseph Mari, Sallie and Jim McGregor, Nicie and Jay Panetta, and The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc.