The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Presents ACRONYM in Esther in the Age of Rembrandt on October 18, 2026

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. 

Tickets are available at gardnermuseum.org/music or by calling the Box Office at 617 278 5156. For additional information including about accessibility, please contact boxoffice@isgm.org.

Performances take place in Calderwood Hall at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (25 Evans Way, Boston, MA).
 

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. 

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 11 am to 5 pm, and Thursdays until 9 pm. Closed Tuesdays. • General admission: Adults $25; Seniors $22; Students $15; Free Thursdays from 5 – 9 pm and for members, children 17 and under, and everyone named Isabella • Information: 617 566 1401 • Box Office: 617 278 5156 • www.gardnermuseum.org

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Christina Jensen, Jensen Artists

christina@jensenartists.com