St. Matthew’s Music Guild Announces 41st Season

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

St. Matthew’s Music Guild announced its 2025-26 concert season on Wednesday, September 3, which marks its 41st anniversary.

The upcoming season, featuring the “critically acclaimed Chamber Orchestra at St. Matthew’s,” will be led by Music Director Dwayne Milburn—and is set to include “an array of world-class soloists and ensembles.”

“The community of Pacific Palisades has been devastated by the January 2025 fires,” Milburn said. “Our subscribers and patrons know how powerfully music heals and brings people together.”

The season will open on Friday, September 26, with “renowned violinist” Movses Pogossian, who will perform Felix Mendelssohn’s “Violin Concerto in E minor.” The program also includes the overture to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 2.”

Next will be Raehann Bryce-Davis—“in an evening of operatic fireworks”—on November 7, followed by Bach Collegium San Diego in George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah” on December 5.

The first performance of 2026 will take place on February 6, featuring The Gesualdo Six: “Queen of Hearts.”

“LA Phil principals Boris Allakhverdyan (clarinet) and Whitney Crockett (bassoon) in [Richard] Strauss’ ‘Duet-Concertino’ [is next on] March 20, 2026,” according to Music Guild. “David Garrett plays [Joseph] Haydn’s ‘Cello Concerto in D major’ on ‘A Classical Journey’ [on] April 24, 2026.”

The season will conclude with a finale on May 29, 2026, with concertmaster YuEun Gemma Kim in Antonín Dvořák’s ‘Violin Concerto.”

The Music Guild season typically takes place at St. Matthew’s Church in Pacific Palisades, but since the fire damaged the structure, it has convened in an alternate venue.

“The remediation of our beloved church has reached an encouraging milestone, passing the halfway point with completion anticipated this fall,” read information on the church website. “Our renowned musical instruments (especially our world class organ and pianos) require specialized and extensive cleaning and renovation from the smoke and ash deposited on and in them during the fire. Though this process will take several months, it will not hold us back from returning to the church. Given the current schedule for cleaning both the inside and outside of the church, including the pews, walls, ceilings and sacraments, we expect to return to limited services and some Parish events in the church by early October.”

Music Guild concerts will temporarily take place at St. Augustine by-the-Sea Church, which is located at 1227 Fourth Street in Santa Monica. September and November performances are set to take place in Santa Monica, with “an anticipated return to St. Matthew’s Church in December.”

Single tickets for concerts are available for $45, while a season pass for the seven concerts begin at $285.

“We look forward to the coming season,” Milburn said, “and our return to St. Matthew’s Church soon.”

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit musicguildonline.org.