Spring in DC calls for live music, and the Folger Consort delivers.
Tudor England Comes Alive on the Folger Stage
The Folger Shakespeare Library invites DC audiences into the heart of Elizabethan spring with An English Garden, the award-winning Folger Consort’s final concert of the 2025–2026 season. Performed May 8–10, 2026, inside the Folger’s intimate Elizabethan-style Theatre, this program draws directly from one of history’s most fertile moments for English art, landscape, and sound. The Tudor elite obsessed over manicured gardens that engaged all five senses — at least 19 horticultural books were published during Queen Elizabeth I’s reign alone — and the music that bloomed alongside those gardens is nothing short of extraordinary.
16th-Century Music, World-Class Artists
Curated by early music veteran Mary Springfels, the program features consort songs by William Byrd, courtly dances by Anthony Holborne, Hugh Ashton’s Masque, and Edward Johnson’s tribute to Elizabeth I, “Eliza Is the Fairest Queen.” John Dowland’s “Oh sweet woods” and Francis Cutting’s “The woods so wild” round out a gorgeous sylvan program performed on viols and lute by an all-star ensemble: Robert Eisenstein, Lawrence Lipnik, Mark Rimple, Springfels, and soprano Emily Noël. Five-time Helen Hayes Award winner Holly Twyford returns as narrator, reading from Philip Sidney, Edmund Spenser, and Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream!
Don’t Miss the Pre-Show Conversations and Virtual Seminar
Free pre-show conversations with guest artists run 7–7:30 PM before the Friday, May 8, and Saturday, May 9, performances — included with every ticket. On Wednesday, May 6, at 6 PM, Eisenstein leads a virtual Zoom seminar offering a behind-the-scenes preview of the program for just $10, free for Folger Members and Subscribers. Tickets for performances run $20–$50, with discounts for members, seniors, students, educators, military families, and groups!
The Washington Lobbyist is your guide to the best of DC arts, dining, and culture — bookmark us, share this with a friend who loves live music, and grab your tickets before this one sells out.
Folger Shakespeare Library | 201 East Capitol Street SE, Washington, DC 20003 Box Office: (202) 544-7077 Tickets: $20–$50 www.folger.edu/consort.
