J.S. Bach's Saint John Passion, BWV 245, Good Friday at Saint Peter's, April 3, 2026
Passion According to Saint John, 2025.
Saint John Passion, BWV 245, is among the greatest settings of the Passion in the history of music. Saint Peter’s Choir and Baroque Orchestra continues their annual tradition of presenting this masterwork on Good Friday in the context of the liturgy. The performance will be sung in German and feature period instruments, with opportunity for participation with the Chorales, in English, by the congregation.
Saint Peter’s is the only place in the New York City metropolitan area to hear the piece presented in such a manner. This special musical event is in-person only, with recordings available online at a later date. You can view last year’s performance here.
For more information on the musical history of Saint Peter’s, including our newly-refurbished organ, see our For the Future campaign.
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The Passion narrative from the Lutheran Bible and the chorale verses are interspersed with aria texts of varied origins. An unknown editor compiled these in 1724 from several sources of poetry. A few of the aria texts, such as “Ich folge dir gleichfalls mit freudigen Schritten” were probably written by this editor who was particularly inspired by the basic ideas of the fourth Gospel. All-in-all, the varied pasticcio character of the libretto distinguishes the Saint John Passion from its companion work the Saint Matthew Passion with its text by a single author Picander whom Bach named on the title page of his fair copy.
The performance will be on period instruments in German, with opportunity for participation with the Chorales, in English, by the congregation.
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Vincent Carr is a conductor, organist, pedagogue and composer/improviser widely known for his versatility as a performer and collaborative musician. He currently serves as Director of Music, Liturgy and the Arts at Saint Peter’s Church in New York City. Most recently, he served as the education czar for the American Guild of Organists, the world’s largest professional organization of organists and church musicians, as well as music director at the parish of Our Lady of the Lake in Verona, New Jersey. From concert hall to church, he has championed new music and the works of underrepresented composers in diverse and engaging concert programs.
As a professional organist and choral conductor, he has held organist and choirmaster posts at some of the nation's most noteworthy churches and cathedrals. From 2006-2013, he was Associate Organist at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, New Jersey, where he founded the Wednesdays at Noon concert series as a mission to the city of Newark. In his subsequent post at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City, New York, a commercial recording entitled "A Year at Incarnation" was released featuring the cathedral's renowned music ministry. An experienced university professor for more than a decade, he most recently served as Associate Professor of Organ and Church Music in the prestigious Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University (Bloomington). He also served on the faculties of Montclair State University and William Paterson University.
After earning undergraduate degrees in Organ Performance and Spanish language from Indiana University, Vince continued his graduate music studies at Yale University, where he was the recipient of numerous prizes from the faculty and in national organ competitions. His keen interest in the business aspect of being a career musician led him to undertake further graduate studies in business and personal finance at New York University. He holds the Associate and Choirmaster certificates from the American Guild of Organists and in 2013 he took a sabbatical in France, studying in the tradition of Nadia Boulanger. In March 2024, following extensive examinations, he was conferred the Fellowship Diploma from the Royal College of Organists (FRCO), where he earned the Limpus Prize, the Dixon Prize and the Richardson Prize.
Vince has served as musical director/conductor for the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival in the United Kingdom, as well as the celebrity Irish singing group The Priests. His performance of Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb with the Richard Alston Dance Company (London) garnered critical acclaim in both the UK as well as New York City’s Fall for Dance Festival (2016).
Known for his warm demeanor and charisma as a conductor, he has led professional and amateur choirs in both sacred and secular space and served as a conducting fellow for the Grammy-nominated Voices of Ascension. As a composer and improviser, he has developed original music for keyboard, choir, silent film and musical theatre.
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Jacob Perry, tenor, is lauded for his stylish interpretations of early music. As a soloist, he lends his graceful sense of phrasing and luminous tone to engagements with American Classical Orchestra, Apollo's Fire, Bach Collegium San Diego, Jacksonville Symphony, Pacific Baroque Orchestra, Philharmonia Baroque, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Seattle Bach Festival, Tafelmusik, Tempesta di Mare, Washington Bach Consort, and the Washington National Cathedral. Jacob joined the Carmel Bach Festival in 2022 as the tenor participant in the Virginia Adams Best Masterclass.
Deeply immersed in vocal chamber music, Jacob enjoys active membership in Les Canards Chantants, a soloist-ensemble based in Philadelphia, as well as engagements with ensembles such as the Ampersand, Art of Early Keyboard (ARTEK), Cathedra, Ensemble Altera, The Leonids, The New Consort, Res Facta, and TENET Vocal Artists. He has explored the vocal works by contemporary composers through engagements with Third Practice, hexaCollective, and Great Noise Ensemble. As Co-Artistic Director of Bridge, a genre-defying vocal collective based in Washington, he draws on his instincts for theatricality and story-telling, as the group explores the connections between early masterpieces and ground-breaking new works.
THE PASSION ACCORDING TO SAINT JOHN, BWV 245 JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH, 1685-1750
GOOD FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 12:00 P.M. NOON AT SAINT PETER’S CHURCH
Presented within a liturgy, this Passion is in-person only and made possible by donations.
Vincent Carr
CONDUCTOR
Jacob Perry
EVANGELIST
Harrison Hintzsche
JESUS
Matthew Dexter
PILATE & PETER
Samantha Caps
SOPRANO SOLOIST
Katherine Lerner Lee
ALTO SOLOIST
Jedidiah Rellihan
TENOR SOLOIST
Drew Alexander Young
TENOR SOLOIST
Emily Hagens
SERVANT
CHOIR
Soprano
Hannah Bogard
Samantha Caps
Emily Hagens
Betty Jackson
Marguerite Sutherland
Emily Teplán
Lili Teplán
Carol Trower
Charlotte Roh
Alto
Tracy Christensen
Casey Cormier
Katherine Lerner Lee
Kit Kreillik
Emerson Sieverts
Rosalind Rees Smith
Tenor
Drew Alexander Young
Bruce Johnson
Kristian Kraai
Jedidiah Rellihan
Eric Stenshoel
Bass
Trevor Bishai
William Bodenlos
Watson Bosler
Matthew Dexter
Matthew Littig
Jim Madden
John Mostenan
BAROQUE ORCHESTRA
Serafim Smigelskiy Cello
Kevin Payne Theorbo
Caitlyn Koester Organ
Melanie Williams, Mili Chang Transverse Flutes
David Dickey, Remy Libbrecht Oboe da caccia, Oboe d’Amore
Stephanie Corwin Bassoon
Edson Scheid, Isabelle Suela Lee Violins
Dan McCarthy Viola
Caroline Nicolas Viola da Gamba
John Stajduhar Bass
TRANSLATION
Michael Marissen, Daniel R. Melamed, alt. German/English alterations
© Pamela Dellal, alt. Libretto Henry S. Drinker Chorales Catherine Winkworth Chorale No. 40
YOUR SUPPORT MATTERS
This presentation is made possible entirely by donations. Your reservation helps Saint Peter’s continue the Good Friday tradition of classical music masterworks in a liturgical setting.
$35 donation | General Admission
- With a donation of $35 comes general admission seating for one person.
$100 donation | Supporter Circle
- Acknowledgement in the program.*
- General admission seating for two.
$250 donation | Donor Circle
- Acknowledgement in the program.*
- Reserved seating for two.
$500 donation | Friend Circle
- Acknowledgement in the program.*
- Reserved seating for two.
- Invitation to a rehearsal of your choice.
$1,000 donation | Benefactor Circle
- Acknowledgement in the program.
- Reserved seating for up to 4 people.
- Invitation to a rehearsal of your choice
- Breakfast with the Cantor and Pastor on the morning of the performance, April 3, 2026.
$1,500 donation | Patron Circle
- Acknowledgement in the program.
- Reserved seating for up to 6 people.
- Invitation to a rehearsal of your choice.
- Breakfast with the Cantor and Pastor on the morning of the performance, April 3, 2026.
- 2 VIP tickets to a special performance of Bach’s B minor Mass by the Sebastians on Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (artsconservancy.org/bminor)
* In order to appear in the program, gifts must be received by Sunday, March 22, 2026.
For inquiries regarding cash or check donation, including questions on future support, please contact our Director of Development, Rebekah Thornhill.