Architectural Building Tours
Open to the public. Free tours are offered on the first Sunday of every month at 12:15 pm. No reservations are required.
Suggested donation $10 per person.
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Private tours are available for a fee, by special arrangement. For private tour information, email society@csberkeley.org
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If you are interested in booking the church building for an event, please contact society@csberkeley.org
2025 – 2026 Events
Midday Organ Meditations
William Ludtke, Organist
11:30 am – 12:00 pm silent meditation
12:00 pm – 12:30 pm organ music
Every Thursday | 11:30 am
September 20, 2025
9:30 am | 11:00 am | 1:30 am
California Preservation Foundation
Doors Open California Event
Special Architectural Building Tours at 9:30 am | 11:00 am | 1:30 pm
Bernard Maybeck’s First Church of Christ, Scientist, Berkeley, is a world-class architectural treasure and National Historic Landmark. It is a brilliantly creative integration of Arts & Crafts, Byzantine, Romanesque, Japanese, and Gothic Revival, built of modern industrial materials yet designed to be unusually home-like and connected to its garden and community surroundings. Across from today’s People's Park, the center of Berkeley's counter-culture movement, the church's warm and honest character is defined by simplicity, unity, harmony, beauty, light and peace. In terms of light and space, Maybeck’s Masterpiece is the first truly American church.
September 21, 2025 | 4:00 pm
LIEDER ALIVE!
MUSIC IN MAYBECK'S MASTERPIECE
Peter Grünberg & John Parr, four hand piano
Very Special Guest Thomas Kinch, tenor
Mozart, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Brahms Hungarian Dances, Richard Strauss & Wagner
October 12, 2025 | 2:30 pm
THE HANDEL OPERA PROJECT
LEANDRE ET HERO
Daphne Touchais, soprano
MOZART CLARINET QUINTET
Karen Wells, clarinet
THE IMPRESSARIO
Shannon Arcilla
Jane Diliberto
Caleb Alexander
Wayne Wong
November 2, 2025 | 4:00 pm
LEFT COAST CHAMBER ENSEMBLE
MIDNIGHT MEMORIES: MENDELSSOHN, MAHLER, MODERNS
Nikki Einfeld, soprano
Michael Goldberg, guitar
Anna Presler, violin
Liana Bérubé, violin
Phyllis Kamrin, viola
Tanya Tomkins, cello
Leighton Fong, cello
Allegra Chapman, piano
Matilda Hofman, conductor
Fanny Mendelssohn and Gustav Mahler brush shoulders with composers of our time, past and present connecting through musical memories.
December 13, 2025 | 7:30 pm
PACIFIC EDGE VOICES
WINTER CONCERT
More information and tickets coming soon.
December 21, 2025 | 7:00 pm
FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, BERKELEY
CHRISTMAS CONCERT
Bach, Handel, Mozart + Mendelssohn
January 31, 2026 | 7:30 pm
LEFT COAST CHAMBER ENSEMBLE
METAMORPHOSEN
Anna Presler, violin
Phyllis Kamrin, viola
Tanya Tomkins, cello
Leighton Fong, cello
Michel Taddei, double bass
Kurt Rohde, viola (guest artist)
Alisa Rose, violin (guest artist)
Ivo Bokulic, viola (guest artist)
Strauss’s eulogy to the world he knew and loved is an outpouring of emotion, and one of his most intimate works. Metamorphosen is paired with other works that extract maximum power from small forces: Berio’s virtuosic Sequenza and the world premiere of Bahar Royaee’s viola concerto.
February 1, 2026 | 4:00 pm
LIEDER ALIVE !
MUSIC IN MAYBECK'S MASTERPIECE
75 Legacy Liederabend 75
Kindra Scharich, mezzo-soprano
Jeffrey LaDeur, piano
Schumann and Brahms
February 15, 2026 | 2:30 pm
THE HANDEL OPERA PROJECT
ORPHEUS
More information and tickets coming soon.
April 19, 2026 | 4:00 pm
LIEDER ALIVE !
MUSIC IN MAYBECK'S MASTERPIECE
Alina Ilchuk, soprano
Peter Grünberg, piano
Early Chopin and other Polish songs; Ukrainian and Czech melodies
March 21, 2026 | 7:30 pm
LEFT COAST CHAMBER ENSEMBLE + VOLTI
SOUND STORIES
Stacey Pelinka, flute
Phyllis Kamrin, viola
Leighton Fong, cello
Allegra Chapman, piano
with guest artists
Susan Strauss, storyteller
Volti SF
Volti and Left Coast meet in a new work by Chris Castro for storyteller and musicians, which explores the connection between sound and the spoken word in tales from the west coast. The human relationship to our environment forms a through-line from romantic to experimental musical sensibilities.
May 14, 2026 | TBA
CONCERTS IN AMERICA
JOSCHO STEPHEN TRIO
more information + tickets coming soon
May 24, 2026 | 2:30 pm
THE HANDEL OPERA PROJECT
SEMIRAMIDE
More information and tickets coming soon.
2024 – 2025
LIEDER ALIVE!
MUSIC IN MAYBECK'S MASTERPIECE
In partnership with San Francisco International Piano Festival
Kindra Scharich, mezzo-soprano
Jeffrey LaDeur, piano
Fauré La Bonne Chanson, Fauré Mélodies
Sunday, October 6, 2024 | 4:00 pm
THE HANDEL OPERA PROJECT ENSEMBLE
HANDEL OPERA PROJECT
with
Oakland Civic Orchestra, Martha Stoddard, conductor
Sara Couden, mezzo-soprano
Vaughan-Williams, Schoenberg, Ludtke
Sunday, October 20, 2024 | 2:30 pm
VOLTI VOCAL ENSEMBLE
46TH SEASON OPENING
Robert Geary, Founding Artistic Director conducts
Hege, Winges, Saariaho, Negrón
Sunday, November 17, 2024 | 5:00 pm
LIEDER ALIVE!
MUSIC IN MAYBECK'S MASTERPIECE
Kurt Erickson Ten-Year Composer-in-Residence Celebration!
Heidi Moss Erickson, soprano
John Parr, piano
Erickson Each Moment Radiant, Fauré, Strauss
Sunday, November 24, 2024 | 4:00 pm
First Church of Christ Scientist, Berkeley presents
A CHRISTMAS CONCERT
Let There Be Light
with vocalists
Jayne Diliberto
Katherine Gray
Bradley Kynard
Kathleen Miller
Daphne Touchais
Reuben Zellman
Bach, Vivaldi, Buxtehude, Mozart, Yekmalyan, Ives
Sunday December 22, 2024 | 7:00 pm
LEFT COAST CHAMBER ENSEMBLE
WINTER WANDERING FESTIVAL
Luigi Nono – "Hay que caminar" soñando
Franz Schubert – String Quintet in C Major
Friday, January 24, 2025 | 7:30 pm
LEFT COAST CHAMBER ENSEMBLE
WINTER WANDERING FESTIVAL
ECHO CONTEST...NEARLY
Raven Chacon, Danny Clay
Saturday, January 25, 2025 | 11:30 am
LEFT COAST CHAMBER ENSEMBLE
WINTER WANDERING FESTIVAL
ON THE THRESHOLD OF DREAMLAND Huang Ruo – Without Words, Todd Kitchen – Soprasymmetry IV World Premiere
Benjamin Britten – Folk Songs, Laurie San Martin – Witches
LJ White - New Work TBA World Premiere
Saturday, January 25, 2025, | 7:30 pm
LIEDER ALIVE!
MUSIC IN MAYBECK'S MASTERPIECE
Charlotte Kelso, soprano
Peter Grūnberg, piano
Schubert, Wagner, Mahler, Marx
Sunday, February 23, 2025 | 4:00 pm
Every Thursday starting
March 6, 2025 | 11:30 am
Midday Organ Meditations
William Ludtke, Organist
Sunday, March 23, 2025 | 2:00 pm
THE HANDEL OPERA PROJECT
THE MAGIC FLUTE
with vocalists Caleb Alexander, Daphne Touchais, Chelsea Hollow, Clifton Romig, Bradley Kynard, Courtnee Rhone, Wayne Wong, Kathleen Moss Miller, Jayne Diliberto, Eliza O'Malley, Bryana Marrero, Reuben Zellman, Katherine Gray, and Michael Orlinsky
Sunday, April 27, 2025 | 8:00 pm
BERKELEY CHAMBER OPERA PRESENTS
Europa & The Bull
A tale of Europa and Zeus, inspired by the paintings of Mary Holmes
Peter Josheff, music
Eliza O’Malley & Peter Josheff, libretto
Eliza O’Malley, soprano
Jonathan Smucker, tenor
Matilda Hofman, conductor
Dan Flanagan, violin
Peter Josheff, clarinet
Victoria Ehrlich, cello
Richard Worn, bass
LIEDER ALIVE!
MUSIC IN MAYBECK'S MASTERPIECE
Esther Rayo, soprano
Peter Grünberg, piano
A plethora of Spanish composers!
Sunday, May 25, 2025 | 4:00 pm
THE HANDEL OPERA PROJECT
SAMSON
Gabriel Liboiron-Cohen, Samson
Daphne Touchais, Dalila
Sara Couden, Micah
Wayne Wong, Manoah
Michael Orlinsky, Harapha
Shannon Arcilla, Jayne Diliberto, & Caleb Alexander, Philistines
Sunday, June 15 2025 | 7:30 pm