More than just a free noontime concert series, Sanctuary in the City is an opportunity for people from all ages and walks of life to come together in the heart of downtown Seattle and experience great music-making and storytelling. It is an opportunity to share the beloved masterpieces and discover new music and new composers from past and present, expanding the canon of classical music to include musicians from historically excluded populations, and to dig deeper into the WHY behind the music.

Started in 2017 as a partnership between Pacific MusicWorks and Christ Our Hope at the Josephinum, Sanctuary in the City brings together schoolchildren and retirees, Amazon employees and the unhoused, all in the sumptuous acoustic of Christ Our Hope. The lunchtime concerts, held on the second Wednesdays of the month from November to May, feature local musicians as well as guests from around the region, in a welcoming and informal environment with no financial or other barriers to admission. Each concert is truly a sanctuary from the troubles and busy-ness of our noisy and anxious world.