2026/27 Season Highlights in North and South America
Read our season preview of premieres, new productions, and other performance highlights across North and South America.
This season features worldwide musical celebrations of Steve Reich’s 90th birthday and John Adams’s 80th birthday. Osvaldo Golijov unveils Creation, a new evening-length oratorio, while Sofia Gubaidulina’s final work, Prolog—completed by her longtime friend and fellow composer Elena Firsova—receives its premiere. The season also brings a wealth of world premieres from Unsuk Chin, Donghoon Shin, Joe Hisaishi, Tod Machover, Steven Mackey, and others.
On the opera stage, highlights include Christopher Tin’s new Georgia O’Keeffe-inspired opera, Brett Dean’s acclaimed Of One Blood, David T. Little’s award-winning What Belongs to You, and Courtney Bryan’s Suddenly Last Summer, a hybrid opera-play based on Tennessee Williams’s iconic drama.
Explore performance highlights from this season’s programming below. For events in Europe, Asia, and Australasia, click here.
2026
SEP 12 · MEDELLÍN, COLOMBIA
GABRIELA ORTIZ
Revolución diamantina · SOUTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
Orquesta Filarmónica de Medellín / Carlos Miguel Prieto
Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia / Tatiana Pérez-Hernández
Ortiz’s GRAMMY-winning, widely acclaimed Revolución diamantina, about Mexico’s protests against violence toward women, makes its South American premiere with two Colombian orchestras on the same day: Orquesta Filarmónica de Medellín, conducted by Carlos Miguel Prieto, and Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia, conducted by Tatiana Pérez-Hernández.
Also this season: The Los Angeles Ballet and Los Angeles Philharmonic join forces at the Hollywood Bowl (Sep 8) to premiere a new ballet set to Ortiz’s transfixing Kauyumari, choreographed by LAB’s artistic director Melissa Barak.
Gabriela Ortiz’s Fanfarria volcánica receives its world premiere with the UNAM Philharmonic Orchestra under Sylvain Gasançon (Sep 26–27), marking the reopening and 50th anniversary of Mexico City’s Sala Nezahualcóyotl.
SEP 16-19 · NEW YORK
JOHN ADAMS
On the Transmigration of Souls
New York Philharmonic and Chorus / Brooklyn Youth Chorus / Gustavo Dudamel
Gustavo Dudamel opens his first season as Music and Artistic Director of the New York Philharmonic with a tribute to his new city, marking the 25th anniversary of 9/11 with a performance of Adams’s On the Transmigration of Souls. The Pulitzer Prize–winning work was composed in memory of the victims of the 2001 attacks. After performances in New York, the orchestra then takes the work on a European tour from October 9–22.
Also this season: On the Transmigration of Souls is performed this fall under the baton of Marin Alsop, who conducts both the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo in Brazil (Sep 10-12) and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (Oct 15-18).
SEP 24–26 · BOSTON
SOFIA GUBAIDULINA / ELENA FIRSOVA
Prologue for orchestra · WORLD PREMIERE
Boston Symphony Orchestra / Andris Nelsons
The Boston Symphony Orchestra, led by Andris Nelsons, unveils the final work Sofia Gubaidulina was composing before her death, completed by Elena Firsova, a fellow composer and close friend of 50 years. Gubaidulina conceived the orchestral work as a prologue to her acclaimed 2019 Beethoven-inspired The Wrath of God.
SEP 25–27 · FORT WORTH
BRAHMS / DEJAN LAZIĆ
Piano Concerto ‘No. 4’ in A minor · WORLD PREMIERE OF ARRANGEMENT
Dejan Lazić, piano / Fort Worth Symphony / Robert Spano
Inspired by Brahms’s own tradition of transcription, pianist-composer Dejan Lazić reimagines the Double Concerto as a concerto for piano and orchestra, reconstructing the original violin and cello parts as an extension of Brahms’s pianistic voice. Lazić himself performs the solo part in the world premiere of the arrangement.
Also this season: Lazić performs Piano Concerto No. 4 with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Robert Spano (Apr 15-17).
SEP 26–OCT 4 · MONTREAL
PUCCINI / CHRISTOPHER TIN
Turandot · CANADIAN PREMIERE
Francesca Zambello, director / Opéra de Montréal
Opéra de Montréal presents Turandot in the acclaimed production first seen at Washington National Opera, featuring a new completion of Puccini’s unfinished opera by GRAMMY-winning composer Christopher Tin, with a libretto by Susan Stanton Lee. Tin’s new finale, praised for drawing organically on Puccini’s score while bringing the opera to a fresh dramatic conclusion, will also be presented by The Dallas Opera later this season (Feb 12–20).
MULTIPLE DATES · ACROSS THE AMERICAS
STEVE REICH AT 90
Steve Reich turns 90 on October 3, 2026, with celebrations across the Americas and around the world. At the center is his new ensemble work, In All Your Ways, which receives its world premiere at the Edinburgh International Festival before traveling to presenters across Europe and North America, including Soundstreams in Toronto (Oct 6, North American premiere), Carnegie Hall in New York (Oct 22, US premiere), Cal Performances in Berkeley (Oct 24), and the Los Angeles Philharmonic (Mar 7).
New York is a major hub for the celebrations, including five performances of Music for 18 Musicians at the Park Avenue Armory (Oct 14-18), alongside special events at Carnegie Hall, Juilliard, 92NY, Trinity Wall Street, National Sawdust, and the New York Philharmonic. Across the Americas, Reich celebrations continue at Cal Performances, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, New World Symphony, and Philharmonic Society of Orange County. In South America, Reich/Richter receives its continental premiere at Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires (Nov 30).
Also this season: Anna Clyne unveils a new orchestration of Reich’s Proverb, with first performances by The Hallé (Nov 5-7) and the Los Angeles Philharmonic (Mar 7).
OCT 3 · NEW YORK
PAQUITO D'RIVERA
Bridgetower Reimagined: Contradanza Mulattica · WORLD PREMIERE
Paquito D’Rivera, clarinet / Jonathan Cohler, clarinet / Rasa Vitkauskaite, piano / Ilya Kaler, violin / Dave Eggar, cello / Gregg August, bass
D’Rivera pays tribute to George Bridgetower, the mixed-race violin virtuoso for whom Beethoven originally composed his “Kreutzer” Sonata, in Bridgetower Reimagined. Drawing inspiration from the opening of Beethoven’s sonata and Bridgetower’s own ballad “Henry,” D’Rivera brings together jazz improvisation, waltz, Afro-Cuban rhythms, and contradanzas in this chamber ensemble work, recently recorded by the composer and premiering at Carnegie Hall.
OCT 15–17 · DETROIT
LEOKADIYA KASHPEROVA
Piano Concerto in A minor · NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
Alexandra Dariescu, piano / Detroit Symphony Orchestra / Jader Bignamini
More than a century after it brought Leokadiya Kashperova international recognition, her Piano Concerto receives its North American premiere with pianist Alexandra Dariescu and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Dariescu, who gave the concerto’s first modern performance in 2022, returns to Kashperova’s virtuosic Romantic score as part of the ongoing rediscovery of a composer once known primarily as Stravinsky’s piano teacher.
OCT 16–18 · LOS ANGELES
DONGHOON SHIN
Dance Card · WORLD PREMIERE
Los Angeles Philharmonic / Elim Chan
Donghoon Shin unveils Dance Card, a new waltz-inspired concert opener commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and premiered under conductor Elim Chan. The work continues Shin’s relationship with the LA Phil, which premiered his orchestral work Upon His Ghostly Solitude in 2023 to critical acclaim.
Also this season: Dance Card travels to Amsterdam in the spring, with performances at the Concertgebouw by the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra (Apr 24–25).
OCT 22–25 · PHILADELPHIA
COURTNEY BRYAN
Suddenly Last Summer
Opera Philadelphia / Nathan Koci, conductor
Directed by Daniel Fish
Revival production directed by Mikhaela Mahony?
Courtney Bryan’s opera, based on Tennessee Williams’s Southern Gothic drama, comes to Opera Philadelphia following its acclaimed world premiere at Bard. Soprano Mikaela Bennett stars as the embattled Catharine Holly, with Nathan Koci conducting this hybrid of opera and theater exploring truth, power, and a family’s desperate attempt to silence its past.
Also this season: Bryan composes a new work for Philadelphia’s Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra (Feb 5), inspired by Rebecca Cox Jackson, the pioneering 19th-century Black spiritual leader and Shaker eldress who founded a predominantly Black Shaker community in Philadelphia.
OCT 22–24 · BOSTON
TOD MACHOVER
already and not yet · WORLD PREMIERE
Boston Symphony Orchestra / Kent Nagano
Tod Machover’s BSO-commissioned already and not yet explores technology, human individuality, and the future of democracy, moving across three movements from crisis (“SMASH UP”) to awakening (“WAKE UP”) and a call to action (“STAND UP”). Conducted by Kent Nagano, the world premiere incorporates a Live AI system developed at the MIT Media Lab that responds to individual musicians while creating new connections and textures across the orchestra.
OCT 23–NOV 8 · HOUSTON
CARLISLE FLOYD
Susannah
Patricia Racette, director / Houston Grand Opera / James Gaffigan
Angel Blue stars in Houston Grand Opera’s production of Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah, directed by Patricia Racette and presented as part of the composer’s centennial celebrations. The production travels to San Diego Opera (Feb 12–14) and Lyric Opera of Chicago (Apr 11–23), while the Curtis Institute of Music presents its own staging on Nov 19.
OCT 24 · CLEVELAND
ERIC WHITACRE
Eternity in an Hour · NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
The Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus / Eric Whitacre
Eric Whitacre leads the North American premiere of Eternity in an Hour with The Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus. Inspired by the opening lines of William Blake’s Auguries of Innocence, the hourlong work for choir, strings, piano, and electronics explores the possibility of finding the infinite within the smallest, most ordinary things.
Also this season: The work travels to Barcelona’s Palau de la Música (Nov 8) and Walt Disney Concert Hall (Jan 31).
NOV 12–14 · BOSTON
OSVALDO GOLIJOV
Creation · WORLD PREMIERE
Boston Symphony Orchestra / Tanglewood Festival Chorus / BSO x NEC Honors Children’s Choir / Eric Jacobsen / Cécile McLorin Salvant, vocalist / Davóne Tines, vocalist / Cyro Baptista, percussion / Kayhan Kalhor, kamancheh
Osvaldo Golijov responds to Haydn’s The Creation with a new evening-length oratorio that explores the continual creation and renewal of the universe through stories of wonder, life, and death. With a book by David Henry Hwang and lyrics by Leah Hager Cohen, the work brings together orchestra and choirs with Cécile McLorin Salvant, Davóne Tines, Cyro Baptista, and Kayhan Kalhor, weaving their distinctive musical traditions into Golijov’s vision of a continually evolving universe.
Also this season: Boston Lyric Opera presents a new production of Golijov’s Ayre (Jun 17–20), directed by Elkanah Pulitzer and starring soprano Ailyn Pérez.
NOV 18–29 · TORONTO
DAVID T. LITTLE
Dog Days · CANADIAN PREMIERE
Tapestry Opera / Against the Grain Theatre
David T. Little and Royce Vavrek’s searing opera Dog Days marks the 15th anniversary of its groundbreaking premiere with its Canadian premiere in Toronto, presented by Tapestry Opera and Against the Grain Theatre, followed by a special anniversary concert at New York’s PROTOTYPE Festival with Newspeak.
Also this season: Little’s What Belongs to You receives its New York premiere (Apr 15–17), following its selection as Best New Opera of 2025 by the Music Critics Association of North America and the release this summer of its world-premiere recording on Bright Shiny Things. Based on Garth Greenwell’s celebrated novel, the opera stars GRAMMY-winning tenor Karim Sulayman alongside Alarm Will Sound under Alan Pierson and director Mark Morris.
NOV 20–22 · KANSAS CITY
OLGA NEUWIRTH
Tombeau I
Kansas City Symphony / Matthias Pintscher
Olga Neuwirth is the inaugural Artist in Focus at the Kansas City Symphony, a new initiative led by Music Director Matthias Pintscher that explores a featured artist across multiple programs. Following the orchestra’s North American premiere of Tombeau I in August, Pintscher revisits the work in November (Nov 20–22), with the season-long focus continuing through Masaot/Clocks Without Hands, Dreydl, and an intimate On Stage event with Neuwirth.
DEC 8–20 · NEW YORK
MARKO NIKODIJEVIC
Balkan Erotic Epic · NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
Park Avenue Armory / Marina Abramovic
Marina Abramovic brings her monumental Balkan Erotic Epic to the Park Avenue Armory for its North American premiere, featuring an original score by Marko Nikodijevic. The immersive performance draws on ancient Balkan ritual, dance, and folklore to explore desire, spirituality, and humanity’s connection to nature, following performances at the Ruhrtriennale (Sep 3-11) and Berliner Festspiele (Oct 13-17).
2027
JAN 8–10 · NEW YORK
UNSUK CHIN
Trumpet Concerto · WORLD PREMIERE
Hakan Hardenberger, trumpet / New York Philharmonic / Eva Ollikainen
Unsuk Chin unveils a new Trumpet Concerto, commissioned by the New York Philharmonic as part of the 2018 Marie-Josée Kravis Prize for New Music awarded to the composer. Celebrated trumpeter and champion of contemporary music Håkan Hardenberger gives the premiere, conducted by Eva Ollikainen. The commission continues Chin’s relationship with the Philharmonic, which gave the acclaimed US premiere of her Gougalon in 2013.
Also this season: The concerto travels to the Boston Symphony Orchestra (Feb 18–20), followed by performances in Copenhagen (May 13–14) and Paris (Jun 25).
MULTIPLE DATES · ACROSS THE US AND EUROPE
JOHN ADAMS AT 80
John Adams celebrates his 80th birthday with major performances on both sides of the Atlantic, including appearances by the composer on the podium. Adams leads the London Symphony Orchestra in London, Paris, and on tour in Germany (Jan 13–24), and conducts the New York Philharmonic in After the Fall with Víkingur Ólafsson (Feb 4–6); The Cleveland Orchestra in Slonimsky’s Earbox (Apr 22–24); and the National Symphony Orchestra in Scheherazade.2 with Leila Josefowicz (Oct 15–16).
In Adams’s home state of California, the Berkeley-based composer is celebrated by two orchestras with longstanding ties to his music. The San Francisco Symphony presents three Adams programs, including Marin Alsop leading the West Coast premiere of The Rock You Stand On (Jan 22–24) and The Dharma at Big Sur with electric violinist Tracy Silverman (Jun 17–18), accompanied by new visuals of California landscapes by Bay Area artist Deborah O’Grady. At the Los Angeles Philharmonic, where Adams serves as Creative Chair, he conducts the Doctor Atomic Symphony alongside choruses from his operas (Apr 16–18), while the orchestra also presents the world premiere of Dolce Pianissimo with clarinetist Boris Allakhverdyan (Mar 16).
Also this season: Nixon in China returns to Washington National Opera in a new production directed by Elkhanah Pulitzer, with Renée Fleming and Thomas Hampson starring as Pat and Richard Nixon and Robert Spano conducting (Nov 14–21), with further performances of the opera at La Scala, Pacific Symphony, Deutsche Oper Berlin, and Hungarian State Opera. Doctor Atomic is staged at Opera San José (Feb 14–28) and in Munich, Zurich, and Mainz.
FEB 18–20 · WASHINGTON, DC
RACHMANINOFF / ALEXANDER RASKATOV
Variations on a Theme of Corelli · WORLD PREMIERE OF ORCHESTRATION
National Symphony Orchestra / Gianandrea Noseda
The National Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Gianandrea Noseda unveil Alexander Raskatov’s new orchestration of Rachmaninoff’s Variations on a Theme of Corelli, transforming the composer’s 1931 work for solo piano for a large orchestral canvas.
FEB 27 · TORONTO
JAMES MACMILLAN
Angels Unawares · NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
Soundstreams / Choir 21
James MacMillan’s new oratorio Angels Unawares receives its North American premiere in Toronto following its historic world premiere in the Sistine Chapel. Setting a final text by the late Robert Willis, former Dean of Canterbury Cathedral, the work journeys through mysterious encounters with angels in the Old and New Testaments, exploring kindness to strangers and the possibility of the sacred in everyday encounters.
MAR 5–7 · PHILADELPHIA
JOE HISAISHI
Piano Concerto · WORLD PREMIERE / Concerto for Orchestra
Alice Sara Ott, piano / Philadelphia Orchestra / Joe Hisaishi
Joe Hisaishi continues his two-season residency as composer-in-residence with the Philadelphia Orchestra, conducting the world premiere of his new Piano Concerto with Alice Sara Ott alongside his substantial five-movement Concerto for Orchestra, a recent orchestral work that continues to tour worldwide . The residency encompasses concerts, recording, curation of contemporary music, and mentorship of young composers.
Also this season: Hisaishi conducts Concerto for Orchestra with the Colorado Symphony (Oct 16–17), San Francisco Symphony (Oct 22–24), and Orchestre de Paris (Jun 9–10). Alice Sara Ott performs his new Piano Concerto with the Houston Symphony (May 7–9) and Toronto Symphony Orchestra (May 20–22).
MAR 11–13 · SEATTLE
STEVEN MACKEY
Concerto for Orchestra · WORLD PREMIERE
Seattle Symphony / Xian Zhang
Seattle Symphony Artist in Focus Steven Mackey unveils a new Concerto for Orchestra, with Music Director Xian Zhang leading the world premiere as part of the composer’s multi-season relationship with the orchestra. The new work travels to the New Jersey Symphony with Zhang later in the spring (May 14–16).
Also this season: Mackey’s guitar concerto Aluminum Flowers is performed by JIJI with the Houston Symphony and David Robertson (Oct 16–18) and by Gretchen Menn with the Milwaukee Symphony and Robertson (Jan 22–23).
MAR 12–26 · WASHINGTON, DC
CHRISTOPHER TIN
O’Keeffe: Kiss the Sky · WORLD PREMIERE
Francesca Zambello, director / Washington National Opera / George Manahan / Jessica Lang, choreographer
Washington National Opera premieres Christopher Tin’s O’Keeffe: Kiss the Sky, a new ballet-opera created with librettist Kelley Rourke, which traces Georgia O’Keeffe’s journey to becoming one of America’s most iconic artists. Moving through New York, Santa Fe and other pivotal settings in her life, the work explores the places and relationships that shaped her artistic voice. Isabel Leonard stars as O’Keeffe alongside Christine Goerke as arts patron Mabel Dodge Luhan.
MAR 19–21 · PITTSBURGH
JÜRI REINVERE
Pity, Pity – Too Late!! · NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra / Manfred Honeck
Manfred Honeck leads the North American premiere of Reinvere’s Pity, Pity – Too Late!!, commissioned for the Beethoven anniversary in 2028 and inspired by the composer’s purported last words on receiving a late delivery of Rhine wine. Following its world premiere in Bamberg (Oct 10), the work travels to Copenhagen and Hamburg before Pittsburgh.
APR 1–4 · BALTIMORE
LERA AUERBACH
New work · WORLD PREMIERE
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra / Marin Alsop
Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra give the world premiere of a new concert opener by Lera Auerbach, co-commissioned with The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. The premiere continues Auerbach’s relationship with Alsop and the BSO, who gave the US premiere of her Eve’s Lament “O Flowers, That Never Will Grow” in 2019.
APR 6 · LOS ANGELES
MEREDITH MONK
Indra’s Net
Meredith Monk & Vocal Ensemble / Los Angeles Philharmonic / Wild Up / Christopher Rountree
Meredith Monk brings Indra’s Net, the culmination of a trilogy exploring our relationship with the natural world that began with On Behalf of Nature and Cellular Songs, to the LA Phil. The immersive music-theater work brings together Monk and her Vocal Ensemble with Wild Up under conductor Christopher Rountree.
MAY 2 · BALTIMORE
ANNA CLYNE
The Seven Ravens · NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
Calidore String Quartet
Drawing on her longstanding fascination with fairy tales and folklore, Anna Clyne turns to the Brothers Grimm for The Seven Ravens, written for the Calidore String Quartet. The work receives its North American premiere at Shriver Hall in Baltimore following first performances in Copenhagen and Amsterdam.
Also this season: Clyne’s new work for the Terra String Quartet premieres at Carnegie Hall, commissioned by the Naumburg Foundation (Feb 9).
MAY 13–16 · CHICAGO
MAGNUS LINDBERG
New work · NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
Chicago Symphony Orchestra / Klaus Mäkelä
Klaus Mäkelä leads the North American premiere of Magnus Lindberg’s major new orchestral work with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, just a week after giving its world premiere with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (May 7). The program also features Violin Concerto No. 1 with Lisa Batiashvili, who gave the concerto’s world premiere in 2006.
Also this season: Batiashvili performs the concerto in Stockholm (Apr 1), Salzburg (Apr 18), and New York (May 5–7), while Lindberg’s Beethoven-inspired Absences receives multiple performances during the 2027 Beethoven anniversary year.
JUN 9–12 · NEW YORK
LEONARD BERNSTEIN
MASS
Kaneza Schaal, director / New York Philharmonic / Gustavo Dudamel
One of Bernstein’s most ambitious and genre-defying works, MASS receives its New York Philharmonic premiere under Gustavo Dudamel as part of his inaugural season as Music and Artistic Director. Blending classical, Broadway, rock, jazz, and liturgical traditions on a vast theatrical scale, the work follows a Celebrant through a profound crisis of faith.
Also this season:
Also this season: The Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin give the world premiere of_ Symphonic Rituals from MASS_ (Sep 25-27), a new orchestral reimagining of Bernstein’s theatrical masterpiece created by Garth Edwin Sunderland. On the opera stage, LA Opera presents Candide (Nov 21-Dec 13) in Francesca Zambello’s production, conducted by Lina González-Granados and featuring Patti LuPone as the Old Lady.
JUL 31–AUG 26 · SANTA FE
BRETT DEAN
Of One Blood · NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
Santa Fe Opera / Adam Hickox, conductor / Claus Guth, director
Brett Dean’s acclaimed third opera, Of One Blood, receives its North American premiere at Santa Fe Opera following its world premiere in Munich. Drawing on letters and historical documents, the opera traces the deadly rivalry between Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots—closely related monarchs divided by religion and competing claims to power. The opera is also presented at Bayerische Staatsoper in October.