New name, same legacy: a rich history continues
The 2026/27 season brings milestones you won't want to miss, discoveries you didn't know to expect, dazzling newcomers, and artists at the peak of their powers. And with our Applause Circle Membership, you'll find a new way to belong and get closer to the artists and performances you love.
Over 100 free and ticketed events across Boston and beyond await: explore, make your plans, and get ready to enjoy the new season.
The bicentennial of Beethoven’s death runs like a current through the season. Pianist Igor Levit makes a singular statement at Symphony Hall with an all-Beethoven recital, Gil Shaham and Akira Eguchi dive into the three violin sonatas of Opus 30, and the London Symphony Orchestra led by Sir Antonio Pappano—making their first Boston visit since 2009—puts Maxim Vengerov center stage for the Violin Concerto. Across the year, hear Beethoven's works in fascinating dialogue on chamber music, instrumental, and piano programs.
And what a year for pianists! Mitsuko Uchida returns to the Boston recital stage for the first time in a generation. Also featured in solo recitals are Seong-Jin Cho, Víkingur Ólafsson, Jeremy Denk, Anna Geniushene, Bruce Liu, and, on the Debut Series, Avery Gagliano and Lukas Sternath.
The Dover, Pavel Haas, Brentano, and Isidore Quartets, and the Junction Trio bring the chamber season to life with thought-provoking programs and impeccable ensemble playing.
2026 marks the centennials of both John Coltrane and Miles Davis, and we invite you to celebrate their legacies with a Coltrane 100 supergroup tribute led by Joe Lovano, the Branford Marsalis Quartet and Dianne Reeves at Symphony Hall paying homage to Coltrane's team-up with Johnny Hartmann, and Artemis’ Sketches of Miles.
It’s also the year to say farewell to Wynton Marsalis as an active member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. His April appearance in the last row of his orchestra at Symphony Hall will be one for the ages. At the same time, we say hello to some debuting artists you'll love: Emmet Cohen Trio with vocalist Georgia Heers, Michel Camilo Trio, and the young standouts appearing alongside Vivo Performing Arts favorite Christian McBride in his new "all-in" quartet, Ursa Major.
The Jazz Festival finds a new home at the Museum of Science’s Public Science Common, bringing you four nights of artists inspired by astronomy, neuroscience, and the creative act of gathering.
Australian contemporary circus company Gravity & Other Myths kicks off our dance schedule in October with their astonishing Ten Thousand Hours. Vancouver's Ballet BC makes a company debut in November with a raw, exhilarating program featuring a work by artistic director Medhi Walerski.
Taiwanese choreographer Huang Yi performs alongside KUKA—his robotic dance partner of more than a decade—in four nights at the Museum of Science that are unlike anything else on any Boston stage this year.
Limón Dance Company celebrates its 80th anniversary in February with a new Akram Khan creation inspired by Limón's signature work The Moor's Pavane. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns in the spring with four performances at the Boch Center Wang Theatre, a tradition that never loses its power to move you.
Virtuosity takes many forms this season: an evening of revelatory song and storytelling with LaChanze, the peerless Audra McDonald at Symphony Hall, the genre-hopping fun of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, and Béla Fleck teaming with Edmar Castañeda and Antonio Sánchez for an evening of music that will rock your perceptions of what banjo, harp, and drums can do.
Vivo’s Neighborhood Arts series brings more than a dozen free concerts to churches, libraries, and community spaces across Boston, from September through June. Among the highlights: a 48-member all-cello orchestra honoring the 150th birthday of Pablo Casals at Roxbury Community College in November, flamenco duo Triana Maciel & Nino de los Reyes, the Borromeo Quartet mentoring young players from Boston String Academy in a Stringfest concert, and singer-songwriter Alisa Amador.
Saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins—heard on the Jazz Festival with his quartet—becomes our first-ever Artist-in-Residence. He'll explore Boston and create a work rooted in the stories and sounds of our city to be premiered by and performed with the Jason Palmer Quintet in a Neighborhood Arts concert.
It's a new way to belong, support our performances and community activities, and stay connected to the performances and artists you love. When you join the Applause Circle with a gift of $25 or more, you'll get subscription access five days before the general public, behind-the-scenes news, fun event invitations, and more!
Live performance is most powerful when we feel connected: to the artists, the performance, and each other. Our Membership programs offer countless ways to get involved at the level of support that's right for you, with valuable benefits at every level. Help present the performances you love and ensure access to the arts for all when you join Membership today.
From Crystal Ballroom to the Museum of Science, to premieres and genre-busting collaborations at all our venues, explore some of the biggest surprises of 2026/27.
Musicians inspired by science and by the act of gathering headline the 2027 Jazz Festival, which moves to the brand-new (and gorgeous!) Public Science Common at the Museum of Science