The Cleveland Museum of Art Announces 2026–27 Performing Arts Series
- Press Release
Top, left to right: Yasmin Williams. Photo © Ebru Yildiz; Camila Fernández. Photo courtesy of TBA Agency; Bottom, left to right: Trio Mandili. Photo courtesy of Roots and Chords Music; Hiromi. Photo © Mitsuru Nishimura
Contact the Museum's Media Relations Team:
(216) 707-2261
marketingandcommunications@clevelandart.org
Original performances feature global and local artists, dancers, and internationally renowned performers
Cleveland (August 19, 2026)—The Cleveland Museum of Art’s (CMA) 2026–27 Performing Arts Series offers a robust and wide-ranging collection of artists spanning classical and contemporary music, global music traditions, and dance. Internationally renowned artists, including several Grammy-winning, Latin Grammy–winning, and Grammy-nominated artists, make their Cleveland debuts, delighting visitors and members of the CMA alike. Critically acclaimed musicians, such as Monsieur Periné, Hiromi, Trio Mandili, Pink Martini, Yasmin Williams, Leenalchi, the Bad Plus, aja monet, the Amina Figarova Sextet and the Matsiko World Orphan Choir, Damir Imamović, Julien Labro, Camila Fernández, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and many others, take the stage as part of this year’s spectacular lineup.
These performances regularly complement special exhibitions, illuminate the permanent collection, and take unique advantage of the museum’s performance spaces and architecture—often arranged in collaboration or interdisciplinary fashion with CMA curators. We invite you to enjoy all that this series has to offer throughout the 2026–27 performance year.
Tickets can be reserved www.clevelandart.org/performing-arts. cma.org/performances. Members receive discounted admission to most performances, and student rates are available at the door for select performances. In addition to events in Gartner Auditorium, the CMA presents a robust array of free performances in the museum’s Ames Family Atrium, galleries, Community Arts Center, and Provenance Restaurant, with additional acts being announced throughout the year.
Joel Link, Nathaniel Silberschlag, and Dawoon Chung
Wednesday, September 9, 2026, 7:30–9:00 p.m.
Gartner Auditorium, Suzanne and Paul Westlake Performing Arts Center
Ticket Required (opens in a new tab)
The Cleveland Museum of Art has partnered with the Cleveland Chamber Music Society to present violinist Joel Link, hornist Nathaniel Silberschlag, and pianist Dawoon Chung. A preconcert talk with Eric Charnofsky begins at 6:30 p.m. Tickets must be purchased on the Cleveland Chamber Music Society’s website (opens in a new tab). CMA members can receive a 15% discount at checkout by entering the code ARTMEMBER15 for any single ticket or subscription ticket. This discount does not apply to student tickets. Musart Society member discounts do not apply to this coproduction.
Joel Link and Nathaniel Silberschlag hold prominent roles in the Cleveland Orchestra while maintaining active careers as chamber musicians and soloists. Appointed concertmaster in July 2025, Link is also first violinist of the Dover Quartet and serves on the faculties of the Curtis Institute of Music and Northwestern University. He plays on a rare violin—a Pietro Guarneri of Mantua dating from about 1710. Silberschlag joined the Cleveland Orchestra as principal horn in 2019. A member of a family that includes 16 professional musicians across several generations, he made his international debut in Italy at age nine.
Dawoon Chung graduated from Indiana University with bachelor’s and master’s degrees as a dean’s scholarship recipient. She completed her doctorate at the University of Southern California under the tutelage of Jeffrey Kahane. Chung enjoys an international career across several continents and has appeared as a soloist with ensembles, including the Indiana University Orchestra and South Korea’s Gwangju Philharmonic Orchestra. Through her work with Project: Music Heals Us, she actively engages the community by presenting interactive classical music performances that encourage, educate, and heal elderly, disabled, rehabilitating, incarcerated, and homeless populations.
Program:
Fauré: Sonata for Piano and Violin in A Major, op. 13
Glière: Four Romances for Horn and Piano, op. 35, nos. 6, 7, 10, 11
Brahms: Trio for Piano, Violin, and Horn in E-flat Major, op. 40
Monsieur Periné
Wednesday, September 23, 2026, 7:30–9:00 p.m.
Gartner Auditorium, Suzanne and Paul Westlake Performing Arts Center
Monsieur Periné, one of Colombia’s most influential bands, makes its Cleveland debut performing at the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Monsieur Periné is a musical laboratory led by Catalina García and Santiago Prieto Sarabia, both born and raised in Colombia. Their unique and eclectic approach blends genres such as pop, jazz, and swing with Latin American sounds like guaracha, salsa, cumbia, and bolero, constantly exploring new ways to speak about the world, love, and freedom.
The project was born in 2007 and quickly established itself as one of the most innovative groups in the region. The band’s debut album, Hecho a Mano (2012), paved the way for international recognition—a status solidified by Caja de Música (2015), for which Monsieur Periné won the Latin Grammy for Best New Artist. Since then, the group has received multiple nominations at both the Latin Grammy Awards (including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Song) and the US Grammy Awards in the Best Latin Rock, Urban, or Alternative Album category (2016 and 2019).
In 2018, the band released Encanto Tropical, which featured the hit single “Bailar Contigo”—garnering over 150 million streams across all platforms and more than 65 million views on YouTube. During the pandemic, in 2021, the group achieved unprecedented global recognition when its song “Nuestra Canción” went viral, reaching #1 on both the TikTok US Chart and the Spotify Global Viral Chart and accumulating over 2 billion views and more than 2 million video uses worldwide.
Monsieur Periné’s fourth album, Bolero Apocalíptico (2023), further cemented its artistic reputation, earning the Latin Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album. A year later, the group was featured in some of the most notable Latin music releases, with tracks such as “Hora Loca” alongside Rawayana and “Catalina” with Cimafunk and Fux Beat—the latter of which was nominated for Record of the Year at the 25th annual Latin Grammy Awards.
In 2025, the group kicked off the year with a sold-out concert at Carnegie Hall in New York and performances at major international festivals, such as the Montreux Jazz Festival (Miami), Tecate Pa’l Norte (Mexico), and the Montreal International Jazz Festival. Throughout its career, Monsieur Periné has toured the globe with its live band, performing at numerous festivals, including Rock in Rio, Lollapalooza (Chicago and Chile), Austin City Limits, Bonnaroo, Fusion Festival Berlin, Estéreo Picnic (Bogotá), and Cosquín Rock (Argentina), among many others.
Now, nearly two decades after its inception, Monsieur Periné begins a new chapter with its recent album, Instrucciones para Ser Feliz—a project that reaffirms the group’s capacity to evolve and reinvent itself within the realm of contemporary Latin music.
Relic: “The Blood of the Rose”
Wednesday, September 30, 2026, 7:30–9:00 p.m.
Gartner Auditorium, Suzanne and Paul Westlake Performing Arts Center
Experience the tragic love story of Venus and Adonis, brought to life through a seamless curation of Baroque music from across Europe and Latin America.
Lauded as “stylish and innovative” (New York Classical Review), Relic is a period-instrument chamber orchestra that connects with audiences through intimate, imaginative, and dramatic representations of early music. Currently in its third season, Relic has quickly built a reputation for its cutting-edge performances of both well-loved and lesser-known masterworks of the Baroque era. Relic’s innovative programming, which uses narrative “chapters” to unite a variety of repertoires into a breathtaking concert experience, has captured the hearts of new and seasoned concertgoers alike.
Relic’s recent presenters include Chamber Music Detroit, the Academy of Early Music, the Indianapolis Early Music Festival, Gotham Early Music Scene, Kalamazoo College, Musicivic, and the Bullock Series at Western Michigan University.
For its performance at the Cleveland Museum of Art, Relic presents its program “The Blood of the Rose.” In 1701 Peru, Tomás de Torrejón y Velasco’s La Púrpura de la Rosa (The Blood of the Rose) became the first opera ever performed in the Americas. The libretto, written by a renowned Spanish poet, Pedro Calderón de la Barca, recounts the tragic love story of Venus and Adonis.
Relic’s newly curated program celebrates the rich tradition of Baroque music in 1700s Peru through an instrumental adaptation of the Venus and Adonis story. In five musical “chapters,” punctuated by spoken excerpts from Calderón’s lush libretto, this dramatic program depicts Venus and Adonis’s blossoming romance, Mars’s vicious attempts to destroy their love, and the couple’s ultimately tragic demise.
“The Blood of the Rose” is a seamless curation of Baroque music from across Europe and Latin America, with a focus on Spanish and Latin American music and on works inspired by Venus and Adonis. In addition to Torrejón y Velasco, featured composers include Roque Jacinto de Chavarría, Juan de Araujo, George Frideric Handel, John Blow, Alessandro Scarlatti, and others.
More information about Relic can be found on the ensemble’s website (opens in a new tab).
Performers:
Aniela Eddy, Kako Boga, Laura Lutzke, Rebecca Nelson, and Toma Iliev, violin
Graham Cohen, viola
Cullen O’Neil, cello
Sue Yelanjian, bass
Robert Warner, harpsichord and organ
Daniel Swenberg, theorbo and guitar
Georgeanne Banker, bassoon and recorder
Les Délices: Bach’s “Musical Offering”
Sunday, October 4, 2026, 3:00–4:15 p.m.
Gartner Auditorium, Suzanne and Paul Westlake Performing Arts Center
Ticket Required (opens in a new tab)
Les Délices (pronounced “Lay Day-lease”) delights, inspires, educates, and expands audiences for music on period instruments through innovative programming and world-class performances. With deep roots in the Northeast Ohio community, Les Délices is building a national reputation as a leader in the field of early music, advancing its relevance and sustainability. This afternoon, Les Délices performs J. S. Bach’s The Musical Offering.
The Musical Offering is a tour de force collection in which a single melody is continuously transformed in ways that challenge both the imagination and the intellect. Les Délices offers a guided tour of this incredible, rarely performed work, elucidating Bach’s rich counterpoint through instrumental colors, including violins, viola, flute, oboe da caccia, bassoon, cello, and harpsichord.
More information about Les Délices and this program can be found on the ensemble’s website (opens in a new tab).
The Bad Plus Farewell Tour
Wednesday, October 7, 2026, 7:30–9:00 p.m.
Gartner Auditorium, Suzanne and Paul Westlake Performing Arts Center
The members of the Bad Plus have proven to be the ultimate originals. A democratic unit with a clear vision and a refusal to conform to convention, they play with spirit and adventure, making music that is wild and unexpected. They continue to push the boundaries of what jazz music could and should be with their 2026 Farewell Tour, wrapping up 26 years of making their own rules, and doing so with a bold sense of creativity and intent.
Avoiding easy categorization, the Bad Plus has won critical acclaim and a legion of fans worldwide with its unique sound and flair for live performance, exploring the infinite possibilities of exceptional musicians working in perfect sync. Their now-legendary 2003 LP, These Are the Vistas, was named one of the 50 Most Important Recordings of the Decade by NPR’s All Songs Considered.
With the release of its vibrant 2022 self-titled album, the Bad Plus reinvented itself in a way that no one could have predicted. After 21 years spent redefining the parameters of the piano-bass-drums trio, the ever- adventurous group metamorphosed into a boundary-defying quartet. Founding members Reid Anderson (bass) and Dave King (drums) enlisted guitarist Ben Monder and saxophonist Chris Speed to conjure a new incarnation that offers boundless possibilities.
The group’s 18th album, 2024’s Complex Emotions, strikes out in stunning new directions, often sounding radically different than anything the Bad Plus has done before, while at the same time maintaining the band’s vital and unmistakable identity.
Band Members:
Reid Anderson, bass
Dave King, drums
Ben Monder, guitar
Chris Speed, tenor saxophone
Hiromi: The Trio Project
Wednesday, October 14, 2026, 7:30–9:00 p.m.
Gartner Auditorium, Suzanne and Paul Westlake Performing Arts Center
Over more than 20 years as a recording artist, the jazz piano phenomenon Hiromi has shifted seamlessly from one spellbinding project to the next. In the process, she’s earned a reputation as one of the most explosive live performers in jazz history and a global ambassador for the art form. Her many triumphs include an NPR Tiny Desk Concert that has racked up over 2.5 million views; the opportunity to represent her native Japan with a performance at the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo; a 2024 win for Best Music Score for the animated feature film Blue Giant (Award of the Japanese Academy); and a Grammy Award for a collaboration with fusion hero Stanley Clarke. Her artistry is—to borrow a descriptor The New Yorker favored—“dazzling.”
For her appearance at the Cleveland Museum of Art, Hiromi is promoting her new record with her Trio Project, reuniting with English drummer Simon Phillips (Jeff Beck, Judas Priest, Tears for Fears, Toto, and the Who). “It is always an amazing experience to be able to work with Simon,” says Hiromi. Joining them on stage is bassist James Genus (Herbie Hancock, Whitney Houston, Roy Haynes, Chick Corea, Daft Punk, SNL).
Apollo’s Fire Presents “Ben Franklin in Paris”
Sunday, October 18, 2026, 4:00–5:30 p.m.
Gartner Auditorium, Suzanne and Paul Westlake Performing Arts Center
Ticket Required (opens in a new tab)
Cleveland’s own internationally acclaimed, Grammy-winning ensemble Apollo’s Fire brings to life the music of the past for audiences of today. Join us for this special occasion in which the group presents its program “Ben Franklin in Paris,” created and directed by Jeannette Sorrell.
As the Founding Fathers launched the Revolutionary War in 1776, they also dispatched their most charming and skilled diplomat, Ben Franklin, on an assignment in Paris to secure crucial French military aid for the American side. As one of the most colorful geniuses in American history, the 70-year-old Franklin knew that the way to win the hearts and loyalty of the French was to immerse himself in their cultural life. He undertook his assignment with gusto, attending concerts, ballroom dances, and opera performances and meeting the great French writer Voltaire. Apollo’s Fire evokes his musical adventures in this festive program of orchestral works that were performed in Paris during his nine-year stay, including Mozart’s Paris Symphony and highlights from a Rameau opera.
Musart Society benefits do not apply to this performance.
Santiago Cañón-Valencia: Solo Cello Recital
Wednesday, October 21, 2026, 7:30–9:00 p.m.
Gartner Auditorium, Suzanne and Paul Westlake Performing Arts Center
Ticket Required (opens in a new tab)
Hailing from Bogotá, Colombia, cellist, composer, and visual artist Santiago Cañón-Valencia has been described as “technically flawless . . . totally under the skin of the composers’ idioms” (The Strad). He was named a BBC New Generation Artist in 2022 and was a winner of the 2019 International Tchaikovsky Competition Silver Medal and Audience Favorite Awards.
The program includes Cello Suites No. 1 in G Major and No. 5 in C Minor by J. S. Bach, Sonata for Solo Cello by George Crumb, and two of Cañón-Valencia’s own compositions. Additionally, paintings by Cañón-Valencia that were inspired by specific pieces on the program project on stage during the performance.
Tonight’s production is copresented with the Cleveland Cello Society. To purchase tickets and for more information, visit the Cleveland Cello Society’s website (opens in a new tab). Musart Society benefits do not apply to this event.
More information about Cañón-Valencia can be found on his website (opens in a new tab).
Dancing Wheels: Creating Art—From the Visual to the Physical
Friday, October 23, 2026, 7:30–9:00 p.m.
Gartner Auditorium, Suzanne and Paul Westlake Performing Arts Center
Ticket Required (opens in a new tab)
If dance is an expression of the human spirit, then it is best expressed by people of all abilities. That is the fundamental belief behind the Dancing Wheels Company & School. Considered one of the premier arts and disabilities organizations in the US, Dancing Wheels is a professional, physically integrated dance company uniting the talents of dancers both with and without disabilities.
This evening, Dancing Wheels Company members present new works based on art and images from the Cleveland Museum of Art. All choreographic works feature various genres of music and are in the style and 45-year tradition of physically integrated dance that Dancing Wheels revolutionized.
More About Dancing Wheels Company:
Mary Verdi-Fletcher, the first professional wheelchair dancer in the US, founded the Dancing Wheels Company in Cleveland in 1980. Born with spina bifida, Mary wanted to offer others with disabilities full and equal access into the world of dance. An almost unimaginable concept at the time, Mary’s vision and passion have since helped to revolutionize our very notion of dance—as well as what defines a dancer.
To date, the Dancing Wheels Company’s inspirational mission has touched over 6.5 million people through performances, school assemblies, residencies, and workshops. Millions more have enjoyed the company’s artistry via appearances on CNN, Good Morning America, and the TV special Christopher Reeve: A Celebration of Hope.
Now part of Professional Flair Inc., a 501(c)(3) arts and disabilities organization, Dancing Wheels continues to travel the globe, advocating for disability awareness and entertaining 30,000–50,000 people each year. With a repertoire of 90 works from nationally esteemed choreographers and a message of inclusion and accessibility, the company continually expands the reach of artistic possibilities while celebrating the universal spirit of dance.
CityMusic Cleveland Chamber Orchestra: “American Roots”
Sunday, October 25, 2026, 2:30–4:00 p.m.
Gartner Auditorium, Suzanne and Paul Westlake Performing Arts Center
CityMusic Cleveland is a professional chamber orchestra dedicated to making music accessible through free concerts and innovative programming. Since its inception in 2004, CityMusic has built partnerships with communities across Northeast Ohio, bringing exceptional performances to longtime music lovers and first-time audience members alike.
CityMusic is committed to representing the full diversity of the canon, showcasing well-known composers alongside newly commissioned works and overlooked historic treasures. Programs intentionally highlight pieces by BIPOC composers and women, groups historically underrepresented in music. By presenting music of diverse composers and performing contemporary works that fuse classical and popular styles, CityMusic aims to make concerts relevant and exciting for all audiences.
For today’s performance, CityMusic presents its program “American Roots.” Centered on George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, performed by Piano Cleveland Artistic Director Yaron Kohlberg, this program explores the common roots of American music in ragtime, Broadway, and jazz. Also, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of John Coltrane’s birth, CityMusic is premiering a new arrangement of his seminal work A Love Supreme, commissioned by CityMusic from David Balakrishnan of the Turtle Island Quartet. William Grant Still’s The Black Man Dances, commissioned by Paul Whiteman contemporaneously with Rhapsody in Blue, receives its second performance at these concerts, which are rounded out with selected rags by Scott Joplin and Gershwin’s Overture to Girl Crazy. Grammy-winning conductor John McLaughlin Williams leads these concerts.
Program:
Scott Joplin: “Maple Leaf Rag” and “Sunflower Slow Drag”
George Gershwin: Overture to Girl Crazy
John Coltrane: A Love Supreme (arranged by David Balakrishnan, CityMusic commission)
William Grant Still: The Black Man Dances
George Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue (Yaron Kohlberg, piano)
More information about CityMusic Cleveland Chamber Orchestra can be found on the organization’s website (opens in a new tab).
Leenalchi
Wednesday, November 4, 2026, 7:30–9:00 p.m.
Gartner Auditorium, Suzanne and Paul Westlake Performing Arts Center
Coinciding with the special exhibition Ten Kings of Hell: The Afterlife in Medieval Korea, the CMA is thrilled to present the groundbreaking South Korean band Leenalchi.
Bursting onto South Korea’s music scene in 2019, Leenalchi is an alternative pop group from Seoul that found viral success with its fusion of pansori-style singing, electronic synths, and groovy bass lines. Rooted in the sounds and style of Korean folk music, the group creates catchy, invigorating songs that may remind you of Talking Heads. The band’s configuration is as singular as its sound—featuring two bassists, drums, keys, no guitar, and three singers.
Leenalchi’s creator and visionary, bassist Young Gyu Jang, composed music for several beloved horror soundtracks, including Train to Busan and The Wailing, and was a member of the now-disbanded iconic art band SsingSsing, whose performance NPR’s Bob Boilen described as “one of my most memorable Tiny Desk Concerts of all time.”
Leenalchi won several Korean Music Awards for the group’s first full-length album, SUGUNGGA (2020), and contributed to various K-drama soundtracks, such as Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born. In addition, the band found international success through its collaborations with brands, including Gucci and the Korean Tourism Board, as well as through viral songs, such as “Tiger Is Coming.”
This evening is Leenalchi’s first time performing in Cleveland.
Apollo’s Fire Presents “Echoes Across the Atlantic” with Jeanine De Bique
Thursday, November 12, 2026, 7:30–9:00 p.m.
Gartner Auditorium, Suzanne and Paul Westlake Performing Arts Center
Ticket Required (opens in a new tab)
Legendary Trinidadian soprano Jeanine De Bique has taken Europe by storm in recent years. In this stunning new program designed by Jeannette Sorrell, De Bique joins the Apollo’s Fire orchestra to explore the historical connections between Europe and the Caribbean colonies in the 18th century. Across the waters, tales of love, despair, and resilience emerge from the palaces of Europe and the plantations of the Caribbean. The virtuoso music of Handel, Purcell, Rameau, and Vivaldi meets the soulful voices of Caribbean poets in this celebration of our shared humanity.
Catch this program before it heads out on an international tour to New York’s Carnegie Hall, London, Paris, Brussels, Lisbon, and more.
Musart Society benefits do not apply to this performance.
The Jazz Heritage Orchestra: The Music of Frank Foster
Friday, November 20, 2026, 7:30–9:00 p.m.
Gartner Auditorium, Suzanne and Paul Westlake Performing Arts Center
The Jazz Heritage Orchestra performs a musical tribute to Ohio’s quiet musical genius, saxophonist Frank Foster. Perhaps best known for his work with the Count Basie Orchestra, Foster also wrote and arranged music for Sarah Vaughan, Frank Sinatra, and Dizzy Gillespie, and he performed with jazz greats, including Elvin Jones and Snooky Young.
The Jazz Heritage Orchestra (JHO) was formed in 1998 in residence with the Cleveland State University Black Studies Department. The mission of the JHO, under the artist direction of Dennis Bradley Reynolds, is to preserve and perpetuate the heritage of the great African American jazz masters through educational programming coupled with elite performance. This mission continues today through a partnership with Open Tone Music. Based in Akron, Ohio, the JHO has performed with many acclaimed artists, including Clark Terry, Benny Golson, Nancy Wilson, John Morton, Evelyn Wright, and Vanessa Rubin.
More information about the JHO can be found on the group’s website (opens in a new tab).
Camila Fernández
Wednesday, December 9, 2026, 7:30–9:00 p.m.
Gartner Auditorium, Suzanne and Paul Westlake Performing Arts Center
Camila Fernández is undeniably the best representative of new Mexican regional music—a revolutionary woman who blends the best of multiple musical worlds to create an authentic and distinct style. As the granddaughter of the legendary Vicente Fernández and daughter of international star Alejandro Fernández, she is the sole female voice of the iconic Fernández dynasty—honoring her family’s legacy while forging her own distinct path.
Her 2023 self-titled album seamlessly blends tradition and innovation, featuring both heartfelt originals and reimagined classics. With a sound that merges the nostalgia of mariachi with the vibrancy of modern influences—continued in her most recent album, La Fernández (2025)—she reinvents the past while embracing the future, solidifying her reputation as a versatile performer deeply connected to her cultural roots.
A John Waters Christmas
Thursday, December 10, 2026, 7:00–8:30 p.m.
Gartner Auditorium, Suzanne and Paul Westlake Performing Arts Center
Sold Out
John Waters, the cult filmmaker behind Pink Flamingos and Hairspray—the Pope of Trash himself—is back on the road to present his annual Christmas show. Tonight’s production is copresented with the Grog Shop.
Waters’s one-man shows are legendary, and A John Waters Christmas is no different. As he describes, “I prepare for it like I prepare for everything else. I write a 70-minute monologue and I come on stage with no notes, no safety net, and I perform.”
Damir Imamović
Friday, January 29, 2027, 7:30–9:00 p.m.
Gartner Auditorium, Suzanne and Paul Westlake Performing Arts Center
The Cleveland Museum of Art is proud to present Damir Imamović, the Bosnian master of the sevdah, in his Cleveland debut, performing with his trio.
Born to a family of bards in Sarajevo, Damir’s immersion in the world of Balkan music was inevitable given that his grandfather Zaim was one of the most renowned folk and sevdalinka musicians of mid-20th century Yugoslavia.
Sevdah is a richly evocative Bosnian word, meaning “pining” or “a longing” (for a loved one, a place, a time) that is both joyous and painful, being the main theme of sevdalinka lyrics—comparable to Portuguese fado, Greek rembetika, or French chanson in its dramatic narratives. Sevdalinka originated during the Ottoman period in Bosnia and Herzegovina and was influenced by the music of the Sephardic Jewish and Roma communities, as well as the music of the Ottoman Empire.
Damir has dedicated his career to performing the music of his homeland and sharing its rich, enchanting melodies and stories with audiences worldwide and educating listeners on its vibrant history.
Damir has received numerous international awards for his work, including “Best of Europe” (Songlines, 2021), “Best of Folk” (German Record Critics’ Award: Quarterly Critic’s Choice, March 2020), and “Best of Europe” (Transglobal World Music Chart, 2019/2020).
Pink Martini
Wednesday, February 10, 2027, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
Gartner Auditorium, Suzanne and Paul Westlake Performing Arts Center
Ticket Required (opens in a new tab)
Now in its 31st year, the unstoppable engine of joy that is Pink Martini continues to bring founder Thomas Lauderdale’s mission of multicultural connection and inclusion to concert stages on six continents. Presenting a mélange of catchy old-fashioned pop, global color, foot-tapping big-band sound, and Hollywood glamour, Oregon’s most famous “little orchestra” performs music intended to appeal to everyone, regardless of age or background. Performing with a number of iconic voices, including the band’s first lead singer, China Forbes, the inimitable Storm Large, NPR’s dashing Ari Shapiro, the soulful Edna Vazquez, America’s Got Talent finalist Jimmie Herrod, fan favorite Timothy Nishimoto, and international singing sensation Meow Meow, Pink Martini has played on legendary concert stages around the world, including the Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, the Sydney Opera House, the Royal Albert Hall in London, and Accor Arena in Paris. Pink Martini has released over a dozen albums on its in-house label, Heinz Records, including the newest EP, Bella Ciao, featuring the anti-fascist title track sung by Storm Large.
Tonight’s production is copresented with the Grog Shop. To purchase tickets and for more information, visit the Grog Shop’s website (opens in a new tab). Musart Society benefits do not apply to this event.
More information about Pink Martini can be found on the band’s website (opens in a new tab).
The Amina Figarova Sextet and the Matsiko World Orphan Choir
Friday, February 12, 2027, 7:30–9:00 p.m.
Gartner Auditorium, Suzanne and Paul Westlake Performing Arts Center
Experience the transformative power of music with internationally acclaimed pianist Amina Figarova as she joins forces with the 24-voice Matsiko World Orphan Choir from Liberia for an unforgettable evening. Together, they perform music from their recording, Suite for Africa, which some critics call Figarova’s most significant work to date. This project celebrates African traditions with a contemporary twist.
Hailing from Azerbaijan, the New York–based Figarova is an internationally influenced—and recognized—composer, pianist, and bandleader. Those three roles come to the forefront in Figarova’s sextets, bands with a remarkable chemistry that brings her detailed arrangements to life. Every member of the group stands out as a first-rate individual, but their dedication to Figarova’s eclectic and powerful compositions gives this group its depth of feeling and elite status. The Amina Figarova Sextet has been a hit at major festivals, like the Newport Jazz Festival and New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
Read more about Figarova and the Matsiko World Orphan Choir on her website (opens in a new tab).
aja monet
Wednesday, February 24, 2027, 7:30–9:00 p.m.
Gartner Auditorium, Suzanne and Paul Westlake Performing Arts Center
Acclaimed writer aja monet is a surrealist blues poet in the business of goose bumps and heart-and-gut-telling truths. Her poems are “harmolodic,” vulnerable, and insurgent. As the youngest recipient of the Nuyorican Poets Café’s Grand Slam poetry title, she first cut her teeth in New York City’s Lower East Side poetry clubs and bars, honing her voice and craft on the storied stages of a burgeoning grassroots poetry movement. She follows in the long legacy and tradition of poets organizing in social movements for change. Her collaborative spirit has seen her shape and shift culture alongside internationally renowned artists, scholars, activists, and organizers.
Her first full collection of poems, my mother was a freedom fighter (2017), is a powerful tribute to women who embody freedom, earning a nomination for an NAACP Image Award for Poetry. Her debut poetry album, when the poems do what they do (2023), was nominated for a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album in 2024. The album explores themes of resistance, love, and the inexhaustible quest for joy. As a poet and touring bandleader, she has performed at festivals, concert halls, and theaters across the globe, including but not limited to the Guggenheim, Lincoln Center, Newport Jazz Festival, the Montreal International Jazz Festival, the North Sea Jazz Festival, Fremantle Biennale, and the Barbican Centre.
Her awards include the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Poetry Award (2019), the Nelson Mandela Changemaker Award (2024), the Harry Belafonte Voices for Social Justice Award (2024), the EBONY Power 100 Artist in Residence award (2024), and the Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Vanguard Award (2025). She also serves as the artistic creative director for V-Day, a global movement to end violence against women and girls. In 2022, she created VOICES, an audio play amplifying the stories of Black women across the diaspora and the African continent.
Her most recent book of poems, inspired by several years living and organizing in South Florida, is called florida water (Haymarket Books).
Carolyn Warner, Ralitsa Georgieva, and Friends
Wednesday, March 3, 2027, 7:30–9:00 p.m.
Gartner Auditorium, Suzanne and Paul Westlake Performing Arts Center
Carolyn Warner, member of the violin and keyboard sections of the Cleveland Orchestra since 1979, and Ralitsa Georgieva, staff collaborative pianist at the Cleveland Institute of Music, have organized a wonderful Women’s History Month program featuring members of the Cleveland Orchestra and faculty from the Cleveland Institute of Music performing compositions by female composers.
This evening’s concert features works by the following women:
Florence Price
Margi Griebling-Haigh
Amy Beach
Jennifer Conner
Virginia J. Sparvier-Wells
Stanislava Stoytcheva
Dana Ziv
Cleveland Ballet Presents “Painting the French Riviera”
Friday, March 26, 2027, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
Gartner Auditorium, Suzanne and Paul Westlake Performing Arts Center
Drawing inspiration from the works on display in Painting the French Riviera, Cleveland Ballet presents its program “Painting the French Riviera.”
Evoking the sparkling Mediterranean coastline, seaside promenades, lush gardens, and luminous resort towns of the Côte d’Azur, the program brings together movement, music, and painterly imagery to capture a world of elegance, color, and escape. With choreography that suggests shifting light, ocean breezes, and the effortless glamour of a coastal holiday, “Painting the French Riviera” invites audiences into a vivid landscape where dance becomes a living canvas of warmth, sophistication, and joy.
Yasmin Williams with the Dream Quartet
Wednesday, April 7, 2027, 7:30–9:00 p.m.
Gartner Auditorium, Suzanne and Paul Westlake Performing Arts Center
Yasmin Williams is an acoustic fingerstyle guitarist known for her unorthodox, modern approach to the instrument. Inspired by artists ranging from Chuck Brown to Jimi Hendrix, she began developing her innovative technique while studying music theory and composition at NYU. Incorporating alternate tunings, percussive hits, lap tapping, and even playing kalimba and guitar simultaneously, Williams expands the sonic possibilities of the acoustic guitar, often adding instruments such as kora, harp guitar, and banjo. Her “radiant sound and adventitious origins have made her a key figure in a diverse dawn for the solo guitar” (The New York Times), and NPR Music has observed that “the joy and possibility she brings to the guitar reminds me more of Eddie Van Halen than any of the other fingerstyle guitarists to whom she’s compared.” Her albums include Unwind (2018), Urban Driftwood (2021), and her latest release, Acadia, out now on Nonesuch Records.
For tonight’s performance and for the first time in her career, Williams is joining forces with the Dream Quartet to play new arrangements of songs off Williams’s latest release, the deluxe reissue of her debut album, Unwind, along with other fan favorites. The Dream Quartet is a dynamic string quartet, mixing classical influences with a contemporary sound. Personnel include the following:
Maggy Simon, violin
Elizabeth Hendy, violin
Dwayne Beach, viola
Malachi Brown, cello
More information about Williams can be found on her website (opens in a new tab).
More information about the Dream Quartet can be found on the ensemble’s website (opens in a new tab).
“Sacred vs. Profane: The History of the Bandoneon”
Wednesday, April 14, 2027, 7:30–9:00 p.m.
Gartner Auditorium, Suzanne and Paul Westlake Performing Arts Center
World-renowned bandoneon player Julien Labro pairs with Latin Grammy–nominated pianist Ahmed Alom to present an enticing program entitled “Sacred vs. Profane: The History of the Bandoneon.”
“Sacred vs. Profane” traces the remarkable journey of an instrument whose story spans continents, cultures, and musical worlds. Invented in 19th-century Germany for devotional music, the bandoneon was originally intended to bring the sound of the organ into small churches and community gatherings. Over time, the instrument crossed the Atlantic and found a new voice in the cafés, dance halls, and streets of Buenos Aires, becoming the unmistakable voice of tango.
In this program, Labro explores that transformation through a musical narrative moving from Bach and Franck to Piazzolla and contemporary composers. Blending classical repertoire with tango and modern works, the recital reveals the bandoneon’s unique voice—capable of both prayerful introspection and fiery passion—and highlights how one instrument came to bridge the worlds of sacred tradition and expressive dance.
More Information About the Performers:
Julien Labro has been hailed as “the next accordion star” by the Chicago Tribune and described as “a triple threat: brilliant technician, poetic melodist, and cunning arranger.” Internationally recognized as one of the foremost accordion and bandoneon soloists of his generation, Labro brings uncommon versatility to the concert stage, moving fluidly between classical, jazz, tango, and world music. As a performer, composer, and arranger, he is known for concept-driven, presenter-friendly programs that captivate audiences while pushing musical boundaries.
Born in France, Labro began playing the accordion at the age of nine, shaped early by traditional folk music and the lyricism of French chanson. His artistic voice expanded through a deep engagement with jazz, inspired by its freedom, originality, and expressive possibilities. After graduating from the Marseille Conservatory of Music, he won top prizes in major international competitions, including the Coupe Mondiale and the Castelfidardo competitions, as well as first prizes at the Marcel Azzola, Jo Privat, and Médard Ferrero competitions. In 1998, he relocated to the United States to further pursue his musical vision, completing advanced studies in classical music, jazz, and composition.
Labro has appeared as a guest soloist with leading orchestras worldwide, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the New World Symphony, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Pops Orchestra, the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra. His chamber collaborators include the Knights, A Far Cry, the MET Orchestra Chamber Ensemble, Ensemble Vivant of Toronto, Curtis On Tour, and Camerata Pacifica. He is also a trusted performer in orchestral and ballet repertoire requiring accordion or bandoneon, with appearances alongside the New York Philharmonic and New York City Ballet.
Ahmed Alom is a pianist, composer, and conductor whose boundary-crossing artistry has earned him recognition as “one of the most versatile artists in the Western Hemisphere” (Diario de Mallorca).
In 2025, he was named a Rising Star of the Cleveland Chamber Music Society, received a Latin Grammy nomination with Pedrito Martínez’s Ilusión Óptica as performer and arranger, appeared as guest artist and jury member at the Santander International Piano Festival in Colombia, and joined the Moab Music Festival as featured artist.
Alom’s musical voice, shaped by the rigor of classical training and the rhythmic vitality of his Cuban heritage, bridges genres and traditions. His compositions have been championed by leading artists, most notably Yuja Wang, who premiered his Displaced Étude No. 1 with the New York Philharmonic. As a soloist, he has appeared with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, New World Symphony, Orquesta Filarmónica de la Ciudad de México, and Britt Festival Orchestra.
A dynamic collaborator, Alom works with artists such as Michael League, Antonio Sánchez, Teddy Abrams, Steve Hackman, Miguel Zenón, Mark Dover, and Brandon Ridenour. His ensembles reflect his wide-ranging interests: Triple Cortado—a chamber trio with Caleb Hudson and Achilles Liarmakopoulos—merges classical virtuosity with contemporary works, while CrossCurrents, his duo with Pedrito Martínez, explores the intersection of Afro-Cuban traditions and European classical music. His debut album, Exilio (2023), traced narratives of displacement through six Hispanic composers, including the first complete recording of Luis A. Calvo’s four intermezzos.
New Thread Quartet
Friday, April 23, 2027, 7:00–8:00 p.m.
Ames Family Atrium
Free; No Ticket Required
New Thread Quartet of New York City makes its Cleveland debut performing Salvatore Sciarrino’s monumental 1997 work, La Bocca, i Piedi, il Suono—which translates as “the mouth, the feet, the sound.” This rarely heard tour de force features the quartet with 100 roaming saxophonists, filling the CMA atrium with mesmerizing sounds in celebration of the piece’s 30th birthday.
One of the leading contemporary voices of our time, Sciarrino explores the virtuosity of unifying many voices into one, bringing the listener into the sound of the saxophone. He describes his approach as turning the music inside out and revealing new dimensions of the instrument. Each musician plays a small and vital role in provoking this revelation.
New Thread Quartet is also premiering Perseus, a companion piece composed for the occasion by the group’s founder, tenor saxophonist, and composer, Erin Rogers. Mapping the sound of Perseus, a 13-billion-year-old galaxy with a supermassive black hole at its center, saxophonists spread across the atrium to gather and reproduce small sounds, building waves with existent reflective objects and each other.
This event is generously supported and copresented by No Exit New Music Ensemble.
New Thread Quartet was formed with the mission to develop impactful new music for the saxophone and to provide high-level ensemble playing featuring today’s compositional voices. In its 15 seasons, the quartet has commissioned and premiered over 150 new works and performed at such venues as Carnegie Hall, Roulette, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Merkin Hall, the Morgan Library & Museum, Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival Benefit, and the World Saxophone Congress in St. Andrews, Scotland. New Thread presents annual programs entitled “Explorations” and “Electric Sax” in Manhattan at the DiMenna Center, MISE-EN_PLACE, and the Cell Theatre and, more recently, at University Lutheran in West Philadelphia as part of Bowerbird’s series. New Thread’s Saxifraga, featuring commissioned works by Amy Beth Kirsten, Scott Wollschleger, and Victoria Cheah, was released on New Focus Recordings in late 2024.
Based in New York City, New Thread is regularly invited to college campuses to work with student saxophonists and composers in master classes and student reading sessions. The group has been a guest at several schools, such as the Peabody Conservatory, the University of Virginia, Boston Conservatory at Berklee, the University of California, Los Angeles, Amherst College, and New York University. The quartet has recorded on New World Records, Innova Recordings, and New Focus Recordings and is a presenting partner of Composers Now.
The ensemble’s members are Jonathan Hulting-Cohen, Noa Even, Erin Rogers, and Zach Herchen.
Trio Mandili
Wednesday, May 5, 2027, 7:30–9:00 p.m.
Gartner Auditorium, Suzanne and Paul Westlake Performing Arts Center
With more than one billion views worldwide and nearly two million YouTube subscribers, Trio Mandili began as three friends singing together in the Georgian countryside. Now, the group has become one of the world’s most remarkable musical success stories by turning a simple Georgian folk song into a worldwide phenomenon—and the Cleveland Museum of Art is thrilled to present the trio as part of its first US tour.
The trio’s signature sound is Georgian polyphony—the layered, close-harmony singing that UNESCO honors as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity—carried by the panduri, a traditional three-string lute. The three members sing not only in Georgian but in Hindi, Polish, and Hebrew, charming listeners far beyond the Caucasus.
With a fan community spanning every continent, Trio Mandili has introduced millions to the beauty of Georgian polyphonic singing. The group’s videos have touched hearts across cultures and languages, proving that extraordinary music needs no translation.
For this performance, guests have the option to purchase a traditional ticket or a meet-and-greet ticket. The traditional ticket is for an assigned seat in the hall. Each meet-and-greet ticket includes an assigned seat in the center front two rows on the lower level and provides the purchaser with an opportunity to join the band on stage for photos and autographs following the concert. All guests can purchase merchandise in the lobby after the performance.
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center: “Masters of the Piano Quartet”
Wednesday, May 12, 2027, 7:30–9:00 p.m.
Gartner Auditorium, Suzanne and Paul Westlake Performing Arts Center
Ticket Required (opens in a new tab)
The Cleveland Museum of Art has partnered with the Cleveland Chamber Music Society to present the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS) and its program for this evening, “Masters of the Piano Quartet.” Tickets must be purchased on the Cleveland Chamber Music Society’s website (opens in a new tab). CMA members can receive a 15% discount at checkout by entering the code ARTMEMBER15 for any single ticket or subscription ticket. This discount does not apply to student tickets. Musart Society member discounts do not apply to this coproduction.
CMS is one of 11 constituents of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the largest performing arts complex in the world. The Chamber Music Society has its home in Alice Tully Hall—the finest hall in the world for chamber music. Through its performance, education, and recording/broadcast activities, it draws more people to chamber music than any other organization of its kind.
Performers:
Wu Han, piano
Arnaud Sussmann, violin
Matthew Lipman, viola
David Finckel, cello
Co-artistic director of CMS since 2004, cellist David Finckel has performed on the world’s stages in the roles of recitalist, chamber artist, and orchestral soloist. The first American student of Mstislav Rostropovich, he joined the Emerson String Quartet in 1979 and, during 34 seasons, garnered nine Grammy Awards and the Avery Fisher Prize. In 1997, he and pianist Wu Han founded ArtistLed, the first internet-based, artist-controlled classical recording label. In 2022, Music@Menlo, a summer chamber music festival in Silicon Valley founded and directed by Finckel and Wu Han, celebrated its 20th season. He is a professor at both the Juilliard School and Stony Brook University and oversees both CMS’s Bowers Program and Music@Menlo’s Chamber Music Institute. Along with Wu Han, he received Musical America’s 2012 Musicians of the Year Award.
Pianist Wu Han, recipient of Musical America’s Musicians of the Year Award, enjoys a multifaceted musical life that encompasses artistic direction, performing, and recording. Co-artistic director of CMS since 2004 as well as founder and co-artistic director of Silicon Valley’s Music@Menlo since 2002, she also serves as artistic advisor for both Wolf Trap’s Chamber Music at the Barns series and Palm Beach’s Society of the Four Arts and as artistic director for La Musica in Sarasota, Florida. She is the founder and artistic director of ArtistLed, classical music’s first artist-directed, internet-based recording label. A recipient of the Andrew Wolf Award, she was mentored by some of the greatest pianists of our time, including Lilian Kallir, Rudolf Serkin, and Menahem Pressler. Married to cellist David Finckel since 1985, Wu Han divides her time between concert touring and residences in New York City and Westchester County.
American violist Matthew Lipman has made recent appearances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the American Symphony Orchestra, the Munich Symphony Orchestra, and the Minnesota Orchestra. He has performed recitals at Carnegie Hall and the Tonhalle in Zurich and has recorded on the Sony, Deutsche Grammophon, Cedille, and Avie labels. An alum of CMS’s Bowers Program, he performs regularly on tour and at Alice Tully Hall with CMS. An Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient and major prize winner at the Primrose and Tertis International Viola Competitions, Lipman is on faculty at Stony Brook University. He performs on a 2021 Samuel Zygmuntowicz viola.
Winner of a 2009 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Arnaud Sussmann has recently appeared as a soloist with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the New World Symphony. As a chamber musician, he has performed at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, London’s Wigmore Hall, the Dresden Music Festival, and the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC. He has also given concerts at the Moritzburg, Caramoor, Music@Menlo, La Jolla Music Society, Mainly Mozart, Seattle Chamber Music Society, Chamber Music Northwest, and the Moab Music festivals. An alum of CMS’s Bowers Program, Sussmann is artistic director of the Chamber Music Society of Palm Beach and codirector of Music@Menlo’s International Program and teaches at Stony Brook University. In September 2022, he was named founding artistic director of the Boscobel Chamber Music Festival. Sussmann plays a 1731 Stradivarius violin on loan from a private owner.
Program:
Mahler: Quartet in A Minor for Piano and Strings
Brahms: Quartet in C Minor for Piano and Strings, op. 60
Schumann: Quartet in E-flat Major for Piano and Strings, op. 47
The 2026–27 Performing Arts Series is sponsored by the Musart Society. This program is made possible in part by the Ernest L. and Louise M. Gartner Fund, the P. J. McMyler Musical Endowment Fund, and the Anton and Rose Zverina Music Fund.
The views expressed by performers during this event are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
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About the Cleveland Museum of Art
The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is renowned for the quality and breadth of its collection, which includes more than 68,000 artworks and spans 6,000 years of achievement in the arts. The museum is a significant international forum for exhibitions, scholarship, and performing arts and is a leader in digital innovation. One of the foremost encyclopedic art museums in the United States, the CMA is recognized for its award-winning open access program—which provides free digital access to images and information about works in the museum’s collection—and is free of charge to all. The museum is located in the University Circle neighborhood with two satellite locations on Cleveland’s west side: the Community Arts Center and Transformer Station.
The museum is supported in part by residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture and made possible in part by the Ohio Arts Council (OAC), which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts. The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically. For more information about the museum and its holdings, programs, and events, call 888-CMA-0033 or visit cma.org.