Grant Park Music festival 2026
About
Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Giancarlo Guerrero leads a season-long line-up of performances highlighting America’s 250th birthday, alongside beloved symphonic cornerstones Including Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony, Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3, Gershwin’s American in Paris and a blockbuster finale Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Ode to Joy.
Also, An Evening with Ben Folds, the aerialists of Troupe Vertigo in Cirque: A Space Odyssey, an Independence Day Salute and much more.
The Grant Park Music Festival today announced its 2026 season, under the leadership of Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Giancarlo Guerrero. The Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus will present its annual 10-week series from June 10 – August 15 at Millennium Park’s Jay Pritzker Pavilion and other venues throughout the city. Christopher Bell returns for his 25th season as the Festival’s Chorus Director.
“Following my inaugural season with the Grant Park Music Festival in 2025, I look forward to returning in 2026 to share with audiences the breadth and richness of the American musical landscape through performances with the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus,” said Guerrero.
RUN DATES
June 10 - August 15, 2026
TIMES
Wednesdays and Fridays at 6:30 PM
Saturdays at 7:30 PM
Thursday, July 3 at 6:30 PM
LOCATION
Millennium Park’s Jay Pritzker Pavilion
View from the Choral Balcony
GRANT PARK MUSIC FESTIVAL 2026 SEASON REPERTOIRE:
Bernstein West Side Story
Wednesday, June 10, 6:30 PM
Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor
Joan Tower – Made in America
Leonard Bernstein – Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
Samuel Barber – Symphony No. 1
Brahms Symphony No. 4 (choral balcony not available)
Friday, June 12, 6:30 PM
Saturday, June 13, 7:30 PM
Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor
Jessica Rivera, soprano
Andrew Garland, baritone
Charles Ives – Variations on America
Johannes Brahms – Symphony No. 4
Gabriela Lena Frank – Conquest Requiem
Haydn Military Symphony
Wednesday, June 17, 6:30 PM
Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor
Oliver Herbert, cello
Julia Perry – Short Piece
Dmitri Shostakovich – Cello Concerto No. 1
Franz Joseph Haydn – Symphony No. 100, Military
Copland Symphony No. 3
Friday, June 19, 6:30 PM
Saturday, June 20, 7:30 PM
Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor
Stewart Goodyear, piano
Reena Esmail – Black Iris
Sergei Prokofiev – Piano Concerto No. 3
Aaron Copland – Symphony No. 3
Barber Violin Concerto
Wednesday, June 24, 6:30 PM
Kalena Bovell, conductor
Will Hagen, violin
Lookingglass Theatre Company
A Festival HD concert
Jessie Montgomery – Starburst
Samuel Barber – Violin Concerto
Peter Boyer – Ellis Island: The Dream of America
Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 Harris Theater
Friday, June 26, 6:30 PM
Saturday, June 27, 7:30 PM
Edwin Outwater, conductor
Sara Davis Buechner, piano
Jimmy López – Loud
Lou Harrison – Symphony No. 2, Elegiac
Amy Woodforde-Finden – Kashmiri Song
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Piano Concerto No. 1
Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3
Wednesday, July 1, 6:30 PM
Friday, July 3, 6:30 PM
Carlos Kalmar, conductor
Olga Kern, piano
Sergei Rachmaninov – Piano Concerto No. 3
Igor Stravinsky – Game of Cards
Edward Elgar – In the South
Grant Park Chorus American Choral Classics
Thursday, July 2, 6:30 PM South Shore Cultural Center
Christopher Bell, conductor
Discover the rich rhapsody of American choral music with a program of soulful and contemporary masterpieces, curated by Christopher Bell, celebrating his 25th season with the Festival.
Jennifer Higdon – somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond
René Clausen – Black Is the Color of My True Love’s Hair
Melissa Dunphy – What do you think I fought for at Omaha Beach?
arr. John Rutter – When the Saints Go Marching In
arr. Moses Hogan – Elijah Rock
arr. Michael John Trotta – Shenandoah
Aaron Copland – Simple Gifts
Aaron Copland – Zion’s Walls
Jake Runestad – We Can Mend the Sky
Stephen Paulus – The Road Home
Independence Day Salute
Saturday, July 4, 7:30 PM
Christopher Bell, conductor
Dario Brignoli, clarinet
Jeremy Black, violin
It’s everyone’s favorite holiday celebration: the Festival’s annual salute to America. With Christopher Bell decked out in red, white and blue, the Grant Park Orchestra presents Broadway and Hollywood hits, and patriotic standards, including the ever-popular Armed Forces Salute. A Festival HD concert
Sibelius Symphony No. 2
Wednesday, July 8, 6:30 PM
Carlos Kalmar, conductor
Third Coast Percussion
Christopher Theofanidis – Drum Circles
Jean Sibelius – Symphony No. 2
Join us for this amazing season at the Grant Park Music Festival
Group Rates
$20 Student Group rates for most concerts
$35 Most concerts
$40 Beethoven Symphony No. 9, Broadway Sings America
$55 Choral Balcony (for select concerts)
Choral Balcony Seating Now Available
See a Grant Park Music Festival concert from the stage of the Jay Pritzker Pavilion! Widely acknowledged to be one of the most spectacular vistas in the city, the Choral Balcony puts you right in the middle of the music. You’ll be seated on the stage behind the musicians, looking over the audience and the Chicago skyline.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE GRANT PARK MUSIC FESTIVAL’S 2026 SEASON
Bernstein West Side Story Wednesday, June 10, 6:30 PM
Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3 Wednesday, July 1, 6:30 and Friday, July 3, 6:30 PM
Independence Day Salute Saturday, July 4, 7:30 PM
Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 Friday, July 10, 6:30 PM and Saturday, July 11, 7:30 PM
Ravel Piano Concerto Wednesday, July 15
Cirque: A Space Odyssey (with Troupe Vertigo): Wednesday, July 22
Broadway Sings America Friday, July 24, 6:30 PM and Saturday, July 25, 7:30 PM
An Evening with Ben Folds and the Grant Park Orchestra: Wednesday, July 29, 6:30 PM
Ohlsson Plays Chopin Wednesday, August 5, 6:30 PM
Dvorak New World Symphony Wednesday, August 12, 6:30 PM
Beethoven Symphony No. 9 Friday, August 14, 6:30 PM and Saturday, August 15, 7:30 PM
Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5
Friday, July 10, 6:30 PM
Saturday, July 11, 7:30 PM
Leonard Slatkin, conductor
Yevgeny Kutik, violin
Leonard Slatkin – Schubertiade: An Orchestral Fantasy
Joseph Schwantner – Violin Concerto
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Symphony No. 5
Ravel Piano Concerto
Wednesday, July 15, 6:30 PM
Jeri Lynne Johnson, conductor
Michelle Cann, piano
William Grant Still – Festive Overture
Maurice Ravel – Piano Concerto in G
Florence Price – Symphony No. 3
Fauré Requiem (choral balcony not available)
Friday, July 17, 6:30 PM
Saturday, July 18, 7:30 PM
Christopher Bell, conductor
Janai Brugger, soprano
Sankara Harouna, baritone
James MacMillan – Cantos Sagrados
Ralph Vaughan Williams – Toward the Unknown Region
Gabriel Fauré – Requiem
Cirque: A Space Odyssey
Wednesday, July 22, 6:30 PM
Enrico Lopez-Yañez, conductor
Troupe Vertigo
The high-flying aerialists of Troupe Vertigo join the Grant Park Orchestra, performing eye-popping feats to classical works and film scores, including Star Wars, Star Trek, Disney’s Up and more.
Broadway Sings America (choral balcony not available)
Dates TBD
Jason Seber, conductor
Blaine Krauss, Tiffany Mann and Stephanie Jae Park, vocalists
The Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus and stars from Broadway celebrate America 250 with popular favorites from Ragtime, Hamilton, Hair, South Pacific and more.
An Evening with Ben Folds
Wednesday, July 29, 6:30 PM
Kedrick Armstrong, conductor
Ben Folds
Singer, songwriter and composer Ben Folds joins the Grant Park Orchestra for one extraordinary night that seamlessly blends symphony and pop. This special event is only available for Festival members at this time. Ben Fold’s appearance is made possible with the generous support of the Grainger Iconic Performers Fund.
Gershwin An American in Paris Harris Theater
Friday, July 31, 6:30 PM
Saturday, August 1, 7:30 PM
Kedrick Armstrong, conductor
Gabriela Lara, violin
Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson – Sinfonietta No. 1
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor – Violin Concerto
Duke Ellington – The Three Black Kings
George Gershwin – An American in Paris
Ohlsson Plays Chopin
Wednesday, August 5, 6:30 PM
Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor
Garrick Ohlsson, piano
Juan Pablo Contreras – Mariachitlán
Fryderyk Chopin – Piano Concerto No. 2
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Capriccio Italien
Mozart Requiem (choral balcony not available)
Friday, August 7, 6:30 PM
Saturday, August 8, 7:30 PM
Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor
Janai Brugger, soprano
Susan Platts, mezzo-soprano
Andrew Haji, tenor
Kelly Markgraf, bass
John Corigliano – Symphony No. 1
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Requiem
Dvořák New World Symphony
Wednesday, August 12, 6:30 PM
Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor
Anne Akiko Meyers, violin
John Adams – Short Ride in a Fast Machine
Philip Glass – Violin Concerto No. 1
Antonín Dvořák – Symphony No. 9, From the New World
Beethoven Symphony No. 9 (choral balcony not available)
Friday, August 14, 6:30 PM
Saturday, August 15, 7:30 PM
Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor
Karen Slack, soprano
Imara Miles, mezzo-soprano
John Matthew Myers, tenor
Jongwon Han, bass-baritone
Julia Wolfe – Liberty Bell
Michael Daugherty – Mount Rushmore
Ludwig van Beethoven – Symphony No. 9, Choral
