Following a long and treasured tradition, Cal Performances at UC Berkeley is planning a many-splendored 2026-2027 season of star artists, ensembles, theatrical experimentation, modern and classical dance, world music, and vocal and chamber music.
Since Sarah Bernhardt’s storied performance at the Greek Theater following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, Cal Performances has grown into one of the largest university-based arts presenters in the world.
“In 120 years, we have grown in ways no one then could have predicted, but we have stayed true to the core principle of allowing the performing arts to enlighten and enrich people’s lives,” Executive and Artistic Director Jeremy Geffen told SF Classical Voice. “This season promises to amplify this message in new and profound ways, while building substantially on our legacy of artistic excellence, in all of its varied forms.”
The top headline for the season is a massive five-year interdisciplinary project led by South African actor-designer-director William Kentridge “to tell the story of Africans who labored, fought, and died during World War I” in dance, projection, speech, song, shadow play, costume, and music.
Kentridge’s exploration of colonial history, language, and artistic and political movements will begin with the West Coast premiere of The Head & the Load on Nov. 12–15 in the newly remodeled arena of the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts in Oakland. Kentridge says the large-scale theatrical work is “about all the contradictions and paradoxes of colonialism that were heated and compressed by the circumstances of the war."
When The Head & the Load premiered in London, reviews hailed its “explosion of images” and “fiercely beautiful historical pageant.”
Geffen calls Kentridge’s productions at Cal Performances “among the most powerful and inventive. The inner life and multivalent perspectives Kentridge weaves through these works keep our conscious and subconscious engaged long after the curtain has come down.
“As prolific as he is as a visual artist, his substantial catalog of multidisciplinary works created in partnership with a broad spectrum of collaborators — composers, designers, performers — reflects its own deep passion for truth as well as beauty.”
Near the beginning of the 120th season on Oct. 24, the presenter will commemorate Steve Reich’s 90th birthday with a concert of the composer’s classics such as the Pulitzer Prize-winning Double Sextet and Electric Counterpoint, which combines live and recorded electric guitar parts. Reich’s ongoing work will be exemplified by In All Your Ways, co-commissioned by Cal Performances and slated for its West Coast premiere during the commemoration. The performers include the Bang on a Can All Stars and Ensemble Signal, conducted by Brad Lubman.
Birthday observances continue with a Nov. 20 salute to Philip Glass on this 90th. The music will be a presentation of his 20 piano etudes by 10 pianists from all corners of the music world.
Then, it’s John Adams’ turn: His 80th birthday is celebrated by a program of his music performed by the Attacca Quartet on Feb. 28, 2027, including the Bay Area premiere of a Cal Performances co-commissioned work.
At a time when orchestral touring faces challenges including armed conflicts, visa regulations, and financial difficulties, Cal Performances is scheduling the return of the Vienna Philharmonic for a three-performance residency, a centerpiece of the 2026-2027 season.
Yannick Nézet-Séguin will conduct the orchestra during the Maria Manetti Shrem and Elizabeth Segerstrom Residency, which is scheduled to include Gustav Mahler’s Second, Fourth, and Ninth symphonies. Yuja Wang will be the soloist in a Sergei Prokofiev piano concerto.
At the Cal Performances fundraising gala on March 4, 2027, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection,” will feature soprano Christiane Karg, mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca, and the SF Symphony Chorus, directed by Jenny Wong.
Dance presentations kick off with the Australian Ballet, bringing the North American premiere of Christopher Wheeldon’s Oscar, about the life of Oscar Wilde (Sept. 25–27). The original score is by Joby Talbot and will be performed by the Berkeley Symphony. Other dance events include a collaboration between choreographer Aszure Barton and jazz trumpeter and composer Ambrose Akinmusire (Dec. 4–5); the world premiere of Mark Morris Dance Group’s Holidayland, a work Morris is co-creating with Goosebumps author R.L. Stine with an original score by Nico Muhly (Dec. 11–13); Compagnie Hervé Koubi’s Sol Invictus (Feb. 5–6, 2027); and MOMIX’s Botanica, combining dance, acrobatics, and puppetry (May 7–9, 2027).
The Ballet Folklórico de México will return to Berkeley for a 75th anniversary program honoring choreographer and founder Amalia Hernández (Oct. 23); Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (Feb. 27–28, 2027), and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (April 6–11, 2027).
Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato and Il Pomo d’Oro Orchestra and Choir will headline a performance of Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas (Feb. 10, 2027). Then, the Monteverdi Choir English Baroque Soloists, conductor Masaaki Suzuki, and soloists will appear in J. S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion (Feb. 21, 2027), and The English Concert and guest soloists led by conductor Harry Bicket will give Handel’s Alessandro in concert (April 25, 2027).
The season is rich with vocal recitals, including those by baritone Lester Lynch (Sept. 27), Judy Collins (Oct. 18), tenor Ben Bliss (also Oct. 18, in Hertz Hall), countertenor Iestyn Davies (Oct. 25), mezzo-soprano Ema Nikolovska (Nov. 1), soprano Lise Davidsen (Nov. 19), and soprano Audra McDonald (March 20, 2027).
An attraction for decades, the Takács Quartet, returns to Zellerbach Hall on Oct. 11, with pianist Jeremy Denk in a program of works by Felix Mendelssohn, Gabriela Lena Frank, and César Franck. A second concert by the quartet on Jan. 24, 2027, will have performances of works by Mozart, Carlos Simon, and Beethoven.
As the university-resident, Cal Performances will offer educational and academic programs — this season, a six-performance scholarship series called “Innocence & Experience” features UC Berkeley scholars.
