Featuring some 50 artists in music, dance, theater, and multidisciplinary performances, Stanford Live’s 2026-2027 season is focusing on “America’s evolving story, honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary while spotlighting the next generation of artists.”
Stanford Live Director Iris Nemani said the season “feels especially meaningful as we highlight artists who are shaping the cultural landscape of today.”
Marking America’s 250th anniversary, “we also reflect on the many voices that have shaped — and continue to shape — our evolving national narrative, including artists who have come to this country from around the world, became U.S. citizens and made it their creative home,” Nemani said.
The guitar, a standard instrument in diverse genres, provides a connecting thread “that has carried the voices of everyday people, fueled movements for change, and connected communities across generations.”
As the presenter looks toward its next season, the campus is busy preparing for upcoming concerts, such as the BTS World Tour “Arirang” (May 16-19), and “Paul Simon: A Quiet Celebration” (June 3 and 4).
Nemani’s programming continues to emphasize collaboration and storytelling with events such as Georgia bluesman Jontavious Willis performing tunes from his latest album (Oct. 23); pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra (Nov. 8); violinist Renée Qin and harpist Ania Filochowska presenting The World We Speak Into Being, an “interdisciplinary performance that emerged from [their] artistic and academic exploration at Stanford” (Feb. 4, 2027); Njioma Grevious in a recital that features three Jewish émigré composers and Levee Dance by Black violinist/composer Clarence Cameron White (Feb. 5, 2027); cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason and pianist Benjamin Grosvenor (May 5, 2027), and others.
The American themed concerts include the Kronos Quartet performing with Persian vocalists Mahsa and Marjan Vahdat (Oct. 11); Rob Kapilow’s “What Makes it Great?: The Music of Lerner and Loewe” (Oct. 25), celebrating the German-Jewish composer and American lyricist; mezzo-soprano Rihab Chaieb in “Nomad — the Eternal Wanderer,” a song recital that “explores themes of wandering, immigration, and belonging” (Feb. 24, 2027); and duo pianists Lucas and Arthur Jussen, who are slated to play versions of Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and Maurice Ravel’s La Valse (May 2, 2027).
The guitar celebration spotlights one of the most iconic instruments in American music, featured across a range of genres throughout the season, including the Julian Lage Quartet (jazz, Oct. 21); Los Vega Son Jarocho (son jarocho, Oct. 24); Yasmin Williams (blues and jazz, Nov. 7); Don Ross and Julie Malía (folk, Jan. 16); International Guitar Night (including Hawaiian slack-key master Jim Kimo West, Feb. 21), Stanley Clarke and Hiromi with the PUBLIQuartet (jazz, March 13, 2027); Miloš (classical, April 1, 2027); and Jack West with Walter Strauss (folk, jazz, funk, and rock, April 3, 2027).
Season highlights include events celebrating Philip Glass and Allen Ginsberg, such as “Let the Poets Speak” on Oct. 30, with pianist Timo Andres, theater artist Taylor Mac, and members of the San Francisco Girls Chorus.
Two young ensembles, the Balourdet Quartet and Terra String Quartet, co-recipients of the St. Lawrence Seminar’s 2025 John Lad Prize, will appear on Jan. 24, 2027, in a shared concert culminating in a performance of George Enescu’s String Octet.
