The Cleveland Museum of Art is lining up roughly 80 performances for its 2026-27 season, a lineup that ranges from a South Korean alt-pop group making its Cleveland debut to a springtime concert featuring 100 saxophonists wandering through the museum's atrium. The season blends internationally touring musicians with homegrown Cleveland talent, and organizers say many of the shows will be free to attend.
Gabe Pollack, the museum's director of performing arts, built the season around three roughly equal components, according to Cleveland.com. About a third of the programs tie directly into museum exhibitions or pieces from the permanent collection, another third comes through partnerships with local and regional arts organizations, and the rest reflects artists and styles Pollack simply believes belong in the season, per the same report. Pollack told the outlet the series is for Cleveland, and that presenting international music matters to the mission. He was appointed to the role in October 2022 after eight years running Bop Stop at The Music Settlement, where he presented more than 2,000 live concerts, according to CoolCleveland.
A K-Pop Debut Tied to a Medieval Korean Exhibition
One of the season's most tightly woven pairings arrives November 4, 2026, when LEENALCHI performs at the museum in conjunction with the exhibition Ten Kings of Hell: The Afterlife in Medieval Korea, per Cleveland.com's report. The South Korean alternative pop group combines pansori-style vocals, electronic sounds and funky bass lines, and the show marks its Cleveland debut. The exhibition itself runs from October 11, 2026, through January 3, 2027, in partnership with the National Museum of Korea and reunites a set of rare 14th-century Korean hanging scrolls for the first time since the 1960s, according to Artforum.
The museum's practice of linking live performance to its galleries has deep roots. Its performing arts department was established in 1918, just two years after the museum opened, making it one of the oldest such departments housed inside an American art museum, according to a Medium post from the museum that notes the department's first major concert, by the New York Philharmonic, took place in March 1918.
Local Dancers and Cellists Draw on the Museum's Own Collection
Cleveland's Dancing Wheels Company & School is developing new works based on art and images from the museum's collection, with a world debut set for October 23, 2026 at the museum, per Cleveland.com. Pollack said he trusts artists such as Dancing Wheels to create an amazing final product. Founded in Cleveland in 1980 by Mary Verdi-Fletcher, the company is recognized as the first professional dance company in the United States to integrate sit-down wheelchair and stand-up dancers, according to Arts Midwest, which notes Verdi-Fletcher was the nation's first professional wheelchair dancer.
Cellist Santiago Cañón-Valencia will incorporate his own visual art into his cello performance during the season, the report states. Cleveland Ballet, meanwhile, is creating Painting the French Riviera, a piece inspired by the museum exhibition of the same name. The Cleveland Cello Society and the Cleveland Chamber Music Society are also among the season's partners, according to Cleveland.com.
Global Voices Fill Out the Genre-Spanning Lineup
Beyond the exhibition tie-ins, the season features a wide sweep of international and genre-crossing acts, including jazz pianist Hiromi, the Amina Figarova ensemble, guitarist Yasmin Williams, and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Bosnian musician Damir Imamović brings sevdah music to Cleveland, and the Georgian vocal trio Mandili, which has drawn more than a billion video views worldwide, is also on the bill, per the report. Several artists, the museum says, are making their Cleveland debuts this season.
Booking that caliber of international talent is not simple. Pollack told Cleveland.com that presenting artists from abroad involves logistical challenges tied to visas and touring ability. The lineup also includes Apollo's Fire, CityMusic Cleveland, the Jazz Heritage Orchestra, The Bad Plus, poet and vocalist Aja Monet, Colombian group Monsieur Periné, and singer Camila Fernández.
Grog Shop Team-Ups and a 100-Saxophonist Finale
Two shows will be co-presented with the Grog Shop, the independent Cleveland Heights music venue founded in September 1992: a Pink Martini concert and A John Waters Christmas, according to Cleveland.com. The Grog Shop was forced out of its previous location in 2002 and was then located in CoventrYard, per Cleveland Historical.
The season's most physically ambitious event comes April 23, 2027, when the New Thread Quartet performs Salvatore Sciarrino's La bocca, i piedi, il suono in the museum's Ames Family Atrium, a free performance requiring four saxophone soloists plus 100 roaming saxophonists moving through the space, per Cleveland.com and the museum's own event listing. New Thread founder Erin Rogers will premiere a companion work at the same concert, marking the piece's 30th anniversary, according to the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Performances Stretch Across the Museum's Growing Footprint
Shows will take place across Gartner Auditorium, the atrium and the galleries, Cleveland.com reports. Gartner Auditorium, designed by Marcel Breuer in 1971, seats 683 guests and houses the historic 4,000-pipe McMyler organ following acoustic upgrades completed in 2010; it remains the only concert hall the architect ever designed, per the museum. The museum also expanded its venue footprint in July 2023 when it took full ownership and management of Transformer Station in Hingetown, a converted 1924 transit substation. The museum's venues form part of its growing footprint. The museum's venues are also part of the discussion about its broader footprint.
The 2026-27 slate follows the museum's previous season. The season's programming is also presented alongside a discussion of public funding. With many of its 80 annual performances offered free, the museum is betting that mix of state support and eclectic programming keeps University Circle's stages full through 2027.
