The Akron Symphony Orchestra has announced its 2026-27 season, a slate of seven classical concerts at the University of Akron’s E.J. Thomas Hall running from October through May, bookended by a season-opening blast of Berlioz and a full-stage finale pairing the orchestra with the Akron Symphony Chorus. The lineup also includes the annual Holiday Pops show in December and the milestone 35th edition of Gospel Meets Symphony.
A Season Built On Momentum
According to wkyc.com, the orchestra is aiming to build on an 18-year high in single-ticket sales from the 2025-26 season as it heads into its 73rd year. The season began Oct. 17 with Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique alongside works by Rossini, Ponchielli and Joe Hisaishi, the station reported. As Akron.com notes, this marks the first time the orchestra has opened its season in October.
Music Director and Conductor Christopher Wilkins framed the new lineup around audience experience, saying the season was designed to offer “a compelling mix of works, an inviting way in, and a thrilling emotional arc,” according to the orchestra’s own Classic Series subscription page. That page also lists Classic Series subscription prices ranging from $35 to $364, and confirms parking will be free at all E.J. Thomas events for the 2026-27 season.
Mozart's Requiem Headlines November Concert
This Saturday, Nov. 14, the orchestra and the Akron Symphony Chorus are scheduled to perform Mozart’s Requiem, paired with Margaret Brouwer’s The Art of Sailing at Dawn and Arnold Schoenberg’s Transfigured Night, per the same wkyc.com report. The Akron Symphony Chorus, which numbers more than 100 voices, is led by chorus director Chris Albanese, who said he hopes listeners “leave performances changed and moved by the music,” according to Akron.com.
The orchestra’s 2027 Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend concert will feature principal cellist Eri Snowden-Rodríguez, with an opening program that includes Bakhari Nokuri’s Afrospire, Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto and Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 2. Nokuri has described Afrospire as encapsulating “the feeling of being transcended from reality,” per Akron.com.
Strings, Soloists And A Return Of Gospel Meets Symphony
On Feb. 13, 2027, the orchestra turns to a strings-only program built around Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons: Recomposed by Max Richter, with concertmaster Tallie Brunfelt stepping out as soloist, the station reported. That concert also features Alexander Borodin’s Nocturne, Andrea Casarrubios’ Herencia and Mozart’s Divertimento in D Major. The Akron Symphony’s Music and Art juried exhibition returns for a third year in the E.J. Thomas Hall lobby that same season, according to Akron.com.
Gospel Meets Symphony marks its 35th anniversary this season, according to wkyc.com. Cleveland.com reported that the orchestra and the Gospel Meets Symphony Choir will team up for the celebration at a Feb. 6, 2027 performance.
Spring Programs Bring Guest Soloists
On March 6, 2027, the orchestra performs a concert featuring University of Akron composition professor James Wilding’s Emlanjeni, alongside Franz Liszt’s Mazeppa, Richard Wagner’s Tannhäuser Overture and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5, the Emperor. Pianist Caroline Oltmanns, an International Steinway Artist and head of piano at Youngstown State University, performs the Beethoven concerto that evening, a detail cleveland.com also reported in its own season preview, which listed general ticket prices ranging from $7 for a child or student up to $65.
The April 10, 2027 concert turns toward orchestral storytelling, with Cécile Chaminade’s Callirhoé Prelude, Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream — which includes the familiar Wedding March — Sibelius’ The Tempest and Debussy’s La Mer rounding out the program, according to Akron.com. The Akron Beacon Journal has noted that this season in particular pairs traditional symphonic repertoire with pop culture-rooted works that draw on storytelling from film scores and video game music.
A Full-Stage Finale To Close The Season
The season concludes with a full-stage performance bringing the Akron Symphony Chorus back alongside the orchestra for Rachmaninoff’s The Bells, performed in Russian across four movements, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4, and Baba Yetu, the Grammy-winning piece from the Civilization video game franchise, according to wkyc.com. Holiday Pops is set for December 2026, giving audiences a seasonal stop between the Requiem performance and the new year’s run of concerts, per Akron.com.
Ticket information for the full season is available at akronsymphony.org, by phone at 330-535-8131, or by email at [email protected], according to Akron.com.
