Carnegie Hall Will Present UNITED IN SOUND: AMERICA AT 250 Festival In 2026

From January through July 2026, Carnegie Hall will present United in Sound: America at 250, a citywide festival celebrating the nation’s 250th anniversary through the lens of its diverse musical heritage.

The festival will feature more than 35 performances spanning Broadway, film, jazz, R&B, rock, hip-hop, country, bluegrass, and classical traditions, exploring how American music has reflected and shaped the nation’s identity for 250 years.

Clive Gillinson, Carnegie Hall’s Executive and Artistic Director, said, “This season, we celebrate the extraordinary contribution that American music has made to world culture. Its impact is felt across a wide range of genres—from jazz, pop, and gospel to film, Broadway, and the world of classical music. Through the United in Sound festival, we will explore music that reflects the American experience and the stories it tells about our nation.”

Highlights of United in Sound will include An Evening with the Grand Ole Opry; The Secret Life of the American Musical; appearances by Harry Connick, Jr. and Michael Feinstein; concerts led by Marin Alsop, Timo Andres, Aaron Diehl, Artemis, Brooklyn Rider, Ruckus with Davóne Tines, and The New York Pops; and performances by major orchestras including the American Composers Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, The Met Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, and Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. The festival will also feature Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! in concert with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, plus performances by Kronos Quartet, Rhiannon Giddens, and aja monet.

The programming will include works by Leonard Bernstein, Duke Ellington, and George Gershwin, alongside music by Amy Beach, William Dawson, and Florence Price, and new commissions from more than 20 contemporary composers including John Adams, George Lewis, Angélica Negrón, Caroline Shaw, and Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate.

From March through July 2026, United in Sound will expand beyond Carnegie Hall to cultural institutions across New York City, presenting concerts, dance performances, and film screenings that highlight the past, present, and future of American music. A full list of festival partners is available at carnegiehall.org/UnitedInSound.

JANUARY AND FEBRUARY HIGHLIGHTS

The Orchestra of St. Luke’s will perform Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! on January 12, conducted by Emmy and Grammy winner Rob Berman, using Robert Russell Bennett’s original orchestrations. On January 24, music director Ray Chew (Dancing with the Stars, Showtime at the Apollo) will lead Songs of America, exploring the evolution of American popular music. Brooklyn Rider will present Citizenship Notes on January 29, offering new works by Don Byron, Ted Hearne, and Angélica Negrón that explore questions of democracy.

Ruckus and bass-baritone Davóne Tines will perform a modern reimagining of America’s early revolutionary music on January 30, while Damien Sneed and the Orchestra of Tomorrow will perform a genre-spanning concert blending gospel, jazz, and symphonic traditions on February 13. That same evening, The New York Pops led by Steven Reineke will present If I Ain’t Got You: The Best of R&B, featuring Maleah Joi Moon and Avery Wilson. On February 19, Joyce DiDonato and Time for Three will give the New York premiere of Kevin Puts’s Emily—No Prisoner Be, based on the poetry of Emily Dickinson.

MARCH HIGHLIGHTS

On March 2, The Secret Life of the American Musical—based on Jack Viertel’s best-selling book—will come to Carnegie Hall under the direction of Tony Award winner Warren Carlyle, with musical direction by Rob Berman and performances by J. Harrison Ghee and Betsy Wolfe. Violinist Kristin Lee and pianist John Novacek will perform a program on March 12 tracing American music from Henry T. Burleigh and Amy Beach to Scott Joplin, George Gershwin, and Kevin Puts.

The New York Pops and guest artists Max Clayton, Nova Payton, and Ephraim Sykes will celebrate 250 years of American music on March 13, followed that evening by jazz supergroup Artemis performing the world premiere of a new Carnegie Hall–commissioned work by Renee Rosnes. On March 20, the Grand Ole Opry will make a rare Carnegie Hall appearance. On March 31, Marin Alsop will conduct The Philadelphia Orchestra with pianist Hayato Sumino in Gershwin’s Concerto in F and the New York premiere of a new work by John Adams.

APRIL AND MAY HIGHLIGHTS

On April 9, The Knights will perform Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring Suite alongside Duke Ellington’s “Sophisticated Lady” and a new concerto by Gabriel Kahane written for Anthony McGill. That evening, the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Andris Nelsons will perform selections from John Adams’s Nixon in China with Renée Fleming, Thomas Hampson, and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, paired with Dvořák’s New World Symphony.

Kronos Quartet will return on April 25 with a multimedia program featuring new works by Laura Ortman, Charlton Singleton, and Dai Wei. On May 8, Rhiannon Giddens will perform a concert tracing the history of early American music from the origins of the banjo to the rise of the recording industry. Keyon Harrold will pay tribute to Miles Davis on May 16 during the jazz legend’s centennial year, followed by aja monet’s Carnegie Hall debut on May 20.

Harry Connick, Jr. will make his long-awaited headlining debut on May 22 and 23 with a pair of concerts featuring big-band and orchestral arrangements, while The Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin Will Close the month on May 29 with Wynton Marsalis’s Symphony No. 5 (“Liberty”) and Julia Wolfe’s Liberty Bell.

As part of the United in Sound partnership, Hudson Yards will host free outdoor family film screenings in spring 2026, featuring scores by American film composers and pre-show performances by Ensemble Connect.