Harmonium of Texas to Present Yo-Yo Ma, Aoife O'Donovan in 2026-2027 Season Additions

Harmonium of Texas – a new orchestra and educational initiative based in San Antonio founded by conductor, pianist, and educator Jeffrey Kahane – has announced new additions to its 2026-2027 season. Additions include a special concert by legendary cellist and longtime friend and collaborator of Kahane, Yo-Yo Ma; the Texas premiere of Juan Pablo Contreras's Symphony No. 1 “My Great Dream”; an America at 250-themed concert featuring Aoife O'Donovan and Gabriel Kahane; the Texas premiere of Enrico Chapela's Los Braceros; and a new program supporting the work of young Latino composers. 

The orchestra welcomes legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma for a performance on Monday, November 16 at Lila Cockrell Theatre, featuring Rachmaninoff's Cello Sonata with Kahane on piano, Dvořák's Cello Concerto, and Composer-in-Residence Andrea Casarrubios's Herencia.

Kahane says, “It is deeply moving to me that my dear friend, Yo-Yo Ma, with whom I first began performing four decades ago, and with whom I have performed scores of times around the world, both in duo recitals and conducting concertos with him, will join us for this very special evening. The Rachmaninoff Cello Sonata is a work that is particularly meaningful to both of us, one we have performed together many times, and of course the Dvořák Concerto remains the greatest work for cello and orchestra ever composed. Brahms famously said of this piece, 'If I had known that anyone could compose such a cello concerto, I would've done it myself a long time ago.' 

“It will also be a joy and a thrill for all of us to welcome the great singer-songwriter Aoife D'Donovan, who will bring her magnificently moving song cycle America, Come in addition to songs by Paul Simon, Bob Dylan and others, and who will be joined for this concert by another wonderful singer-songwriter composer, Gabriel Kahane, who will sing some of his newest songs with his own orchestrations.”

Harmonium of Texas has joined the international consortium of co-commissioners for Juan Pablo Contreras's Symphony No. 1 “My Great Dream,” to be performed on April 14, 2027 at The Majestic Theatre alongside Oswald Huynh's Nước and Emanuel Ax in Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466. “My Great Dream” follows the composer's life journey as a Mexican-American, born and raised in Guadalajara, now based in Los Angeles and on the faculty at USC. This season, Harmonium will also perform Contreras's violin concerto “La Minerva” with San Antonio native Nancy Zhou, which was nominated for a Latin GRAMMY Award.

Another addition to the season includes a special concert in honor of America's 250th anniversary on April 17, 2027 at The Empire Theatre, featuring singer-songwriters Aoife O'Donovan and Gabriel Kahane. The performance will open with a set by Kahane and feature Aoife's stirring song cycle America Come as the centerpiece, joined by the Children's Chorus of San Antonio. 

A concert has also been added to the end of the season on June 6, 2027, opening with the Texas premiere of Enrico Chapela's Los Braceros, a cantata/mini-opera for mariachi and orchestra reflecting the Mexican immigrant experience, followed by Mahler's Symphony No. 1. 

Harmonium announces today the launch of a program supporting young Latino composers, helmed by an international committee of prominent composers.  Several young composers will have the opportunity to come to San Antonio for orchestral readings of their music, in addition to the opportunity to be commissioned to compose a work for the orchestra's 2027-2028 season. 

The inaugural season also features guest artists such as Joshua Bell and Larisa Martínez, Emanuel Ax, Nancy Zhou, Inna Faliks, Daniela Liebman, Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, Tommy Mesa, Roomful of Teeth, and more. The orchestra will present a two-part Beethoven Bicentenary Celebration incorporating performances of all nine symphonies and all five piano concertos, in addition to the Triple Concerto; and affirming Kahane's lifelong devotion to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, the Orchestra will present Bach's St. Matthew Passion as well as the complete Brandenburg Concertos. The season will feature recent works by Composer-in-Residence Andrea Casarrubios, who will be present in San Antonio in January, as well as new works by Clarice Assad, Oswald Huynh, Juan Pablo Contreras, and Carlos Simon; concerts led by Principal Guest Conductor Cosette Justo Valdés and guest conductor Stephanie Childress; partnerships with the San Antonio Mastersingers; and side-by-side performances with the Youth Orchestras of San Antonio (YOSA) throughout the year. Additional Texas premieres include works by Mary Kouyoumdjian, Derrick Skye, Clarice Assad, Oswald Huynh and Carlos Simon.

Founded in the seventh-largest city in the United States, and a community already home to multiple orchestral and musical organizations, Harmonium of Texas seeks to add a distinctive new voice to the region's cultural landscape: one rooted in artistic excellence, civic engagement, collaboration, and the enduring power of live performance. Harmonium of Texas has already secured significant early philanthropic commitments from supporters who believe in Kahane's vision for an artistically ambitious and education-centered musical initiative rooted in San Antonio's long and distinguished musical traditions.

Harmonium's 2026-2027 season opens on October 2, 2026 at Lila Cockrell Theatre with Gabriela Ortiz's Antrópolis, violinist Tessa Lark in Michael Torke's Sky, and Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, performed side-by-side with YOSA and featuring the San Antonio Mastersingers and Children's Chorus of San Antonio. 

Education and community engagement are central to Harmonium's mission. Through its partnership with YOSA, Harmonium will provide gifted young musicians with multiple opportunities to be mentored, rehearse and perform alongside professional colleagues, and to interact with the internationally acclaimed artists appearing with the orchestra. Harmonium will also collaborate with the San Antonio Mastersingers on major choral-orchestral works and will offer an adult education component, including interactive lecture-performances led by Kahane and distinguished guest artists, designed for music lovers seeking a deeper understanding of the orchestral repertoire and the history of music. 

Tickets to Harmonium of Texas's season-opening concert on October 2, 2026 will go on sale to the general public on Monday, July 27, 2026 at 10:00 AM Central Standard Time, with tickets for the November 16, 2026 Yo-Yo Ma performance going on sale on August 24, 2026 at 10:00 AM Central Standard Time.* 

*Ticket buyers for the October 2 concert will receive a special pre-sale link to purchase tickets for Yo-Yo Ma's concert early on August 21, 2026 at 10:00 AM Central Standard Time. 

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