Harris Theater Reveals 2026-27 Season

The Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance has announced the 20th anniversary of its Harris Theater Presents (HTP) season, in a unique celebration of “Artistic Alchemy.”

 Launching the HTP 2026–27 season is the Trisha Brown Dance Company with Merce Cunningham Trust, celebrating the choreographers' legendary collaborations with visionary American artist Robert Rauschenberg via Dancing with Bob: Rauschenberg, Brown, and Cunningham Onstage, September 17, 2026. Fall programming continues as musical polymath Steve Hackman fuses the quintessential music of Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur with Mahler's Resurrection Symphony, October 24; Compagnie Hervé Koubi makes its Chicago debut with Sol Invictus, blending  contemporary dance, hip-hop, capoeira, and other martial arts, November 14;  A.I.M by Kyle Abraham performs White Space, a brand new interdisciplinary work featuring a shared score by pianist Jason Moran (who performs live) and Nico Muhly, with Visual Environments by Glenn Ligon, February 4, 2027; a first-time collaboration between Toronto's Opera Atelier and Chicago's Haymarket Opera Company performs Handel's Resurrection: In Concert, March 20; and Aga Khan Master Musicians brings together virtuoso artists from Central and South Asia and the Middle East, April 7. Concluding the Harris Theater Presents season May 1 and 2 will be the highly anticipated return of Alonzo King LINES Ballet featuring live music integral to the choreography — reinforcing King's philosophy that music is co-author, not accompaniment. The Opening Night performance will also feature an elegant Gala celebration; more details forthcoming. 

“I've always been fascinated by alchemy, the idea that singular elements, when brought together, can transform into something wholly new,” said Lori Dimun, President and CEO of the Harris Theater for Music and Dance. “Over the past 20 years, and especially as we shaped this anniversary season, the idea of artistic alchemy kept resurfacing. At the Harris, artists do more than appear alongside one another— they inspire, challenge, and transform one another. Since opening in 2003 and launching Harris Theater Presents in 2006, the Harris has created a home for bold, cross-disciplinary experiences where music and dance converge. It is in that exchange that something rare happens—individual brilliance giving rise to something entirely new. The result is work that is more daring, more resonant, and more extraordinary than the sum of its parts, and we are proud to share these ‘only at the Harris' experiences with our audiences.”

Launched in 2006, HTP continues to bring world-class artists to Chicago to tell stories of human experiences from a multitude of perspectives. HTP includes productions spanning varied genres of music and dance, with artists hailing from around the globe. The Harris Theater is proud to be a home in Chicago for each of these artists and companies, from those performing in our city for the first time to those in long-standing partnerships, including Harris Theater Resident Companies.

In addition to the HTP series, captivating concert programming continues on the main stage through 2026–27: The annual four-concert residency with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center marks its 15th year, traversing piano trio, clarinet quintet, and string sextet repertoire by Beethoven, Smetana, Dvořák, Mozart, Boccherini, along with the annual holiday tradition of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos; while the dynamic Mix at Six series celebrates Chicago artistry and contemporary experimentation with performances by The Main Squeeze funk-soul band following its performance with The Joffrey Ballet last Fall, Chicago's own acclaimed cellist-composer Tomeka Reid with a reimagined tribute to Duke Ellington, and the Harris debut of contemporary jazz guitarist Mary Halvorson. Plus, completing the Harris 2026-27 season, Beyond the Aria and Kids Meet the Music return with specific programming TBA. 

Trisha Brown Dance Company

Dancing with Bob: Rauschenberg, Brown, and Cunningham Onstage Chicago Premiere Thursday, September 17, 2026 / 7:30PM

Trisha Brown Dance Company with Merce Cunningham Trust celebrate the choreographers' legendary collaborations with Robert Rauschenberg in an evening of dance featuring costume and set design by the visionary American artist. The program includes Brown's beloved Set and Reset, with a driving score by Laurie Anderson, alongside Cunningham's Travelogue, a vaudevillian pièce de résistance with music by John Cage – offering audiences a rare opportunity to experience one of the most dynamic intersections of dance, music, and visual art.

MAHLER X NOTORIOUS B.I.G. X 2PAC

Chicago Premiere Saturday, October 24, 2026 / 7:30PM

In one of the season's most striking examples of artistic alchemy – and on the heels of the Harris Theater Presents 2025 hit, Steve Hackman's Beethoven X Beyonce – conductor and creator Steve Hackman fuses the quintessential music of Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur with Mahler's Resurrection Symphony for a transformative exploration of life, death, legacy, struggle, and triumph. Featuring favorites like “Hypnotize” and “California Love,” the performance weaves these artists together in a thoroughly original way and explores themes of social justice and transcendence, with Mahler's Symphony No. 2 propelling the work forward.

Compagnie Hervé Koubi

Chicago Debut Sol Invictus Saturday, November 14, 2026 / 7:30PM

Led by imaginative choreographer Hervé Koubi, Compagnie Hervé Koubi combines contemporary, hip hop, capoeira and other martial arts with powerful imagery. With roots in France, Algeria, and beyond, dancers defy gravity and match the extraordinary choreography with dynamic and inexhaustible energy. The company brings its celebrated work, Sol Invictus, named for the “invincible sun” deity of Ancient Rome, to the Harris for its Chicago debut. The work upholds love as the guarantor of peace, that despite fracture, communion emerges as humanity's saving grace.

A.I.M by Kyle Abraham

feat. Jason Moran White Space Chicago Premiere Thursday, February 4, 2027 / 7:30PM

Questioning form and expectations, White Space is acclaimed choreographer and A.I.M Artistic Director Kyle Abraham's new evening-length work. Abraham transports the audience to a restless and thought-provoking world through his signature blend of classical and contemporary dance with a hip-hop underbelly. The work includes original music from composers Jason Moran and Nico Muhly, performed live by Moran for this occasion, along with A.I.M's eleven captivating dancers as they jostle between theatrical and somatic ideals of confirmation and conversation.

Opera Atelier

feat. Haymarket Opera Orchestra Resurrection: In Concert Chicago Premiere Saturday, March 20, 2027 / 7:00PM

Opera Atelier Music Director David Fallis conducts Handel's The Resurrection in concert. Written for Easter in 1708, The Resurrection details the events between Good Friday and Easter Sunday and the tension leading up to Christ's resurrection following his crucifixion and burial. Featuring soloists of international acclaim, and accompanied by Chicago's own Haymarket Orchestra, this recital version of Resurrection invites audiences to experience the work as originally intended by the composer.

Aga Khan Master Musicians

Chicago Debut Wednesday, April 7, 2027 / 7:30PM

Five exceptional performers from the Aga Khan Master Musicians collective join forces with two eminent French musicians for a program inspired by the ancient routes that connected trade and culture between Asia and the Mediterranean. This cross-continental collaboration is a celebration of sonic richness and cultural heritage — brought to life by some of the most passionate and distinguished voices in global music today. Performing artists: Feras Charestan (qanun), Abbos Kosimov (doira), Basel Rajoub (saxophone, duclar), Yurdal Tokcan (oud), Wu Man (pipa), Vincent Peirani (accordion), and Vincent Ségal (cello).

Alonzo King LINES Ballet

Program to be confirmed, featuring Chicago premieres Saturday, May 1, 2027 / 8:00PM Gala Sunday, May 2, 2027 / 2:00PM

The Harris Theater Presents season concludes with the highly anticipated return of Alonzo King LINES Ballet, a celebrated contemporary dance company that has been guided since 1982 by the unique artistic vision of Alonzo King. The company has collaborated with noted composers, musicians and visual artists from around the world to create performances that alter the way we look at ballet today. The Harris program will feature live music integral to the choreography — reinforcing King's philosophy that music is co-author, not accompaniment. The Opening Night performance on May 1 will also feature an elegant Gala celebration; more details forthcoming.

Continued Dimun, “This 20th anniversary Harris Theater Presents season truly offers something for everyone — from chamber music to symphonic hip-hop fusion, from postmodern dance to global master musicians. It is a season about connection, collaboration, and the power of artists to shape what comes next.”

HARRIS THEATER'S 2026–27:  Chamber Music Series and Mix at Six

Reinforcing its sustained commitment to chamber music excellence and long-term artistic partnership over 15 years of performances, the Harris Theater welcomes back the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Its "enviable roster" (The New York Times) of musicians returns to Chicago for four programs, including the annual December holiday performance of the complete Brandenburg Concertos. The 2026-27 Harris Theater Chamber Music Series includes Piano Trios: Beethoven, Smetana, and Dvořák, October 27; Brandenburg Concertos, December 12; Great Clarinet Quintets: Dvořák, Mozart and Weber, January 26, 2027; and String Radiance: Boccherini, D'Ambrosio, and Dvořák , March 17.

The Harris Theater's Mix at Six series offers engaging, innovative programming at an affordable price on weeknights, making for some of the most anticipated events in Chicago's cultural landscape. The 2026-27 season features a trio of must-see concert programs: The Main Squeeze, bringing its electrifying blend of funk, soul, and psychedelic rock to center stage following its dynamic collaboration last fall with The Joffrey Ballet, October 15; visionary Chicago cellist Tomeka Reid performing In Tribute to Duke Ellington, February 11, 2027; and in her Harris Theater debut, Brooklyn-based guitarist and composer Mary Halvorson performing with her newest project, Canis Major, showcasing  one of the most inventive compositional voices in contemporary music at the intersection of jazz, experimental, and chamber traditions, April 20.

Other Harris Theater 2026-27 season programming to be announced this summer:

Beyond the Aria

Now in its 12th year, the Harris Theater's Beyond the Aria series brings cabaret-style performances to the intimate Pritzker Stage in collaboration with Lyric Opera of Chicago and its Ryan Opera Center. In four programs throughout the season, opera stars and series Artistic Director Craig Terry curate evenings filled with songs spanning centuries and styles.

Kids Meet the Music

Following a successful pilot season in 2025 – 26, Harris proudly announces the return of Kids Meet the Music, which invites kids to get up close and personal to the music in a welcoming “No Shushing Allowed” environment. Among the 2026 – 27 programs to be announced this summer, Chicago Black chamber music collective D-Composed, joined by special guests, will perform engaging explorations of the music of Black composers for kids and their families.

All programming subject to change.

Leadership support for the 2026-27 Harris Theater Presents season is provided by: Irving Harris Foundation and Joan W. Harris, Abby McCormick O'Neil and D. Carroll Joynes, The Grainger Foundation, Chauncey and Marion D. McCormick Family Foundation, Jack and Sandra Guthman, ITW, Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, Peter M. Ascoli, Ted A. Grady and Dr. Ross Slotten, and Gary Metzner and Scott Johnson.

Subscriptions for 2026 – 27 HTP Mainstage, Mix at Six, and Chamber Music Series on Sale Now