CHELSEA MUSIC FESTIVAL Will Present 2026 Season: Every Story Counts in NYC

Chelsea Music Festival Artistic Directors Melinda Lee Masur and Ken-David Masur announce programming for the 2026 Festival-titled Every Story Counts-which takes place in New York City, from June 20-27.

Called a "gem of a series" by The New York Times, this acclaimed summer festival presents a week of concerts, receptions, visual art, and family and community events exploring American stories through classical music, jazz, and the visual and culinary arts. The 2026 season features an exceptional 12 New York Premieres and 1 World Premiere.

This season, our theme "Every Story Counts" draws inspiration from the phrase "Every Vote Counts," where each person's vote is dignified and counted in a democracy. We celebrate the power of music and storytelling to preserve and elevate the voices of people from all walks of life in America," said Festival Artistic Directors Melinda Lee Masur and Ken-David Masur. "As we contemplate America's 250th anniversary, we welcome the voices of composers, musicians, artists, chefs, and creators who contribute to the cultural fabric of this country and strive to elevate our shared humanity. Our hope is to continue providing a stage and safe haven for the exchange of ideas and differences, and a fertile ground for artistic collaborations between the performing, visual, and culinary arts. This season, Every Story Counts, will be an uplifting feast for the ears, eyes and palate, and a welcome place for audiences of all ages and backgrounds."

Highlights of the 2026 Festival include Copland & Twain on June 25- a theatrical concert directed by Bill Barclay and produced by Concert Theatre Works, weaving Aaron Copland's incidental music with the writings of Mark Twain, performed by five actors with the Festival Chamber Orchestra conducted by Ken-David Masur. Masur will also conduct Ania Vu's Water Realms later in the week.

The Verona Quartet performs at Poet's House in a program featuring MoonStrike, a dramatic work by composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate drawing on American Indian legends.

Pianists Min Kwon, Timo Andres, and pianists from Rutgers University are featured in a special piano salon concert of Kwon's America/Beautiful project, which commissioned 70+ composers to write variations on America the Beautiful; the program includes NY Premieres by Samuel Adler, Fred Hersch, and Stewart Copeland, to name a few.

Mezzo-soprano Clara Osowski opens the Festival on June 20 with Steven Ward's song cycle An Invitation to Love based on poems by Paul Laurence Dunbar.

The World Premiere of William Susman's Clouds and Flames on June 26 honors the 25th anniversary of 9/11 and commemorates Philippe Pettit's 1974 tightrope walk between the World Trade Center Towers.

The Festival's Jazz Finale on June 27 features acclaimed vibraphonist Warren Wolf and pianist Alex Brown with the Ivalas Quartet performing the New York Premiere of Chick Corea's Lyric Suite for Sextet.

Culinary highlights include a curated Sunday Brunch inspired by Mark Twain at Pier 57's City Winery Bistro and an evening featuring street foods from around the world with Chef Hinnerk von Bargen, inspired by his book Street Foods.

Visual Artists include photographer Park Joon featuring selections from his book, America the Beautiful: An Outsider's Perspective, and Paul Collins whose exhibition of selected books from his Unbannable Library project will be on display at our Family Event and select NYC locations.

Festival Season Passes go on sale Monday, April 6, 2026, and individual Festival tickets will be released Friday, April 17, 2026 via the Festival's website. Full program details follow.

ABOUT THE CHELSEA MUSIC FESTIVAL

Chelsea Music Festival celebrates great music by convening world-leading musicians & artists in the performing, culinary, and visual arts for an international audience. The Festival invites artists, composers, and performers to collaborate in pursuit of new perspectives in artistic expression. Inspired by its Chelsea roots, the Festival reflects the creativity of one of New York City's most dynamic neighborhoods. Programs span musical genres ranging from classical to contemporary to jazz with a special emphasis on Festival commissions by composers whose works are not in the traditional western canon. In addition, the Festival hosts an online library of recordings so music enthusiasts, artists, and students alike can explore unique interpretations of classical, jazz, and contemporary works via high-quality videos of world-class performances.

Since 2010, the Festival has established itself as a critically-acclaimed, accessible and interactive gateway to chamber music in non-traditional concert spaces such as art galleries, public squares, schools, and churches. Programming includes concerts, lectures, exhibitions, family events, and free outreach performances. In 2020, the Festival inaugurated its Online Encores and Online Originals YouTube series; Online Encores presents highlights from Festival archives while Online Originals presents new performances and recordings. We are proud to give emerging voices, particularly those of women and people of color, a stage and work to build an audience and intimate community to support a new generation of musicians, composers, and artists.

2026 CHELSEA MUSIC FESTIVAL - CALENDAR (subject to change)

Saturday, June 20 at 7-9pm ET

St. Paul's German Lutheran Church, 315 West 22nd Street, NYC

Festival Opening Night with Clara Osowski

Mezzo-soprano Clara Osowski and pianist Melinda Lee Masur open the 2026 Chelsea Music Festival with an evening that weaves together the American immigrant experience, the poetry of Langston Hughes and Paul Laurence Dunbar, and the theme of dreaming across cultures and generations. The program pairs Aaron Copland and Erich Wolfgang Korngold - two composers living and working almost congruently, one American-born, one an immigrant from Vienna - alongside New York Premieres by Reinaldo Moya, Frederick Piket, Mark Carlson, and Steven Ward, and Libby Larsen's This Unbearable Stillness, a song cycle celebrating the everyday lives of Palestinian-American women in its NYC Premiere. Damien Sneed's luminous spiritual arrangements provide the thread connecting the evening's two halves, from Paul Laurence Dunbar's poetry to Langston Hughes's timeless I Dream a World, scored for string quartet and piano - an opening night that asks what it means to dream in America, and who gets to dream.

Clara Osowski, mezzo-soprano

Dimitri Dover, piano

Melinda Lee Masur, piano

Claire Bourg, violin

Yuyu Ikeda, violin

Angela Lee, cello

Program

Mark CARLSON III. Stars -The Dream Keeper (poem by Langston Hughes) (NY Premiere)

Aaron Copland Three Old American Songs

Eric Wolfgang KORNGOLD Three Songs

Libby LARSEN This Unbearable Stillness: Songs from the Balcony (NYC Premiere)

Reinaldo MOYA DREAM Songs (NY Premiere)

Frederick PIKET The Dream Keeper (NY Premiere) (poem by Langston Hughes)

Damien SNEED All Night, All Day

Damien SNEED I Dream A World (poem by Langston Hughes)

Steven Ward Invitation to Love (poems by Paul Laurence Dunbar) (NY Premiere)

Reception to follow

Chelsea Music Festival is a proud partner of Steinway & Sons.

Click to see full list of Festival Sponsors

Tickets: $85

Sunday, June 21, 12:30-2:30pm ET

City Winery Bistro at Pier 57, 25 11th Avenue, NYC

Sunday Brunch

Join Festival Artistic Directors Melinda Lee Masur and Ken-David Masur as they sit down with Bill Barclay - director, writer, and producer of Concert Theater Works - for an intimate Sunday Brunch conversation at the stylish CW Bistro at Pier 57 in Chelsea. Over a curated, Mark Twain-inspired, American menu, the three collaborators offer guests a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Copland & Twain and the creative vision driving the 2026 Festival. It is a rare opportunity to hear directly from the artists shaping the week's programming in one of New York's most vibrant waterfront settings.

Bill Barclay, director and producer at Concert Theater Works

Ken-David Masur, Festival Co-Artistic Director and conductor

Melinda Lee Masur, Festival Co-Artistic Director and pianist

Tickets: $100

Monday, June 22 at 7-9pm

St. Paul's German Lutheran Church, 315 West 22nd Street, NYC

America/Beautiful with pianist Min Kwon

America/Beautiful is pianist Min Kwon's project - born during the pandemic - which commissioned variations on "America the Beautiful" from over 70 composers across the country, ranging in age from 21 to 96, and asking a single urgent question: What is America - is it beautiful, was it ever, or will it ever be? Selections will include New York Premieres by Samuel Adler, Stewart Copeland, Fred Hersch, and others; each composer brings a radically different perspective on the American experience. Together, these variations form a powerful collection of stories as colorful and diverse as America's people and landscapes.

Min Kwon, piano

Timo Andres, piano

Claire Bourg, violin

Hsuan-Fong Chen, oboe

Program

Samuel ADLER A Celebration of our Beautiful Nation (NY Premiere)

Timo Andres America Coda

Kenji BUNCH Beauty For All (Or For None At All)

Stewart Copeland America Quite Beautiful (NY Premiere)

Michael GANDOLFI Of Liberating Strife (NY Premiere)

Fred Hersch Four Windows Into America (NY Premiere)

Vijay IYER Crown Thy Good (America the Failed Project)

Pierre JALBERT Endeavor

Libby LARSEN Amber (Variation)

George Lewis America, the changing same

David Serkin LUDWIG Quaddiš" for Ruth Bader Ginsberg (Kaddish)

Jessica MEYER Halcyon Skies

Nico Muhly Refine

Judith Lang ZAIMONT in darkness veiled

Reception to follow

Chelsea Music Festival is a proud partner of Steinway & Sons.

Click to see full list of Festival Sponsors

Tickets: $65

Tuesday, June 23 at 7-9pm ET

Poet's House, 10 River Terrace, NYC

Stories and Strings with Verona Quartet

The Verona Quartet takes the stage at the intimate Poet's House for an evening that spans centuries and cultures, from Philip Glass's introspective String Quartet No. 2 Company - inspired by a Samuel Beckett novel - to George Walker's deeply personal Lyric for String Quartet, a lament for his enslaved grandmother. The highlight of the evening is MoonStrike, a dramatic 25-minute work by Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate, performed with the composer as live narrator, weaving together American Indian legends and the 50th anniversary of The Apollo 11 landing. The program closes with a swinging Twenties Tunes Jazz Suite, arranged by Peter Myers, bringing the roaring sounds of the Cotton Club.

Verona Quartet

Jonathan Ong, violin

Dorothy Ro, violin

Abigail Rojansky, viola

Jonathan Dormand, cello

Program

Philip Glass String Quartet No. 2 "Company"

Arr. Peter Myers Twenties Tunes Jazz Suite

Jerod Impichchaachaaha TATE MoonStrike

George Walker Lyric for String Quartet

Reception to follow

Tickets: Pay What You Can

Wednesday, June 24 at 7-9pm ET

St. Paul's German Lutheran Church, 315 West 22nd Street, NYC

Street Foods with Chef Hinnerk von Bargen

Chef Hinnerk von Bargen - associate professor at the Culinary Institute of America and author of Street Foods - brings the vibrant, globe-trotting spirit of his book to life with an evening of street food stalls. Inspired by the book's exploration of global cuisines and cultures, from Italian street fairs to beachfront fish tacos to spicy Asian noodles, each stall celebrates the unique history and cultural tradition of beloved portable foods from around the world. It's a festive midweek feast for the senses.

Menu - Street Food Stations

Sloopy Bun - steamed bao bun with Chinese red cooked pulled pork shoulder, scallions, shredded carrots, and ginger dressing

Curry Wurst - German-style bratwurst, curry sauce and powder on bread

Cold Sichuan Style Sesame Noodles - Wu-Mu Beijing-style noodles, sesame dressing, vegetables, Lao Gan Ma Chili oil, cilantro, scallions, ginger dressing

Fruit Sandos - Japanese milk bread sandwich with mascarpone cream and fruit like strawberries, bananas, and kiwi

Tickets: $75

Thursday, June 25 at 7-9pm ET

Open Jar Studios, 1601 Broadway, Floor 11, NYC

Copland & Twain - a theatrical concert

Copland & Twain is a theatrical concert by director Bill Barclay, produced by Concert Theatre Works, that weaves Aaron Copland's stirring incidental music - including Music for Movies and Music for Theatre - together with the wit and wisdom of Mark Twain's Diaries of Adam and Eve and other writings. Five diverse actors perform in costume before the Festival Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Ken-David Masur in this NY Premiere with costumes, lighting, and projections bringing this uniquely American collision of voices to life. The production poses a timely question at the heart of the American experiment: will the nation grow from its wounds toward a deeper love of neighbor, or let its scars tear it apart?

Program

Aaron Copland Music for the Movies (NY Premiere, chamber orchestration)

Aaron Copland Music for the Theater (NY Premiere, chamber orchestration)

Mark Twain Diaries of Adam and Eve

Drinks Reception

Chelsea Music Festival is a proud partner of Steinway & Sons.

Click to see full list of Festival Sponsors

Tickets: $150

Friday, June 26 at 7-9pm ET

St. Paul's German Lutheran Church, 315 West 22nd Street, NYC

Water Realms and Desert Shelter: Hernandez, León, Susman, Smirnov, Vu

The Festival Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Ken-David Masur, presents an evening of four works by living composers united by themes of water, memory, and transformation. The program includes Ania Vu's Water Realms, a sonic journey through water in its many physical states, followed by Tania León's Esencia - a three-movement work drawing on the waters and musical traditions of the Caribbean and Latin America. Desert Shelterby Jose Hernandez recounts stories of migrants who cross the Sonoran Desert. The World Premiere of William Susman's Clouds and Flames is a haunting meditation on Philippe Petit's legendary 1974 tightrope walk between the World Trade Center towers, and Grigory Smirnov's Impromptu complete an evening of music that is at once deeply personal and vividly evocative.

Program

Jose HERNANDEZ Desert Shelter

Tania LEÓN Esencia

Grigory SMIRNOV Impromptu (NY Premiere)

William SUSMAN Clouds and Flames (World Premiere)

Ania VU Water Realms (NY Premiere)

Reception to follow

Chelsea Music Festival is a proud partner of Steinway & Sons.

Click to see full list of Festival Sponsors

Tickets: $85

Saturday, June 27 at 10:30am-12pm ET

Pier 57, 25 11th Avenue, NYC

Family Event: Every Storybook Counts

Grab your friends, kids, and neighbors and join us at this free, family-friendly gathering at Pier 57, a vibrant communal market space located on the Hudson River. Join us for activities that highlight American composers, interactive storytelling with music, and bookmaking for your stories! Adults must be accompanied by a child. RSVPs are required.

Click to see full list of Festival Sponsors

Tickets: FREE with RSVP

Saturday, June 27 at 7-9pm ET

St. Paul's German Lutheran Church, 315 West 22nd Street, NYC

Jazz Finale: Lyric Suite with Warren Wolf

The 2026 Chelsea Music Festival closes in style with a Jazz Finale featuring acclaimed vibraphonist Warren Wolf and pianist Alex Brown, joined by the Ivalas Quartet. Together, they will perform the New York Premiere of Chick Corea's Lyric Suite for Sextet - a sweeping six-movement work spanning nearly 40 minutes, written just two years before Corea's death in 2021.

Warren Wolf, vibraphone

Alex Brown, piano

Ivalas Quartet

Tiani Butts, violin

Reuben Kebede, violin

Marcus Stevenson, viola

Pedro Sanchez, cello

Program

Alex Brown The Old Line

Chick Corea Lyric Suite for Sextet (NY Premiere)

Reception to follow!

Chelsea Music Festival is a proud partner of Steinway & Sons.

Click to see full list of Festival Sponsors

Tickets: $85

All programming is subject to change.

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