Berkeley Symphony Reveals 2025-26 Season Lineup

Berkeley Symphony has announced its 2025-26 season, featuring four dynamic symphonic programs and four intimate chamber music performances. Following the conclusion of Music Director Joseph Young's successful six-year tenure, Berkeley Symphony will welcome a lineup of guest conductors to the podium for a season that promises to be both innovative and inspiring.

"This season represents an exciting new chapter for Berkeley Symphony," says Executive Director Marion Atherton. "We're thrilled to welcome some of today's most compelling conductors, each bringing their unique artistic vision to our stage. For the 2025-26 season, we're excited to shine a light on stirring masterpieces from the classical canon alongside groundbreaking contemporary works. From Dvorák's lyrical Eighth Symphony to Shostakovich's spirited Ninth and Haydn's vivid 'Military' Symphony, we're exploring rich musical territory beyond the standard repertoire while showcasing the versatility and excellence of our orchestra."

New subscription packages are available now. Returning subscribers may renew online, by mail, or by calling the box office at (510) 841-2800. Individual concert tickets will go on sale in mid-July. All Symphonic Series concerts will be held at the First Congregational Church of Berkeley, and all Chamber Series concerts will take place at Piedmont Center for the Arts.

SYMPHONIC SERIES

The Symphonic Series opens with Visions of Elysium on Sunday, September 14, 2025, at 4 p.m. Guest conductor Dina Gilbert, currently Principal Conductor of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Associate Conductor of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, and Music Director of the Walla Walla Symphony, will make her Berkeley Symphony debut. Known for her "contagious dynamism and audacious programming," Gilbert will lead a powerful program featuring Ludwig van Beethoven's monumental Symphony No. 3, “Eroica.” Acclaimed cellist Gabriel Cabezas joins the orchestra for performances of Alyssa Weinberg's haunting concerto Caligo and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's virtuosic Pezzo Capriccioso. The program opens with Samy Moussa's ethereal Elysium for Orchestra.

The series continues with Refracted Light on Sunday, October 5, 2025, at 4 p.m. Edwin Outwater, described by Michael Tilson Thomas as "one of the most innovative conductors on the scene today," will lead the orchestra in a program that pairs classical elegance with contemporary vision. Violinist Helen Kim is featured as the soloist in Samuel Adams' textured Chamber Concerto. Berkeley Symphony will perform Yaz Lancaster's Gender Envy and conclude with Franz Joseph Haydn's celebratory Symphony No. 100.

On Sunday, November 16, 2025, at 4:00 p.m., Ming Luke will conduct Worlds Beyond, a program exploring themes of reflection and transformation. Luke, noted for his "energy, creativity, and charisma," opens with the West Coast premiere of Juan Pablo Contreras' Alma Monarca, a Berkeley Symphony co-commission. Soprano Laquita Mitchell makes her Berkeley Symphony debut in Richard Strauss's evocative Four Last Songs. The evening continues with Missy Mazzoli's cosmic Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres) and concludes with Dmitri Shostakovich's spirited Symphony No. 9.

The symphonic season culminates with Fables and Folklore on Sunday, January 25, 2026, at 4 p.m. Internationally acclaimed conductor Carolyn Kuan, known for her "extraordinary versatility, innovative programming, and dedication to contemporary music," will lead a program drawing on cultural traditions from around the world. The program features guitarist Marc Teicholz performing Clarice Assad's colorful Concerto for Guitar and Chamber Orchestra, O Saci-Pererê. The program also includes Huang Ruo's vibrant Folk Songs for Orchestra and Antonín Dvořák's lush Symphony No. 8.

CHAMBER SERIES

The Chamber Series begins with Roots and Resonances on Sunday, February 22, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. Curated by acclaimed composer Samuel Adams, this program features percussionist Haruka Fujii alongside a string quartet from the Berkeley Symphony in works that explore texture and timbre. The program includes music by Salina Fisher and Osvaldo Golijov, as well as Haruka Fujii's Divisions, and Samuel Adams' Sundial.

The series continues with French Connections, curated by Dianne Nicolini, the voice of Classical California KDFC, on Sunday, March 22, 2026, at 4 p.m. This concert will feature works by Francis Poulenc and Lili Boulanger, as well as the Piano Quartet #1 in C minor by Gabriel Fauré.

On Sunday, April 12, 2026, at 4 p.m., composer Juan Pablo Contreras – also a featured composer in the Symphonic Series this year – curates The Music of Muses, a program exploring artistic inspiration. In addition to works by Reena Esmail, Jennifer Higdon, and Bedřich Smetana, the concert will include  Contreras' own Musas Mexicanas, a tribute to three influential Mexican women who shaped the country's history.

The Chamber Series concludes on Sunday, May 31, 2026, at 4 p.m., with  I, Too, Sing America, curated by James Parrish Smith, organist and Music Director of Berkeley's First Presbyterian Church. Parrish Smith's program includes works by Brian Raphael Nabors and Anna Clyne, two composers who have worked closely with Berkeley Symphony in the past, as well as Antonín Dvořák's seminal “American” string quartet.

ABOUT BERKELEY SYMPHONY

Berkeley Symphony is unique among Bay Area and American orchestras for its commitment to innovation, community, and excellence. Founded in 1971 in the intellectual and artistic nexus of Berkeley, California, the Orchestra is committed to performing, premiering, and commissioning new music that reflects the cultural diversity and heady creative climate of its home city.