The Nashville Symphony will open its 2026–27 season with a celebration marking the 250th anniversary of the United States, the orchestra’s 80th anniversary and the 20th anniversary of Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Click for More Events
New Music Director Leonard Slatkin will lead the opening-weekend program Sept. 11–13 at Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Performances will take place Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
The program will feature American works including Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture, Copland’s Old American Songs, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms and Barber’s Adagio for Strings.
The orchestra will also perform Joan Tower’s Made in America, which was featured on the Nashville Symphony recording that earned the organization its first Grammy Award in 2008, and Strut by Nashville composer Christina Spinei.
Guest vocalists include country singers Kathy Mattea and Suzy Bogguss, Pink Martini vocalist Storm Large and two-time Grammy Award winner Sylvia McNair.
The concerts will begin Slatkin’s first full season as music director. He is scheduled to conduct six of the season’s 14 Classical Series programs, featuring works by Mozart, Brahms, Schubert and Bartók.
The orchestra will continue its commitment to American music by presenting works from 20 American composers during the season, including Cindy McTee, Jasmine Barnes, Damien Geter, Jessie Montgomery, Shawn Okpebholo, Dave Ragland, Carlos Simon and Joel Thompson.
The Nashville Symphony will also record live performances of David Del Tredici’s Final Alice for a future commercial release. Slatkin will conduct the theatrical program Jan. 8–9, 2027, pairing the work with Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals. Two-time Grammy-winning soprano Hilá Plitmann will be featured in the production.
Holiday programming will include Handel’s Messiah from Dec. 18–20, Holiday Voices on Dec. 1 and the return of Holiday Brass Spectacular on Dec. 13. Other seasonal favorites include Elf in Concert on Dec. 2 and Home Alone from Dec. 4–6.
The orchestra’s Movie Series will feature five films presented with their scores performed live, including Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Jurassic Park, Superman, The Empire Strikes Back and The Wizard of Oz. Additional live-to-film performances include Top Gun: Maverick and Frankenstein.
September programming will also include Renée Fleming performing with Béla Fleck on Sept. 15, RESPECT in Concert on Sept. 22, pianist Brad Mehldau performing his own piano concerto Sept. 25–26, and Vitamin String Quartet with Girl Named Tom on Sept. 27.
Tickets for opening weekend and details about the full season are available through the Nashville Symphony here.
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