La Jolla Music Society 2025-2026 season: Here’s the star-studded lineup

The Conrad s intimate Baker-Baum Concert Hall will host stars ranging from African Grammy-winner Ang lique Kidjo to acclaimed opera tenor Juan Diego Fl rez in the - season Photo by Landon Akiyama Back in La Jolla Music Society s million Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center opened its doors as La Jolla s premier venue for the biggest performing-arts stars to come to town La Jolla Music Society opened its new home the million architectural gem The Conrad in to be the new heart of classical lifestyle in La Jolla During shutdowns concerts were live-streamed from The Conrad s venues Photo by Bradley Joslin Then the pandemic shut everything down But the show must go on The Conrad s La Jolla Music Society turned on a camera and started live-streaming everything from a chamber-music marathon to jazz straight from the empty venue s vaulted theaters Five years later The Conrad is on the comeback as the heart of custom in La Jolla with a new lineup of global piano sensations jazz crooners and up-and-comers The building saved us through COVID commented La Jolla Music Society s artistic director Leah Rosenthal who orchestrated the new lineup The world opened up and this coming season is taking on the success of last year and going a little bit deeper From this fall to next summer the new season promises something for everyone Global piano superstars Lang Lang and Daniil Trifonov will light up concert halls dance-illusion company MOMIX will invite audiences down the rabbit hole in a trippy Alice s Adventures in Wonderland inspired show and the San Diego Opera will bring music photography and poetry together for an immersive journey into the history of cotton and its intersection with Black resistance Chinese piano superstar Lang Lang will be coming to San Diego for a special event at Jacobs Music Center on March Tickets go on sale for the general community on October Photo by Gregor Hohenber and Buro Dirk Rudolph World-music acts like Portuguese fado singer Mariza and the Indian classical group Ravi Shankar Ensemble will also take San Diegans around the world from a seat at The Conrad And for music fans looking to hear a change of tune a new class of at least stars will make their San Diego debuts They include big names like Peruvian opera tenor Juan Diego Fl rez and younger up-and-comers like jazz innovator Joel Ross Through it all Rosenthal explained the new season focuses on elevating music from an art form to an immersive experience whether through intimate concert spaces diverse genres or shows that thrill the eyes and ears If you can get all of those elements right then that builds the trust for the audience for a person to want to come back for the artist to want to come back and then it culminates in an incredible performance she commented Superstars Up close and personal Africa s premier diva Ang lique Kidjo typically enchants crowds of thousands with her Grammy-winning voice from the Olympics to Carnegie Hall But next May San Diegans can hear the power of Kidjo s striking swinging voice up close and personal as it reverberates off the walls of The Conrad s -seat Baker-Baum Concert Hall It s a testament to the intimate listening experience that La Jolla Music Society crafts with its performances especially once the upcoming season kicks off in September Global trilling stars Ang lique Kidjo and Juan Diego Fl rez will give rare intimate performances at La Jolla s -seat Baker-Baum Concert Hall next year as a part of the upcoming season s Connect to the Conrad campaign Through the shows audiences will get the chance to see and hear the musical legends up close Photo by Bradley Joslin You re hearing them like you ve never heard them before Rosenthal revealed It adds a huge layer of feeling like you re connecting with the artists because you can see every little detail You feel like this is a show just for you Along with Kidjo Fl rez is another superstar singer who San Diegans will get the unique opportunity to connect with in a small intimate crowd next season For those who d like to be in even closer quarters with specific of the jazz world s greater part promising talents The Conrad s jazz-club style venue The JAI will be busy during the upcoming season with a romantic range of nightclub and cabaret-style performances A class of jazz innovators will croon and swing on The JAI s jazz-club style stage in La Jolla next season The venue offers cabaret-style seating and food and beverage system Photo by Stacy Keck Multiple of the jazz innovators lighting up The JAI will be fresh faces From Sunny Jain s Bollywood meets New Orleans fusion to the Afro-Cuban spin of Alfredo Rodriguez and Pedrito Martinez these debut acts will be putting their own take on the ever-evolving medium But the dozens of new talents who will be making their debuts in San Diego next season aren t there just to mix things up For Rosenthal it s also about making sure the city sees the next big stars before they blow up People trust with those performances that they might be seeing the next Lang Lang of the following day she stated All about jazz Outside of The JAI jazz tunes will be drifting through the air in San Diego during the upcoming season which features one of La Jolla Music Society s largest jazz lineups in its years of performances The crowning celebration of next season s jazz offerings will be April s Jazz Mini-Festival the second one ever held in the city after the inaugural celebration during Jazz Appreciation Month last year Piano dynamo Emmet Cohen will open La Jolla Music Society s second-ever Mini-Jazz Festival in April with two days of performances dedicated to Miles Davis and John Coltrane He ll be taking to the stage of The JAI during Jazz Appreciation Month on April and Photo by Gabriela Gabrielaa Next year s Jazz Mini-Festival couldn t come at a more perfect time It ll celebrate a century of jazz titans Miles Davis and John Coltrane whose th birthdays are around the corner next year Over four days of jazz performances pianist Emmet Cohen trumpeter Terence Blanchard John Coltrane s son Ravi Coltrane and a large number of more venerated talents will pay tribute to Davis and John Coltrane s enduring musical legacies La Jolla Music Society - season Sept - Daniil Trifonov piano p m - at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall Sept Endea Owens and The Cookout jazz p m and p m - at The JAI Oct Bill Charlap Trio jazz p m and p m - at The JAI Oct Brad Mehldau and Christian McBride jazz p m - at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall Russian piano virtuoso Daniil Trifonov will open La Jolla Music Society s upcoming season with back-to-back performances on Sept and at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall His shows will feature classical compositions by German luminaries George Frideric Handel Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms Photo by Dario Acosta Oct Dmitry Shishkin piano p m - at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall Nov Mariza fado p m - at Balboa Theatre Nov Ballet Preljocaj Gravity p m - at Civic Theatre Nov Andreas Ottensamer clarinet Kian Soltani cello and Alessio Bax piano p m - at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall Nov Disney s Moana Live-to-Film Concert p m adults - children - at Balboa Theatre Nov Rapha l Feuill tre guitar p m - at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall Nov Yulianna Avdeeva piano p m - at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall Twelve dancers of Ballet Preljocaj will be coming from France to San Diego in the fall to glide and twirl at the stage of San Diego Civic Theatre On Nov they ll be presenting Gravity a dance show about the liberation of bodies Photo by Jean Claude Carbonne Dec Mireya Ramos mariachi p m and p m - at The JAI Dec MOMIX Alice p m - at San Diego Civic Theatre Dec The Holidays with Canadian Brass p m - at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall Dec Philipp Schupelius cello and Julius Asal piano p m - at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall Jan Doug Smith Wild Wolves of Yellowstone p m - the Baker-Baum Concert Hall Jan COTTON co-production with San Diego Opera p m - at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall Dance-illusion company MOMIX is coming to San Diego Civic Theatre for an Alice s Adventures in Wonderland inspired performance that will thrill the eyes and ears on Dec Photo courtesy of La Jolla Music Society Jan Sunny Jain s Wild Wild East jazz p m and p m - at The JAI Jan Lucas and Arthur Jussen piano p m - at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall Jan Compagnie Herv Koubi Sol Invictus p m - at Balboa Theatre Feb Pedrito Martinez percussion and Alfredo Rodriguez piano p m and p m - at The JAI Feb Joel Ross Good Vibes p m and p m - at The JAI Feb Juan Diego Fl rez tenor p m - at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall Feb Arod Quartet strings p m - at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall Feb Kalani Pe a Hawaiian music p m - at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall Leading Peruvian opera tenor Juan Diego Fl rez is among the biggest name La Jolla Music Society is bringing to town next season He s slated to perform for an intimate crowd at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall on Feb Photo by Kristin Hoebermann Feb Ephrat Asherie Dance with Arturo O Farrill Shadow Cities p m - at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall Feb Keith Ladzinski Forces of Nature p m - at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall Feb Mao Fujita piano p m - at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall March - Chucho Vald s Arturo Sandoval Legacy Quintet jazz p m - at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall March The Bad Plus with Chris Potter and Craig Taborn jazz p m and p m - at The JAI March Le Consort A Trio Sonata Soir e p m - at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall March Augustin Hadelich violin and Francesco Piemontesi piano p m - at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall March Doodle POP theater p m at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall March Lang Lang piano p m - at Jacobs Music Center March Ravi Shankar Ensemble Indian classical music p m - at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall April - Emmet Cohen Presents Miles Coltrane at p m and p m - at The JAI April Terence Blanchard and Ravi Coltrane Miles Davis John Coltrane at p m - at Balboa Theatre Dance brotherhood Compagnie Herv Koubi is among the emerging stars making their San Diego debuts next season The dance company will be coming to town on Jan to showcase their dynamic show Sol Invictus whose inspirations range from street dance to the Mediterranean at Balboa Theatre Photo by M lanie Lhote April Coltrane Both Directions at Once featuring Joe Lovano and Melissa Aldana p m - at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall April Danish String Quartet and Danish National Girls Choir p m - at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall April Gautier Capu on cello and Jean Yves Thibaudet piano p m - at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall April Benny Benack III The Magic of Manhattan p m and p m - at The JAI April Aristo Sham piano p m - at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall April Aaron Diehl Trio p m and p m - at The JAI April Dancing on Tiptoes A Musical Exploration of Melody Movement and Mood co-production with Art of Elan a m and a m at The JAI April Alexandre Kantorow piano p m - at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall May Ang lique Kidjo West African fusion p m - at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall Grammy-winning warbling star Ang lique Kidjo who is known as Africa s premier diva will be bringing her soulful voice to La Jolla on May Photo by Marc Arthur May Hayato Sumino piano p m - at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall May Tracy Drain Cosmic Adventures p m - at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall May Shenel Johns jazz p m and p m - at The JAI May Stella Chen violin and Gilles Vonsattel piano p m - at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall June Jiyhe Lee Orchestra jazz p m and p m - at The JAI Tickets Tickets for La Jolla Music Society s - season are available online by phone at - and at The Conrad s box office Subscription packages are at this moment on sale ranging from for Speaker Series Price Level C packages to for Piano Series Price Level A packages Single tickets and Compose Your Own discounted packages for three or more concerts go on sale on July Tickets for Lang Lang s concert on March will be available for the general constituents on Oct