Music Director Earl Lee opens his fourth season at the helm of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra. Photo: Kelvin J. Baker

Thursday, April 24, 2025 (Ann Arbor, MI) — The Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra (A2SO) has announced its 2025/26 season, the 97th since the Symphony’s founding in 1928. One of the most ambitious concert lineups in the A2SO’s history pairs high-profile appearances by some of the most influential and prodigious creative voices active today with dynamic concert programming and an iridescent artistic vision crafted and centered in Southeast Michigan.

 

Major highlights include seven-time GRAMMY® Award winner Jacob Collier partnering with acclaimed songwriter and mandolinist Chris Thile for a first-ever Ann Arbor appearance with orchestra. Distinguished young pianist Martin James Bartlett opens the season with the thunderous opening chords of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, South Korean-American violinist and actor Danny Koo takes over the A2SO’s February MainStage to co-create a Valentine’s Day-Lunar New Year special, and German cellist Maximilian Hornung brings a crystalline technical mastery to bear on Edward Elgar’s poignant Cello Concerto at the final concert of the season.

 

Beginning his fourth season as Music Director of the A2SO, Maestro Earl Lee (recipient of the 2022 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award) is the chief artistic visionary behind the upcoming season’s programming, designing a suite of concerts that brings both established superstars and electric new talent to some of the Midwest’s foremost venues for the performing arts. For Lee and Executive Director Sarah Calderini, “the A2SO collective of musicians, staff, Board and volunteers remains deeply committed to the artistic excellence for which we’re known, blending the traditional canon with exciting new classical artists, composers, music, and experiences. We’ll continue to evolve our inspiring programs alongside our ever-growing audience members, this season and beyond.”

 

Additional highlights of the 25/26 season include 2025 GRAMMY® Award winner Michelle Cann debuting with Lee and the orchestra in Mozart’s sprightly Piano Concerto No. 23, acclaimed virtuoso and former Juilliard prodigy Clara-Jumi Kang scaling the icy peaks of Sibelius’ famed Violin Concerto, accomplished soprano Juliana Zara’s star turn in Mahler’s wistful Symphony No. 4, and jazz vocalists Capathia Jenkins and Ryan Shaw bringing down the house in a tribute concert to the likes of Michael Jackson, Prince, Whitney Houston, Elvis Presley, Diana Ross, and many more.

 

Across eight months of programming, Lee and the orchestra will platform a number of composers as part of the orchestra’s ongoing commitment to resonant and resilient artistry. The orchestra will join the New York Philharmonic in a groundbreaking co-commission partnership with award-winning composer Caroline Mallonée, the third season in a row that the A2SO has featured a commissioned work as part of its season-wide programming. First launched in 2023, the A2SO’s Beethoven Project will open a new chapter in the upcoming season with works by the Bonn-born master, plus Lee will showcase the finest of Maurice Ravel on Opening Night as the musical world gathers to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the French composer’s birthday.  

 

Calderini adds with enthusiasm, “it continues to be our honor to see how many lives our artistry touches throughout the Ann Arbor and Southeast Michigan communities each season. Over the decades, the extraordinary music has brought us all together—making each other, and life here in the region, simply better. This season will be no different; we know our audiences will be delighted every step of the way!”

 

Subscriptions will be available starting Tuesday, April 29, with a new and simplified design making tailoring and saving on ticket packages easier than ever before. Audience members can select four or more concerts of the Pops or MainStage variety and save 10% off published ticket prices. First-time subscribers, kids (under 18) and students save 50% on subscription packages.

 

Single tickets will go on sale in Summer of 2025. To explore the full season, visit a2so.org/25-26. Full details are available below, and any questions can be directed to Willie Cornish, Jr., A2SO Marketing & Box Office Manager.

 

1) September MainStage (Season Opener)

Friday, September 12, 2025

Hill Auditorium // 7:30 PM

Sponsored by University of Michigan Health

Martin James Bartlett, piano

Earl Lee, conductor & Music Director

Messiaen: Les Offrandes oubliées

Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1

Ravel: Daphnis et Chloe Suite No. 2

Ravel: Boléro

 

2) Jacob Collier & Chris Thile—live with the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra (Pops Opener)

Tuesday, October 21, 2025

Hill Auditorium // 7:30 PM

Sponsored by the University of Michigan Center for World Performance Studies within the School of Music, Theatre & Dance, and the University of Michigan Arts Initiative

Jacob Collier, vocals and instrumentals

Chris Thile, vocals and instrumentals

Suzie Collier, guest conductor

The Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra

Experience an evening of magic as seven-time GRAMMY® Award-winning musician, composer, and producer Jacob Collier teams up with mandolinist Chris Thile and the A2SO for a one-night-only Ann Arbor exclusive!

 

3) Sibelius & Brahms (November MainStage)

Saturday, November 8, 2025

Michigan Theater // 7:30 PM

Clara-Jumi Kang, violin

Earl Lee, conductor & Music Director

Kaija Saariaho: Lumière et pesanteur

Jean Sibelius: Violin Concerto

Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 1

 

4) Holiday Pops 2025

Saturday, December 20, 2025

Hill Auditorium // 7 PM

Olivia Van Goor, vocalist

Measure for Measure

Earl Lee, conductor & Music Director

Experience a symphony of lights, sights, and sounds as the A2SO brings its beloved annual Holiday Pops event to Ann Arbor’s Hill Auditorium.

 

5) Mozart, Beethoven & Frank (November MainStage)

Saturday, January 24, 2026

Michigan Theater // 7:30 PM

Michelle Cann, piano

Earl Lee, conductor & Music Director

Gabriela Lena Frank: Elegía Andina

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 23

Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 4

 

6) Lunar New Year with Danny Koo (February MainStage)

Saturday, February 14, 2026

Michigan Theater // 7:30 PM

Danny Koo, violin

Earl Lee, conductor & Music Director

Violinist and vocalist Danny Koo co-designs a special Valentine's Day and Lunar New Year-themed concert, featuring Prokofiev's Romeo & Juliet Suite, Li Huanzhi's Spring Festival Overture, plus Danny's own original arrangements.

 

7) Mahler Symphony No. 4 (March MainStage)

Saturday, March 14, 2026

Hill Auditorium // 7:30 PM

Juliana Zara, soprano

Earl Lee, conductor & Music Director

Claude Debussy: Syrinx

Unsuk Chin: Puzzles and Games from Alice in Wonderland

Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 4

 

8) ICON: The Voices That Changed Music (March Pops)

Saturday, March 14, 2026

Michigan Theater // 7:30 PM

Capathia Jenkins, vocalist

Ryan Shaw, vocalist

Lucas Waldin, guest conductor

Explore the legendary sound worlds of Michael Jackson, Prince, Whitney Houston, Gladys Knight, Elvis Presley, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, and many others as acclaimed vocalists Capathia Jenkins and Ryan Shaw partner with the A2SO.

 

9) Holst: The Planets (Season Finale)

Saturday, April 25, 2026

Hill Auditorium // 7:30 PM

Maximilian Hornung, cello

Earl Lee, conductor & Music Director

David Serkin Ludwig: NightVision

Edward Elgar: Cello Concerto

Gustav Holst: The Planets

 

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