SPAC Unveils Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s 2026 Summer Season

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) will welcome the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS) back to the Spa City for a 2026 summer residency from July 12 to 26. 

Curated by Artistic Directors David Finckel and Wu Han, the season features five programs that traverse a spectrum of chamber music that includes works by Mozart, Marsalis, Dvořák, Beethoven, Barber, Villa-Lobos, and more. 

“We are delighted to bring the finest chamber music programs specifically designed for our cherished SPAC audiences performed by some of the greatest musicians from around the world,” said CMS Artistic Directors Finckel and Han. “With music ranging from Mozart to Marsalis, and in celebration of this summer’s 250th anniversary of American independence and musical identity, we are deeply grateful for our enduring partnership with SPAC. We look forward to sharing this remarkable summer with you.”

Guest artists for the 2026 summer residency include Stella Chen, Danbi Um, Matthew Lipman, Sterling Elliott, Evren Ozel, Michael Stephen Brown, Sahun Sam Hong, Orion Weiss, Aaron Boyd, Sean Lee, Lawrence Dutton, Milena Pájaro-Van De Stadt, Mihai Marica, Juho Pohjonen, Demarre McGill, James Austin Smith, Romie De Guise-Langlois, Marc Goldberg, Nathaniel Silberschlag, and the Calidore String Quartet.

All 2026 CMS events will take place in the Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall in Arthur Zankel Music Center at Skidmore College while the Spa Little Theater undergoes renovation. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit spac.org.

JULY 12 | Dvořák’s Quintet in A Major 

Wu Han, piano

Evren Ozel, piano

Stella Chen, violin

Danbi Um, violin

Matthew Lipman, viola

Sterling Elliott, cello

Mozart: Trio in E major for Piano, Violin, and Cello, K. 542

Ravel: Sonata for Violin and Piano

Gershwin: Three Preludes for Violin and Piano (arr. Heifetz)

Dvořák: Quintet in A major for Piano, Two Violins, Viola, and Cello, Op. 5

JULY 15 | From Haydn to Copland

Michael Stephen Brown, piano 

Sahun Sam Hong, piano 

Lun Li, violin 

James Thompson, viola 

Nicholas Canellakis, cello 

Ian David Rosenbaum, percussion

Haydn: Trio in C major for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Hob. XV:27

Mendelssohn: Quartet in C minor for Piano, Violin, Viola, and Cello, Op. 1

Brahms: Selected Hungarian Dances for Piano, Four Hands 

Bernstein: Three Meditations from Mass for Cello and Piano (1971, arr. 1977) 

Copland: El Salón México for Piano and Percussion (arr. Bernstein)                          

JULY 19 | Burleigh, Dvořák and Beethoven

Orion Weiss, piano 

Aaron Boyd, violin 

Sean Lee, violin 

Lawrence Dutton, viola 

Milena Pájaro-Van De Stadt, viola 

Mihai Marica, cello 

Burleigh: Southland Sketches for Violin and Piano

Dvořák: Trio in G minor for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 26

Beethoven: Quintet in C major for Two Violins, Two Violas, and Cello, Op. 29

JULY 22 | Winds Around the World

Juho Pohjonen, piano 

DeMarre McGill, flute 

James Austin Smith, oboe 

Romie De Guise-Langlois, clarinet 

Marc Goldberg, bassoon 

Nathaniel Silberschlag, horn 

Beethoven: Sonata in F major for Horn and Piano, Op. 17

Barber: Summer Music for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, and Horn, Op. 31  

Villa-Lobos: Trio for Oboe, Clarinet, and Bassoon   

Taktakishvili: Sonata for Flute and Piano  

Jongen: Rhapsody in D minor for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, and Piano, Op. 70

JULY 26 | Calidore String Quartet

Franklin: Quartet No. 2 in F major for Three Violins and Cello   

Haydn: Quartet in E-flat major for Strings, Hob. III:38, Op. 33, No. 2, “The Joke”

Mozart: Quartet in B-flat major for Strings, K. 589, “Prussian”

Wolf: Italian Serenade for String Quartet

Marsalis: At the Octoroon Balls for String Quartet