Cécile McLorin Salvant
with
Sullivan Fortner, piano
Yasushi Nakamura, bass
Kyle Poole, drums
Thursday, February 5, 2026, 7:30pm
Zellerbach Hall
This evening’s performance will last approximately 90 minutes. The program will be announced from the stage and performed without intermission.
Cal Performances is committed to fostering a welcoming, inclusive, and safe environment for all one that honors our venues as places of respite, openness, and respect. Please see the Community Agreements section on our Policies page for more information.
Each year in February, as we move into our busiest time of the year, Cal Performances’ calendar becomes especially packed with a wide range of carefully curated events designed to appeal to the adventurous sensibilities and eclectic interests of Bay Area audiences. Over the coming months, we’ll see visits by an array of companies, ensembles, and soloists offering a remarkable set of opportunities to revisit old friends as well as discover marvelous and unfamiliar performers and artworks.
Our February programming alone features nearly two dozen presentations in our halls. You’ll find musical programs performed by world-class artists like baritone saxophonist Steven Banks and pianist Xak Bjerken (Feb 1, Hertz Hall [HH]), pianist Bruce Liu (Feb 10, Zellerbach Hall [ZH]), the beloved Takács Quartet (Feb 22, HH), and gifted jazz artists Cécile McLorin Salvant (Feb 5, ZH) and Somi (Feb 21, Zellerbach Playhouse [ZP]); enthralling contemporary dance programs with the great Martha Graham Dance Company, celebrating its 100th anniversary (Feb 14–15, ZH), and—in its highly anticipated Cal Performances debut—A.I.M by Kyle Abraham (Feb 21–22, ZH); cutting-edge new music from UC Berkeley’s own Eco Ensemble (Feb 7, HH), mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato with string trio Time for Three (Feb 7, ZH), and AMOC* and Sandbox Percussion in their mesmerizing co-production of Canto Ostinato, a hypnotic late-1970s minimalist work by Dutch composer Simeon ten Holt (Feb 22, ZP); and thrilling theater from Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre in the West Coast premiere of the company’s brilliant Gathering (Feb 27–Mar 1, ZP).
In the coming months, we’ll welcome a full spectrum of talent including Cal Performances’ 2025–26 Artist in Residence Víkingur Ólafsson; legendary soprano Renée Fleming; the virtuoso JACK Quartet; early-music superstars The English Concert, Jordi Savall, and The Tallis Scholars; and the phenomenally popular Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens.
And in April, our acclaimed dance series continues, distinguished by genre-defining artists and major new productions including The Joffrey Ballet in a bold new work set during Midsommar, the traditional Scandinavian summer solstice festival; and, of course, a return April engagement with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
As you explore the calendar, I recommend you pay particular attention to our Illuminations theme of “Exile & Sanctuary,” focusing on how issues of displacement can inform bold new explorations of identity and community; and how artistic expression can offer safe harbor during times of unrest or upheaval.
The opportunity to engage with diverse artistic perspectives and share the transformative power of the live performing arts is one of life’s greatest pleasures, and I look forward to encountering these profound and entertaining experiences with you in the months ahead.
Jeremy Geffen
Executive and Artistic Director, Cal Performances