What’s New, Next, and Novel: The Curious Curator’s Guide to the 2026–27 Season

The “Curious Curator” guide is for adventurous arts lovers who are excited by the prospect of uncovering a performance or performer offering something never experienced before—be it one-of-a-kind rising-stars, cross-genre collaborations, or inventive new works. No need to worry if you’ve “seen it all.” This tailored guide to what’s new, novel, and next on the 2026–27 season is sure to provide opportunities to expand your artistic horizons!

These artists take traditional influences and spin them into something fresh and original, earning them a space at the forefront of their ever-expanding fields.

OCT 23, 2026, 7:30PM, ZELLERBACH HALL

The origins of Mariachi Herencia de México are anything but traditional. The mariachi group traces its start to investment banker César Maldonado, a native Chicagoan whose parents emigrated from the same small town in Mexico and filled his childhood home with the music of mariachi legends. Seeing a lack of cultural arts programs in the same schools he attended in his youth, Maldonado created a nonprofit, Mariachi Heritage Foundation, an enterprise dedicated to bringing mariachi curriculum to Chicago public schools. Wanting students to experience what it would be like to record music professionally, Maldonado had select program participants take part in a recording project that, released under the name Mariachi Herencia de México, would go on to earn a Latin Grammy Award nomination.

Over the last decade, Maldonado has grown the band in ways no one could have anticipated.

Fusing traditional mariachi repertoire (sung in both English and Spanish) with additional influences from other musical styles originating in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America, Mariachi Herencia de México pays homage to tradition while paving a new way forward.

Noting the loss of many of the great mariachi musicians he grew up listening to, Maldonado shared, “We take it on as a responsibility to push this genre forward. … Mariachi Herencia de México is comprised of some of the best mariachi musicians in the world from all over the place.” Regarding the group’s relationship to the genre’s roots, he added, “Mariachi music is generational music, so a lot of the members are four-, five-time generations in their families of being mariachi musicians. So, as you can imagine, it’s a legacy that we respect, and when we make new music, we always try to honor the old school and put our fresh take on it, too.”

JAN 31 and FEB 28, 2027, HERTZ HALL

A visionary and omnivorous ensemble, the Attacca is defined by an insatiable curiosity for both the established and the unfamiliar, the old and the new. The group moves effortlessly across—and beyond—the traditional boundaries of the string quartet, performing repertoire that ranges from iconic classical works to modern electronica, indie rock, and video game music, while also forging innovative collaborations with living composers and guest artists.

Serving as Cal Performances’ Ensemble in Residence during the 2026–27 season, the Attacca Quartet makes two visits to Hertz Hall,

each with a program centered around a different composer with whom they’ve had a long and fruitful relationship—composers who share their tenacity and commitment to originality.

On January 31, the quartet is joined by composer Caroline Shaw, who will perform alongside the ensemble on violin and vocals. Shaw strives to “imagine a world of sound that has never been heard before but has always existed,” and her lyric creations are of particular significance to the ensemble. In fact, the Attacca has won Grammy Awards for both of its recordings of Shaw’s music—Orange from 2019 and Evergreen from 2022—and here continues to engage with her rich exploration of the line between art song and chamber music.

Then, on February 28, the quartet returns for a program that pairs Beethoven’s String Quartet in A minor, Op. 132, with works by iconic composer John Adams, including the Bay Area premiere of a Cal Performances co-commission. The new work, Iron Jig, is an intense composition inspired by the Baroque gigue and Irish jig traditions. Over his past 25 years of output, Adams has become known for his influence shifting modern compositional output toward the listening ear, reflecting a more expansive, expressive language. He has previously composed for the Attacca Quartet to great acclaim, and here deepens their artistic bond and joint efforts at pushing their fields forward.

APR 16, 2027, ZELLERBACH HALL

The artist collective of Aga Khan Master Musicians was formed through the Aga Khan Music Programme, a multi-faceted education, performance, production, commissioning, and awards platform that convenes leading artists from the Great East and Mediterranean worlds to explore what happens when long-travelled musical paths meet again in the present.

The members of Aga Khan Master Musicians and their special guests—collectively representing roots in Central Asia, China, the Middle East, and France—are dedicated to using not only their own cultures, but also their personal experiences,

including encounters with displacement and migration, to create a modern sound that resonates across continents and centuries. Here, the septet performs a fresh program of jointly created new works inspired by the ancient routes that connected trade and culture between Asia and the Mediterranean.

These rising-star artists, still in the early days of their careers, are making waves for exceptional talent that demands an audience.

OCT 4, 2026, HERTZ HALL

Named a BBC New Generation Artist by age 22—an honor that has led to performances with all the BBC orchestras, at Wigmore Hall (London), and on multiple BBC broadcasts—Tom Borrow’s star is on the rise. Before the age of 20, he had been named “One to Watch” by both International Piano magazine and Gramophone; and, after his debut with the Cleveland Orchestra around the same time, he was published as Musical America’s New Artist of the Month (December 2021). Perhaps there is no more direct endorsement of his artistry than that given by Pianist Magazine, which referred to Borrow as

“one of the greats of tomorrow,” “a poetic player with a mesmerizing coiled-spring stillness.”

In an intimate Hertz Hall recital, Borrow makes his Cal Performances debut with Mozart’s Sonata in A minor alongside Liszt’s “operatic fantasy” based on Mozart’s Don Giovanni, plus that composer’s notoriously complex and harrowing Sonata in B minor—the perfect program for an artist praised for “a touch that’s both light and powerful, and supremely incandescent” (The Plain Dealer).

FEB 14, 2027, HERTZ HALL

Blake Pouliot is exactly the kind of artist who makes you feel like you’re witnessing something rare. The Canadian violinist has been called “one of those special talents that comes along once in a lifetime” by the Toronto Star, and his track record backs it up: since making his orchestral debut at just 11 years old, he has performed with the orchestras of San Francisco, Toronto, Montreal, Seattle, and many others, and even served as the featured soloist for the first-ever joint tour of the European Union Youth Orchestra and National Youth Orchestra of Canada.

His 2019 debut album of 20th-century French music earned a five-star rating from BBC Music Magazine and a Juno Award nomination for Best Classical Album.

Joining Pouliot is American pianist Henry Kramer, whose combination of sensitivity and exuberance earned him Second Prize at the 2016 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, as well as a 2019 Avery Fisher Career Grant—one of the highest honors a young American soloist can receive. If you’ll indulge a blurring of the “new” and “next” categories for a moment, it should be noted that the duo’s recital program features something truly special: the West Coast premiere of a new Cal Performances co-commissioned work by award-winning, Latin Grammy-nominated composer Jimmy López. Described as “one of the most innovative and symphonically dynamic composers in the world today” (Lewis Whittington), Lopez—an alumnus of the UC Berkeley music department—will be remembered by Cal Performances audiences for the 2019 world premiere of his Dreamers oratorio, inspired by undocumented students in the university community.

Of course, the recital wouldn’t be complete without classical gems that showcase the depth of these artists’ range and inspire the program’s title—including Schubert’s monumental Fantasy in C major, composed during the final year of the composer’s life, as well as a series of works exploring the influence of art song on instrumental music.

Unusual and insightful, these performances chart new territory, creating sounds, sights, and worlds that are anything but expected.

DEC 4–5, 2026, ZELLERBACH HALL

In A a | a B : B E N D, two leading lights in their fields who share a common ethos—choreographer Aszure Barton and composer Ambrose Akinmusire—create a world in which dancers and a musician (Akinmusire himself on electronics and trumpet) explore what it means to “unlearn.” It’s a performance that reflects “a refusal of categorization” (Tanz Magazine), in which the artists display a thrilling embrace of human friction that oscillates between up-close and personal to vastly distanced and massive. Akinmusire and Barton have collaborated for years.

Both artists are incredibly curious, and push each other to think bigger and deeper.

Akinmusire, who is best known in jazz, classical, and hip hop circles, is motivated by the emotional, spiritual, and practical sides of art, and is known for creating emotive and unexpected works as part of his “perpetual quest for new paradigms.” Not strictly beholden to tradition, he acknowledges the desire to honor his “lineage of Black invention and innovation … without being stifled by it.” Barton, in turn, is recognized for pushing the boundaries of traditional dance, with the New York Times saying she “takes ballet technique and dismantles it to near-invisibility.” Together, these two great minds are able to create movement, sound, and ideas that push their fields forward in ways no one else could conceive.

FEB 27–28, 2027, ZELLERBACH HALL

Founded in New York City in 1974, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo set out to do something that had never quite been done before: stage technically rigorous productions of classical ballet through the lens of parody—but executed by an all-male cast performing every role.

Best known for their satirical takes on the tropes of traditional ballet (though not limiting themselves purely to the one genre), the dancers of the Trocks showcase artistry at so many levels:

as expertly trained dancers, as storytellers and physical comedians, and as drag artists, each with their own distinct character and perspective. For more than 50 years, these exceptional performers have offered something that no other artists can, a level of entertainment and critical nuance that must be seen to be fully appreciated. Expect a sampling of classic company repertoire that is sure to delight die-hard ballet fans and first-timers alike through what the troupe itself refers to as “the universal language of laughter.”

APR 24, 2027, ZELLERBACH HALL

According to the orchestra itself, what drew the original members to this art form was exactly the notion of how seemingly “strange” it was to everyone else. Since 1985, the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain has been revolutionizing public understanding of what this stereotypically humble instrument is capable of. Their seven ukuleles of varying sizes need no musical accompanying or backing tracks to tackle covers spanning the widest possible range of musical expression—from Tchaikovsky to Nirvana, Johnny Cash to the Beach Boys.

Arrangements are specially created by the group itself, with the goal of preserving the “spirit of the music” rather than the specific sound of any particular style or genre.

And while this instrumentation may seem restricting, orchestra founder George Hinchliffe describes their work “like a pencil line drawing rather than a multi-colored painting: the palate is limited, but the possibilities are endless.” Brought together by their love for the ukulele, the orchestra makes a point to introduce audiences to each individual on stage, and combines unexpected repertoire with a healthy dose of British humor for performances that are always eye-opening, entertaining, and just plain fun.

APR 23, 2027, ZELLERBACH HALL

To Berkeley audiences, researcher, gambist, and conductor Jordi Savall is a beloved and familiar presence. A luminary of the early-music world revered for his more than 50-year career,

Savall has been dedicated to reviving lesser-known and often anonymous works that reveal hidden connections between people and cultures.

His Cal Performances programs—painstakingly curated and full of the unexpected—have always rewarded close attention. This season, he turns that same scholarly rigor and personal vision toward some of the most iconic works in the canon: Beethoven’s Third and Fifth Symphonies, performed on period instruments. Leading his ensemble Le Concert des Nations—whose members represent international specialists in historically informed performance—Savall brings to Beethoven the same revitalizing approach that has defined his early-music work for decades. For Bay Area audiences accustomed to hearing him illuminate works of Baroque and Renaissance music, this is new territory, and a rare opportunity to experience familiar masterworks with fresh ears.

This is just a sample of the innovation you’ll see across genres during the 2026–27 season. Explore the full 2026–27 Season Calendar for yourself, and, if you’re especially interested in new works, look out for the multiple world and North American premieres coming to our stages!

Want to secure your seats early and save up to 25% on tickets? When you subscribe by bundling as few as four performances, you unlock the very best experience we have to offer! Explore our Subscriber benefits, and mark your calendars for when subscriptions go on sale at noon (PT) on May 5, 2026!

UC Berkeley students have access to exclusive student discounts, including a special bundle of 4 tickets called a Flex Pass. UCB Student tickets go on sale in August.

Explore the six guides to the season below to find the performances that were made for you.