Samantha Hankey, mezzo-soprano
Myra Huang, piano

Happy New Year from Cal Performances! I’m delighted to welcome you back to campus as we move into the second half of our extraordinary 2025–26 season. We now begin the busiest period of our calendar, as we continue a season distinguished by an wide range of carefully curated events designed to appeal to the eclectic interests and adventurous sensibilities of Bay Area audiences. Over the coming months, we’ll see visits by dozens of companies, ensembles, and soloists offering a wide range of opportunities to revisit old friends as well as discover thrilling and unfamiliar performers and artworks.

Our programming this month begins on a truly auspicious note as we welcome the return of revered maestro Riccardo Muti and his legendary Chicago Symphony Orchestra for a program of orchestral gems by Brahms, Ravel, and Stravinsky (Jan 17, Zellerbach Hall [ZH]; a Maria Manetti Shrem Great Artist Performance). Muti stepped down as the esteemed ensemble’s music director in 2023 to assume the role of Music Director Emeritus for Life, but his close rapport with this group of remarkable musicians continues to enchant.

In other classical music presentations this month, we’ll enjoy the Cal Performances debut of American mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey as she and pianist Myra Huang offer an inviting program that combines Robert Schumann’s much-loved song cycle Dichterliebe with cabaret songs, lieder, and popular favorites (Jan 18, Hertz Hall [HH]). And one week later, on January 25 (HH), we’ll see the beloved Takács Quartet in its first of two programs this season, this one featuring the brilliant Jamaican American violist Jordan Bak (another Cal Performances debut) in a rare performance of Mozart’s revelatory viola quintets in C major (K. 515) and G minor (K. 516).

In dance, the sensational Mark Morris Dance Group returns for its annual visit to campus, this time with the West Coast premiere of Morris’ brilliant new MOON, a multimedia feast danced before a backdrop featuring video, animation, and photographs of our constant celestial companion (Jan 23–25, ZH). And to close out January, we are thrilled to present the marquee Broadway star, opera diva, and acclaimed television actor Kelli O’Hara (Jan 31, ZH), singing favorite show tunes and classics from the Great American Songbook (our third Cal Performances debut this month).

In the coming months, our season will continue with a wide range of talent including vocalists Renée Fleming and Joyce DiDonato; the virtuoso JACK Quartet; early-music superstars The English Concert, Jordi Savall, and The Tallis Scholars; jazz greats Cécile McLorin Salvant and Somi; and appearances by Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens.

And our acclaimed dance series continues, distinguished by genre-defining artists and major new productions including the Martha Graham Dance Company celebrating its centennial; The Joffrey Ballet in a bold new work set during Midsommar, the traditional Scandinavian summer solstice festival; the long-awaited Cal Performances debut of A.I.M by Kyle Abraham; 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 this season 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