SCHUBERT CLUB ANNOUNCES:
2026-2027 International Artist Series
and
2026-2027 Music in the Park Series
SAINT PAUL, Minn. (March 4, 2026) — Schubert Club, Minnesota’s prominent presenter of recitals and chamber music, is pleased to announce its 2026-2027 International Artist Series and Music in the Park Series. Both lineups feature established and beloved artists, as well as emerging stars whose performances are not to be missed.
First presented more than 125 years ago, the International Artist Series engages the world’s great classical artists in recital. This distinguished series continues to captivate and move audiences. Presented at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in Saint Paul, the series opens on October 23 with a program by the award-winning Norwegian operatic soprano Lise Davidsen, who will make her International Artist Series debut. Ms. Davidsen’s program will include songs by Franz Schubert.
Next up on the Series is a pair of recitals by the superb Canadian violinist James Ehnes onNovember 10 and 11, 2026. Ehnes made his orchestral debut with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal at just 13, and has won multiple major recording awards, including a Grammy for his recording of violin concertos by Barber, Korngold, and Shostakovich. He performs on the 1715 “Marsick” violin made by Antonio Stradivari. Instruments from this period—often called Stradivari’s “Golden Period”—are considered among the finest violins ever created.
On Sunday, January 10, 2027, Duo Pleyel — the piano duo comprising the beloved British pianist and conductor Richard Egarr and Russian-born pianist and harpsichordist Alexandra Nepomnyashchaya —will take the stage for a one of a kind recital featuring the music of Schubert and Beethoven, performed on instruments from Schubert Club’s historical collection. Duo Pleyel will feature music by Franz Schubert and a Beethoven symphony arranged for piano four-hands by Carl Czerny.
Tuesday, February 23, 2027, Trio Afiori, an ensemble made up of mezzo-soprano Fleur Barron, clarinetist Anthony McGill, and pianist Gloria Chien will make their International Artist Series debut. Anthony McGill returns to the series after a pair of well-received performances in 2022 with pianist Anna Polonsky. The trio will perform a program which includes works by Florence Price, Johannes Brahms, and arrangements of Nina Simone songs, as well as a new work by Gabriel Kahane, co-commissioned by Schubert Club.
The International Artist Series will conclude on Sunday, April 25, 2027 with performance by 2026-2027 Featured Artist Conrad Tao. Tao’s recital program includes beloved works by Schubert and Ravel, as well as music by Tania León, Ethiopian composer Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou, and an improvisation of his own.
The Music in the Park Series, a cherished and distinctive audience favorite, was founded in 1979 by Artistic Director Emerita Julie Himmelstrup. The series presents chamber music concerts on Sunday afternoons at the acoustically superb St. Anthony Park United Church of Christ. This intimate venue, home to the series since its beginning, fosters a unique and palpable connection between composers, artists, and listeners of all ages.
The 2026-2027 Music in the Park Series will open on October 11, 2026 with the Shin Kim Piano Trio, an ensemble consisting of family members Kyu-Young Kim on violin, Pitnarry Shin on cello, and Orion Kim on piano, started during the early days of the COVID lockdown in the family living room. The trio’s program will include Robert Schumann’s Piano Quartet (with violist Misha Amory), and premiere of a new work by Korean-American composer Texu Kim, commissioned by Schubert Club for the Shin Kim Piano Trio as a gift to honor Kyu-Young Kim’s tenure as Artistic Director of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. November 15, 2026 features the Juilliard String Quartet with American pianist Simone Dinnerstein. Continuing a focus on Robert Schumann’s music for chamber ensembles, their program will include Schumann’s Piano Quintet, widely considered to be the first of its genre. On January 17, 2027, the Junction Trio brings together three renowned visionary artists — violinist Stefan Jackiw, pianist Conrad Tao, and cellist Jay Campbell — to perform piano trios by Schumann and Ravel, as well as the premiere of a new work by American composer Andrew Norman, co-commissioned by Schubert Club. The Venezuelan-American violinist Gabriela Lara, recent winner of the Sphinx competition, will make her series debut on March 14, 2027 performing works by J.S.Bach, Amy Beach, and more. The series concludes on April 11, 2027 with a performance by the Canadian-American Viano Quartet, whose program includes a new work by Reena Esmail, co-commissioned by Schubert Club.
“Regulars at both the International Artist Series and Music in the Park Series know that we adhere to a pattern: we invite artists of current world renown and artists who are progressing quickly along that trajectory. What a privilege it has been to lead this process on behalf of Schubert Club,” says Barry Kempton, Schubert Club’s Artistic and Executive Director.
“We’re delighted to welcome Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen and beloved Canadian violinist James Ehnes for debut recitals. The gifted pianist Conrad Tao performs in both series and, as Featured Artist, he’ll appear in Schubert Club Mix programming too (announced later in the spring). Several Schumann works for piano and ensemble are included in the Music in the Park Series, and across the two series, there will be premieres by Gabriel Kahane, Texu Kim, Andrew Norman, and Reena Esmail. It promises to be a feast of great music-making!”
Subscriptions to both the International Artist Series and Music in the Park Series are on sale starting Wednesday, March 4, 2026 at 10:00 a.m.
Subscription and Ticket Information
Subscriptions are on sale starting Wednesday, March 4, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. and can be purchased by calling 651.292.3268 or online at schubert.org
International Artist Series five-concert subscription prices range from $128 to $310.
Three concert packages start at $74.
Music in the Park Series five-concert subscriptions are $135.
Kids and students are FREE. To add a child to your subscription or to purchase a subscription as a student, call the Schubert Club Ticket Office.
Single Tickets
Single tickets for all concerts will go on sale in early August 2026.
CALENDAR LISTING
Shin Kim Piano Trio with Misha Amory
Kyu-Young Kim, violin
Pitnarry Shin, piano
Orion Kim, piano
Misha Amory, viola
Sunday, Oct 11, 2026 at 4:00 p.m.
Music in the Park Series
St. Anthony Park United Church of Christ
Lise Davidsen, soprano
James Baillieu, piano
Friday, Oct 23, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
International Artist Series
Ordway Concert Hall
James Ehnes, violin
Pianist to be announced
Tuesday, Nov 10, 2026 at 10:30 a.m.
Wednesday, Nov 11, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
International Artist Series
Ordway Concert Hall
Juilliard String Quartet
Simone Dinnerstein, piano
Sunday, Nov 15, 2026 at 4:00 p.m.
Music in the Park Series
St. Anthony Park United Church of Christ
Duo Pleyel
Richard Egarr, piano
Alexandra Nepomnyashchaya, piano
Sunday, Jan 10, 2027 at 3:00 p.m.
International Artist Series
Ordway Concert Hall
Junction Trio
Stefan Jackiw, violin
Conrad Tao, piano
Jay Campbell, cello
Sunday, Jan 17, at 4:00 p.m.
Music in the Park Series
St. Anthony Park United Church of Christ
Trio Afiori
Fleur Barron, mezzo-soprano
Anthony McGill, clarinet
Gloria Chien, piano
Tuesday, Feb 23, 2027 at 7:30 p.m.
International Artist Series
Ordway Concert Hall
Gabriela Lara, violin
Pianist to be announced
Sunday, Mar 14, 2027 at 4:00 p.m.
Music in the Park Series
St. Anthony Park United Church of Christ
Viano Quartet
Sunday, Apr 11, 2027 at 4:00 p.m.
Music in the Park Series
St. Anthony Park United Church of Christ
Conrad Tao, piano
Sunday, Apr 25, 2027 at 3:00 p.m.
International Artist Series
Ordway Concert Hall
ABOUT SCHUBERT CLUB
For more than 140 years, Schubert Club has invited the world’s great recital soloists and ensembles to the Twin Cities and has promoted the superb musical talents of our community through performances, education, and museum programs. One of the first arts organizations in the country, Schubert Club remains today one of the nation’s most vibrant, relevant, and respected music organizations.
Schubert Club’s International Artist Series has presented many of the world’s great recitalists including Jascha Heifetz, Arthur Rubinstein, Cecilia Bartoli, Isaac Stern, Beverly Sills, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Leontyne Price, Yo-Yo Ma, and Renée Fleming to name a few. In 2014, Schubert Club introduced Schubert Club Mix, its convention-breaking performance series in nontraditional venues. Additional series include the Music in the Park Series, which presents chamber music in the St. Anthony Park neighborhood, Accordo, a string collective comprising current and former members of the Minnesota Orchestra and The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and a free weekly lunchtime Courtroom Concert series at the Landmark Center in downtown St. Paul featuring Minnesota-based artists and composers.
Not only a concert presenter, Schubert Club has engaged in music education programs since 1911. Schubert Club currently reaches two thousand youth annually through varied activities such as KidsJam music workshops, Project CHEER free music lessons in neighborhood locations, master classes and scholarship awards that allow students to pursue their music studies more intensively.
The recently renovated Schubert Club Music Museum, located in historic Landmark Center, holds two exciting new interactive galleries – the Music Makers Zone, where visitors can explore, discover and create music with instruments from around the globe, and Keyboard Journey Gallery, an immersive focus on the sights and sounds of Schubert Club’s keyboard collection – from a 16th century spinet to iconic 20th century electro-mechanical keyboard instruments like the Fender Rhodes piano and the Hammond organ. Composer letters from the Gilman Ordway Manuscript Collection are also on display together with a selection of historical music players that brought music into the home.
For more information visit schubert.org.
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