The Mainly Mozart All-Star Orchestra Festival, recognized as the largest Mozart celebration in North America, will return for its 38th season from June 17 to June 27, 2026. The festival brings together concertmasters and principal players from premier orchestras across the United States and Canada for a series of six performances in San Diego venues.
Music Director Michael Francis will lead the orchestra, which includes musicians from institutions such as the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, and The Philadelphia Orchestra. For the first time in eight years, a single concertmaster will oversee the entire festival series, with David Kim of The Philadelphia Orchestra assuming this role for all six concerts.
The 2026 festival will feature a notable roster of soloists performing with the orchestra. Pianist Anne-Marie McDermott will perform Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 on June 17. Guitarist Mak Grgić will present Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez on June 21. Pianist Anton Nel, a Grammy-nominated Mozart interpreter, will perform Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 9 on June 23. Violinist James Ehnes will perform Schumann's Violin Concerto on June 25 and return for Brahms's Double Concerto with cellist Robert DeMaine on the closing night, June 27.
Five concerts will be held at Baker-Baum Concert Hall within The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, with the festival finale scheduled at UC San Diego's Epstein Family Amphitheater. The programming blends core Mozart works with pieces by composers including Beethoven, Prokofiev, Copland, Mendelssohn, and Strauss, offering audiences a mix of familiar masterpieces and distinctive repertoire.
Ticket packages for the festival became available for purchase on February 15, 2026 through https://www.mainlymozart.org/allstar. Single ticket prices range from $68 to $155 for concerts at The Conrad and from $25 to $250 for the amphitheater finale. The full orchestra roster for the 2026 season will be announced in May.
The festival's significance extends beyond its musical offerings, reinforcing San Diego's status as a destination for world-class classical music. In 2025, the festival was acknowledged as North America's largest Mozart festival and was admitted into the International Mozarteum Foundation's "Mozart Communities," a distinction shared by only about thirty organizations globally and two in the United States. This recognition underscores the event's artistic caliber and its role in the international classical music landscape.
For business and technology leaders, the festival represents a substantial cultural and economic asset for the San Diego region, attracting visitors and enhancing the area's profile. The commitment to innovative programming, which has included initiatives like drive-in concerts during the pandemic and inclusive autism programs, demonstrates an adaptive approach to audience engagement that parallels strategic evolution in other industries. The gathering of elite musicians from top-tier orchestras also serves as a networking hub for the classical music sector, potentially influencing artistic collaborations and institutional partnerships.
