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Rising Stars in Concert 2026

May 17, 2026, 3:00 pm

A showcase performance by The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center 2024/25 Ensemble with the Lyric Opera Orchestra conducted by Enrique Mazzola. The program includes selections from Donizetti’s Viva la mamma.

Music in Chicago: The 2026 Crain-Maling Foundation CSO Young Artists Competition

April 6, 2026, 12:00 pm

Violinist Cecilia O’Malley took first place at the 2026 Crain-Maling Foundation CSO Young Artists Competition. Enjoy a selection from her winning performance with the first movement of Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s violin concerto, performed alongside the Civic Orchestra of Chicago conducted by Naomi Woo. Recorded live in concert, January 17, 2026 at Symphony Center.

The Vienna Philharmonic performing its customary New Year's Day Concert in a dazzlingly adorned concert hall

New Year’s Concert 2026

January 1, 2026, 10:00 am

The famed Vienna Philharmonic offers “a greeting of hope, friendship, and peace” in its annual New Year’s Day concert, broadcast live around the world.

Golden fireworks exploding in a dark sky.

New Year’s Eve with WFMT

December 31, 2025, 10:00 pm

Ring in the New Year with your favorite WFMT hosts.

The Film Score: Winter Holidays

December 27, 2025, 7:00 pm

Film critic Michael Phillips presents music from holiday favorites and other wintry classics.

Music of the Baroque: Handel’s Messiah

December 25, 2025, 8:00 pm

Dame Jane Glover leads the Music of the Baroque Chorus and Orchestra with soloists soprano Yulia van Doren, mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, tenor Miles Mykkanen, and baritone Will Liverman. Recorded live in concert.

a wintry view of the King's College Chapel, an ornate gothic chapel seated in front of a snowy field

A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols (Live)

December 24, 2025, 9:00 am

A beloved Christmas Eve tradition, A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols sets a tone for Christmas Eve both contemplative and celebratory.

Eight men in suits sit on sofa in front of bright window

Holidays with Cantus

December 22, 2025, 8:00 pm

The gentlemen of Cantus share a warm and inviting mix of music for the holidays.

Apollo’s Fire: Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain

December 20, 2025, 7:00 pm

A beloved program of Appalachian music for the holidays.

Choral members of Music of the Baroque are in song while onstage

Music of the Baroque at the National Museum of Mexican Art

December 19, 2025, 8:00 pm

Live from Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood.

Miracle of Miracles: Music for Hanukkah

December 14, 2025, 5:00 pm

The vocal ensemble Chicago a cappella highlights the creativity and vitality of American Jewish musical traditions.

Shostakovich: An Anniversary Memoir

August 5, 2025, 10:00 pm

Marking 50 years since Dmitri Shostakovich’s death, Peter van de Graaff hosts a special two-hour exploration of this hugely consequential composer and his music through the eyes of people who knew and worked with him, and hear from Shostakovich himself.