Stefan Jackiw & Kevin Ahfat
Join us for Opening Night of the 2026 Laguna Beach Music Festival with Festival Artistic Director Stephan Jackiw performing alongside two-time Juilliard Concerto Competition winner pianist Kevin Ahfat.
Kreutzer Sonata
Stefan Jackiw has expressed his admiration for this work, stating that he "fell in love with Janacek Violin Sonata" in a 2020 Violin Channel interview. Loosely based on the psychological drama of Leo Tolstoy's 1889 novel "The Kreutzer Sonata," Janáček melds the ingredients of love, desire, torment, and ultimately murder, to create a four movement emotional tour de force.
American program
The festival concludes with a musical tribute to America’s great composers. Hear Aaron Copland’s “Appalachian Spring,” one of the most iconic American compositions of the 20th century and works by contemporary composers Florence Price and Eric Nathan.
Caroline Shaw & Gabriel Kahane
After more than a decade of musical friendship, composer-performers Caroline Shaw and Gabriel Kahane embark on their first large-scale collaboration, orbiting a new work inspired by Jorge Luis Borges’ story, “The Library of Babel.” In this jointly-written song cycle, Shaw and Kahane invite audiences to contemplate the joy, grief, wonder, and bewilderment that spring from life in a world oversaturated with information.
Caroline Shaw & Sō Percussion
Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion dissolve the boundaries between classical and pop, drawing inspiration from sources as varied as James Joyce, ABBA, American roots music, and Christian hymns.
Caroline Shaw & Friends
The Laguna Beach Music Festival’s opening concert features Caroline Shaw joined by a string quartet and chorus.
Sō Percussion Performance and Q&A
Sō Percussion performs in this special community event.
Prelude
Help us kick off the 2025 Laguna Beach Music Festival with a celebration of music! Indulge in hors d’oeuvres, wine, and intimate performances.
Fall Salon
Join us for an intimate afternoon of music, food, and coastal views as we kick-off the upcoming 2025 Laguna Beach Music Festival! Hosted in a spectacular Laguna Beach home and featuring a private performance by the illustrious Joyce Yang, this memorable event is not one to be missed!
Music Insights: Listening to New (Classical) Music
Join Laguna Beach Music Festival for an engaging conversation and performance, featuring violinist Madalyn Parnas Moller and cellist Erin Breene, which is designed to enhance your appreciation of classical and contemporary music as expressed through repertoire for violin and cello.
Carnaval!
Anne Akiko Meyers brings the 2024 Laguna Beach Music Festival to a delightful close with “Carnaval!” pairing Ástor Piazzolla’s nostalgic homage to the tango genre, L'histoire du Tango, with a new arrangement of Camille Saint-Saëns’ whimsical Carnival of the Animals.
Doubles
Joined by violinist Aubree Oliverson, Anne Akiko Meyers shares a program titled “Doubles,” which features the fiery interplay of two violins in works such as Bach’s Double Violin Concerto. The yearning melodies of Philip Glass’ Echorus and Fanny Mendelssohn’s soulful String Quartet bring the program to a close.
Plein Air Art and Music
Laguna Plein Air Painters Association painters, Laguna Beach Music Festival artists, and local musicians gather along the iconic Laguna Beach cliffs for a morning of art, music, and ocean views. Free and open to the public.
Opening Night: Metamorphoses
Anne Akiko Meyers creates a “beautiful sonic world full of color and movement and breath” in her Opening Night program: “Metamorphoses,” featuring new premieres of arrangements for violin-harp as well as violin-electronics.
Festival Prelude
The Laguna Beach Music Festival will begin the week's festivities with the Festival Prelude Soirée, featuring a performance by 2024 Festival Artistic Director Anne Akiko Meyers at the Laguna Art Museum.
Engagement & Discovery
The Festival is dedicated to building community enrichment by creating multiple engagement opportunities to share the love of music. Additional information to be made available closer to the Festival date.