2026 Lakes Area Music Festival to be held July 31–August 23
PASSION takes center stage at the Lakes Area Music Festival. As hundreds of artists from around the globe return to their summer home for music-making, we’ll be reminded of the enchanting experiences that bring them back year after year: sharing laughter, reuniting with friends, and—of course—creating unforgettable music.
Our exceptional roster of more than 250 professional, classical musicians come from the nation’s top ensembles to makes the Lakes Area of central Minnesota their musical home. Together they perform chamber music, orchestra, and opera– as well as various community outreach activities extending their impact throughout the local community.
As we gather for long summer days and radiant Minnesota nights, our 18th season invites you to feel more deeply and rediscover your passion—for music, for community, and for the moments that linger long after the final note fades. Here is a link to this year’s Program Booklet.
Season Opening Gala: Pas de Deux
6:00PM, Friday, July 31, 2026: Dinner + Program
In ballet, a pas de deux—literally “a dance for two”—is an intimate duet, a shared expression of trust, tension, and passion. At our season-opening gala, that idea expands: orchestra and audience, tradition and celebration, all moving together as one. Our Symphony Orchestra is joined by dancers from American Ballet Theatre to set the floor in motion with dance music spanning classical ballet to sweeping ballroom waltzes, sultry tangos, and more; each piece pulsing with the season’s theme of passion.
Brahms & The Schumanns
3:00PM, Sunday, August 2, 2026
The relationships between Robert and Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms were intimate and complicated—and they shaped the trajectory of classical music forever. In an exploration of friendship and inspiration, Brahms’ fiery Hungarian Dances are followed by Clara Schumann’s tender Piano Concerto with Robert Schumann’s soaring Symphony No. 2 capping off this trio of musical genius.
Lovers in the Night
7:30PM, Wednesday, August 5, 2026
Experience the scintillating rhythms of Manuel de Falla’s 7 Popular Spanish Songs and the sensual moonlit serenity of Andalusian Scene by Joaquín Turina. Then, LAMF’s beloved Thalea String Quartet joins forces with special guests for Arnold Schoenberg’s spellbinding Transfigured Night, a work that traces a furtive moonlight walk between two young lovers.
Celebrating 250
7:30PM, Saturday, August 8, 2026
Join us outdoors for a family-friendly celebration of American music with the full LAMF Symphony Orchestra. Celebrating America’s 250th birthday, this concert features beloved classics including John Philip Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever and Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring, music by celebrated American composer Joan Tower, and a special performance by Broadway soprano Andrea Ross. With food trucks, a beer tent, and a lively atmosphere, it’s the ideal way to spend a summer evening. Bring a lawn chair, a friend, and your love for music!
Carmen
7:30PM, Friday, August 14, 2026
3:00PM, Sunday, August 16, 2026
The season’s ultimate thrill, Bizet’s Carmen erupts with raw emotion and intoxicating drama. International sensation Julia Bullock makes her electrifying role debut as the free-spirited heroine whose charisma captivates everyone around her—especially a young soldier whose infatuation turns perilous. Fueled by unforgettable melodies and rhythms that simmer and surge, this is opera at its most seductive, volatile, and utterly unmissable.
Zorongo Flamenco
7:30PM, Saturday, August 15, 2026
Born of fire, rhythm, and raw emotion, flamenco is music that wears its heart on its sleeve. Driving guitar lines, percussive footwork, and anguished cries give voice to love and loss, longing and defiance. Rooted in the same Spanish soil that inspired Bizet’s Carmen, flamenco embodies the fierce independence and sensuality of the opera’s unforgettable heroine. This special evening presents Minnesota’s Zorongo Flamenco Dance Theatre, one of the few American companies presenting both traditional and theatrical flamenco. Zorongo creates bold, socially relevant performances that bring the power and virtuosity of the art form to life while cultivating community through education and outreach. At the heart of the ensemble are guitarists Ross Fellrath and Ben Abrahamson. Both have studied throughout Spain with flamenco masters, absorbing the regional styles and rhythms that define the genre.
Haydn’s Passion Symphony
7:30PM, Wednesday, August 19, 2026
Dramatic energy and radiant lyricism shape this vibrant program. Haydn’s La Passione sets the stage with brooding intensity before giving way to the expressive virtuosity of festival favorite Daniel Hawkins in Strauss’s luxurious Horn Concerto No. 2. The program comes to a brilliant close with Poulenc’s dazzling Sinfonietta. Each work sparkles with wit, charm, and irresistible melody.
7:30PM, Saturday, August 22, 2026
3:00PM, Sunday, August 23, 2026
Celebrate the season with a symphonic feast of rhythm, color, and energy. The dynamic pulse of Carlos Simon’s Four Black American Dances leads to vivid, sun-drenched landscapes and shimmering Spanish textures in Claude Debussy’s Ibéria. Our season finale then culminates in Igor Stravinsky’s Petrushka, a kaleidoscopic ballet score that animates a mischievous puppet, a dazzling Russian fairground, and an irresistible surge of rhythmic brilliance.
