Attend the Summermusik Festival from August 4 through August 29 at various venues in Greater Cincinnati to see the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra.
Attend the Summermusik Festival from August 4 through August 29 at various venues across Greater Cincinnati to experience the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra in action. The festival brings together internationally recognized guest artists, exciting world premieres, and standout performances from the ensemble. With its mix of innovative programming and intimate concert settings, Summermusik offers a vibrant celebration of music throughout the month of August.
Summermusik Festival Events
Road Trip Playlist
Chamber Crawl
August 4, 7:30 p.m.
HighGrain Brentwood (Springfield Township)
Get your kicks on…Winton Road! The first concert of the season celebrates the centennial of Route 66 with our friends at HighGrain’s Brentwood Brewpub. Manami White, the principal second violin of the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, has curated a musical road trip with tunes for string quartet from along “The Main Street of America” and other iconic American highways like the Pacific Coast Highway, Highway 61, Hana Highway, and more! Enjoy a journey through the classic American songbook – and perhaps down some roads less traveled – in this fun and family-friendly program.
The Soundtrack of America
Mainstage
August 8, 7:30 p.m.
School for Creative and Performing Arts (OTR)
The first Mainstage of 2026 will feature not one, not two, but three world-premieres commissioned especially for the Summermusik Festival: the first by 2025 Kreitler Commission Competition winner Simon Rivet; the second, Visions of Humanity and Unity, by a consortium of five internationally-recognized composers; and the third by local luminary Kanniks Kannikeswaran. This cornucopia of new work is a reflection of the rich culture of invention and collaboration that our country has fostered for 250 years, and of the commitment by Summermusik to support the musical innovators of our time.
Harmony & Honor
A Little Afternoon Musik
August 9, 4 p.m.
St. Agnes Catholic Church (Fort Wright)
In this intimate concert featuring cellist Zuill Bailey, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra players, and a quartet of professional vocalists, Summermusik honors veterans here in the Cincinnati area and beyond. Works of immense beauty and emotional resonance such as Max Richter’s soul-stirring On the Nature of Daylight, Shostakovich’s propulsive, cinematic String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, and Frank Ticheli’s meditative Earth Song set the stage of an afternoon of remembrance and reflection.
SummerMeowsik
Chamber Crawl
August 11, 7:30 p.m.
Woodward Theater (OTR)
Come on down to The Woodward Theater for a musical tribute to our favorite furry friends! CCO Principal Flutist Annie Darlin Gordon has curated a program of pet inspired pieces for Woodwind Quintet sure to delight cat-people and dog-lovers alike! Summermusik is thrilled to partner with the Save the Animals Foundation for this Chamber Crawl, and we look forward to seeing you there – and all of the photos of your pets too, of course! Audience members will have a chance to submit photos of their furry friends to be included in a slide show and will be greeted by an adoptable dog at the door!
The Island of Enchantment
Mainstage
August 15, 7:30 p.m.
School for Creative and Performing Arts (OTR)
The second Mainstage features music and soloists exclusively from the “Isla del Encanto” or “Island of Enchantment”: Puerto Rico. Cuatro-virtuoso Fabiola Méndez, who counts global superstar Bad Bunny among her many fans, joins the CCO for a performance of Ernesto Cordero’s Concierto Criollo for Cuatro, a Cincinnati premiere. Grammy-nominated composer Roberto Sierra chronicles Puerto Rico’s history of musical invention with his Symphony No. 3, La Salsa. The program will also feature works by two exciting emerging composers: Luis Quintana’s otherworldly On the Ethereal Nature of Bioluminescence and Angélica Negron’s atmospheric Campos Flotantes.
¡Jangueo boricua! (Puerto Rican Hangout)
A Little Afternoon Musik
August 16, 4 p.m.
Delhi Event Center (Delhi)
Come hang out with internationally acclaimed cuatro player Fabiola Méndez for an afternoon of Puerto Rican musical excellence. Featuring works newly arranged for a CCO string quartet and cuatro by Sonia Morales-Matos and performances of traditional Puerto Rican songs by local group Son del Caribe, this family-friendly afternoon event is sure to transport you to the streets of San Juan and the shores of Luquillo Beach.
A Night at the Circus
Chamber Crawl
August 18, 7:30 p.m.
Newport Syndicate (Newport)
Join the circus for an evening! CCO Principal Clarinet John Kurokawa has curated a dazzling program inspired by the big-top fun of the circus! Enjoy works by Prokofiev, Haydn, and more and watch talented circus performers all while enjoying the unmatched atmosphere of the Newport Syndicate. VIP packages include premium drink tickets and a tour of the storied venue before the show!
“Sin”cinnati
Mainstage
August 22, 4 p.m.
School for Creative and Performing Arts (OTR)
Pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth: Are you innocent of the Seven Deadly Sins? Summermusik presents Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht’s boundary-pushing ballet chanté (“sung-ballet”) The Seven Deadly Sins, featuring award-winning soprano Victoria Okafor and Cincinnati Ballet’s Simone Muhammad. Choreographed by Joshua Stayton, Artistic Director of Azara Ballet and Cincinnati Ballet alum, and devised by Summmermusik Music Director Eckart Preu, this semi-stage performance of a 20th century masterpiece is not to be missed. The program will also include sin-tinged works by Beethoven, Gesualdo, Strauss, and Rossini.
Virtues: A Moral Compass
A Little Afternoon Musik
August 23, 4 p.m.
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church (Kenwood)
Where there is sin there must also be virtue. As a companion to our SINcinnati Mainstage program, join us for A Little Afternoon Musik recital centering the Seven Virtues. Soprano Victoria Okafor joins CCO musicians for a program featuring works by Brahms, Price, Purcell, Rossini, and more extolling the importance of Humility, Kindness, Temperance, Chastity, Patience, Charity, and Diligence.
American Beauties
Chamber Crawl
August 25 & 26, 7:30 p.m.
The Redmoor (Mt Lookout)
Summermusik favorite Roger Klug is back! Join us at the Redmoor for “American Beauties”: a celebration of American songwriters including Paul Simon, Randy Newman, Brian Wilson, Bob Dylan, and more. Expect to hear Klug’s famous “chamber rock” arrangements in a program that will appeal to rock and classical fans alike.
Musical Renegades: Mozart and Zappa
Mainstage
August 29, 7:30 p.m.
School for Creative and Performing Arts (OTR)
Innovators. Visionaries. Geniuses. Renegades. These words could be used to describe both composers featured on our final Mainstage of the season: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Frank Zappa. Although these two musical icons were born 184 years and an ocean apart, they have more in common than one would expect: both were pathbreaking composers that defied the limitations of their respective genres, and both had a healthy disdain for the conventional propriety of the day. Join us for rarely heard selections of Zappa’s orchestral compositions and a performance of Mozart’s fiery yet refined “Haffner” symphony.
Tickets to Summermusik Festival
Single Tickets:
$45 for Adults
$30 for Young Professionals under 40
$12 for Students/Children
*$3 ticketing fee on single tickets
General Admission Seating; Subscribers and Flex Pass holders receive preferred seating. Purchase a subscription and save.
About Summermusik
Founded in 1974, Summermusik with resident ensemble Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra creates intimate, transformative experiences that connect the musically curious. Under the direction of Music Director Eckart Preu, Summermusik provides a unique and educational musical experience in an intimate setting for both seasoned and novice concert patrons.
The Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra is comprised of 33 professional musicians, the ideal ensemble size for presenting orchestral works from classical to pop to the music of world cultures as well as commissioned works by contemporary composers. Often, the ensemble shrinks down to as small as three musicians, allowing the organization to annually present more than 80 performances throughout Greater Cincinnati.
Summermusik’s signature program, the Summermusik Festival, presents 11 orchestra and chamber music concerts each August, and the Spring We Are One Festival, launched in 2022, amplifies under-consulted voices by acknowledging historical and contemporary inequities and celebrating unique cultures.
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