Welcome to the 2026–2027 season at Soka Performing Arts Center

Dear Friends,

Welcome to the 2026–2027 season at Soka Performing Arts Center.

Each season, we have the privilege of bringing extraordinary artists, ideas, cultures, and musical traditions together on our stages. But what happens here is about more than performance. It is about connection—the connection between artist and audience, between cultures and generations, and between the music we hear and the ways it can move, inspire, and change us.

That spirit is at the heart of our mission to Engage, Educate, and Elevate the Human Spirit, and it is captured in three simple words that define the experience we hope to create every time you join us:

Listen. Feel. Transform.

Our 2026–2027 season reflects that vision in remarkable ways.

We begin with something especially meaningful: the world premiere of David Benoit’s Resonance and Renewal, opening a season filled with celebrated artists and ensembles from around the world. We welcome internationally renowned classical pianists including Seong-Jin Cho, George Li, Louis Lortie, Conrad Tao with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, and Angel Wang with Pacific Symphony. Other classical highlights include Emi Ferguson & Ruckus, and Pacific Symphony with Alexander Shelley, conductor.

The season also brings legendary voices and unmistakable American artistry to our stage with Mavis Staples, Judy Collins, and Jazz at Lincoln Center with Wynton Marsalis. We celebrate the rich traditions of Hawai‘i with Hālau Hula Lani Ola, the music and culture of India with Malini Awasthi, and the warmth and energy of Celtic Christmas.

Opera returns with Parnassus Society’s La Bohème, while young artists take an important place throughout our season through performances by the Orange County Youth Symphony and a celebration of 40 years of Orange County School of the Arts.

And because experiencing the arts should begin at every age, we are delighted to welcome families for performances including the beloved Bob Baker Marionettes, Jazzy Ash, and our Free Family Concert featuring the Orange County Youth Symphony.

What excites me most about this season is its extraordinary range. A single stage can take us from Bach to jazz, from opera to hula, from a world premiere to music that has inspired generations. Each artist brings a different story and perspective, yet every performance offers the same possibility: to experience something together that we could not experience in quite the same way anywhere else.

That is the power of live performance.

Whether you have been part of the Soka Performing Arts Center family for many years or are walking through our doors for the first time, I invite you to explore the season, discover something unexpected, and join us often.

Listen deeply. Feel fully. And allow yourself to be transformed.

I look forward to welcoming you to the 2026–2027 season.

With gratitude,

Renee Bodie
General Manager
Soka Performing Arts Center

LISTEN. FEEL. TRANSFORM.