Robert Spano—conductor, pianist, composer and teacher—is known worldwide for the intensity of his artistry and distinctive communicative abilities, creating a sense of inclusion and warmth among musicians and audiences that is unique among American orchestras.

In the 2026-2027 season, Spano continues in his roles as Music Director of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and Washington National Opera. He is also Music Director of the Aspen Music Festival and School and directs the Aspen Conducting Academy, which offers participants unparalleled training and valuable podium experience. 

This season at WNO, Spano leads two productions: the company premiere of John Adams’s Nixon in China, starring baritone Thomas Hampson and soprano Renée Fleming; and WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello’s new production of Mozart’s Idomeneo, an adaptation drawing inspiration from ancient Greek theater. Spano also conducts We the People, a one-night concert event at DAR Constitution Hall, featuring Hampson, Fleming, and WNO Marian Anderson Vocal Award Winner Amber Monroe, performing operatic masterworks that trace the universal struggle for liberation and dignity.

At the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra in 2026-2027, Spano leads six orchestral programs, including the orchestra’s opening and closing concerts for the season; a world premiere cello concerto by Christopher Theofanidis performed by FWSO principal cellist Allan Steele; collaborations with the Dallas-based Bruce Wood Dance Company; Mahler’s Sixth Symphony; and a concert performance of Steven Stucky’s opera The Classical Style featuring vocalists from WNO’s Cafritz Young Artist Program. He also conducts a program of American concertos with soloists Amaryn Olmeda, Joshua Roman, and Angel Stanislav Wang, presented by The Cliburn. As a pianist, Spano joins FWSO musicians for two chamber concerts this season.

At the Aspen Festival and School this summer (2026), Spano conducts the all-American opening concert, which includes Copland’s Third Symphony and soprano Renée Fleming and baritone Thomas Hampson singing selections from John Adams’ Nixon in China. He also welcomes the first performance of a multi-year commissioning initiative he championed (First Symphonies Project), with a world premiere by Matthew Aucoin, in addition to other Festival commissions by Sarah Kirkland Snider, David Lang and Jessie Montgomery.

Spano serves as Music Director Laureate of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and returns there in April 2027 for two weeks of concerts which include the world premiere of Adam Schoenberg’s Concerto for Body, Thomas Adès’ Inferno Suite, Prokofiev’s Suite from Romeo and Juliet, Mendelssohn’s Concerto for Piano, Violin, and Strings with ASO Concertmaster David Coucheron and his sister Julie Coucheron, and more. Other appearances in the 2026-2027 season include the Rhode Island Philharmonic (where he serves as Principal Guest Conductor), KBS Symphony in Seoul, and the Kansas City Symphony.

ROBERT SPANO
2026-2027 Season Highlights

Aug 2, 2026 / ASPEN FESTIVAL AND MUSIC SCHOOL
Jean Thibaudet, piano
SCHOENBERG Variations for Orchestra, op. 31
STRAVINSKY Symphony in Three Movements
GERSHWIN Piano Concerto in F major

Aug 23, 2026 / ASPEN FESTIVAL AND MUSIC SCHOOL
VERDI Overture to La forza del destino
BERNSTEIN Chichester Psalms
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9 in D minor, op. 125 "Choral"

Sep 5, 2026 / GARTH NEWEL MUSIC CENTER
Recital with Kelley O’Connor, mezzo-soprano

Sep 11-13, 2026 / FORT WORTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA / OPENING WEEKEND
Aristo Sham, Piano
BEETHOVEN Egmont Overture
MOZART Piano Concerto No. 23
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5

Sep 20, 2026 / FORT WORTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA / CHAMBER MUSIC CONCERT
Robert Spano, Piano, Composer
Peter Takács, Piano
SCHUBERT Fantasie in F minor
HAYDN Variations in F minor
HAYDN Fantasia in C major
ROBERT SPANO Benedictus
BEETHOVEN Bagatelles
BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor

Sep 22, 2026 / FORT WORTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA / PRESENTED BY THE CLIBURN
All-American Concerto Evening
Amaryn Olmeda, Violin
Joshua Roman, Cello
Angel Stanislav Wang, Piano
COPLAND An Outdoor Overture
BARBER Violin Concerto, op. 14
MASON BATES Cello Concerto
GERSHWIN Rhapsody in Blue

Sep 25-27, 2026 / FORT WORTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Dejan Lazić, Piano
BRAHMS Variations on a Theme by Haydn
BRAHMS Double Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Orchestra (Piano Transcription)
HAYDN Symphony No. 104, “London”

Oct 9-11, 2026 / FORT WORTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Cafritz Young Artists of Washington National Opera
Peter Kazaras, Director
MOZART Symphony No. 35, “Haffner”
STUCKY The Classical Style: An Opera (of Sorts)

Nov 14, 19 & 21, 2026 / WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA / NIXON IN CHINA
Under the baton of Music Director Robert Spano and starring Thomas Hampson and Renée Fleming, this reimagined production blends rare archival footage, bold visual storytelling, and Adams’s electrifying score into an unforgettable theatrical event.

Nov 22, 2026 / WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA / WE THE PEOPLE
A major concert event featuring Renée Fleming, Thomas Hampson, and Marian Anderson Vocal Award winner Amber R. Monroe, We the People explores humanity’s enduring longing for liberty through some of opera’s most stirring music—from Nabucco to Il Trovatore and beyond.

Nov 28, 2026 / KBS SYMPHONY (SEOUL)
Steven Isserlis, Cello
BARBER Adagio for Strings
R. SCHUMANN Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Scheherazade, Op. 35

Jan 24, 2027 / FORT WORTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA / CHAMBER MUSIC CONCERT
Robert Spano, Piano
BEETHOVEN Horn Sonata
LIGETI Six Bagatelles for Wind Quintet
BRITTEN Lachrymae
SCHUMANN Piano Quartet

Jan 29-31, 2027 / FORT WORTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Kelley O’Connor, Mezzo-Soprano
Bruce Wood Dance Dallas
Joy Bollinger, Choreographer
MAHLER Songs of a Wayfarer
MAHLER Symphony No. 6

Mar 20, 25 & 27, 2027 / WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA / IDOMENEO: A TROJAN TALE
Mozart’s mythic drama is reimagined by Francesca Zambello and Kelley Rourke in a fully immersive adaptation inspired by ancient Greek theater, featuring tenor Gregory Kunde and current and former Cafritz Young Artists.

Apr 9 & 10, 2027 / RHODE ISLAND PHILHARMONIC
Lauren Carroll, Soprano
Veronica Siebert, Mezzo-Soprano
Reed Gnepper, Tenor
Thandolwethu Mamba, Baritone
Principal Guest Conductor Robert Spano conducts music  from Puccini's La Bohème, famous duets from The Pearl Fishers and Lakmé, and Respighi's Pines of Rome.

Apr 15 & 17, 2027 / ATLANTA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Dejan Lazić, Piano
THOMAS ADÈS Inferno Suite
BRAHMS/DEJAN LAZIĆ Piano Concerto No. 4
PROKOFIEV Suite from Romeo and Juliet

Apr 22 & 24, 2027 / ATLANTA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
David Coucheron, Concertmaster
Julie Coucheron, Piano
MENDELSSOHN Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream
MENDELSSOHN Double Concerto
ADAM SCHOENBERG Concerto for Body - World Premiere

Apr 30-May 2, 2027 / FORT WORTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Inon Barnatan, Piano
Jake Fridkis, Flute
GLUCK Minuet & Dance of the Blessed Spirits from Orpheus and Eurydice
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4
RACHMANINOFF Symphony No. 2

May 7-9, 2027 / KANSAS CITY SYMPHONY
Angela Meade, Soprano
Ryan McKinny, Bass-Baritone
Kansas City Symphony Chorus
BRITTEN "Four Sea Interludes" and Passacaglia from Peter Grimes
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS A Sea Symphony

May 14-16, 2027 / FORT WORTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: CLOSING WEEKEND
Allan Steele, Cello
RAVEL Mother Goose Suite
CHRISTOPHER THEOFANIDIS Cello Concerto - World Premiere
RAVEL Valses nobles et sentimentales
RAVEL Daphnis and Chloe Suite No. 2