Season Archives

2023 Season

2023 Season

The Grant Park Music Festival brings a whole summer of fun for the whole family, with free concerts, master classes, and more.

2022 Season

2022 Season

Bring a picnic and some friends. We'll do the rest.

2021 Season

2021 Season

A Chicago tradition returns!

2020 Virtual Season

2020 Virtual Season

In response to the 2020 quarantine, the Grant Park Music Festival launched a dynamic virtual season with a 10-part radio series, live-streamed performances, master classes, lectures, children's activities and HD music videos.

2020 Season

2020 Season

With great sadness, the staff and board of the Grant Park Music Festival have cancelled the 2020 season. The risks surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic are simply too great for everyone involved. The performances below are what we had planned for our 2020 season.

2019 Season

2019 Season

The Season of Anniversaries—including Carlos Kalmar’s 20th year leading the Festival, Millennium Park’s 15th anniversary, and our own 85th season. 

2018 Season

2018 Season

The 2018 Season saw the return of Festival favorite Natasha Paremski performing Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 3, the World Premiere of Êriks Ešenvalds' piece The Pleaiades and a percussion marathon Switch performed by Collin Curie.

2017 Season

2017 Season

In its 83rd season, the Festival brought back Beethoven's masterpiece, the Ninth Symphony, and featured other well-known works such as Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto and Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1.

2016 Season

2016 Season

In its 82nd season, the Grant Park Music Festival featured an array of musical favorites which included Martinu's rarely performed oratorio The Epic of Gilgamesh and Rachmaninov's tour-de-force Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, performed by virtuoso pianist Stephen Hough.

2015 Season

2015 Season

The 2015 Season included the world premiere of Kenj Bunch's Symphony No. 3, the Midwest premiere of James MacMillan's Quickening, a tribute to legendary Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim, and an evening with jazz vocalist Kurt Elling.

2014 Season

2014 Season

In 2014, the Grant Park Music Festival celebrated its 80th Anniversary Season, as well as the 10th Anniversary of Millennium Park.

2013 Season

2013 Season

The 79th Season of the Grant Park Music Festival included some of the most beloved music of all time.

2012 Season

2012 Season

The 78th Season of the Grant Park Music Festival marked the 50th anniversary of the Grant Park Chorus.

2011 Season

2011 Season

Highlights of the 2011 Season included a visit by famed Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki, a rare stateside performance of Franz Schmidt's The Book With Seven Seals, and the return of violinist Jennifer Koh.

2010 Season

2010 Season

2010 marked Carlos Kalmar's 10th Anniversary as Principal Conductor and featured a performance of BBC's ground-breaking documentary Planet Earth, an appearance by Chinese-American conductor Xian Zhang, and world-premiere recordings of Pulitzer Prize winning works by William Schuman

2009 Season

2009 Season

The 2009 season featured the world premiere of American composer Michael Torke's Plans; a collaboration with Luna Negra Dance Theater; Gilbert and Sullivan operettas; and Mariachi Nuevo Tecalitlan.