14 Jul 2026-27 Season Press Release

LES DÉLICES ANNOUNCES 2026-27 CONCERT SEASON: LIGHT ON THE HORIZON 

Les Délices, Cleveland’s acclaimed early music chamber ensemble, is proud to announce the details of its 2026-2027 season titled Light on the Horizon, an appellation evoking a powerful sense of optimism, survival, and renewal. The ensemble’s 18th season encompasses a landmark five subscription concerts (including the thrilling conclusion of the ensemble’s multi-year commissioning endeavor known as The Mythology Project), multiple North American touring projects, educational programming that includes two workshops for young area string players, imaginative free community performances, and four virtual concerts to be released on Les Délices’ VHX viewing platform.

Says Les Délices Executive Director Laura Potter, “Les Délices has meaningful momentum coming off the success of our Fifteenth Anniversary Campaign, which allowed us to invest $225,000 over three years in creative programming and organizational capacity. That investment continues to bear fruit as we prepare to present five fascinating subscription concert programs, including the third and final installment of the Mythology Project, while deepening our community ties through educational partnerships, expanded preview events and free concerts. It’s a thrilling time to be involved with Les Délices!”

Adds Artistic Director Debra Nagy, “We’re living through challenging times, but I earnestly believe that music and art offer vital opportunities to be inspired, find meaning, seek solace, and celebrate in community. Our upcoming season, Light on the Horizon, is an invitation to journey with us wherever our gaze may fall — forward (anticipating an exciting world premiere commission by composer Damien Geter in February’s Kiss and Tell), inward (November’s deeply introspective program of lute songs Time Stands Still),  or to the heavens (October’s Bach’s Musical Offering). It’s a season designed to nourish the spirit and remind us of the enduring power of human expression.”

Exhilarating Live Performances in Cleveland

The season encompasses five subscription programs performed live on the East and West sides of Cleveland and in Summit County:

• Bach’s Musical Offering (Oct. 1-4, 2026) J.S. Bach’s Musical Offering is a tour de force collection in which a single melody is continuously transformed in ways that challenge both the imagination and the intellect. In a rare performance of this Baroque masterpiece, Les Délices elucidates Bach’s rich counterpoint through instrumental colors including violins, viola, flute, oboe da caccia, bassoon, cello, and harpsichord.
• Time Stands Still (Nov. 21, 22, 2026) International guest lutenist Orí Harmelin joins beloved soprano Elena Mullins Bailey, Debra Nagy (recorders), and Rebecca Landell (viola da gamba) for an intimate new program of songs and instrumental music from seventeenth-century England that urges us to seek solace, hold hope, and create community.
• Concertos for Christmas (Dec.11-13, 2026) Brilliant and colorful concertos set the tone this holiday season! An expanded roster of Les Délices instrumentalists perform a delightful and inventive instrumental program highlighting festive music from Baroque France, Italy, and Germany.
• Kiss and Tell (Feb. 6-7, 2027) Superstar countertenor Reginald Mobley joins Les Délices for the World Premiere of a prismatic new work  by composer Damien Geter  inspired by Greek, Norse, West African, and Japanese mythological traditions co-commissioned by Les Délices and Boston’s Handel & Hayden Society. Queer-coded songs and arias from the 17th and 18th centuries by Handel, Scarlatti, and others round out the program.
• The Mermaid (Apr. 23-25, 2027) To close the season, Les Délices revives its popular program featuring folk music powerhouse Seán Dagher. The Mermaid lures listeners on a fantastic journey filled with tales of pirates, fearsome storms, raucous drinking songs, toe-tapping fiddle tunes, rousing sea shanties, and more.

Free community events and family programs!

Free concerts and educational programming are integral to Les Délices’ mission. This season, we are organizing a wide range of accessible community events, including:

• FREE Season Kick-Off Concert! The Poet and the Prodigy on September 19th: Les Délices’ signature The Poet & the Prodigy program is reimagined to include music by CPE Bach and Georg Philipp Telemann alongside Baroque-era titans François Couperin and J.S. Bach. This free/pay-what-you-can concert will be hosted at The Treelawn Music Hall, an architectural and acoustical treasure in the heart of the Waterloo Arts & Entertainment District.
• Baroque Strings Workshops (Nov. 15th and Feb. 21): Les Délices returns to The Music Settlement for two more all-day workshops for young area string players. At these popular workshops, participants can try out Baroque bows, explore Baroque string techniques, experiment with ornamentation, and discover exciting new repertoire!
• FREE Kiss and Tell preview event (Feb. 4, 2027): Join composer Damien Geter and star countertenor Reginald Mobley for an exclusive preview performance and Q&A in anticipation of the World Premiere of Kiss and Tell. Hosted at Visible Voice Books, Cleveland.
• FREE Community Concert at House 330 Cabaret (Feb. 20, 2027): Les Délices returns to Akron’s premiere community hub for Faerie Round, a special free concert featuring music from Elizabethan England with an ensemble of violas de gamba (Renaissance string instruments) and Madrigal Singers from Akron’s Firestone Community Learning Center (Megan Meyer, director).
• FREE Shanty Sings (April 21, 22, 2027): In anticipation of the return of The Mermaid, Les Délices will host family-friendly sing-alongs with Seán Dagher. Audiences will learn and sing favorite traditional tunes “Randy Dandy O,” “Stormalong,” “Leave her, Johnny,” and more.

In addition to these public events, Les Délices is proud to work within NEO Ohio schools, supporting and enriching the musical development of students. More community events and accessible online releases, including the details of SalonEra’s seventh season of video and podcast episodes, will be announced soon.

Virtual Concert Options Return by Popular Demand

Les Délices is proud to offer high-quality virtual concert options for early music fans everywhere. LD will release filmed versions of Bach’s Musical Offering (November) and Kiss and Tell (March). Online patrons will also enjoy an exclusive re-release of two highly-acclaimed concerts from the LD digital vault: The Highland Lassie (2021) and The Mermaid (2025).

Access to Virtual Concerts can be purchased as a Subscription ($75 for four concert videos) or as a $50 add-on for in-person subscribers, or à la carte for $20 per concert. Virtual and In-Person Subscriptions go on sale August 15th. 

Light on the Horizon: Join us on the Journey

Les Délices’ 2026-2027 Season Light on the Horizon promises a transformational experience of musical artistry. Visit https://lesdelices.org/events/ for detailed information on each program, performance dates and times, and ticketing options. Subscriptions (including Virtual Subscriptions) and single tickets go on sale August 15, 2026. 

Les Délices will also undertake multiple touring projects during the 2026-2027 season, including appearances at Kenyon College and Michigan State University for Bach’s Musical Offering this fall and substantial North American tours of Bohemian Rhapsody and Moonlit Mozart in early 2027. To view Les Délices’ full touring schedule, please visit https://lesdelices.org/events/category/touring-concerts/