Poetry and literature are the inspiration behind the Chamber Orchestra of the Springs’ 43rd season.

The 2026-27 season also honors Maestro Thomas Wilson’s 30th anniversary as music director. To celebrate, Wilson will feature musicians from the orchestra as soloists throughout the year, as well as showcase American composers as a tribute to the 250th anniversary of the U.S.

“I have witnessed firsthand the tremendous progress the Chamber Orchestra has achieved over three decades, and I am excited to feature our own winds and strings as soloists,” Wilson said.

Highlights of the upcoming season, which kicks off Sept. 20 with the orchestra’s signature “Organ Spectacular XI,” featuring the 5,100 pipes of the First United Methodist Church organ, include a collaboration with the Colorado Springs Chorale and a performance by pianist Victor Shlyakhtenko, the winner of the orchestra’s 2025 Emerging Artist Competition.

In addition to the subscription series, the professional orchestra also does an annual opera through its Opera 2030 Initiative partnership with Art Song Colorado and Opera Theatre of the Rockies.

“We are thrilled to celebrate Thomas’ 30-year anniversary in what we’re calling a ‘season of stories,'” said the orchestra’s executive director Jacob Pope. “Every concert in this season is closely connected to, or inspired by, poetry and literature. And the musical selections are enormously varied. You’ll find historical masters alongside the living greats. Pieces that are intimate next to pieces that are bold.”

Season tickets are $130-$185 and are on sale now. Call 719-633-3649 or go online to chamberorchestraofthesprings.org/subscribe. Single tickets are $28-$48, and will go on sale this summer.

Chamber Orchestra of the Springs’ 2026-27 season
– Sept. 20: “Organ Spectacular XI”: Featuring the First United Methodist Church organ.
– Oct. 10-11: “Untold Stories”: Ten Chamber Orchestra soloists will do two concerto grosso pieces – small ensembles performing in a joint soloist capacity with the full orchestra.
– Nov. 7-8: “Speak to Me in Silence”: The poetry of Thich Nhat Hanh inspired composer Anna Clyne to write “Within Her Arms,” an elegy dedicated to her late mother, plus guest soloist guitarist Bokyung Byun.
– Jan. 30-31: “Heart of Life”: The winner of the Chamber Orchestra’s
Emerging Soloist Competition will perform Franz Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1, plus a Beethoven overture and symphony by Emilie Mayer, frequently called the “female Beethoven.”
– March 20-22: “Listen and Stay”: Colorado Springs Chorale will guest perform on John Rutter’s “Magnificat.” Stephanie Brink will perform “Alto Rhapsody” by Johannes Brahms.
– May 1-2: “Strong at the Broken Places”: Haydn’s Symphony No. 100 “Military”; Gerald Finzi’s “Farewell to Arms”; and “These Worlds in Us” by Missy Mazzoli.