Stanford Live released its 2024-2025 calendar including more than 60 performances across campus. The acts include five new commissioned productions, a U.S. premiere and a world premiere.

Presale is open for Stanford Live members through Monday, June 24. General public tickets go on sale June 25, with discounted tickets available for Stanford students. 

The season is organized under three themes — Mahler and the Second Viennese School, The Evolution of Movement and Sonic Worlds: The Harp.  

Mahler and the Second Viennese School

Several acts will present their take on the work of composer Gustav Mahler, beginning with vocalist Katherine Goforth’s “Cabaret Songs” on Nov. 8. 

London Symphony Orchestra will perform Mahler’s “Symphony No. 1 in D Major” with conductor Antonio Pappano and solo violinist Janine Jansen on Feb. 23. 

Dover Quartet, accompanied by pianist Marc-André Hamelin, will present a program including Webern’s “Langsamer Satz” on March 9, and Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra will perform Mahler’s “Lieder eines fahrenden gesellen” on April 25.

The Evolution of Movement

The Evolution of Movement theme will explore modern dance with three programs spanning the past, present and future. 

Dancer and choreographer Yang Liping’s reimagining of Igor Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” will make its U.S. premiere at Memorial Auditorium on Dec. 6 and Dec. 7. The production combines Chinese and Tibetan culture to tell a story of salvation through a sacrificial peacock.

Next, violinist Daniel Hope’s “DANCE!” with the New Century Chamber Orchestra traverses music across centuries on May 4. 

On May 21, AXIS Dance Company and Catie Cuan perform “Robotics Showcase,” an exploration of technology, human creativity and disability. The dance group, which includes disabled and nondisabled performers, will imagine the future of dance and artificial intelligence.

Sonic Worlds: The Harp

A journey through harp music begins with Xavier de Meistre, performing classical Western harp, on Nov. 10, and Edmar Castañeda on Feb. 26, presenting a mix of traditional South American folk-style joropo with jazz and other Latin styles.

Harpist Lavinia Meijer will make her Stanford Live debut on March 15 in a program that includes pieces written for her by Philip Glass.  

On April 3, Sona Jobarteh and Brandee Younger will perform the harp and the kora, a West African stringed instrument, in “Strings of Hope: A Song for Tomorrow.”

More season highlights 

The Stanford Live season begins Sept. 29 with a music and dance performance from Mariachi Arcoiris de Los Angeles, Ballet Folklórico Nueva Antequera and Filarmónica Maqueos Music. 

On Oct. 27, “Carnival of the Animals” starring former New York City Ballet principal dancer Wendy Whelan presents a new take on Camille Saint-Saëns’s musical suite. The production, choreographed by Francesca Harper, will be accompanied by spoken word from Marc Bamuthi Joseph.

Pianists Timo Andres and Conor Hanick will perform Sufjan Stevens’s “Reflections” on Jan. 31. Stevens, who composed the piece for the Houston Ballet, will not be present at the performance.

From Feb. 5 to Feb. 8, Geoff Sobelle ’98 hosts “FOOD,” a dinner party in which the audience is invited to gather around a banquet table for a surreal sensory experience.

Soprano Renée Fleming performs Feb. 7 and violinist Joshua Bell plays on April 5.