Tickets

Friday, February 20, 2026
5:30–7 PM

Please join us for an artist talk with Jonathan Paul Parker. He will share a special presentation on his solo exhibition, All Shall Be Well, and discuss how the work connects to his long-standing practice and creative process.

Monday, February 23, 2026
7:30 PM

This special “lineage” program combines world-class performers and pedagogues in their debut performance as a trio, featuring romantic lyricism alongside playful folk melodies, culminating in Dvorak’s always riveting “Dumky” piano trio.

Monday, March 2, 2026
7:30 PM

*AT THE ATHENAEUM MUSIC & ARTS LIBRARY*

Don’t miss this late-breaking addition to the Athenaeum Jazz series schedule, a unique opportunity to celebrate landmark jazz guitarist Bill Frisell’s 75th birthday this March! He comes to the Athenaeum’s Joan and Irwin Jacobs Music Room with the new configuration of the Bill Frisell Trio, featuring Luke Bergman on bass and Tim Angulo on drums. Frisell’s career as a guitarist and composer has spanned more than 40 years and many celebrated recordings. Recognized as one of America’s most vital and productive performing artists, Frisell has contributed to the work of a staggering array of collaborators including Paul Motian, John Zorn, Elvis Costello, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Vinicius Cantuária, Marianne Faithful, John Scofield, Bono, and Brian Eno, to name only a few. This work has established Frisell as one of the most sought-after guitar voices in contemporary music.

Tuesday, March 3, 2026
7:30 PM

Images of the Buddha are among the most widely distributed religious representations. While the Buddha himself was South Asian, the origins of the image of the Buddha remain something of a paradox. The earliest descriptions of him were extraordinary, but Indian Buddhists curiously decided not to represent the Buddha as a human figure for some centuries, only denoting him by symbols. Around the beginning of the Common Era, two traditions of the Buddha image suddenly emerged, essentially fully developed from the schools of Mathurā in North India and of Gandhāra, bordering Central Asia. What had happened to make this dramatic change palatable to the Buddhist communities in India and Central Asia? We will look at images of the Buddha configured by Alexander the Great’s incursions, by image-driven forms of prevailing religion in India, temples to Central Asian kings, and North Indian spirit cults. Working through these influences—and more—the Buddhists managed to convey the Buddha’s sense of spirituality and interiority, spreading a legacy across Asia.

Friday, March 7, 2026
11 AM–2 PM

This three-hour workshop with Jonathan Parker centers on drawing and painting as a process of discovery rather than technical mastery. Participants are guided through a progression of exercises that move from collaborative play toward individual exploration, encouraging openness, intuition, and responsiveness to materials. 

Monday, March 16, 2026
7:30 PM

We eagerly welcome pianist Conor Hanick to the Athenaeum for the first time for an adventurous solo recital featuring Charles Ives’s monumental first sonata and two Schubert Impromptus paired with a new revision of Samuel Carl Adams’s Three Impromptus (a West Coast premiere) inspired by Schubert. 

Wednesday, March 18, 2026
7:30 PM

*AT THE ATHENAEUM MUSIC & ARTS LIBRARY*

Next up in the series, on Wednesday, March 18, is the return of another Athenaeum favorite, Norway’s Tord Gustavsen Trio, featuring Gustavsen on piano, Steinar Raknes on bass, and Jarle Vespestad on drums. Since the release of his first recording in 2003, on the landmark ECM Records label, Gustavsen created a new sound that commanded worldwide attention, an extraordinary achievement given the rich history of piano jazz. With only a few carefully chosen notes, he draws listeners into a musical world where melody is cherished as much as the freedom to explore textures and soundscapes. His bands unite beauty and emotional intensity in a unique, immediately identifiable Nordic jazz sound that has established Gustavsen as Scandinavia's leading jazz artist.

Monday, March 23, 2026
7:30 PM

*AT THE ATHENAEUM MUSIC & ARTS LIBRARY*

The winter series concludes Monday, March 23, with a local debut by the Immanuel Wilkins Quartet, featuring Wilkins on alto sax, Micah Thomas on piano, Ryoma Takenaga on bass, and Savannah Harris on drums. Wilkins burst onto the music scene in 2020 with the release of his Blue Note recording debut, Omega. October 2024 saw the release of Wilkins’ third album on Blue Note, Blues Blood. Accolades, awards, and critical acclaim have followed with each of Wilkins’ album releases. In 2020, Omega was named the best new jazz release by The New York Times and the best debut jazz album by National Public Radio (NPR). Two years later, Wilkins’ sophomore album on Blue Note, The 7th Hand, topped many year-end lists, including NPR, The New York Times, The Financial Times, and JazzTimes.

Thursday, March 26, 2026
7:30 PM

San Diego New Music and the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library present an evening of contemporary music featuring Principal Flute of the San Diego Symphony, Rose Lombardo. The program includes works by Claude Debussy, Eva-Maria Houben, Edgard Varèse, Matthias Pintscher, Jürg Frey, and Anastassis Philippakopoulos, with more performers to be announced.

Friday, March 27, 2026
1 PM

Pianist and educator Daniel Beliavsky will present a program of classical music inspired by the vocal arts, explaining how the long-line of song and the piano's percussive nature are reconciled in some of the most beautiful music of the past two centuries. Works in this program include music by Franz Schubert, Frederic Chopin, and David Del Tredici.

Fridays, April 3, 10, 17 & 24, 2026
7:30 PM

The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library is pleased to present the 2026 spring season of the Acoustic Evenings concert series, beginning April 3. The Acoustic Evenings series at the Athenaeum showcases some of the finest acoustic musicians in San Diego. Multiple acts fill each program, and attentive audiences delight in the intimacy of the unplugged storytelling format. San Diego Music Hall of Fame founder Jefferson Jay organizes and hosts the series. The project advances the Athenaeum’s commitment to support diverse San Diego talent. Acoustic Evenings is an unforgettable and personal experience for San Diego music lovers. The series, continuing through April 24, is set in the Athenaeum’s Joan & Irwin Jacobs Music Room.

Fridays, April 3, 2026
7:30 PM

This series begins on Friday, April 3, with Wax, Lisa Sanders and Brown Sugar, and Jimmy and Enrique. Wax is a rapper, singer, songwriter, and comedian with a gold record and millions of YouTube views. Lisa Sanders and Brown Sugar are a San Diego–based duo known for their soulful country–bluesy Americana sound. Guitarist Jimmy Patton and percussionist Enrique Platas bring world rhythms, including flamenco, salsa, and Brazilian, into their virtuosic performances.

Thursday, April 9, 2026
7:30 PM

Due to its 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, Paris is often credited as the birthplace of Art Deco. Known as the City of Lights, its sophisticated urban lifestyle and historical association with cutting edge art and architecture made Paris an international magnet. In the aftermath of World War I, creative designers and intellectuals flocked to Paris. Receptive to new and imported materials and exotic designs, they incorporated motifs from Africa, Asia, Mesoamerica—and especially Egypt—in meticulously crafted luxury items. This first lecture in the series explores Art Deco’s popularity during the waning days of colonialism and rise of modernism.

Thursdays, April 9, 16, 23 & 30, 2026
7:30 PM

Art Deco, a structured, geometric, and elegant aesthetic, is strongly identified with urbanism, electricity, and modernity. An extension of early 20th century Art Nouveau, it gained full expression in the 1920s before morphing into 1930s Streamlined Moderne.  Deco’s refined stylized forms appealed to architects, decorators, and manufacturers, who used new exotic and synthetic materials to produce luxury products, often with limited output. Nonetheless, Art Deco embodies a vibrant era marked by a thirst for novelty, speed, exoticism, and freedom. It touched every field of creation, from architecture and transportation, to furniture, fashion, jewelry, and graphic arts. Join Architectural Historian Diane Kane for a 100th Anniversary overview of the style, highlighting Art Deco’s Jazz Age expression in America. Discover how, from its origins in Paris, uniquely local identities in New York, Los Angeles, and Miami under the influence of high finance, radio, film, flappers—and cocktails!

Fridays, April 10, 2026
7:30 PM

The series continues Friday, April 10, with Evans & Raney, Joel Rafael, and Gayle Skidmore. Evans & Raney make their Acoustic Evenings debut with powerful guitar and harmonica performances; Joel Rafael draws on more than 50 years of folk songwriting experience; and Gayle Skidmore brings multi-instrumental mastery and award-winning songwriting to the stage.

Tuesday, April 14, 2026
7:30 PM

The Diderot String Quartet will make their Athenaeum debut with a journey to 18th century Vienna, featuring masterpieces by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. One of the premiere ensembles performing on gut strings and historical instruments, this dynamic group (Adriane Post, violin; Johanna Novom, violin; Kyle Miller, viola; Paul Dwyer, cello) breathes new life into old works.

Thursday, April 16, 2026
7:30 PM

A burgeoning hub of international trade, New York invented the defining icon of Art Deco architecture—the ziggurat-formed skyscraper. This result of a 1916 zoning requirement enabled light to penetrate at street level in the forest of the ever taller buildings demanded by high finance. Housing offices, apartments, restaurants, boutiques, and nightclubs, resplendent with Art Deco art, furniture, and fashion, and highlighted in glowing neon, these buildings epitomized the bustling energy of Gatsby Era America. This race to the top produced an outstanding collection of distinctive skyscrapers, culminating in the Empire State Building of 1935.

Fridays, April 17, 2026
7:30 PM

The series continues April 17 with The Croome Brothers, Jefferson Jay with Monette Marino, and Les Afriks. An acoustic trio, The Croome Brothers blend roots sounds with rich harmonies. Jefferson Jay, founder of Acoustic Evenings, performs with world-class percussionist Monette Marino. Les Afriks deliver African and reggae-influenced music celebrating cultural heritage and community.

Thursday, April 23, 2026
7:30 PM

When everyone is an immigrant and anything is possible, fantasy and reality collide, overlap, and blur. Home to the incipient film, oil, and aircraft industries, Los Angeles, with its sunny weather and varied topography, attracted an international crowd of risk-taking entrepreneurs and bohemians. Flat plains were quickly gobbled up by film studios, outdoor back lots, and film support industries, all tied together by a sprawling road network traversed by automobiles. Art Deco movie palaces and glamorous lifestyles associated with—and glorified by—the film industry spread Art Deco fashion, interiors, and design across the country.

Friday, April 24, 7:30 PM: Luciana Souza & Marcel Camargo—New Moon (at Scripps Research)

Wednesday, May 27, 7:30 PM: Peter Erskine Trio with Alan Pasqua and Scott Colley (at the Athenaeum)

The Athenaeum’s spring jazz series features return visits by two of our audience’s longtime favorite artists, Brazilian vocalist Luciana Souza and drummer Peter Erskine. Each will present a new band with music from their latest album. Don’t miss these two special spring evenings of jazz!

Fridays, April 24, 2026
7:30 PM

The series concludes on Friday, April 24, with Fred Benedetti, Sue Palmer and Liz Ajuzie, and Tim Flannery. Fred Benedetti is a classical and jazz guitarist who has performed internationally but is also a favorite local musician. Sue Palmer and Liz Ajuzie deliver boogie-woogie piano and powerhouse vocals. Tim Flannery blends storytelling, bluegrass, country, and rock into heartfelt performances.

Friday, April 24, 2026
7:30 PM

*AT SCRIPPS RESEARCH AUDITORIUM*

The series begins on Friday, April 24, at the Scripps Research Auditorium with the return of Grammy-winning vocalist Luciana Souza, of whom Billboard magazine wrote, “She continues her captivating journey as a uniquely talented vocalist who organically crosses genre borders. Her music soulfully reflects, wistfully regrets, romantically woos, joyfully celebrates.”

Thursday, April 30, 2026
7:30 PM

With over 800 buildings in the Streamline Moderne style, Miami Beach hosts the highest concentration of Art Deco buildings in the world. Sadly, the style’s origins and uniformity came about as a response to the Great Miami Hurricane of 1926 that left 25,000 people homeless. Comprising seasonal hotels, commercial strips, and small apartments, the quickly rebuilt area epitomized the optimistic futurism extolled at the 1933 Chicago and 1939 New York World Fairs. Originally developed for middle-class seasonal tourists, this internationally famous tropical playground materialized into a cohesive urban resort that was neither centrally planned nor haphazardly built. Its prevailing non-traditional architecture charted a path toward mid-century modern, locally known as MiMo (or Miami Modern).

Monday, May 4, 2026
7:30 PM

Specializing in the rich and varied “sound-world” of the late 17th century, the Artifex Consort (Malachai Komanoff Bandy, Rebecca Landell, and Eva Lymenstull, bass viols; John Lenti, theorbo; Ian Pritchard, keyboards) closes our season with works showcasing the viola da gamba as an ensemble instrument outside of the English consort tradition, during the height of its later flourishing in parts of England and Germany. The program features virtuosic music for two bass viols by Christopher Simpson and Johannes Schenck, alongside lush and ingenious—though little-known—works for three bass viols by Benjamin Hely and Johann Michael Nicolai.

Wednesday, May 27, 2026
7:30 PM

*AT THE ATHENAEUM MUSIC & ARTS LIBRARY*

Wednesday, May 27, brings the return of drummer Peter Erskine, with his new stellar trio featuring longtime artistic partner Alan Pasqua on piano and the celebrated bassist Scott Colley. One of the leading drummers in jazz, Erskine appears on 700 albums and film scores and has won two Grammy Awards and an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee School of Music. Fifty albums have been released under his own name or as co-leader. He has played with Stan Kenton’s and Maynard Ferguson’s big bands, Weather Report, Steps Ahead, Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan, Diana Krall, Kenny Wheeler, Mary Chapin Carpenter, The Brecker Brothers, The Yellowjackets, Pat Metheny and Gary Burton, and John Scofield, among others. He has appeared as a soloist with the London, Los Angeles, Chicago, Oslo, and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestras, the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.