The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra will take audiences to Paris, Finland, and Alice’s Wonderland in its 2025-26 season - just not to the lawn of the Fort Worth Botanic Garden.
For the second year, the FWSO will press pause on its beloved summer-picnic concert series as it awaits the completion of an outdoor stage at the Botanic Garden. As it did in 2024, the FWSO will host the alternative Mercedes T. Bass Sounds of the Summer Series, featuring several "Night of Strings" concerts at the Botanic Garden Lecture Hall and a variety of free community concerts at other local venues, including an outdoor concert on the lawn at The Carter, they say.
Details of the summer series will be announced in March.
"Our plan is to continue to present this program until the Fort Worth Botanic Garden completes its purpose-built stage – likely in summer 2027 or 2028," says FWSO president and CEO Keith Cerny. "Once the stage is complete, we look forward to resuming the Mercedes T. Bass Concerts in the Garden series at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden."
The design and construction of a new stage is part of the Botanic Garden's multi-year Master Plan. A representative for the FWBG confirms that "FWBG is currently focused on developing the Baker Martin Family Garden, a key element of the Master Plan, set to open in fall 2026. Following this, a capital campaign will be launched for the stage and herbaceous color garden, with details on the launch date to be announced in the future."
FWSO's additional summer 2025 engagement will be with the Seventeenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, performing concertos with the final-round competitors, June 3-7 at Bass Hall.
FWSO leadership news
The orchestra revealed the summer series news as part of its 2025-26 season announcement on January 22. They also shared news about FWSO leadership:
- Music Director Robert Spano’s contract has been extended through the end of the 2030-2031 season.
- President and CEO Keith Cerny’s contract has been renewed until the end of the 2030-2031 season.
- Maestra Dame Jane Glover has been appointed for a three-year term as Principal Guest Conductor.
“Having served as Chairman of the Board of the FWSO for many years, I can say with confidence that this is the strongest and most experienced leadership team in the history of the symphony,” says FWSO Board Chairman Mercedes T. Bass in a release.
Dame Jane Glover has been appointed for a three-year term as Principal Guest Conductor of FWSO.Photo courtesy of FWSO
Full 2025-26 schedule
The next season includes creative collaborations with theater, dance, and visual arts organizations, premieres, and new and returning fan-favorite artists.
Highlights include Spano conducting “Shakespeare at the Symphony” in collaboration with Dallas Theater Center; the world premiere of Joby Talbot’s Suite from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland featuring dancers from Bruce Wood Dance Dallas; an all-new Marvel Studios’ Infinity Saga Concert Experience; a Spanish program featuring masterpieces from the Kimbell Art Museum as the first part of a three-year collaboration, and more.
Here’s a closer look at the season:
Symphonic Series
All Symphonic Series concerts are presented at Bass Performance Hall.
Opening Weekend: Brahms Fourth and Grieg’s Piano Concerto, September 5-7, 2025
Robert Spano, conductor
Stephen Hough, piano
SIBELIUS: Finlandia
GRIEG: Piano Concerto
BRAHMS: Symphony No. 4
Symphonic Stories: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, September 19-21, 2025
Robert Spano, conductor
Joy Bollinger, choreographer, Bruce Wood Dance Dallas
MOZART: Symphony No. 38, "Prague"
TALBOT: Selections from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Bruce Wood Dance Dallas will join FWSO for a world premiere of Joby Talbot’s Suite from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.Photo courtesy of Bruce Wood Dance Dallas
Mozart and Mahler’s Fourth, November 21-23, 2025
Jane Glover, conductor
Imogen Cooper, piano
Lauren Snouffer, soprano
MOZART: Exsultate, jubilate
MOZART: Piano Concerto No. 27
MAHLER: Symphony No. 4
The Sounds of Paris, January 9-11, 2026
Robert Spano, conductor
Pedja Mužijević, piano
RAVEL: Pavane for a Dead Princess
CHOPIN: Piano Concerto No. 2
BERLIOZ: Love Scene from Romeo and Juliet
DEBUSSY: La mer
FWSO Stars: Stas Chernyshev and Joshua Elmore Play Strauss, January 23-25, 2026
Markus Stenz, conductor
Stas Chernyshev, clarinet
Joshua Elmore, bassoon
MENDELSSOHN: Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage
STRAUSS: Duet-Concertino for Clarinet & Bassoon
SCHUMANN: Symphony No. 2
Shakespeare at the Symphony, February 27-March 1, 2026
Robert Spano, conductor
Dallas Theater Center - Kevin Moriarity, director
MENDELSSOHN: Selections from A Midsummer Night’s Dream
PROKOFIEV: Selections from Romeo and Juliet
FWSO will collaborate with Dallas Theater Center for a Shakespeare program.Photo courtesy of Dallas Theater Center
Jane Glover Conducts FWSO Stars, March 20-22, 2026
Jane Glover, conductor
Jennifer Corning Lucio, oboe
Joshua Elmore, bassoon
Michael Shih, violin
Allan Steele, cello
BRITTEN: Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes
HAYDN: Sinfonia Concertante
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 4
Spanish Masters: An Evening of Music and Art, April 24-26, 2026
Robert Spano, conductor
Kelley O’Connor, mezzo-soprano
In collaboration with the Kimbell Art Museum
RAVEL: Rapsodie espagnole
LIEBERSON: Neruda Songs
FALLA: The Three-Cornered Hat
Brahms & Dvořák, May 8-10, 2026
Peter Oundjian, conductor
Zlatomir Fung, cello
JOAN TOWER: Suite from Concerto for Orchestra
DVOŘÁK: Cello Concerto
BRAHMS: Symphony No. 2
An Evening in Finland, May 22-24, 2026
Robert Spano, conductor
Michael Shih, violin
Tim Daniels, English horn
SIBELIUS: The Swan of Tuonela
GANDOLFI: Violin Concerto
SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 2
Chamber Series
All Chamber concerts are presented in the Kimbell Art Museum’s Renzo Piano Pavilion at 3 pm; 3-Concert Series Package is $72.
Chamber Music: Brahms, Ravel, and Poulenc, September 28, 2025
POULENC: Flute Sonata
POULENC: Trio for Oboe, Bassoon, and Piano
RAVEL: Introduction and Allegro
BRAHMS: Clarinet Trio
Chamber Music: Beethoven, Schumann, and Ligeti, February 15, 2026
BEETHOVEN: Horn Sonata
LIGETI: Six Bagatelles for Wind Quintet
BRITTEN: Lachrymae
SCHUMANN: Piano Quartet
Chamber Music: Mozart, Beethoven, and Schumann, April 19, 2026
MOZART: Horn Quintet
SCHUMANN: Fantasiestücke
BEETHOVEN: Archduke Piano Trio
Pops Series
All Pops concerts are presented at Bass Performance Hall.
Windborne’s The Music of Queen with the FWSO, August 29 & 30, 2025
Brent Havens, conductor
MiG Ayesa, vocalist
REWIND: Music of the 80s, November 7 & 8, 2025
Michelle Di Russo, conductor
Home for the Holidays, November 28 & 29, 2025
Michelle Di Russo, conductor
Shayna Steele, vocalist
I.M. Terrell Academy Choir
Wild West Rodeo, January 16 & 17, 2026
Michelle Di Russo, conductor
In collaboration with The Sid Richardson Museum
Michelle Di Russo will conduct many of the Pops and Family concerts.Photo courtesy of FWSO
Disney’s The Lion King in Concert, January 30 & 31, 2026
Deanna Tham, conductor
Marvel Studios’ Infinity Saga Concert Experience, March 6 & 7, 2026
Ron Spigelman, conductor
Specials
Stars of the Symphony August 23, 2025, Bass Performance Hall
Michelle Di Russo, conductor
Jennifer Corning Lucio, oboe
Anna Kolotylina, viola
Keira Fullerton, cello
Jurassic Park in Concert, November 1, 2025, Will Rogers Auditorium
Ron Spigelman, conductor
Elf in Concert, December 13, 2025, Will Rogers Auditorium
Scott Terrell, conductor
Walt Disney Animation Studios - A Decade in Concert, April 18, 2026, Will Rogers Auditorium
Michelle Di Russo, conductor
Copland’s Appalachian Spring and Barber’s Knoxville May 16, 2026, Van Cliburn Concert Hall at TCU
Robert Spano, conductor
Susanna Phillips, soloist
BARBER: Knoxville: Summer of 1915
FLETCHER: Three American Songs
COPLAND: Suite from Appalachian Spring
COPLAND: Four Dances from Rodeo
Gala Concert: Gil Shaham Plays Brahms, February 21, 2026, Bass Performance Hall
Robert Spano, conductor
Gil Shaham, violin
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
BRAHMS: Violin Concerto
Violinist Gil Shaham will join FWSO for its 2026 Gala.
Photo courtesy of the Long Center
Family Series
The Family Series is supported by John Wells and Shay McCulloch-Wells. All Family concerts begin at 11 am. All ages are welcome. Family 3-Concert Series pricing: Adult - $64, Child - $36
Saint-Georges’ Sword and Bow, November 8, 2025, Bass Performance Hall
Michelle Di Russo, conductor
The Unicorn’s Birthday, January 17, 2026, Bass Performance Hall
Michelle Di Russo, conductor
Storybook: Sleeping Beauty, May 2, 2026, Van Cliburn Concert Hall at TCU
Michelle Di Russo, conductor
Subscription renewals begin January 22, and new subscriptions go on sale April 3. For more information and tickets, visit www.fwsymphony.org.