News
The Cleveland Orchestra has announced the fourth edition of its annual Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Opera & Humanities Festival, running May 15–24 at Severance Music Center and partner locations throughout Cleveland.
At the heart of the festival is a new creative partnership with Terence Blanchard, a celebrated artist whose extraordinary contributions to jazz, groundbreaking work as an opera composer, and deep commitment to using music as a bridge beyond language all embody the festival’s theme of Courage. In this capacity, Blanchard has curated a variety of programs and conversations—including an opening-night experience featuring opera, jazz, and film music—that explore Courage through the breadth and boldness of his eclectic and genre-spanning musical scope.
Photo credit Kevin Libal, Courtesy of The Cleveland Orchestra
“The 2026 Mandel Opera & Humanities Festival is about courage,” said Terence Blanchard. “The courage to speak your mind, to listen and truly hear, and to make space for every voice as we come together as a community. I’m excited to serve as this year’s Festival Curator because it gives us the opportunity to use a range of musical and artistic experiences to explore who we are as human beings, who we need to be moving forward, and how we can reconnect with our shared humanity.”
Blanchard’s breadth of experience transcends the limitations of any one label. For more than 40 years, he has made a name for himself as a sought-after jazz musician. As both a sideman and bandleader, his talents and collaborations with artists such as Wynton and Branford Marsalis and Herbie Hancock have taken him around the world and earned numerous awards, including eight GRAMMYs®. His devotion to jazz, and music more broadly, has led to administrative and educational positions at institutions including the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz—which he personally lobbied to have moved from Los Angeles to New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina—UCLA, and the Berklee College of Music.
“Over his legendary career, Terence Blanchard has shown a constant commitment to artistic excellence, creative risk-taking, and using his work and network to expand who is seen and heard on our stages,” said Cleveland Orchestra President & CEO André Gremillet. “He has long reminded us that, even in our greatest institutions, there is always more work to be done. I can’t think of a better curator for this year’s festival theme, Courage, and I’m excited to share his visionary artistry with Cleveland.”
As a composer, Blanchard is especially well known for his film scores—notably, his 18 collaborations with Spike Lee including Malcom X and BlacKkKlansman, the latter of which earned Blanchard his fifth GRAMMY® for Best Instrumental Composition (“Blut und Boden [Blood and Soil]”). Blanchard made history in the 2021–22 season, when his already-successful opera Fire Shut Up in My Bones was staged by The Metropolitan Opera; the Met had never before staged a work by a Black composer. His 2013 opera, Champion, was staged by the Met in the following season; both operas have earned GRAMMY® Awards for Best Opera Recording.
“The Mandel Opera & Humanities Festival was created to explore questions that shape our civic and cultural life,” said Jehuda Reinharz, President & CEO of the Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Foundation. “This year’s festival invites community members to engage with the concept of Courage not just as an artistic theme, but as a human and civic practice. We are proud to support a festival that continues to deepen dialogue, expand perspective, and reflect the complexity of the world we live in, and we look forward to the new ideas and artistic vision that Terence Blanchard will bring as Festival Curator.”
The detailed program listing of Cleveland Orchestra events as of January 2026 can be found at clevelandorchestra.com. The full festival lineup, including additional Cleveland Orchestra and partner events, will be announced in March 2026.
About the Organization
For more than a century, The Cleveland Orchestra has been recognized as one of America’s finest cultural institutions and is often named among the nation’s “Big Five” orchestras. Founded in 1918, the ensemble is acclaimed for its exceptional artistry, innovative programming, and commitment to music education. Led since 2002 by Music Director Franz Welser‑Möst, the Orchestra performs at Severance Music Center and Blossom Music Center, reaching audiences locally and around the world through concerts, recordings, and digital performances.
