The Kingston Symphony is opening its 2026-27 Masterworks season with a genuinely unusual ask: come to the concert and trust us. The season opener is called “Surprise!” because the orchestra won’t disclose what it’s playing until you’re in your seat. “We aren’t going to tell you what that music is,” the Kingston Symphony states on the event page. “Place your trust in us and experience a delightful concert concept like no other.”
About the Show
The artists at the center of this particular gamble are worth betting on. Music Director Evan Mitchell has spent over ten seasons at the Kingston Symphony’s helm, and the four pre-pandemic Masterworks seasons under his baton were all sellouts. He won the 2009 Jean-Marie Beaudet Award in Orchestra Conducting, has premiered more than 30 Canadian compositions, and conducted over 200 concerts across his career. Mitchell began his professional musical life as an award-winning percussionist. Joining him as featured soloist is Angela Cheng, described as “one of her country’s national treasures” and the first Canadian to win the Montreal International Piano Competition. She has taken the stage at the Kennedy Center, Wigmore Hall, Vienna’s Musikverein, and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw. Cheng studied with Menahem Pressler at Indiana University and Sascha Gorodnitzki at The Juilliard School, and earned a Medal of Excellence for Mozart interpretations from the Mozarteum in Salzburg. Heading into 2025-26, she appeared with the Victoria, Saskatoon, and Regina symphonies, among others, and currently teaches at Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Together they open the first of seven Masterworks concerts in a season the Kingston Symphony describes as dedicated to “surprise, wonder, and celebration.”
Venue & Logistics
One practical detail before you map your route: this Masterworks concert takes place at the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts, 390 King Street West, Kingston, not the Kingston Grand Theatre’s main building on Princess Street. The Kingston Symphony is a resident company of the Grand Theatre, which presents and tickets the Masterworks series; the Sunday afternoon concerts themselves run at the Isabel. Curtain is at 2:30 p.m. Browse more shows in the north country to plan the rest of your weekend.
Tickets
Tickets run $10–$54 plus HST and handling fees, with pricing varying by seat location and buyer type. Regular tickets go on sale August 24, 2026 at noon. Buy tickets