Your Classical Music Guide: November 2026

New Music USA: The Music of Laura Cetilia
Saturday November 7, 2026 8pm
Bowerbird at University Lutheran, 3637 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia

Bowerbird is presenting the Philadelphia stop of Laura Cetilia’s northeast tour (also in Providence, Boston, and New York). The Mexican American cellist, composer, and educator works across musical boundaries, and her 2025 album gorgeous nothings was listed by The New Yorker’s Alex Ross as one of the best releases of the year. This New Music USA concert, with intimate and minimalist works from her two albums, will feature Cetilia on cello, with pianist Jack Yarbrough and fellow cellist Hannah Soren.

Opera Philadelphia on Film: David T. Little’s Soldier Songs (Free online film screening)
Wednesday November 11, 2026, beginning at 1 pm ET and continuing for several months
Opera Philadelphia YouTube Channel (Becoming available on November 11)

In recognition of Veterans Day and the 20th anniversary of Little’s groundbreaking work, Opera Philadelphia will begin streaming its film adaptation of Soldier Songs. Little was the company’s composer in residence from 2014-2017, and his opera has been widely performed. In 2021 (in the midst of the pandemic) this riveting OP-commissioned film adaptation was nominated for a GRAMMY Award for Best Opera Recording. Starring and directed by baritone Johnathon McCullough, the film is a galvanizing portrait of one soldier as he morphs into the universal soldier. Here’s a link to my BSR review.

Night Music & Listening In: Italians in London – Songs, Solos, and Sonatas
Friday November 20, 2026, 6pm
(Open seating; pay-what-you-will)
Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center, 226 N. High Street, West Chester
Sunday November 22, 3:30pm
Philadelphia Ethical Society, 1906 S. Rittenhouse Street, Philadelphia

Two presenters partnered here to explore how 17th century London audiences were besotted with Italian music and musicians like Francesco Geminiani, Tommaso Giordani, Nicola Porpora and others flocked to London to supply it. Ornamented arias, chamber songs, and solos will flow as they would have done in a period drawing-room salon. The ensemble includes soprano Paulina Francisco, Karen Dekker (violin), Steven Zohn (flute), Heather Miller Lardin (bass viol and viola da gamba), and guitarist Richard Stone. Note that tickets are required for the Sunday concert.

Mastersingers of Wilmington: Media Vita
Saturday November 21, 2026, 3pm
First & Central Presbyterian Church, 1101 N. Market Street, Wilmington

Market Street Music will present the Mastersingers choral ensemble, conducted by Emily Ballantine Erbe, in a concert of works reflecting on life and death. Accompanied by a string sextet and harp, as well as organist Marvin Mills, the concert’s repertoire will include pieces by contemporary composers as well as those by John Tavener, Herbert Howells (Take Him Earth for Cherishing), early 20th century composer Ildebrando Pizzetti (his seldom-performed Dies Irae), and the Requiem of Gabriel Faure.

Network for New Music: Danzas del Ecuador
Saturday, November 21, 2026 7 pm
Esperanza Arts Center/Teatro Esperanza, 261 N. 5th Street, Philadelphia

A collaboration with bassist William Valencia, this concert celebrates both new works and South American musical traditions. It features the premiere of Jorge Oviedo’s newly commissioned Kawsay, a five-movement suite drawing on Andean and Ecuadorean works, and a contemporary chamber setting of 19th and 20th century Ecuadorian music. Artists include Ecuadorian violinist Gabriella Cobo, Charles Abramovic (piano), Calvin Falwell (clarinet), Susanna Loewy (flute), Thomas Schuttenhelm (guitar), and Branson Yeast (cello).

Music at Bunker Hill – Dolce Suono: Musica en tus Manos
Sunday November 22, 2026 3pm
Bunker Hill Presbyterian Church, 330 Greentree Road, Sewell NJ

This series presents Dolce Suono in a wide-ranging concert that includes Three Watercolors For Flute, Cello, and Piano by Philippe Gaubert; Latin works by Ernesto Lecuona, Consuelo Velázquez, Antonio Lauro, Pixinguinha, and others; and Ned Rorem’s Trio for Flute, Violoncello and Piano, as well as the New Jersey premiere of a Dolce Suono commission by Jacob Bancks. The ensemble includes Mimi Stillman (flute), Gabriel Cabezas (cello), Charles Abramovic (piano), and percussionist Gabriel Globus-Hoenich.

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