The 2026 SAC Orchestra Festival, under the subtitle “Connecting the Notes,” focuses on the connections between works, performers, regions, and past and present. This year’s festival, featuring 19 orchestras from across the country, will also welcome the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra—the resident ensemble of Switzerland’s internationally renowned Verbier Festival—further expanding the festival stage beyond the domestic sphere and taking another step toward becoming an international music festival.

Internationally acclaimed principal conductors from overseas will take the podium, demonstrating the musical individuality of each orchestra and the depth of their interpretations. In addition, the return of performing ensembles to the Orchestra Festival stage after a long absence further broadens the spectrum of the festival.

Centered on repertoires that best express the distinctive colors of each orchestra, the programs will unfold in a configuration that reflects the unique character of the Orchestra Festival, ranging from newly commissioned works by Korean composers to large-scale orchestral works spanning different eras. In addition, emerging performers who have gained recognition through international competitions will participate, bringing new energy to the classical music world, while concerto stages featuring principal players representing each orchestra will reveal another facet of the orchestras themselves.

From emerging artists to leading figures in the music world, audiences will encounter the present state of symphonic music through music created by a wide range of musicians spanning generations and nationalities. At the heart of the symphony, where music flows, we invite you to experience firsthand the depth and structure created at the 2026 SAC Orchestra Festival.