Long Live the Arts: Carolina Performing Arts Announces 2025–2026 Season
A Bold Celebration of Joy, Connection, and the Public Good
Chapel Hill, NC — Carolina Performing Arts (CPA) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill today announces its 2025–2026 season, inviting audiences to experience the transformative power of live performance. Guided by the rallying cry Long Live the Arts, this season affirms CPA’s belief that performance is not a luxury—it’s a vital force for joy, health, and human connection.
“Long Live the Arts is more than a slogan. It’s our promise to this campus, this community, and this moment,” says Alison Friedman, the James and Susan Moeser executive and artistic director of CPA. “Audiences are seeking experiences that are joyful, meaningful, and real— this season meets them with open arms.”
The 2025–2026 season brings together global icons, daring premieres, and returning favorites in a dynamic lineup of music, dance, and theater. Highlights include:
- Chris Thile, GRAMMY® Award-winning mandolinist and MacArthur “genius” recipient, opens the season with an evening of virtuosic music, razor-sharp wit, and spontaneous brilliance (October 10).
- Renée Fleming makes her CPA debut with Music and Mind, a discussion with UNC neuroscientists exploring the intersection of the arts, health, and brain science (January 23), followed by Voice of Nature: the Anthropocene, a concert blending classical music and film in a meditation on the environment (January 24).
- Pony Cam’s Burnout Paradise pushes physical and theatrical boundaries with a hilarious and poignant performance—staged entirely on treadmills—that explores exhaustion, overwork, and modern life (October 28–29).
- Aakash Odedra Company’s Samsara fuses kathak, ballet, and Chinese folk dance with innovative design to explore transformation and spiritual journey (December 6).
“When we curated this season, we leaned into what people told us they’re hungry for—experiences that are joyful, thought-provoking, and restorative,” says Amy Kolling, senior director of artistic and production. “We see CPA as a partner in public well-being and believe we can help cultivate that kind of nourishment.”
Beloved CPA mainstays also return: The Philadelphia Orchestra performs two evenings led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin (November 4–5), with acclaimed pianist Emanuel Ax joining for the November 4 performance only; Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater brings its signature blend of grace and power (February 24–25); Martha Graham Dance Company celebrates its centennial with Graham at 100 (March 25); and Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis returns with their iconic sound (April 24).
Access and Connection
CPA continues to prioritize access, belonging, and community connection across the season, with initiatives designed to welcome more audiences into the arts, including:
- $11 tickets for UNC-Chapel Hill students and all K-college students statewide for all CPA season performances
- Choose-Your-Price tickets, available 24 hours before each show
- Ongoing partnerships with campus and community organizations, including the Chapel of the Cross, the North Carolina Symphony, and Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle
“The arts are essential to the university’s mission,” says Friedman. “Through community partnerships, academic collaborations, and initiatives like Choose-Your-Price tickets, we’re committed to making the arts more accessible and more connected to the lives of those we serve—on campus and beyond. By placing the arts alongside academics and athletics, CPA is proud to help UNC earn its well-deserved ‘Triple A’ reputation.”
Ticket Information
- Donor presale begins August 5 at 12 p.m. (in person or online)
- General public on-sale begins August 12 at 12 p.m. (in person or online)
Tickets are available through the CPA Box Office, located at 140 East Cameron Avenue (Memorial Hall). Box office hours beginning August 5 are Monday–Friday, 11:30 a.m. to –3:30 p.m., and one hour prior to performances.
Caption information, from left to right: Chris Thile, photo courtesy of artist; Pony Cam Burnout Paradise, photo by Cameron Grant; Aakash Odedra Company Samsara, photo by Nirvair Singh Rai; Martha Graham Dance Company Graham at 100, photo by M. Sherwood; and The Philadelphia Orchestra with Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Music and Artistic Director, photo by Jeff Fusco