Throughout the festival, Stefan Jackiw will be joined by frequent collaborators pianist Kevin Ahfat, clarinetist Yoonah Kim, and the Parker Quartet. The opening night concert includes Pärt's Fratres, Handel's Affetuoso and Allegro from Sonata in D major, Prokofiev's Sonata No. 2 in D major, Conrad Tao's All I had forgotten or tried to, and Brahms' Sonata No. 3 in D minor. The next evening features Janáček's String Quartet No. 1 Kreutzer Sonata and Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata for violin and piano. The final performance is an American Program with Florence Price's Adoration for violin and piano, Eric Nathan's Double Concerto for violin, clarinet and string orchestra, and Copland's Appalachian Spring.
In an interview with KXFM, Jackiw said of the festival:
Laguna Beach is one of the most beautiful places on the planet, and the audiences are so engaged, passionate, curious about the music, and so supportive of the performers. I've always enjoyed playing at this festival, so when they asked me to direct the 2026 edition of the Laguna Beach Music Festival, I immediately said yes, because I had such a fun time in the past performing here, and also I had some ideas knocking around in my head about programs that I wanted to present if I was asked to curate a festival. This was a perfect opportunity to bring those programs to life.
To learn more about the Laguna Beach Music Festival, visit their website.
