Thirty years of music at The Wertheim: FIU announces its 2026–27 anniversary season

At FIU’s Herbert and Nicole Wertheim School of Music & Performing Arts, the 2026–27 season marks a milestone: 30 years of educating, mentoring and launching musicians into the world.

Thirty years ago, two moments defined FIU’s performing arts history: the Department of Music became the School of Music, and the Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Performing Arts Center (The Wertheim) opened its doors, giving the new School and the Department of Theatre a permanent home on campus. The 2026–27 season commemorates that anniversary. It opens September 18 with the FIU Symphony Orchestra and Mozart’s “Paris” Symphony (performed with eighteenth-century instruments) as the centerpiece, then unfolds across a year that brings accomplished alumni back to perform alongside current students, welcomes internationally acclaimed artists to Miami, and showcases FIU’s ensembles in some of the most celebrated works in the repertoire.

“For 30 years, The Wertheim has given our students a place to discover their voices, refine their craft, and prepare for the world stage,” said CARTA Dean Brian Schriner. “We are deeply grateful to the Wertheim family and to every faculty member, artist, and supporter whose commitment has helped generations of FIU musicians transform their talent into extraordinary careers and meaningful impact in South Florida and beyond.”

At the center of the anniversary is the 2026 FIU Music Festival, which brings generations of Wertheim musicians together over ten days in October. The festival opens with FIU’s internationally acclaimed Artists-in-Residence ensemble, the Amernet String Quartet, performing alongside alumni and current students, and continues with a homecoming of six accomplished FIU jazz alumni. 

The festival also welcomes Vincent Dubois, one of the titular organists of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, and acclaimed accordionist Marie-Andrée Joerger, who will perform on the 4,226-pipe Sydell Ida Wertheim Concert Organ, a gift of the Wertheim family and the crown jewel of the concert hall. The festival closes with the FIU Symphony Orchestra performing Kaddish by Fredrick Kaufman, founding director of the School of Music, who launched the first FIU Music Festival in 1996. Beyond the festival, the season continues with major orchestral and choral performances, opera, chamber music, jazz, piano, organ, and contemporary music.

“The FIU School of Music counts many prominent musicians among its alumni,” said Dr. Joel Galand, interim director of the Wertheim School of Music. “During this anniversary season, we look forward to welcoming back such artists as composers Carlos Rafael Rivera, who scored the Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit, and Marcus Norris, responsible for the Apple TV+ series Lady in the Lake, alongside stellar performers like soprano Laura León and jazz guitarist Aaron Lebos. Our current students will have the rare opportunity to work with their illustrious precursors in master classes and on our festival stage.”

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