Jeffrey Kahane launches Harmonium of Texas in latest twist for San Antonio classical music scene

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Just months after resigning from the San Antonio Philharmonic, conductor Jeffrey Kahane is launching a new orchestra and educational initiative in San Antonio, where he will serve as founding artistic director.

Kahane announced Tuesday that the new organization, Harmonium of Texas, will focus on orchestral performances, music education and community partnerships across the city.

The launch comes as the San Antonio Philharmonic continues to navigate financial and organizational instability following the 2022 collapse of the San Antonio Symphony. Kahane resigned as the Philharmonic’s music director in February, and the organization later canceled much of its 2025-2026 season amid ongoing uncertainty surrounding its future and its planned permanent home at the historic Scottish Rite Hall downtown.

The Philharmonic has since announced a smaller series of “Amor Fati” performances — named after the Latin phrase for “love of fate” — while it works to stabilize the organization.

In a December interview with TPR, conducted months before his resignation, Kahane acknowledged the uncertainty surrounding San Antonio’s broader classical music scene.

“I know there’s been a lot of drama,” he said. “I can imagine that there’s a lot of confusion among the music lovers here in San Antonio.”

Reached by text, Kahane told TPR of current fundraising success for Harmonium of Texas.

“We have raised $835,000 as of today in 2 1/2 months,” Kahane said. “And we have quite a number of people who have indicated that they absolutely intend to pledge to Harmonium.”

Kahane added the new organization’s 501(c)(3) is pending and should be finalized within the next few months.

Harmonium of Texas will become at least the city’s third professional orchestra. Alongside the Philharmonic, The Orchestra San Antonio has also emerged in recent years as the resident symphony at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, accompanying productions by Ballet San Antonio and Opera San Antonio.

According to the press release and its website, Harmonium of Texas will feature collaborations with the San Antonio Mastersingers, side-by-side performances with the Youth Orchestras of San Antonio (YOSA), and educational programming aimed at young musicians and adult learners.

The organization has also named Spanish conductor Cosette Justo Valdés as principal guest conductor, cellist and composer Andrea Casarrubios as composer-in-residence, and Grammy-winning vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth as an artistic partner.

The inaugural season will run from October 2026 through May 2027 and feature performances at venues across San Antonio, including Lila Cockrell Auditorium and Stable Hall at Pearl.

Guest artists scheduled to appear include Joshua Bell, Larisa Martínez, Emanuel Ax, Tessa Lark and Nancy Zhou. The season will include a two-part Beethoven celebration, Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion,” the complete Brandenburg Concertos and collaborations with YOSA and the San Antonio Mastersingers.

The opening concert on Oct. 2, 2026, will feature Tessa Lark performing Michael Torke’s Sky alongside John Adams’s Short Ride in a Fast Machine and Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana.

Kahane said the organization also plans to create a fund to help families obtain musical instruments and music lessons.

“It is my firm conviction that an orchestra can and must serve as an instrument of community,” Kahane said in the release.

Tickets for the inaugural season go on sale July 27. A full season schedule and additional information are available at Harmonium of Texas.

Nathan Cone contributed to this report.