A busy summer of new works awaits at Highmark Mann Center’s renovated campus
The Center turns 50, the Centennial Exposition turns 150, and the nation turns 250. Mann's summer programming celebrates all of this and more.
A newly commissioned oratorio exploring the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia; the Philadelphia Orchestra performing The Lion King live to screen; and orchestral treatments for the music of Jerry Garcia and Boyz II Men are on the roster this summer at the Highmark Mann.
The arts center in Fairmount Park reopens in June after what leaders say is the largest makeover of the campus since it was built in 1976. Its new plaza will be more than four times the size of the previous one, and a new welcome center will feature interactive displays on the venue and its artistic history.
Several anniversary years are being celebrated this summer — the center’s 50th, 150 years since the Centennial Exposition in the park, and the nation’s 250th — and some ticket prices will be slashed to mark the occasion: $18.76 or $50, for instance.
“We’re focusing on honoring the past, saluting the present, and celebrating the future, and we chose to do that in a variety of ways — programmatically, the physical plant expansion and from the use of technology,” said Highmark Mann president and CEO Catherine M. Cahill. “We also added some unique 50th anniversary celebratory moments.”
The major nod to the Semiquincentennial will be a new oratorio from composer Peter Boyer, best known for his widely performed Ellis Island: The Dream of America. This new piece, A Hundred Years On, moves through a day at the Centennial Exposition with five fictional characters who experience it. The June 17 premiere will be performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Crossing Choir, and vocal soloists led by conductor Anthony Parnther.
The orchestra’s very first performance on June 14, 1976, at what was then called the Robin Hood Dell West will echo in a concert that brings back a piece played for the occasion: Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No. 3. This summer’s June 18 program, led by Marin Alsop, also features Holst’s The Planets, and a Ravel Bolero that ends with a drum line coming down the aisle.
Then, on June 20, the orchestra plays Hans Zimmer’s score to The Lion King live to screen with Damon Gupton conducting.
Other Philadelphia Orchestra concerts: the Tchaikovsky Spectacular on July 21 with pianist Eric Lu and conductor Xian Zhang in Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1; and a live-to-screen performance of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back led by Gupton on July 24.
The Philly Pops and music director Chris Dragon will be prominent in the summer schedule, with performances that include Jerry Garcia Symphonic Celebration on Aug. 28, and a concert with Boyz II Men on Sept. 18.
Composer and electronic musician Dan Deacon provides the score live with his nine-member band for BalletX’s world premiere of The Four Seasons Reimagined, June 4 and 5.
“As we looked at 2026 and into the future, we really wanted to focus on our mother Earth. And so we took The Four Seasons, and Dan Deacon is writing a brand new musical composition on all four seasons of the Vivaldi score in a sort of contemporary new way,” said Cahill.
Vivaldi’s music will be set to choreography by Morgann Runacre-Temple (Summer), Penny Saunders (Fall), Jamar Roberts (Winter), and Trey McIntyre (Spring).
“We’re thrilled to have a world premiere of this new work reimagined focusing on 2026 and the future, nature, resilience, and imagination,” said Cahill.