The Sembrich has opened its doors for a 2026 season filled with music, history and more. Located on the shores of Lake George, the museum will host a summer of live performances and explore two new exhibitions. Admission to the museum and exhibitions is free.
The 2026 Summer Festival, Brava! Celebrating Women in Music, will feature over 20 events running from June 7 to September 2. The lineup includes a Juneteenth tribute to Marian Anderson, the Alfred Z. Solomon Masterwork Series featuring members of The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Mari Black Celtic Trio, a studio talk and film with conductor Mélisse Brunet, the Maestra Residency and the Ebony & Ivory Gala on August 29. Festival tickets range from $40 to $80 with a 10% members’ discount.
To kick off the festival the Sembrich will host the 21st annual Young Performers Showcase. This free performance opportunity for high school, college and early-career musicians from across upstate New York and beyond has supported a generation of rising classical artists. It has welcomed young singers since Marcella Sembrich herself began teaching in her Bolton Landing studio in 1924. Recent showcases have featured students from Hudson Falls Central School, Glens Falls High School, SUNY Adirondack, SUNY Schenectady, Skidmore College, SUNY Purchase and the Crane School of Music. Participation in the showcase is free for performers. Audience tickets are $15.
Additionally, on June 19 at 7:00 p.m., the Sembrich will present When Marian Sang: A Tribute to Music, History and Liberty. This special Juneteenth program will honor the life and legacy of Marian Anderson, a singer whose voice became a beacon of the Civil Rights Movement.
Presented in partnership with the National Marian Anderson Museum and Historical Society in Philadelphia, the program will combine music, history and personal reflection from Anderson’s 1939 concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial before an audience of 75,000, to her 1955 Metropolitan Opera debut as the first Black soloist on the Met’s main stage, to her work on behalf of civil rights.
Then, on June 27, at 7:00 PM, Polish-born, New York–based violinist Kinga Augustyn will return to the Sembrich for Soulful Visions, a recital of works that span centuries and continents, presented as part of the Alfred Z. Solomon Masterwork Series.
Augustyn has appeared as a soloist with orchestras across North and South America, Europe and Asia, and at venues including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. A passionate advocate for new music and a champion of lesser-known composers from her native Poland, she has recorded three albums of Polish repertoire.
Augustyn first appeared at The Sembrich in 2016 with a program of Polish masterworks and her return for Soulful Visions supports the festival’s tribute to women whose artistry has shaped the classical landscape. Tickets are $55 with a 10% discount for members.
The Exhibitions
Running alongside the festival, the exhibition A Cause for Singing features four opera singers who used their artistry to champion causes. Singers Marcella Sembrich, Lillian Nordica, Marian Anderson and Ululani Robertson will be honored through this exhibitions. Highlights include Sembrich’s reconstructed 1904 Metropolitan Opera debut costume from La fille du régiment, Tiffany-designed jewelry belonging to Nordica and Marian Anderson’s gold concert gown alongside the hat she wore at President Eisenhower’s inauguration.
The museum’s second exhibition, A Legacy Passed On, invites visitors into the rooms where Sembrich taught. The exhibit traces her influence through students such as Dusolina Giannini, Lucille Browning and Queena Mario to the present day.
Additionally, on June 5, the Sembrich will launch its digital guide on the Bloomberg Connects app, a free mobile companion to the museum, its grounds, and its 2026 exhibitions. Bloomberg Connects is a free arts and culture app from Bloomberg Philanthropies that offers digital guides from hundreds of museums and cultural institutions worldwide. Through the Bloomberg Connects guide, visitors can take an audio tour of Marcella Sembrich’s historic studio, explore highlights of the museum’s collection, follow sound walks along the lakeside paths and through the grounds and listen to historic recordings of Sembrich and her contemporaries. The guide also extends the museum’s two 2026 exhibitions with archival audio and video and photographs.
The Lakeside Grounds are open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Studio Museum is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 5
For festival tickets, the full calendar and visitor information, visit thesembrich.org
2026 Schedule of Festival & Exhibition Events
“A Cause for Singing” & “A Legacy Passed On” Exhibitions On View – May 23 – October 12, 2026
Young Performers Showcase – June 7 – 2:00 PM
A Juneteenth Celebration – A Tribute to Marian Anderson – June 19 – 7:00 PM
MASTERWORKS: Violinist Kinga Augustyn – June 27, 2026 – 7:00 PM
FILM: The Color Purple (2023) – June 29, 2026 – 7:30 PM
Seagle Festival Preview – July 1, 2026 – 2:00 PM
WORLD MUSIC WEDNESDAYS: Christine Tassan et les Imposteures – July 8, 2026 – 2:00 PM
FILM: Florence Foster Jenkins (2016) – July 13, 2026 – 7:30 PM
Seagle Festival Children’s Opera – July 16, 2026 – 10:00 AM
MASTERWORKS: Soprano Vedrana Kalas – July 18, 2026 – 7:00 PM
STUDIO TALK & TEA: Ladies of the Lake – July 23, 2026 – 2:00 PM
STUDIO TALK & FILM: Meet the Maestra! Featuring Mélisse Brunet – July 27, 2026 – 6:00 PM
Maestra Residency Open House at Wiawaka Center for Women – July 29, 2026 – 2:00 PM
7:00 PM – Maestra Residency Showcase at The Sembrich – August 1, 2026
WORLD MUSIC WEDNESDAYS: Mari Black Celtic Trio – August 5, 2026 – 2:00 PM
MASTERWORKS: The Overlook Quartet – August 8, 2026 – 7:00 PM
FILM: Hilary and Jackie (1999) – August 10, 2026 – 7:30 PM
The String Queens – August 13, 2026 – 7:00 PM
Members of the Philadelphia Orchestra – August 16, 2026 – 7:00 PM
WORLD MUSIC WEDNESDAYS: Medusa – August 19, 2026 – 2:00 PM
FILM: Wicked (2024) – August 24, 2026 – 7:30 PM
FILM: Wicked: For Good (2025) – August 25, 2026 – 7:30 PM
Gala: Ebony & Ivory – Piano Four-Hands – August 29, 2026 – 6:00 PM
Alma & Efrem: A Vocal Drama – September 2, 2026 – 2:00 PM
Exhibition-Closing Reception & Studio Talk: “The Hawaiian Nightengale” – October 9, 2026 – 7:00 PM
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