Carnegie Hall

(NEW YORK, NY; July 10, 2025)—Throughout the 2025–2026 season, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute (WMI) will present eight Well-Being Concerts, hour-long concert experiences that combine elements of mindfulness and deep listening with performance in an immersive, nurturing space. Artists are centered in the room surrounded by audience members on the same level, who are welcome to recline on floor mats and cushions. A host shares prompts and breathing exercises with the participants and encourages them to share thoughts and reflections with their fellow audience members.

The first Well-Being Concert is on Sunday, October 19 with flutist Annie Wu in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Room. Ms. Wu—joined by pianist Joseph Vaz—curates a performance entitled “Not So Sweet,” featuring works by Fauré, Sibelius, Dvořák, and more that highlight life’s turning points. The 2025–2026 Well-Being Concert series continues with Britain’s popular emerging Maxwell Quartet (Nov. 14), jazz vocalist Somi (Jan. 11), and oboist James Austin Smith along with guest artists to be announced (Jan. 24).

Five-time Grammy Award-winner esperanza spalding performs an unmissable Well-Being Concert, a rare opportunity to witness her artistry in the intimate Weill Music Room (Feb. 7). Senegalese kora master Ablaye Cissoko and French accordionist Cyrille Brotto showcase music’s singular ability to bridge cultures in their second Well-Being Concert (Apr. 25). Closing out the 2025–2026 series, Sean Jones, with a jazz combo, offers a soul-nourishing concert (May 2).

Carnegie Hall will once again present a Well-Being Concert in the soaring gothic architectural marvel, the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, following a tremendous performance last season. Grammy Award-winning tenor Nicholas Phan—joined by an ensemble of musicians from the baroque church ensemble Theotokos, directed by composer and musician Doug Balliett—performs vocal works by Bach and Buxtehude (Feb. 26).

In addition, private Well-Being Concerts will be offered for groups of veterans, healthcare workers, seniors, researchers, policymakers, and other invited community members throughout the season. In September, the Hall will offer a concert for invited guests during the UN General Assembly, planned with the Jameel Arts & Heath Lab in coordination with the World Health Organization (WHO). In addition, Carnegie Hall will present a Well-Being Concert as part of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s Healthy Communities Summit in October, open to all summit attendees and the general public.

Tickets for Well-Being Concerts at Carnegie Hall will go on sale to the general public on August 11.

Click here to watch a special video about Carnegie Hall’s Well-Being Concerts.
 

Partners Around the Globe Offer Well-Being Concerts for Their Communities

Following an enthusiastic response to this series in New York City, arts organizations around the world are now partnering with Carnegie Hall to offer Well-Being Concerts in their local communities. Well-Being Concert partners receive sample concert scripts and resources and materials from Carnegie Hall, in addition to support from the Hall’s staff.

The list of current Well-Being Concerts partners includes:

Bay Chamber Concerts (Camden, Maine)
Carver Community Cultural Center (San Antonio, Texas)
Enjoy Jazz (Heidelberg, Mannheim, and Ludwigshafen, Germany)
Evergreen Music and Performing Arts (Evergreen, Colorado)
Fairbanks Concert Association (Fairbanks, Alaska)
Grow Music Missoula (Missoula, Montana)
Miami Dade College, Live Arts Miami (Miami, Florida)
One Health Partners (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
Renaissance Performing Arts (Mansfield, Ohio)
The Wellbeing Project's Global Hearth Summit (Ljubljana, Slovenia)
Utah Symphony (Salt Lake City, Utah)
Wheeler Opera House (Aspen, Colorado)
Zoellner Arts Center, Lehigh University (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania)

Interested in bringing Well-Being Concerts to your community? Email wellbeing@carnegiehall.org for more information.

Program Information
Sunday, October 19 at 5:00 p.m.
Resnick Education Wing

ANNIE WU
Not Too Sweet: A Well-Being Concert

Find musical and personal nourishment in a Well-Being Concert led by flutist and creative storyteller Annie Wu. The program combines exquisite selections by Fauré, Sibelius, Dvořák, and more with candid storytelling that encourages audiences to reflect upon life’s turning points. Like a perfect dessert, this delicate blend of bitter and sweet evokes powerful memories and offers a sense of community for those who partake. Enjoy this latest project from an artist known for exploring the narrative possibilities of music across mediums—including the literary and culinary.

Annie Wu, Flute and Storytelling
Joseph Vaz, Piano
________________________________________

Friday, November 14 at 6:30 p.m.
Resnick Education Wing

MAXWELL QUARTET
A Well-Being Concert

Experience the Carnegie Hall debut of Britain’s Maxwell String Quartet in the intimate and egalitarian setting of a Well-Being Concert. Find a comfortable cushion or chair, enjoy world-class music, and explore concepts of self-care and mindfulness with “a young ensemble whose fresh, unaffected playing marries technical brilliance with an authentically Haydn-esque joie de vivre” (Gramophone). With an irresistible sense of curiosity, the group mines fresh brilliance from classical quartet staples, modern masterpieces, newly arranged Scottish folk music, and more.

Maxwell Quartet
- Colin Scobie, Violin
- George Smith, Viola
- Elliot Perks, Viola
- Duncan Strachan, Cello
________________________________________

Sunday, January 11 at 5:00 p.m.
Resnick Education Wing

SOMI
A Well-Being Concert

Enjoy an uplifting and unifying Well-Being Concert led by Grammy-nominated and NAACP Image Award–winning jazz, soul, and pop vocalist Somi. With her transatlantic, electro-acoustic blend of genres and sonic storytelling, Somi’s musical world is easy to get lost in—an ideal match for Carnegie Hall’s unique series of concerts that combine live music with explorations of mindfulness and self-care.

Somi, Vocals
Additional artists to be announced
________________________________________

Saturday, January 24 at 5:00 p.m.
Resnick Education Wing

JAMES AUSTIN SMITH
A Well-Being Concert

“For an oboist, James Austin Smith can deliver a punchline,” says The New York Times, which also describes Smith as “brilliant,” “virtuosic,” and “dazzling.” Join us in the casual and comfortable setting of the Resnick Education Wing for a unique event led by an artist who calls himself “a musician with a passion for communication, [who] specializes in deepening the listening experience through engaging commentary and attempted humor.” Additional artists for this program are to be announced.

James Austin Smith, Oboe
Additional artists to be announced
_________________________________________

Saturday, February 7 at 7:00 p.m.
Resnick Education Wing

esperanza spalding
A Well-Being Concert

In the casual and intimate setting of Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Room, experience a soul-nourishing Well-Being Concert led by five-time Grammy winner, Doris Duke Artist, and genre-crossing jazz and chamber-music innovator esperanza spalding. esperanza’s offering will center around the power, pleasure, and purpose inherent in contributing to maintenance of community and community wellness. Exploring themes from elder care, play, and food cultivation, participants will be invited into an inspiring meditation and remembering session about collective wellness practices.

esperanza spalding, Composition, Bass, Vocals
Additional artist to be announced
________________________________________

Thursday, February 26 at 7:00 p.m.
The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine

NICHOLAS PHAN
A Well-Being Concert

Experience the healing power of music in a Well-Being Concert at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Grammy Award-winning tenor Nicholas Phan—called “one of the world’s most remarkable singers” by The Boston Globe—performs a program of vocal works by J. S. Bach and Buxtehude, taking advantage of the timeless acoustics of the church. He’s joined by an ensemble of musicians from Theotokos, a renowned New York City sacred ensemble that describes itself as “the living embodiment of a baroque church ensemble,” and which has collaborated with artists including Davoné Tines, Karim Sulayman, Matt Aucoin, Jean Rondeau, Thomas Dunford, Myriam Rignol, and William Christie.

Nicholas Phan, Tenor
Theotokos

Presented by Carnegie Hall and The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine
________________________________________

Saturday, April 25 at 5:00 p.m.
Resnick Education Wing

ABLAYE CISSOKO AND CYRILLE BROTTO
A Well-Being Concert

Senegalese kora master and djeli Ablaye Cissoko and French accordionist Cyrille Brotto showcase music’s singular ability to bridge cultures, expand traditions, and connect individuals. “Both the kora and accordion somehow carry a living tradition. They awaken all our senses and allow us to see humanity differently,” Cissoko tells the UK’s Songlines. Experience the duo’s anticipated return to the intimate Weill Music Room, where audiences will explore new cross-cultural connections and find inspiration that lasts long after the performance ends.

Ablaye Cissoko, Kora
Cyrille Brotto, Accordion
________________________________________

Saturday, May 2 at 5:00 p.m.
Resnick Education Wing

SEAN JONES
A Well-Being Concert

Experience an intimate and soul-nourishing Well-Being Concert led by renowned jazz trumpeter, composer, bandleader, and educator Sean Jones. Explore concepts of self-care and mindfulness through music, guided by an exceptionally thoughtful artist and his band.

Sean Jones, Trumpet
Additional artists to be announced
 

About Carnegie Hall’s Well-Being Concerts
Carnegie Hall’s Well-Being Concerts were sparked by findings that a significant percentage of Americans who suffer from anxiety and depression each year don’t receive care due to a variety of barriers including a shortage of behavioral health providers and financial burden. Inspired by evidence that music can help people heal and thrive, along with Carnegie Hall’s mission to bring the transformative power of music to the widest possible audience, the Well-Being Concerts are a way to evaluate, optimize, and share the joy and benefits of musical engagement with individuals and communities who might not otherwise have access. For more than a decade, WMI has presented concerts in diverse and often high-stress public spaces, including in hospitals and healthcare environments, senior care residences, justice settings, and schools.

Each Well-Being Concert at Carnegie Hall is created through a collaborative process that involves feedback from artists, advisors, wellness experts, potential audience members, and partner organizations. The hour-long concert experience combines elements of mindfulness and meditation with performance in an immersive, nurturing space. Artists are centered in the room surrounded by audience members on the same level, who are welcome to recline on floor mats and cushions. A host shares prompts and breathing exercises with the participants and encourages them to share thoughts and reflections with their fellow audience members. The Well-Being Concerts are also an experimental space and artistic laboratory where individual scholars and teams of scientists across disciplines can partner with Carnegie Hall to ask important questions about the relationship between music and health.

* * * *  

Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute is generously supported by a wide range of corporations, foundations, government agencies, and individual donors. Click here for a complete list of funders.

 

 

 

Ticket Information

Tickets for the Well-Being Concerts at Carnegie Hall, priced at $25–50, will go on sale to subscribers and donors on August 4 and to the general public on August 11. Tickets are available on the Carnegie Hall website, carnegiehall.org, by calling Carnegie Hall at 212-247-780 or at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, 154 West 57th Street.

Tickets for the February 26 Well-Being Concert at The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine are $25 and will go on sale in fall 2025. Tickets for this concert will be available at stjohndivine.org/.

For more information on discount ticket programs, including those for students, Notables members, and Bank of America customers, visit carnegiehall.org/discounts. Artists, programs, and prices are subject to change.

 

Photo: Richard Termine