Summertime Surprises

with Artis—Naples

Alexander Shelley conducts the Naples Philharmonic

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As the days grow longer, temperatures rise, and some of our friends bid adieu to Southwest Florida for the warmer months, the 2025-26 Artis—Naples season steams ahead, bringing full-time residents together for a myriad of engaging events, compelling exhibitions, and sensational music.

In The Baker Museum, which remains open throughout the summer, the much-anticipated exhibition Linling Lu Fugue in 3 Voices opens July 11, presenting new, brightly colored circular paintings inspired by Beethoven, Dvořák, and Stravinsky. Elsewhere in the galleries, sonia louise davis: to reverberate tenderly draws to a close on May 24, and the annual exhibition Florida Contemporary continues through June 28. There & Here: New Perspectives of the Permanent Collection and The Passion of Collecting: Stories in Glass and Ceramics from the Sibrack Collection continue into the fall and beyond. Discovering Ansel Adams, which debuted in March, runs through August 2.

Discovering Ansel Adams, Miami City Ballet, Naples Philharmonic Patriotic Pops conducted by Manuel López-Gómez

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On the stages of the Kimberly K. Querrey and Louis A. Simpson Cultural Campus, there is still much to be excited about heading into the summer, beginning with the final Masterworks program of the season on May 8-9. With Artistic and Music Director Alexander Shelley on the podium, the Naples Philharmonic welcomes violinist Karen Gomyo for Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, a playful work that blends classical, jazz, and Baroque influences. The musical fireworks continue in Hayes Hall as Associate Conductor Manuel López-Gómez leads the Naples Philharmonic, Naples Philharmonic Chorus, Naples Philharmonic Youth Chorus, and Broadway star Julie Benko in Patriotic Pops, an inspiring May 21-22 program saluting the nation’s musical legacy. López-Gómez also conducts the Naples Philharmonic as Naples Ballet performs Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake on May 15. Ten days earlier, on May 5, the orchestra welcomes the return of the Miami City Ballet.

Karen Gomyo

Orchestral, chamber, and jazz music also round out the season in May, beginning with the final program of the Visiting Orchestras series on May 3, featuring pianist Yuja Wang leading the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. In the more intimate Daniels Pavilion, the Wang Chamber Music series concludes May 3 with musicians of the Naples Philharmonic performing Dvořák’s American Quartet and Reena Esmail’s Piano Trio. On May 13, both the Grand Piano Series’ Narrative Musicales and All That Jazz take their seasonal bows, with bassoonist Eleni Katz joining pianist Konstantin Soukhovetski for a trek through American soundscapes, while the Naples Philharmonic Jazz Orchestra explores the hard-bop style of Horace Silver. On May 24, the Naples Philharmonic and the Naples Philharmonic Youth Orchestra join forces under López-Gómez’s baton for their annual Side-by-Side concert, while on June 7, the impressive Hayes Hall Casavant Frères organ shows off its power and range as the American Guild of Organists presents All the Stops: Festival of Great Organ Music.

While the end of June brings rising temperatures outside, the arts stay cool through the summer inside Artis—Naples spaces. The Baker Museum remains open, and Art After Hours continues on the last Wednesday of each month. Summer programming heats up in Daniels Pavilion with All that Jazz featuring vibraphonist Chuck Redd on July 8, a Narrative Musicales program featuring music by Beethoven and Joplin on July 16, Chicago tribute act Chi-Town Transit Authority on July 21, and Sail On: The Beach Boys Tribute on August 5.

For tickets and additional information, visit artisnaples.org.