Southern Illinois Music Festival orchestra members rehearse for a June 2025 performance in John A. Logan College’s O’Neill Auditorium. The 22nd festival, which celebrates the nation’s 250th birthday, is June 18 to July 4. (photo by Diana Higbee)
January 08, 2026
SIFest’s 22nd season will celebrate ‘America at 250’
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Set your calendars to commemorate the nation’s music history as the 22nd season of the nationally recognized Southern Illinois Music Festival (SIFest) will celebrate “America at 250.”
The festival, from June 18 to July 4, will present American classical music from the 18th through the 21st centuries, featuring composers such as Amy Beach, George Whitefield Chadwick, Samuel Barber, Irving Berlin, Leonard Bernstein, Chick Corea, Aaron Copland and many more. Offerings include five major orchestral programs, five “patriotic pops” concerts, three outdoor pre-fireworks concerts, and numerous chamber music programs, at locations throughout the region.
Edward Benyas, SIFest artistic director, founder and conductor, said this year’s repertoire includes a “great cross section of eras and composers.” Benyas is an emeritus professor of oboe and conducting at SIU Carbondale and executive director of the Cascade Symphony in Edmonds, Washington.
“I love American classical music and can’t tell you how excited I am to help introduce audiences to the tremendous range of music by American composers,” Benyas said. “For example, we will perform two great symphonies — William Grant Still’s ‘Afro-American’ Symphony and George Chadwick’s Second Symphony. Chadwick is kind of like an American Brahms — he trained in Germany and was part of the Second New England School from the late 19th century.”
The festival will also feature three piano concertos that span a century and music “from great American musicals like ‘Oklahoma!,’ ‘South Pacific,’ ‘West Side Story’ and ‘A Chorus Line,’” Benyas said, adding there also will be excerpts from John Williams’ film scores at every concert.
Concert locations include Carterville High School; the Harold Jones Fine Arts Center in Cairo; Artspace Southern Illinois 304 Cultural Arts Center, the African American Museum and First United Methodist Church, all in Carbondale; Alto Vineyards and the Anna Arts Center in Union County. The three free pre-fireworks concerts will be July 2 at Mtn Dew Park in Marion, July 3 at Riverside Park in Murphysboro and July 4 outside of SIU Carbondale’s Banterra Center.
Ticket information
Tickets for all SIFest 2026 events, except those that are free, will be $25 general admission and $10 for students of any age, and available at concert venues 30 minutes before each performance. An all-festival pass is $150 and includes admission to all events along with a 60-page program booklet, valued together at $200. Advance festival passes and individual tickets will be available on the SIFest 2026 brochure ticket order form, which will be posted in March on the festival website.