Events

Solar Return for Change
Friday, May 8, 2026 / 8:00pm
MIT Kresge Auditorium, MIT Building W16

48 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA

Presented by MIT Music and Theater Arts (MTA) and the MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology (CAST)

With generous support from the MIT-GE Vernova Energy and Climate Alliance and the MIT Human Insight Collaborative (MITHIC)

This environmentally themed concert brings together three of the most innovative musicians of their generations with the MIT Wind Ensemble and celebrated author, educator, and environmentalist Bill McKibben. The performance features the world premiere of Guillermo Klein’s Guitierra, a prayer for the Earth, and Klein’s Solar Return Suite, a work honoring the energy and depth of the natural world. Solar Return Suite is performed in honor of the 20th anniversary of its premiere by the MIT Wind Ensemble in 2006. It features MacArthur Fellow and GRAMMY®-winning saxophonist Miguel Zenón, Professor of Jazz at MIT, alongside the internationally renowned jazz guitarist Ben Monder.

Featuring the world premiere of Guitierra.
 

MIT Wind Ensemble

Frederick Harris, Jr., Music Director

Guillermo Klein, composer-pianist

Miguel Zenón, saxophonist

Ben Monder, guitarist

Bill McKibben, Guest Speaker

Seating Policy

Your registration through Eventbrite guarantees you a seat until 15 minutes before the event start time. 15 minutes before the concert start time, we will release open seats to the standby list. If you were not able to register through Eventbrite, you may join the physical standby line in the Thomas Tull Concert Hall Lobby up to one hour before the concert start time.

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If you cannot attend this performance, we encourage you to watch the livestream.