SFCV: Audience Choice Awards 2025–2026: Los Angeles Winners
SF Classical Voice readers had a lot to think about in answering our 2025-2026 survey. Fiscal uncertainty or not, the Los Angeles calendar was filled with concerts from the interesting to the brilliant.
You, our readers, were left with the task of sorting out the hosts-with-the-most from the best-of-the-rest. With both nominations and final votes in readers' hands, and hundreds of responses, the Audience Choice Awards are a fascinating peek into the collective preferences of L.A.'s most engaged concertgoers.
Plenty of categories came down to just a few votes, and the winners and nominees definitely reflect the diversity of programming and voices available in the Southland. We hope that the results of this year’s poll encourage even more risk-taking in upcoming seasons, as Los Angeles continues to show why a vibrant arts scene is indispensable to a great city.
Favorite Chamber Ensemble: Brightwork New Music Ensemble
Large numbers of Brightwork fans weighed in to bring their group victory in this category. Every vote was needed, because Salastina nipped at Brightwork’s heels the whole way, taking second place in a close contest. Brightwork launched a new record label last fall and had a superb season that featured electronic multi-genre artists Nick Norton and Cristina Lord, the “Digital Mixtape,” and “From the Americas,” focused on a multiplicity of Indigenous voices from North America and across the Pacific. We keep having high expectations and they keep justifying them. (Included Corona Morphs in performance)