Ben Folds with The Philadelphia Orchestra

Ben Folds plays with The Philadelphia Orchestra at Marian Anderson Hall on Wednesday, December 16, 2026. It's a one-night-only performance, with Folds on piano and vocals and Steven Reineke conducting. The musicians of The Philadelphia Orchestra are donating their services for the evening, and one dollar from every ticket sold goes to Folds's Keys for Kids, which provides keyboards and funding to nonprofits that offer free or affordable piano lessons to school-age children from economically disadvantaged households.

Folds is an Emmy-nominated singer-songwriter, composer, and pianist known for piano-driven pop rock that blends genres. He's spent more than two decades bringing that sound to the orchestral stage, playing with many of the world's leading symphony orchestras. This is his third collaboration with The Philadelphia Orchestra, following appearances in 2014 and 2019, both also conducted by Reineke. Back in 2014, he paired a movement from his Piano Concerto with orchestral arrangements of songs from his career.

The evening also marks the 25th anniversary of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, which opened in 2001 and has since welcomed more than 10 million people. The concert takes place at Marian Anderson Hall, inside the Kimmel Center at 300 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19102. It starts at 7 PM.