Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign proudly invites you to Come Be Here and experience its 2025-26 performance season, featuring an exciting mix of emerging and world-class artists in this, its 56^th year.  Events from September to May showcase national and international performers as well as university student performances in music, theatre, lyric theatre, and dance.

Guitar festivals haven’t traditionally been family-friendly events. Krannert Center’s ELLNORA Guitar Festival, held on Friday, September 8 and Saturday, September 9, is different. From the very first edition back in 2005, Krannert Center has made family participation a cornerstone of ELLNORA. In addition to all the great music – both ticketed performances and free concerts -- there’s plenty to do for everyone that make ELLNORA the perfect family event.

August 23, 2021

Krannert Center welcomes the return of public, in-person audiences with ELLNORA | The Guitar Festival, September 17-18, 2021, a multi-style, multi-generational celebration of the guitar and its many relations. Health considerations for audience members, volunteers, staff members, and artists have been foremost in planning for this year’s festival, which will take place on a smaller scale than previous years while featuring ELLNORA’s hallmark level and diversity of artistry.

July 2021

Save the dates for ELLNORA | The Guitar Festival September 17-18, 2021!

Krannert Center staff is making plans for a beautiful, two-day ELLNORA | The Guitar Festival experience. The lineup is being determined and will be shared as soon as possible. Tickets will go on sale closer to the festival dates. With a mix of genres and settings, ELLNORA will provide a joyful welcome as the Center reopens to in-person audiences. 

August 2019

August 2019

ELLNORA | The Guitar Festival, Krannert Center’s internationally recognized, biennial event not only features performances from an array of the world’s most influential guitarists but also engaging, FREE educational programming including lectures, workshops, and panel discussions for patrons to enjoy.

July 2019

Krannert Center would like to know what you think about ELLNORA | The Guitar Festival. Respond to the below survey by August 15, 2019 and enter to win one of 10 packages that include a pair of free tickets to almost any Krannert Center event and a $15 gift card good at the Center’s cafe, showcase and gift shop, bar, or ticket office. To enter, please leave your email address where requested in the survey form.

On September 5, 6, and 7, 2019, a diverse and exciting curation of the world’s most remarkable guitarists will gather for the eighth installment of ELLNORA | The Guitar Festival, presented by Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Situated in a vibrant micro-urban setting, the internationally recognized, biennial event features “a prodigious array of the world’s most distinctive and influential guitarists” from around the globe (Premier Guitar).

February 2019