Highlights of the festival include a tribute to New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, including performances by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, the Dirty Dozen Jazz Band, and zydeco singer Terrance Simien. The Sydney Symphony will play a program of Gershwin led by conductor Wayne Marshall, a specialist in the composer's music.

Pop musician-turned-symphonic composer Elvis Costello will present a three-concert series including the Il Sogno Suite, drawn from his dance score, and The Juliet Letters, a collaboration with the Brodsky Quartet. Pianist Christopher O'Riley will pair his celebrated transcriptions of music by the rock band Radiohead with Shostakovich's Preludes and Fugues.

Dance events include performances by Royal Ballet dancers Sylvia Guillem, Michael Nunn, and William Trevitt of works by choreographer Russell Maliphant.

Also scheduled are director Robert Lepage's The Andersen Project and other theater events.

For more information, visit www.sydneyfestival.org.au.