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July 19 at 7:00pm
DCR’s Hatch Shell
Music for a Summer Evening (Opening Night)
Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Samuel Barber’s setting of a prose poem by James Agee, evokes sweetly nostalgic childhood memories of summer. Elgar created his Enigma Variations as a musical gift for his wife and closest friends. With exuberance, humor and warmth, he presents a separate variation—akin to a musical portrait—for each of them. Boston composer Peggy Stuart Coolidge composed The Blue Planet to accompany a poem written by her husband. In 1971, the World Wildlife Fund adopted it as their official theme song. Rain date: July 20 at Hatch Shell or Emmanuel Church
July 26 at 7:00pm
DCR’s Hatch Shell
Mercury Orchestra: Symphonic Opera
Channing Yu and his Mercury Orchestra have thrilled Boston area audiences every summer for a decade. Through skill, devotion, and truly ambitious repertoire—much of it opera-related—some of the most talented amateur musicians in the region come together each year to deliver invariably memorable performances. This summer for the first time, they appear on the Esplanade as guests of the Boston Landmarks Orchestra. No rain date.
August 2 at 7:00pm
DCR’s Hatch Shell
Beethoven Symphony No. 9
The drama of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony—a journey from darkness to light—is one of the glories of Western art. Beethoven believed in music’s power to redeem a suffering humanity, to bring us closer to heaven in this life. His music to Goethe’s play, Egmont, came at the apex of his “Heroic Period.” The story honors the sacrifice of a nobleman condemned to death for resisting tyranny. The sublime Romance in F for solo violin and orchestra is among Beethoven’s most sweetly lyrical instrumental works. Rain date: August 3 at Hatch Shell or Kresge Auditorium at MIT
August 9 at 7:00pm
DCR’s Hatch Shell
Anthems of the World
Fired by local pride, some of Western music’s most passionate works are closely identified with their cultures of origin. At its premiere, Finlandia was heard to symbolize Finnish independence. It is now considered a second Finnish national anthem. Dvořák urged American composers to borrow from the spirituals, much as he had employed Czech folk songs in his own writing. Márquez’s Danzón No. 2 has become one of the most popular of all orchestral dances. The young musicians of Zumix are featured in a Landmarks-commissioned work they have created with composer Gonzalo Grau. Rain date: August 10 at Hatch Shell or Kresge Auditorium at MIT
August 16 at 7:00pm
DCR’s Hatch Shell
Longwood Symphony Orchestra
Boston’s medical community orchestra has been a leader in innovative programming and community engagement for thirty-five years. Recognizing that music is at its essence a healing art, the Longwood Symphony serves the Greater Boston area through performances and programming related to the services these musicians provide in their medical professions. Music Director Ronald Feldman conducts. No rain date.
August 23 at 7:00pm
DCR’s Hatch Shell
Landmarks Dance Carnival
“Music to move by” from many cultures features dancers from across the city. Composer and drummer Ryan Edwards teams up with Apostolos Paraskevas to create a new work for young drummers and dancers from Camp Harbor View and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston. The evening culminates in a grand performance of Copland’s Rodeo with choreography by Peter DiMuro. It will be hard for anyone to sit still for this season finale. But at Boston Landmarks Orchestra concerts, that’s perfectly okay. Rain Date: Thursday August 24 at Hatch Shell
Thursday, October 12 at the Omni Parker House Hotel – honoring John Hancock Financial’s MLK Summer Scholars Program and Jim Gallagher. More details coming soon!
Boston Landmarks Orchestra believes in breaking down barriers for all people. We are proud to be an UP Organization.
We are grateful to the Free for All Concert Fund for its contribution to the orchestra.
Your tax-deductible contribution will help the Landmarks Orchestra bring the transformative power of music to the widest possible audience! Please consider a donation now.
The Landmarks Orchestra believes that Boston—like every great city—deserves a summer series of free orchestral performances. Though the concerts are free to the public, they are not free to produce. Your gift will help support free concerts at the Hatch Shell and throughout Boston this summer, and every summer!
The Boston Landmarks Orchestra is proud to present music education programs and family concerts to engage the hearts and minds of young people and adults throughout Boston’s diverse neighborhoods.
