Groton Hill Music Center

122 Old Ayer Rd, Groton, MA

In the 2023/24 season, we invite you to experience a new venue, Meadow Hall at Groton Hill Music Center. Opened in 2022, Groton Hill Music Center is a spacious, comfortable, and inviting place to hear a concert: the natural wood and stone used throughout enhance the panoramic view of the countryside beyond the Meadow Hall stage. Meadow Hall’s acoustics are warm and vibrant, and the 300-seat capacity and excellent sightlines offer an intimate concert experience.

The Groton Hill campus offers high-quality food and beverage options and ample free parking. Come early and explore this stunning new addition to the New England performing arts landscape.

This season, Celebrity Series presents four artists in two locations performing the same program at a Boston-area venue and in Groton, MA at Meadow Hall in the Groton Hill Music Center.

Isata Kanneh-Mason piano

October 13 | Meadow Hall at Groton Hill

October 14 | NEC’s Jordan Hall

Hélène Grimaud piano

January 20 | NEC’s Jordan Hall

January 21 | Meadow Hall at Groton Hill

Jeremy Denk piano

December 9 | NEC’s Jordan Hall

December 10 | Meadow Hall at Groton Hill

Isidore String Quartet

March 27 | Longy’s Pickman Hall

March 28 | Meadow Hall at Groton Hill

–The New York Times

Isata Kanneh-Mason piano

Friday | October 13 | 8pm | Meadow Hall at Groton Hill Music Center

Saturday | October 14 | 8pm | NEC’s Jordan Hall

British pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason’s star has rapidly risen as she continues to astound and inspire audiences of all backgrounds—aficionados and newcomers alike—with her dazzling interpretations of standard and overlooked repertoire.

She returns to the Series for the third time—making her solo recital debut—as she takes center stage for two special concerts: she inaugurates Celebrity Series’ partnership with Groton Hill Music Center and launches the Boston season at Jordan Hall.

Don’t miss an unforgettable appearance by “a profound and greatly gifted artist who radiates warmth, joy, and much-needed musical sunshine” (Gramophone).

Program:

Joseph Haydn Piano Sonata No. 60 in C Major, Hob. XVI/50

Fanny Mendelssohn Easter Sonata

Robert Schumann Kinderszenen, Op. 15

Frédéric Chopin Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58

Friday, October 13: Post-Performance Celebration! Celebrity Series Friends Circle members are invited to a reception celebrating our first Groton Hill performance on October 13. Make a gift of $100 or more with your subscription purchase or visit celebrityseries.org/donate to be included in this special evening.

Charles Lloyd Quartet 85th Birthday Celebration

Charles Lloyd saxophones/flute

Jason Moran piano

Reuben Rogers bass

Eric Harland drums

Sunday | October 15 | 7pm

Berklee Performance Center

Celebrate the great bandleader and composer Charles Lloyd on his 85th birthday tour when he returns to Boston with his longtime quartet.

Lloyd and his horn and flute will feature prominently, and bandmates Jason Moran, Eric Harland, and Reuben Rogers constitute a truly impressive rhythm section befitting one of the most enduring jazz visionaries of our time.

Lloyd, over his long career, has been a seeker, almost a mystic: always searching for meaning and new ways to express himself. He has said that his playing at any moment is a reflection of his life in real time: we can’t wait to hear what 85 sounds like to Charles Lloyd.

“This music is our indigenous art form. It is a living art. It has always been my inspiration and consolation. I hope I can do the same for others. I am in service.”

–Charles Lloyd

“Jean-Yves Thibaudet’s piano, Lisa Batiashvili’s violin and Gautier Capuçon’s cello stitched their individual strands of sound into a sumptuous fabric.” –ArtsDesk

Jean-Yves Thibaudet piano

Lisa Batiashvili violin

Gautier Capuçon cello

Friday | October 20 | 8pm

NEC’s Jordan Hall

Pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, violinist Lisa Batiashvili, and cellist Gautier Capuçon are longtime friends and well-matched musical partners who first came together to tour as an all-star trio in 2018. They drew praise for their insightful performances, their canny repertoire selections, and their musical blend as a trio, despite their considerable individual star power as soloists.

Program:

Joseph Haydn Piano Trio No. 44 in E Major, Hob. XV/28

Maurice Ravel Piano Trio in A minor

Felix Mendelssohn Piano Trio No. 2 In C minor, Op. 66

Audra McDonald

“Talent this manifold is too miraculous to deconstruct, but there is at the heart of McDonald’s art a moral radiance, a desire to align beauty with truth and justice.”

–Los Angeles Times

An Evening with Audra McDonald

Sunday | October 22 | 5pm

Symphony Hall

Audra McDonald returns to Boston in a one-night-only engagement, with an orchestra of local musicians. An icon on stage and screen, the six-time Tony Award-winning McDonald lends her luminous voice and committed stage presence to Broadway favorites, standards, and much more.

Grupo Corpo

Saturday | October 28 | 8pm

Sunday | October 29 | 3pm

Boch Center Shubert Theatre

Brazil’s world-renowned contemporary dance ensemble Grupo Corpo returns to Boston for the first time since 2018 with a program that shows off the glorious diversity of cultures in Brazil, with a focus on Afro-Brazilian themes and aesthetics.

Gira, evokes rituals from the Umbanda religious practice, a uniquely Brazilian faith blending West African and Catholic religious practice that originated in Rio de Janeiro in the 1920s. Choreographer Rodrigo Pederneiras merges celebrants’ spinning movements and ritual gestures with his deep background in contemporary dance to create a profound and compelling statement about humanity’s relationship to the divine, or the supernatural.

Gil Refazendo, with choreography by Rodrigo Pederneiras, takes as its inspiration the music of Gilberto Gil, the Bahian composer, performer, and activist called “the godfather of Brazilian music.” Gil was created in 2019 but was completely reworked in 2022 into Gil Refazendo: the music and dance are renewed, reimagined, and rebuilt in response to the pandemic years. Experience iconic Brazilian songs in a new way with this high-energy, uplifting work!