A Concert featuring the Power of Disability and Adaptation
Saturday | September 27 | 3pm | AC
John Paul McGee Trio
Saturday | October 4 | 3pm | FC
J’Nai Bridges★
Thursday | October 9 | 7:30pm | GH
Music From The Sole
House is Open, Going Dark
Friday | October 17 | 8pm | BA
Saturday | October 18 | 2pm | BA
Sunday | October 19 | 3pm | BA
What Makes It Great? with Rob Kapilow
The Genius of Haydn featuring the Balourdet Quartet
Saturday | October 18 | 8pm | JH
Biribá Union
Sunday | October 19 | 3pm | MC
Yunchan Lim★
Wednesday | October 22 | 8pm | SH
Matthias Goerne★ & Daniil Trifonov
Friday | October 24 | 8pm | JH
Dreamers’ Circus
Sunday | October 26 | 3pm | JH
Sol y Canto
Noche de Muertos and Mexican Songs
Saturday | November 1 | 3pm | RC
Cécile McLorin Salvant
Saturday | November 1 | 8pm | BK
Meta4★ For Those Departed
Sunday | November 2 | 3pm | GH
An Evening with Kelli O’Hara
Tuesday | November 4 | 7:30pm | SH
Beatrice Rana
Saturday | November 8 | 8pm | JH
Camille A. Brown & Dancers I AM
Friday | November 14 | 8pm | CM
Saturday | November 15 | 2pm | CM
Jean Appolon Expressions
Saturday | November 15 | 3pm | RC
Amaryn Olmeda★ DEBUT SERIES
Wednesday | November 19 | 7:30pm | PK
Yo-Yo Ma
Friday | November 21 | 8pm | SH
Zakiyyah★
African Import
Saturday | November 22 | 3pm | BE
Third Coast Percussion with choreography by Movement Art Is (Lil Buck and Jon Boogz) Metamorphosis
Saturday | November 22 | 8pm | AR
Sunday | November 23 | 3pm | AR
Théo Ould★ DEBUT SERIES In the Footsteps of Piazzolla
Tuesday | December 2 | 7:30pm | PK
Kevin Harris Project The Roar of a Feather
Saturday | December 6 | 3pm | FC
Jessica Vosk SLEIGH
Saturday | December 6 | 8pm | BK
Soweto Gospel Choir PEACE
Sunday | December 7 | 5pm | BK
Stringfest: Edmar Colón Ensemble & Friends
Saturday | December 13 | 3pm | KR
Tyshawn Sorey Trio★
Friday | January 16 | 8pm | BK
What Makes It Great? with Rob Kapilow
Songs from My Fair Lady, Camelot & Brigadoon: Lerner & Loewe's Greatest Hits
Saturday | January 17 | 8pm | JH
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
Friday | January 23 | 8pm | SH
Alfredo Rodriguez & Pedrito Martinez
Saturday | January 24 | 8pm | BK
Leif Ove Andsnes
Friday | January 30 | 8pm | JH
Ruckus and Davóne Tines
What is Your Hand in This?
Saturday | January 31 | 8pm | ST
Gabriel Kahane Book of Travelers
Sunday | February 1 | 5pm | ST
Axelle Fanyo★ DEBUT SERIES
Julius Drake
Tuesday | February 3 | 7:30pm | PK
Dianne Reeves
Friday | February 6 | 8pm | BK
Women of the World
Saturday | February 7 | 3pm | BE
Meshell Ndegeocello★
Saturday | February 7 | 8pm | BK
Budapest Festival Orchestra
Iván Fischer music director
Tuesday | February 10 | 7:30pm | SH
Trisha Brown Dance Company★
Friday | February 13 | 8pm | BA
Saturday | February 14 | 2pm | BA
Itzhak Perlman
In the Fiddler’s House
Sunday | February 15 | 7pm | SH
STAVE SESSIONS
yMusic
Wednesday | February 18 | 8pm | CB
Dublin Guitar Quartet
Thursday | February 19 | 8pm | CB
Ringdown★
Friday | February 20 | 8pm | CB
Elisapie★
Saturday | February 21 | 8pm | CB
Mao Fujita★ DEBUT SERIES
Thursday | February 19 | 7:30pm | PK
Danish String Quartet
Friday | February 27 | 8pm | JH
Juan Ruiz★ & Camila Cortina★ and Itay Dayan Quintet★
Saturday | February 28 | 2pm | MC
Christopher Elchico,★ Christine Lee,★ & Meng-Chieh Liu★
Sunday | March 1 | 2pm | MC
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Klaus Mäkelä conductor
Sunday | March 1 | 5pm | SH
Vienna Philharmonic
Andris Nelsons conductor
Lang Lang piano
Tuesday | March 3 | 7:30pm | SH
Castle of our Skins
featuring Boston Children’s Chorus★
Saturday | March 7 | 3pm | KR
JAZZ FESTIVAL
Miguel Zenón Quartet
Thursday | March 5 | 7pm & 9pm | AR
Isaiah Collier & The Chosen Few★
Friday | March 6 | 7pm & 9pm | AR
Kris Davis Trio★
Saturday | March 7 | 7pm & 9pm | AR
Sullivan Fortner Trio★
Sunday | March 8 | 5pm & 7pm | AR
Sheku Kanneh-Mason & Isata Kanneh-Mason
Thursday | March 12 | 7:30pm | GH
Friday | March 13 | 8pm | JH
Tenebrae★
A Prayer for Deliverance
Saturday | March 14 | 8pm | ST
Conrad Tao
Sunday | March 15 | 3pm | JH
Martin Hayes and the Common Ground Ensemble★
A St. Patrick’s Day Celebration
Wednesday | March 18 | 8pm | SH
Víkingur Ólafsson
Opus 109
Friday | March 20 | 8pm | SH
Stringfest: Eduardo Betancourt & Friends
Saturday | March 21 | 3pm | KR
Jonathan Suazo★ & Friends
RICANO, Volume 2 Preview
Saturday | March 28 | 3pm | RC
David Sedaris
Thursday | April 9 | 7:30pm | SH
I Dream A World Youth Choral Showcase
Saturday | April 11 | 3pm | RC
Takács Quartet with Jordan Bak★
Saturday | April 11 | 8pm | JH
Pierre-Laurent Aimard★
Friday | April 17 | 8pm | JH
Joyce Yang
Saturday | April 18 | 8pm | JH
Tony Siqi Yun★
Thursday | April 23 | 7:30pm | GH
SHINE! Gala
Saturday | April 25
The Cyclorama, Boston Center for the Arts
Joshua Bell
Sunday | April 26 | 3pm | SH
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Thursday | April 30 | 8pm | WT
Friday | May 1 | 8pm | WT
Saturday | May 2 | 2pm & 8pm | WT
Sunday | May 3 | 3pm | WT
Lisa Batiashvili
Giorgi Gigashvili
Friday | May 1 | 8pm | JH
Zahili Zamora & Friends
Saturday | May 2 | 3pm | AC
Chucho Valdés and His Royal Quartet
Saturday | May 2 | 8pm | BK
Celebrity Series Debut ★
AC | Arlington Street Church
AR | Arrow Street Arts
BA | Boston Arts Academy Theater
BE | Bethel AME Church
BK | Berklee Performance Center
CB | Crystal Ballroom at Somerville Theatre
CM | Cutler Majestic Theatre at Emerson College
FC | First Church Roxbury
GH | Groton Hill Music Center
JH | NEC’s Jordan Hall
KR | Salvation Army Kroc Center
MC | Multicultural Arts Center
PK | Longy’s Pickman Hall
RC | Roxbury Community College
SH | Symphony Hall
ST | Sanders Theatre
WT | Boch Center Wang Theatre
Cover photo by James Hole.
For a list of all photo credits, visit:
celebrityseries.org/photo-credits
WELCOME TO THE 2025/26 SEASON!
Dear Friends,
Welcome to the 2025/26 Season! Inside, you’ll find artists you know and love and debuts across all our genres that will give you a glimpse of the future. I’m excited that, for the first time, we are announcing our free Neighborhood Arts concert series alongside our ticketed subscription offerings.
Showcasing classical, Latin, jazz, and contemporary music as well as dance, Neighborhood Arts performances, curated by Associate Director of Community Engagement Robin Baker, are a great way to explore our city’s vibrant performing arts scene and get to know talented Boston-based artists.
Whether you’re enjoying free Neighborhood Arts performances or ticketed performances as part of our subscription series, you can count on Celebrity Series to bring you artistic variety and exceptional performances.
As you consider your plans for the coming year, I hope you choose to add Celebrity Series to your cultural calendar. My colleagues and I look forward to sharing countless moments of artistry with you.
Warmly,
Gary Dunning President and Executive Director
Dear Friends,
I never program events around a theme. I prefer to match artist, venue, and date without the need to make a performance fit into a mold. But sometimes trends and throughlines emerge, and it’s fun to see what patterns you can spot.
This season, look for new-to-us singers and vocal ensembles. British chamber choir Tenebrae debuts, and opera star J’Nai Bridges, Grammy-winning French soprano Axelle Fanyo, and lieder standout Matthias Goerne (with pianist Daniil Trifonov) appear in recital for the first time in Boston this year.
Artists are diving into Johann Sebastian Bach’s works for piano and cello: Yo-Yo Ma revisits Bach's six unaccompanied cello suites, and pianists Yunchan Lim and Pierre-Laurent Aimard bring you two complete keyboard suites (the Goldberg Variations and The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, respectively).
Dance this season reflects on identity and becoming who you are. Camille A. Brown & Dancers’ I AM journeys through countless ways to express yourself, and Third Coast Percussion’s Metamorphosis, created with Lil Buck and Jon Boogz, depicts two young men growing into themselves. The musicians and tap dancers of Music From The Sole co-create their lives together in House is Open, Going Dark.
Explore the season and build your subscription today. Curate your own theme or follow your whims: the only thing the performances you choose need to have in common is you!
Sincerely,
Nicole Taney Artistic Director
SUBSCRIBER BENEFITS
Buy tickets now for any three performances to earn subscriber benefits:
• Get easy fee-free ticket exchanges within the season
• Lock in subscriber ticket prices for the whole season, even when prices go up
• Pay just one $15 subscription fee, and never pay fees for additional tickets
• Join subscriber-only waitlists for sold-out events and seating upgrades
• Donate unused tickets for a charitable tax receipt
All subscriber benefits are valid until noon the business day before each performance.
The deadline to subscribe is October 7 at noon.
Subscription payment plans available when you book by July 31.
Neighborhood Arts performances are not included in three performance minimum for subscription.
NEW THIS SEASON
MOBILE TICKETS!
We’re excited to announce new mobile ticket delivery this season.
• Save paper with this green option
• Save tickets to your mobile wallet: find them quickly and easily
• One-step ticket exchanges for subscribers without returning a paper ticket
• Faster entry without stopping at Will Call
MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS
Make a contribution with your subscription and enjoy membership benefits! Memberships start at $100 and feature benefits like:
Access to ticket presale opportunities before the general public
Invitations to receptions and behind-the-scenes experiences
Dedicated customer service from a members-only concierge ticketing advisor
Recognition in digital program books and our BRAVO! annual report
… AND MORE!
Donor-advised funds (DAFs) may be used towards membership at Celebrity Series. Questions? Contact advancement@celebrityseries.org
Scan this QR code to learn more about membership and join today:
Want the flexibility of purchasing tickets closer to each performance? Become a Celebrity Series member with a donation of $100 or more and receive early access when single tickets go on sale!
Your membership supports Celebrity Series’ mission to enrich and inspire our community through exceptional live performances.
SERIES SPOTLIGHT
Subscription Series and Neighborhood Arts Performances
This year’s brochure features performances from both the Neighborhood Arts and Subscription Series, making it easy to explore a wide range of events. Neighborhood Arts performances are marked with a yellow label and are free and open to the public. Seating is first come, first served, but you can RSVP to receive updates.
Neighborhood ARTS
Subscription SERIES
Subscription Series performances have a red label and require tickets for entry. These paid events can be included as you build your personalized Subscription package for the year. Neighborhood Arts performances are not included in the three-performance minimum for your subscription. They are a wonderful additional way to round out your Celebrity Series experience in the 2025/26 season.
Mission Hill Arts Festival
The Mission Hill Arts Festival is an annual outdoor performance series held at The Yard at the Tobin Community Center. It invites audiences to come together for live performance and meaningful conversation. The 2025 summer festival theme is Thrive, and Celebrity Series is proud to co-present programs that challenge expectations and celebrate innovation in movement, rhythm, and sound.
Learn more at mhartsfest.org.
The Debut Series at Longy’s Pickman Hall
Discover the rising stars of tomorrow in one of Cambridge’s most intimate concert settings. Throughout its history, Celebrity Series has introduced local audiences to artists making their area debuts. In the 2025/26 season, we continue this tradition by welcoming a new roster of exceptional musicians to the Pickman Hall stage at Longy School of Music of Bard College. Look for the Debut Series label to find these exciting performances.
Learn more at celebrityseries.org/debutseries.
ROXBURY CONCERT SERIES
Boston Public Library, Roxbury Branch
Entering its third season, the Roxbury Concert Series showcases Boston’s vibrant and diverse arts community. Celebrity Series partners with RCS this year to offer you four free performances by outstanding artists with local ties. Check out an event at the gorgeous and newly renovated Roxbury Branch of the Boston Public Library in addition to your Subscription Series and Neighborhood Arts selections!
Biribá Union
Saturday | October 25 | 12pm
Biribá Union is a high-energy trio blending global traditions with American roots and hip-hop flair. Featuring cellist Mike Block, Grammy-nominated artist Christylez Bacon, and bassist Edward Perez, their sound is a vibrant mix of Brazilian rhythms, jazz, go-go, and more. Born from a shared love of Brazilian music, this genre-bending trio delivers pure musical joy—bold, spontaneous, and unforgettable.
Christopher Elchico & Boston Conservatory Faculty String Quartet
Saturday | February 21 | 12pm
Boston Symphony Orchestra clarinetist Christopher Elchico appears with the Boston Conservatory Faculty String Quartet for a program anchored in Osvaldo Golijov’s The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind (1997). Combining klezmer idioms with meditative, mystical ensemble writing, the composer calls the work “a kind of epic, a history of Judaism.”
Zahili Zamora & Friends
Saturday | April 25 | 12pm
Pianist and Berklee professor Zahili Zamora shares a powerful preview of her upcoming album—a vibrant blend of classical, jazz, and Afro-Cuban rhythms. With masterful improvisation, she tells a moving story of resilience, healing, and creative transformation.
Carlos Vargas & Friends
American Scenes
Saturday | June 6 | 12pm
Pianist Carlos Manuel Vargas brings his signature blend of virtuosity and heart to a program of 20th-century American works, from iconic Broadway tales to the lively fusion of Schoenfield’s Café Music.
Presented with thanks to Lizbeth & George Krupp for their leadership support of Celebrity Series’ programming in Roxbury.
MANUELA SÁNCHEZ-GOUBERT
ENSEMBLE
Manuela Sánchez-Goubert Ensemble
Saturday | September 13 | 3pm | Arlington Street Church
Free and open to the public
Manuela Sánchez-Goubert vocals
Federico Aristizábal drums, percussion, and guitar
Juan Diego Panadero clarinet
PRESENTED IN ASSOCIATION
Sebastián Guerrero bass
Juan Sebastián Ramírez percussion
Samuel Zuluaga piano
WITH ÁGORA CULTURAL ARCHITECTS
Colombian vocalist Manuela Sánchez-Goubert is a student at Berklee College’s Global Jazz Institute and has already crafted a sound that is unmistakably her own—one that bridges cultures and genres with bold originality, paving the way for a career with global impact.
Sánchez-Goubert found her voice when she began singing in Spanish and Portuguese, weaving traditional South American rhythms and instruments into the “standard” Western jazz instrumentation.
Her ensemble of musicians from across South American cultures share a love of blending Latin American tradition with contemporary jazz. Together, they will perform selections from their debut album, Raices (“Roots”), an immersive and captivating journey, rich with emotion and the many rhythms of Latin music.
KALIA VANDEVER CHARLES OVERTON
Kalia Vandever trombone
Charles Overton harp
Saturday | September 20 | 3pm | Bethel AME Church
Free and open to the public
Harpist Charles Overton—a Boston-based standout who takes the harp from jazz to chamber to Symphony Hall—joins Grammy Award-winning trombonist Kalia Vandever for an afternoon of ambient, chilled-out, ethereal jazz that offers a welcome escape from the everyday hustle.
Brooklyn-based Kalia Vandever, who has played alongside pop icons like Harry Styles and Demi Lovato and has twice appeared on Saturday Night Live, brings a dreamy, luminous touch to her own compositions, pairing beautifully with Overton’s harp.
A longtime Series favorite, Charles Overton is celebrated for his boundary-pushing collaborations and introspective compositions, making him an ideal partner for Vandever’s evocative and transportive style.
Slow down, take a breath, and step into a world of transportive, billowing, downtempo grooves with Kalia Vandever and Charles Overton.
ADRIAN ANANTAWAN
Adrian Anantawan & Friends
A Concert featuring the Power of Disability and Adaptation
Saturday | September 27 | 3pm | Arlington Street Church
Free and open to the public PRESENTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH ÁGORA CULTURAL ARCHITECTS
Canadian-born, Boston-based violinist Adrian Anantawan boasts a stellar resume. He is a frequent soloist with Boston Landmarks Orchestra, and has performed with symphony orchestras across Canada. He holds degrees from Curtis Institute, Yale, and Harvard, and studied with Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, and Anne-Sophie Mutter. He’s an educator, with appointments at Berklee College of Music and Milton Academy, and serves as the artistic director of Shelter Music Boston.
He’s an outstanding violinist with a sound and a technique that are all his own: Anantawan has always played with an adaptive device on his bow arm, and champions a multidisciplinary project to develop adaptive instruments for young musicians with disabilities.
Anantawan’s talent and his determination got the world’s attention: he performed at the White House, the United Nations, and at the Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
For this can’t-miss concert, expect special guests for an afternoon of boundless music-making and fun!
JOHN PAUL MCGEE
John Paul McGee Trio
Saturday | October 4 | 3pm | First Church Roxbury
Free and open to the public
Pianist and organist John Paul McGee debuted on the Series in 2024 with his Jazz Quartet, introducing audiences to his signature “Gospejazzical”—an entertaining and uplifting blend of gospel, jazz, and classical music. With harmonies that soothe the spirit and rhythms that get toes tapping, his music is both deeply moving and irresistibly joyful.
McGee returns this season to perform on an instrument that will truly surround you with the power of music and let you feel every note: the newly restored organ at the First Church in Roxbury, home of the Unitarian Universalist Urban Ministry. Hear McGee perform a solo program on the organ before the concert moves downstairs for a Gospejazzical program with his trio.
For his Doctor of Ministry degree, McGee studied the stress-relieving effects of Gospejazzical on Black church pastors, but its transformative power is for everyone. Come experience the soul-soothing, uplifting effects of Gospejazzical!
J’NAI BRIDGES
J’Nai Bridges mezzo-soprano
Thursday | October 9 | 7:30pm | Meadow Hall at Groton Hill Music Center
Subscriber tickets start at $49
Hailed as “opera royalty” and “one of the leading mezzo-sopranos of her generation” (OperaWire), Grammy Award-winning J’Nai Bridges is a powerhouse of vocal artistry.
Celebrated for her mesmerizing portrayal of Nefertiti in Philip Glass’ Akhnaten at the Metropolitan Opera and as a definitive Carmen on two continents, Bridges captivates audiences with her sumptuous voice and commanding stage presence.
In addition to her standout appearances on opera stages and with symphony orchestras (including the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 2024 in Berlioz’ Romeo et Juliette), Bridges is a rising star in the recital world. Experience her extraordinary voice in its purest form: hear every shade of color, every nuance of phrasing, and every depth of emotion.
Be transported by the pure vocal artistry of the magnificent J’Nai Bridges.
“Her voice is a rich blanket of plush sound, capacious and flexible, with a panoply of colors and weights”
—THE NEW YORK TIMES
MUSIC FROM THE SOLE
Music From The Sole House is Open, Going Dark
Friday | October 17 | 8pm
Saturday | October 18 | 2pm
Sunday | October 19 | 3pm
Boston Arts Academy Theater
Subscriber tickets start at $55
Irresistible tap dance and live music company Music From The Sole returns for the first time since their sold-out 2024 Celebrity Series debut, I Didn’t Come to Stay, made them instant audience favorites.
Their latest work, House is Open, Going Dark, invites you into the creative process, depicting the moments of conflict and connection that unfold when musicians and dancers share a metaphorical home. From room to room and around the kitchen table, the boundaries between music and movement blur, transforming everyday interactions into breathtaking performances.
House is Open, Going Dark offers a one-of-a-kind, immersive look at the creative process.
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT? WITH ROB KAPILOW
What Makes It Great? with Rob Kapilow
The Genius of Haydn
String Quartet in G Major, Op. 76, no. 1 featuring the Balourdet Quartet
Saturday | October 18 | 8pm | NEC’s Jordan Hall
Subscriber tickets start at $49
Haydn’s final string quartets, making up his Opus 76, feature some of the most innovative and memorable writing of the composer’s career.
In this What Makes It Great? performance, Celebrity Series favorite Rob Kapilow unpacks the first of these quartets, the “Jack-in-the-Box” quartet. He reveals how Haydn playfully subverted the expectations of his contemporaries—from bold departures from convention in the opening movement to the whimsical outburst in the finale that inspired its nickname.
Joining Kapilow is the renowned Balourdet Quartet, fresh off major career milestones, including a 2024 Avery Fisher Career Grant and debut appearances at Carnegie and Wigmore halls. The Boston Musical Intelligencer praised their “absolute musical perfection… full, robust sound… impeccable balance.”
The evening unfolds in two parts: first, the Quartet joins Kapilow on stage to illustrate key musical moments from the piece. After intermission, they perform the work in its entirety before the event closes with audience questions.
BIRIBÁ UNION
Biribá Union
Sunday | October 19 | 3pm | Multicultural Arts Center
Free and open to the public
Mike Block cello
Christylez Bacon beatbox, guitar, rhymes
Edward Perez bass
A powerhouse trio that blends global sounds into a dynamic musical experience, Biribá Union takes its name from the Brazilian wild sugar-apple, symbolizing its vibrant and eclectic spirit. This electrifying ensemble features longtime Celebrity Series partner Mike Block (cello, vocals), Grammy Award-nominated hip-hop artist Christylez Bacon (beatbox, guitar, rhymes), and versatile New York bassist Edward Perez, who started his jazz career in Boston, and has performed locally with the Silkroad Ensemble.
The trio’s music is a joyful mix that draws on the freestyle theatrics of hip-hop and go-go music; the effortless beauty of Brazilian forró and choro; the earthiness of American roots music; and the improvisational spontaneity of jazz.
International influences and classic American styles come together in a joyful and unexpected fusion with this talented trio. Feel the beat, soak in the energy, and let yourself get lost in the magic of Biribá Union!
YUNCHAN LIM
Yunchan Lim piano
Wednesday | October 22 | 8pm | Symphony Hall
Subscriber tickets start at $49
With just one concert—his stunning final-round performance of Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto to clinch the 2022 Cliburn Competition—pianist Yunchan Lim captured the classical music world’s attention. He wowed Boston audiences in 2024 with sold-out appearances at the Boston Symphony Orchestra and with the Orchestre de Paris under Klaus Mäkelä on the Celebrity Series, both in Rachmaninoff concertos.
Lim returns for his Celebrity Series solo recital debut to make a very different artistic statement. Trading an orchestra’s might for a single piano at center stage, and late Romantic passion for Baroque clarity, Lim takes on a pinnacle of the keyboard repertoire that generations of pianists have used to define and hone their artistry: Bach’s Goldberg Variations
In Bach keyboard works, Lim “weighted the counterpoints so perfectly, and deployed such a subtle metrical flexibility, that every inner detail seemed to be imbued with a character of its own” (The Times). Don’t miss Yunchan Lim’s Celebrity Series recital debut: be amazed by a young artist who can do it all.
PROGRAM:
Johann Sebastian Bach Goldberg Variations, BWV 988
MATTHIAS GOERNE & DANIIL TRIFONOV
Matthias Goerne baritone
Daniil Trifonov piano
Friday | October 24 | 8pm | NEC’s Jordan Hall
Subscriber tickets start at $69
German baritone Matthias Goerne makes his Celebrity Series debut alongside the always brilliant Daniil Trifonov, a Series mainstay, for a powerful recital program that beautifully grapples with life’s biggest questions. Goerne and Trifonov bring profound depth to two of Schubert’s farewell masterpieces: Schwanengesang (“Swan Song”) and his Piano Sonata in B-flat Major, D. 960, one of a trio of meditative and powerful works composed in his final weeks.
Matthias Goerne has built a distinguished career across opera, recital, and orchestral stages, earning acclaim for his deep engagement with Schubert Lieder. A master interpreter of the composer’s song literature, he has recorded more than a dozen Schubert albums, collaborating with some of the world’s finest pianists, including Daniil Trifonov.
Trifonov, a Series favorite known for his many solo and collaborative performances, partners with a vocalist for the first time on our stages. In addition to joining Goerne for Schubert’s Schwanengesang, he’ll command the stage alone for one of Schubert’s famously moving final sonatas, lending his fiery and often-otherworldly touch to a work that has moved generations of listeners. It’s a debut and collaboration we’re excited to offer you! Let Goerne and Trifonov be your guides for these moving and thought-provoking works.
PROGRAM:
Schubert’s Swan Songs
Franz Schubert Schwanengesang, D. 957
Sonata in B-flat Major, D. 960
DREAMERS’ CIRCUS
Dreamers’ Circus
Sunday | October 26 | 3pm | NEC’s Jordan Hall
Subscriber tickets start at $39
Nikolaj Busk piano/accordion
Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen violin
Ale Carr cittern
Nordic roots trio Dreamers’ Circus blends echoes of the past with the vital pulse of the present, creating magic in their evocative, vibrant arrangements and original compositions.
With their new album and tour, Handed On, the trio captures the raw energy and deep connection at the heart of Nordic folk music. Originally conceived as a project to compose new tunes that welcome musicians at all levels into the Nordic folk tradition, Handed On aims to spark an interest that keeps this beloved music alive and continuously evolving.
Experience the boundless beauty and joy of Nordic folk music, reimagined and shared by Dreamers’ Circus.
SOL Y CANTO
Sol y Canto
Noche de Muertos and Mexican Songs
Saturday | November 1 | 3pm | Roxbury Community College Media Arts Center
Free and open to the public
PRESENTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH ÁGORA
CULTURAL ARCHITECTS
Pan-Latin ensemble Sol y Canto returns to Neighborhood Arts to celebrate Day of the Dead with songs, stories, and artwork bringing the beloved Mexican holiday to life.
Singer and percussionist Rosi Amador and guitarist and singer Brian Amador, alongside string and wind instrument players and other special guests, perform traditional songs and poetic originals that will make you laugh, cry, and dance as you remember special moments and connect with the spirit of Dia de los Muertos.
“For three decades they have been beloved ambassadors of Latin music”
CÉCILE MCLORIN SALVANT
Cécile McLorin Salvant
Saturday | November 1 | 8pm | Berklee Performance Center
Subscriber tickets start at $29
Whether unearthing forgotten rarities or performing 20th-century standards, vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant makes every song unmistakably her own. Driven by curiosity, she seeks songs with strong narratives, unexpected twists, humor, and power dynamics that interrogate or subvert the status quo.
Spanning vaudeville, Baroque, blues, musical theater, jazz, and folksongs, Salvant sings in English, French, and Haitian Creole, weaving emotional and intellectual truths that connect her vast repertoire.
Each song on her setlist unfolds like a fully realized drama: beautiful, complicated, and thought-provoking. Experience the artistry of an extraordinary storyteller when Cécile McLorin Salvant returns to Celebrity Series.
“…a unique voice supported by an intelligence and full-fledged musicality, which light up every note she sings.”
—JESSYE NORMAN
“Their flamboyant style of music-making—standing, swaying, sometimes even stamping—has thrilled me in the past. Now they seem to deploy even more breathtaking levels of technical and interpretive finesse.”
— THE TIMES (UK )
META4
Meta4
For Those Departed
Sunday | November 2 | 3pm | Groton Hill Music Center’s Meadow Hall
Subscriber tickets start at $49
Antti Tikkanen violin Atte Kilpeläinen viola
Minna Pensola violin Tomas Djupsjöbacka cello
Renowned for their openness, curiosity, and versatility, Finnish quartet Meta4 makes their Celebrity Series debut with a program steeped in remembrance and reflection. They begin with an evocative work by Kaija Saariaho, a composer with whom they’re deeply associated. Saariaho’s second string quartet, bearing the descriptive name “Terra Memoria” and the dedication “For Those Departed,” sets a poignant tone for the program.
Shostakovich’s Fourth Quartet, written in memory of a friend and composed during a period of Stalinist repression, sets a lamenting yet somber and restrained tone. Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 15 in A minor, with a third movement that ranks among the most sublime in classical music, offers a final hymn of thanksgiving.
Dmitri Shostakovich String Quartet No. 4 in D Major, Op. 83
Ludwig van Beethoven String Quartet No. 15 in A minor, Op. 132
AN EVENING WITH KELLI O’HARA
An Evening with Kelli O’Hara
Tuesday | November 4 | 7:30pm | Symphony Hall
Subscriber tickets start at $39
Kelli O’Hara will touch your heart, make you laugh, and wow you with her sparkling vocals whether she’s taking the stage in a Mozart comedy, Golden Age or world premiere musical, contemporary opera, or cabaret concert.
With eight Tony Award nominations and a win for 2015’s revival of The King and I, O’Hara is Broadway royalty, but her glorious voice and committed acting have led her to success on other stages. At the Metropolitan Opera, she reprised her role as Laura Brown in Kevin Puts’ The Hours opposite Renée Fleming and Joyce DiDonato. On screen, she has captivated audiences as a late nineteenth-century socialite in HBO’s period drama The Gilded Age and received an Emmy nomination for her work on The Accidental Wolf.
In every setting, Kelli O’Hara shines. Be moved, be dazzled, be there for this unforgettable evening of song and storytelling.
“The remarkable pianist Beatrice Rana is an artist of truly reflective grace … combining poetry and great skill, among the most gifted musicians of her generation.”
— GRAMOPHONE
BEATRICE RANA
Beatrice Rana piano
Saturday | November 8 | 8pm | NEC’s Jordan Hall
Subscriber tickets start at $49
Called “a marvelously expressive interpreter with a keen sense of how to get to the emotional heart of a work” by Minnesota’s Star-Tribune, Beatrice Rana returns to Celebrity Series with a program that shows off her refinement and virtuosity. She brings her storytelling prowess and emotional expressiveness to two well-loved ballet suites: highlights from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, and selections from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker suite.
Debussy’s Études require deft hands and a sensitive, poetic touch: Rana will bring them to vibrant life on stage. The first of Prokofiev’s mighty “War Sonatas,” composed early in the Second World War, closes the program with a palette of moods that range from fiery and forceful to haunting and atmospheric.
Beatrice Rana delivers it all, from the “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” to armies on the march. She will leave you awestruck.
PROGRAM:
Sergei Prokofiev Selections from Ten Pieces from Romeo and Juliet, Op. 75
Claude Debussy Études, Book 2
Tchaikovsky/Pletnev Selections from The Nutcracker Suite, Op71a
Prokofiev Piano Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op. 82
CAMILLE A. BROWN & DANCERS
Camille A. Brown & Dancers
I AM
Friday | November 14 | 8pm
Saturday | November 15 | 2pm
Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre
Subscriber tickets start at $29
Imagine a world where anything is possible: for individuals, for communities. A world of self-actualization, of Black Joy, of cultural liberation. A universe of new ways of being.
Camille A. Brown created I AM with inspiration from an unlikely source: an episode of HBO’s acclaimed sci-fi/horror series Lovecraft Country. Mirroring aspects of a character’s multidimensional journey of self-discovery and the power that comes with asserting who you are, Brown weaves a world of African diasporic dance styles into an energetic, spontaneous, immersive, and powerful work that the Berkshire Edge called “universal to human experience…it is good for the soul.”
“The joy of I AM is the joy of being entirely yourself, entirely present in the moment. We are here, Brown and the performers seem to say—and we’ll keep being here, together, dancing into the future.”
—THE NEW YORK TIMES
JEAN APPOLON EXPRESSIONS
Jean Appolon Expressions
Saturday | November 15 | 3pm | Roxbury Community College Media Arts Center
Free and open to the public
Boston’s own Jean Appolon Expressions blends Haitian folkloric dance with contemporary movement, creating powerful, visually stunning works that are grounded in cultural specificity and ritual while offering an emotionally resonant experience for audiences of all backgrounds.
Through a compelling blend of the time-honored and the contemporary, artistic director and choreographer Jean Appolon creates works that speak to Haiti’s rich cultural heritage and the Afro-Haitian roots of modern dance. Through movement, he tells deeply human stories about his homeland and its people.
PROGRAM:
Excerpts from Pouvwa and Traka
All choreography by Jean Appolon
“Olmeda is clearly on her way to a stellar career. Combining a charismatic stage presence and audience appeal with pinpoint intonation, intense lyricism, and fluid technique … she is here to stay.”
– CLASSICAL VOICE NORTH AMERICA
AMARYN OLMEDA
Amaryn Olmeda violin
Wednesday | November 19 | 7:30pm | Longy’s Pickman Hall
Subscriber tickets start at $65 DEBUT SERIES
At just 17, American violinist Amaryn Olmeda is already carving out an extraordinary career—balancing her studies at New England Conservatory with a rapidly rising profile on the international stage. With dazzling agility, heartfelt lyricism, and a magnetic stage presence, Olmeda is already making her mark as one of classical music’s most exciting emerging talents.
At age 12, Olmeda won first prize and the audience choice award at the 24th Sphinx Competition. Since then, she has played to adoring audiences and rapturous reviews as a recitalist and an orchestral soloist across the country, including with the Philadelphia Orchestra and at Carnegie and David Geffen halls.
A rising star with boundless potential, Amaryn Olmeda is a must-hear young artist—and one Boston audiences will be cheering for decades to come.
YO-YO MA
Yo-Yo Ma cello
Friday | November 21 | 8pm | Symphony Hall
Subscriber tickets start at $65
PROGRAM:
J.S. Bach Suites 1-6 for Unaccompanied Cello, BWV 1007-1012
“Soft sounds around me suggested that others were caught up in similarly strong emotions. How Ma has this effect on people is a mystery: I suspect it has to do with the warmth he brings to music that is fundamentally beyond comprehension. He makes the godlike human.”
— THE NEW YORKER
ZAKIYYAH
Zakiyyah
African Import
Saturday | November 22 | 3pm | Bethel AME Church
Free and open to the public
Vocalist Zakiyyah is a Boston-based artist-activist who has performed for audiences at venues including the House of Blues, Symphony Hall, and, in a recent career highlight, at the United Nations.
Zakiyyah’s artistic background encompasses theatre, opera, hip-hop, jazz, and R&B; her versatility lets her craft a sound that is uniquely her own. Offstage, Zakiyyah’s experience in politics, international study and artistic scholarship, education, and racial equity consulting inform the sound and substance of her music. She’s an artist with big ideas, and the talent to express them beautifully and unforgettably.
Her African Import program incorporates sounds from throughout the Black diaspora, from Hip-Hopera to R&B to Reggae.
“Propulsive, exciting, and full of gorgeous sounds all the way through”
— NEW YORK CLASSICAL REVIEW
THIRD COAST PERCUSSION WITH DANCER
THIRD COAST PERCUSSION
Third Coast Percussion with choreography by Movement Art Is (Lil Buck and Jon Boogz) Metamorphosis
Saturday | November 22 | 8pm
Sunday | November 23 | 3pm Arrow Street Arts
Subscriber tickets start at $39
Chicago’s Third Coast Percussion and dancer-choreographers Lil Buck and Jon Boogz (together known as Movement Art Is) began this project remotely during the COVID-19 lockdown, a time that gave a special resonance to ideas of shared human experience. The result is a groundbreaking collaboration that weaves contemporary percussion music with distinct and powerful dance styles.
Featuring music by Jlin, Tyondai Braxton, and Philip Glass, Third Coast Percussion’s dynamic score blends with the choreographers' signature styles: Lil Buck's fluid, balletic Memphis Jookin and Jon Boogz’ sharp, surreal popping. The percussion quartet and two dancers to be announced create a stunning meditation on dualities in human nature—fluidity and rigidity, struggle and triumph, individuality and connection.
At its heart, the work dramatizes the growth, resilience, and self-expression of two young Black men, offering an intimate journey that is as thought-provoking as it is visually and musically compelling.
“Served by a technique (left hand with astounding flexibility, phrasing of inexhaustible richness), Théo Ould’s interpretations reveal a personality that expresses itself naturally in fantasy, in the fresh and enchanting sense of the term.”
— LE MONDE
THÉO OULD
Théo Ould accordion
In the Footsteps of Piazzolla
Tuesday | December 2 | 7:30pm | Longy’s Pickman Hall
Subscriber tickets start at $65 DEBUT SERIES
When French accordionist Théo Ould first picked up his instrument at age six, he thought it “an intriguing blend of a computer keyboard and a spaceship, a machine to explore in every sense of the word.” That spirit of wonder and discovery has defined his career. Ould has revitalized the accordion’s place on the concert stage: performing iconic piano works in a different light, commissioning bold new pieces, and crafting programs transport audiences across continents and centuries.
For his forthcoming album and tour, Ould pays tribute to composer and bandoneonist Astor Piazzolla, pairing that composer’s works with his “obsessions” (Bach and Rameau), inspirations (Bartók, Villa-Lobos), contemporaries, and current-day composers inspired by the tango master.
An exceptional young artist playing a fascinating program on a rarely heard instrument makes Théo Ould’s Celebrity Series debut a can’t-miss event!
PROGRAM:
In the Footsteps of Piazzolla: Short works by Ástor Piazzolla paired with selections by Baroque, South American, and modernist influences, as well as pieces by contemporaries of Piazzolla and composers of our time.
KEVIN HARRIS PROJECT
Kevin Harris Project The Roar of a Feather
Saturday | December 6 | 3pm | First Church Roxbury
Free and open to the public
Pianist Kevin Harris debuts as a headliner with his trio to perform The Roar of a Feather, a newly commissioned suite inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks.
It’s an apt choice for an artist who thrives on curiosity, creativity, and innovation, whether inspiring his students at Berklee, collaborating with artistic partners, or captivating audiences.
Soulful, playful, and always thoughtful, Harris’ music strikes a thrilling balance between compositional vision and improvisatory freedom. He’s an artist you’re going to want to hear, whenever you can.
“Harris’ compositions deal with themes of strength, love, courage, and self-awareness. It’s a heavy task he’s set up for himself, and he meets the challenge gracefully.”
— DOWNBEAT MAGAZINE
Jessica Vosk
JESSICA VOSK
Jessica Vosk
SLEIGH
Saturday | December 6 | 8pm | Berklee Performance Center
Subscriber tickets start at $49
SLEIGH: Jessica Vosk’s title says it all. Inspired by her 2024 holiday album of the same name, this show is the ultimate festive extravaganza: a dazzling, high-energy celebration you won’t want to miss.
With her signature wit, powerhouse vocals, and theatrical flair, Jessica Vosk always goes big, making any song a fully realized drama in itself.
Expect songs that span the emotional spectrum, from the riotous hilarity of “The Twelve Gays of Christmas” to beloved classics evoking the warmth and nostalgia of the holiday season.
Calling all current and former theater kids, it’s your night to shine. Get ready to SLEIGH!
“Dazzling audiences with her talent, energy, sincerity and humor… a perfectly crafted cabaret that sent the audience into a frenzy.”
— BROADWAY WORLD
SOWETO GOSPEL CHOIR
Soweto Gospel Choir
PEACE
Sunday | December 7 | 5pm | Berklee Performance Center
Subscriber tickets start at $29
Formed to celebrate the unique and inspirational power of African Gospel music, Soweto Gospel Choir draws on the best talent from the many churches in and around Soweto, South Africa. The choir is dedicated to sharing the joy of faith through music with audiences around the world and has received critical acclaim and audience adoration for their powerful renditions of African American spirituals, gospel, and folk music.
“The Soweto Gospel Choir reminds us that freedom has a face, a history, and it is an objective in and of itself from which we all benefit.”
LIMELIGHT AUSTRALIA
STRINGFEST: EDMAR COLÓN
Stringfest: Edmar Colón Ensemble featuring youth ensembles from Boston Music Project, City Strings United, and Project STEP
Saturday | December 13 | 3pm | Salvation Army Kroc Center
Free and open to the public
In a Stringfest performance, magic unfolds as talented young musicians from local strings programs experience a world of musical styles—concerts highlight classical, folk, Latin, and jazz—and challenge themselves to perform alongside professional musicians.
Puerto Rican-born, Boston-based saxophonist Edmar Colón is a red-hot young jazz bandleader and composer who is a frequent leader and guest artist on Celebrity Series stages. Most recently heard alongside Rob Kapilow in a 2025 What Makes it Great? presentation about Simon & Garfunkel, Colón can play it all!
Colón and his Ensemble team with young string players from three leading educational programs around Boston for an afternoon of intergenerational inspiration and artistry. The youth ensembles open the concert with winter selections, followed by Colón's ensemble and side by side jazzinspired interpretations of Puerto Rican folk songs.
TYSHAWN SOREY TRIO
Tyshawn Sorey Trio
Friday | January 16 | 8pm | Berklee Performance Center
Subscriber tickets start at $29
Tyshawn Sorey drums/multi-instrumentalist
Harish Raghavan bass
Aaron Diehl piano
A singular force in contemporary music, Tyshawn Sorey seamlessly blends jazz, classical, and improvisatory traditions from Europe and Africa to redefine the expressive potential of the drum kit. Guided by his “world aesthetic,” his compositions unfold with deliberate brilliance, erasing boundaries and reshaping 21st-century American music.
Honored with the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in music and a 2017 MacArthur “Genius” Award, Sorey is an artist of limitless potential, who facilitates moments of introspection and transcendence.
He is joined by pianist Aaron Diehl and bassist Harish Raghavan, equally fearless musical partners whose collaboration on The Susceptible Now—hailed by The New York Times as “quietly stunning”—pushes the limits of musical storytelling.
Experience the immersive and meditative artistry of the Tyshawn Sorey Trio.
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT? WITH ROB KAPILOW
What Makes It Great? with Rob Kapilow
Songs from My Fair Lady, Camelot, and Brigadoon: Lerner & Loewe’s Greatest Hits
Saturday | January 17 | 8pm | NEC’s Jordan Hall
Subscriber tickets start at $49
Emily Albrink & Ben Jones vocalists
Rob Kapilow gives his one-of-a-kind What Makes It Great? treatment to the music of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, a duo “virtually synonymous with the blockbuster Broadway musical” (PBS). A must-see for Broadway lovers and curious listeners alike, this event goes beyond performance. Kapilow equips audiences to hear the classics like never before.
In his signature entertaining and educational style, Kapilow breaks down the brilliance behind shows like My Fair Lady, Camelot, and Brigadoon, revealing what makes them so enduring. With his rare mix of insight and sincere enthusiasm, he captivates both novices and experts alike.
THIRD COAST PERCUSSION WITH JAZZDANCER AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA WITH WYNTON MARSALIS
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
Friday | January 23 | 8pm | Symphony Hall
Subscriber tickets start at $39
Jazz is a living conversation between past and present, with each generation of bandleaders reimagining timeless standards while introducing bold new works. Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis invites new fans and returning devotees to this century-long dialogue, capturing the spirit of the Big Band era while proving that this music remains as vibrant and powerful as ever.
Expect a performance that’s both tight and electrifying, where masterful ensemble playing meets breathtaking solo fireworks. With Wynton Marsalis at the helm, this is jazz at its finest—polished, passionate, and endlessly exhilarating.
And, if the past couple of years are any indication, you can count on a sellout crowd: add this event to your subscription order and get the best seats now!
“What makes this duo completely different is that I came from the folkloric side and Alfredo came from the classical side. You put those things together and you come out with an extraordinary and different sound.”
—PEDRITO MARTINEZ
ALFREDO RODRIGUEZ PEDRITO MARTINEZ
Alfredo Rodriguez & Pedrito Martinez
Saturday | January 24 | 8pm | Berklee Performance Center
Subscriber tickets start at $39
Alfredo Rodriguez piano
Pedrito Martinez percussion
Pianist Alfredo Rodriguez, born into a prominent Cuban musical family, trained in classical conservatories, while percussionist Pedrito Martinez honed his deeply-rooted Afro-Cuban folkloric percussion and vocal techniques on the streets of Old Havana.
Despite their different beginnings, both rose to fame by dazzling audiences worldwide, earning praise from jazz and pop culture tastemakers like Wynton Marsalis and Quincy Jones. Their 2019 album Duology, produced by Jones, showcased their electrifying chemistry, as did their debut Celebrity Series performance that same year.
Now, after years of growth and artistic evolution, Rodriguez and Martinez take center stage for a high-energy evening that pulses with the spirit of Cuban musical traditions.
LEIF OVE ANDSNES
Leif Ove Andsnes piano
Friday | January 30 | 8pm | NEC’s Jordan Hall
Subscriber tickets start at $49
Pianist Leif Ove Andsnes returns to Celebrity Series for his third appearance—but for the first time as a solo recitalist. Praised for his insightful, compelling, and elegantly virtuosic interpretations, Andsnes brings clarity and structure to every piece he performs.
Andsnes brings you a program full of variety and unexpected surprises. At its center are selections from György Kurtág’s Játekók (“Games” in Hungarian), an evolving collection of short works spanning nearly five decades. With its unusual notation, extended techniques, and striking contrasts, Játekók invites a fascinating dialogue with earlier composers’ works.
Opening the program, Robert Schumann’s Four Piano Pieces are sometimes lively and dancing, sometimes lyrical, and always deeply expressive and evocative. Andsnes closes with Schumann’s Carnaval, a dazzling and theatrical suite that celebrates artistry and self-expression.
PROGRAM:
Robert Schumann Four Piano Pieces, Op. 32
György Kurtág Selections from Játékok (“Games”)
Leoš Janáček On an Overgrown Path, Book 1
Schumann Carnaval, Op. 9
“His high musical intelligence and unerring communicative power made this journey of discovery, and rediscovery, both a tonic and a treat.”
THE ARTSDESK
RUCKUS AND DAVÓNE TINES
Ruckus and Davóne Tines
What is Your Hand in This?
Saturday | January 31 | 8pm | Sanders Theatre
Subscriber tickets start at $39
Bass-baritone Davóne Tines isn’t just a powerhouse vocalist—he’s a force of nature. Hailed as “a singer of immense power and fervor,” and “[one] of the most powerful voices of our time” (Los Angeles Times), he brings more than just breathtaking sound to the stage. With boundless curiosity and razor-sharp intellect, Tines delves into the stories that connect us, exploring themes of perseverance, identity, and the connections that shape our lives.
Early music band Ruckus infuses every work with vitality and immediacy, giving their periodinstrument performances the spontaneity and verve of a jazz improvisation or pub session.
Together, this ensemble and singular vocalist form the perfect pairing to reflect on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Giving new life to Colonial- and Revolutionary-era hymns, ballads, and Baroque compositions, Ruckus and Tines embark on a musical journey that weaves through the pre-Civil War period, the Civil Rights era, and into the present day.
GABRIEL KAHANE
Gabriel Kahane Book of Travelers
Sunday | February 1 | 5pm | Sanders Theatre
Subscriber tickets start at $39
The morning after the 2016 election, singer/composer Gabriel Kahane boarded a train from New York to Chicago, starting a 9,000-mile journey across America. In a climate of national division, Kahane listened to Americans’ stories: their hopes, hardships, and shared moments of faith and resilience.
From his thirteen-day experience came Book of Travelers, a songcycle for voice and piano that is part personal travel journal, part historical reflection, and part meditation on a fractured nation. Woven with echoes of his grandmother’s cross-country journey after fleeing Germany in 1939, the work’s compositional voice blends classical and folk traditions into a work that is both timely and timeless.
Everyday American stories become extraordinary when you experience Gabriel Kahane’s poignant, wise, and empathetic Book of Travelers.
AXELLE FANYO
Axelle Fanyo soprano
Julius Drake piano
Tuesday | February 3 | 7:30pm | Longy’s Pickman Hall
Subscriber tickets start at $65
DEBUT SERIES
French soprano Axelle Fanyo makes her Boston debut with a captivating program showcasing the vocal brilliance and emotional depth that have defined her rising career on opera and recital stages. Praised for her extraordinary expressiveness, Fanyo “does not only embody a character, she tells us the story. She clearly cultivates the art of communication, which gives her singing another dimension” (Forum Opéra).
A 2024 Grammy Award winner for her San Francisco Symphony debut in Saariaho’s Adriana Mater, Fanyo offers a vibrant program spanning the 20th century—from evocative depictions of far-flung destinations and life on the road to intimate cabaret vignettes that capture the charm of everyday moments.
Experience Axelle Fanyo’s artistry in intimate Pickman Hall in this must-hear, must-see debut.
PROGRAM:
Maurice Ravel Shéhérazade
Ralph Vaughan Williams Songs of Travel
Olivier Messiaen Trois Mélodies
Messiaen Poèmes pour Mi (selections)
William Bolcom
Selected Cabaret Songs
“Best of all is Axelle Fanyo, passionate and declamatory throughout, so that the greatness of the poetry itself really hits home.”
—GRAMOPHONE
“She has one of the most powerful, purposeful, and accurate voices of this or any time.”
—WYNTON MARSALIS
DIANNE REEVES
Dianne Reeves
Friday | February 6 | 8pm | Berklee Performance Center
Subscriber tickets start at $49
Dianne Reeves made a stunning Series debut in 2024’s Duets concert alongside Chucho Valdés and Joe Lovano, and we’re thrilled to welcome her back for an evening in the spotlight. Named a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts, the charismatic Reeves is “a natural storyteller, [using her] timing and phrasing to bring novel insights to everything she sang” (Los Angeles Times).
Captivating vocals, compelling storytelling, and a gift for improvisation make Dianne Reeves’ live performances can’t-miss events. Experience her artistry when she returns to Berklee Performance Center.
WOMEN OF THE WORLD
Women of the World
Saturday | February 7 | 3pm | Bethel AME Church
Free and open to the public
Ayumi Ueda
Zahara Philip
Stacy Rene Erenberg
Heiraza
Don’t miss an international a cappella quartet that will lift your spirits as they share the beauty of music from around the world.
From Japan, Türkiye, India, and the United States, the four vocalists of Women of the World are committed to exploring the beauty and diversity of music from around the globe, arranging traditional and modern favorites for their intricate and shimmering vocal harmonies. With a repertoire spanning 37 languages, they take audiences on an exhilarating and inspiring journey through the vocal, percussion, and storytelling traditions of our shared world.
Make plans now to experience Women of the World.
“Beautiful, spirited, loving...wonderful!”
—BOBBY MCFERRIN
THIRD COAST PERCUSSION WITH DANCER
MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO
Meshell Ndegeocello
Saturday | February 7 | 8pm | Berklee Performance Center
Subscriber tickets start at $39
Award-winning bassist, singer, songwriter, and producer Meshell Ndegeocello has been a powerful force in music for more than 30 years. Known for her genre-defying sound, she blends soul, R&B, jazz, hip hop, and rock with honesty and depth. Throughout her career, she has chosen artistic integrity over trends and substance over fame, building a devoted following drawn to her fearless creativity and emotional truth. In 2024 and 2025, she was recognized with back-to-back Grammy Awards for Best Alternative Jazz Album—further cementing her status as one of the most innovative and influential artists of her generation.
In her headlining debut with Celebrity Series, Ndegeocello will perform a powerful set of both new and fan-favorite songs—offering an unforgettable evening with one of music’s most original and captivating voices.
THIRD COAST PERCUSSION WITH BUDAPEST FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA
Budapest Festival Orchestra
Iván Fischer music director
Tuesday | February 10 | 7:30pm | Symphony Hall
Subscriber tickets start at $65
Gerhild Romberger mezzo-soprano
Boston Lyric Opera Chorus
Brett Hodgdon Boston Lyric Opera Chorus Director
Boys of the St. Paul's Choir School
Brandon Straub music director
Get ready for an evening of music that holds nothing back. Mahler’s Third Symphony is a colossal masterpiece, featuring two choirs, an expanded orchestra, and an alto soloist. The epic work embraces the forces of nature, the exuberance of life, the innocence of childhood, and the transcendent beauty of love.
Leading this journey is the acclaimed Mahler interpreter Iván Fischer and his Budapest Festival Orchestra. With their signature humanity, clarity, and attention to detail, they bring this symphony to life—capturing the rustle of birds and insects in a summer meadow, the shimmer of moonlight, and the breathtaking sweep of the triumphant finale.
PROGRAM:
Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 3 in D minor
PRESENTED IN COLLABORATION WITH BOSTON LYRIC OPERA
TRISHA BROWN DANCE COMPANY
Trisha Brown Dance Company
Friday | February 13 | 8pm
Saturday | February 14 | 2pm
Boston Arts Academy Theater
Subscriber tickets start at $55
Making their Celebrity Series debut, Trisha Brown Dance Company brings a program spanning the visionary postmodern choreographer’s groundbreaking career—from her early explorations of movement to her later masterpieces.
Glacial Decoy, Brown’s first work for a proscenium stage, is a mesmerizing fusion of dance and visual art. With a backdrop of Robert Rauschenberg’s dreamlike photographs, dancers shift across the stage, their precise yet abstract movements mesmerizing. Son of Gone Fishin’ is a complex and intricate highlight from Brown’s “Unstable Molecular Structure” cycle. Brown compared the emergence of patterns in the work to the ripples of a stone cast into water. Out of the most precise chaos, patterns emerge and recede in a kind of interference. In Rogues, two dancers engage in a loose yet deliberate game of mirroring and variation, their playful exchanges revealing Brown’s genius for structured spontaneity.
Fascinating, brilliant, witty: don’t miss Trisha Brown Dance Company’s Celebrity Series debut!
PROGRAM:
Glacial Decoy (1979)
Rogues (2011)
Son of Gone Fishin' (1981)
“Works by Brown don’t just challenge our perceptions; they expand our minds and untether our spirits.”
—THE VILLAGE VOICE
“Perlman’s great gift is to deliver timeless music to his audience with uncomplicated affection, directness, and humanity.”
—THE WASHINGTON POST
ITZHAK PERLMAN
IN THE FIDDLER’S HOUSE
Itzhak Perlman
In the Fiddler's House featuring:
Hankus Netsky, music director, saxophone, and piano
Andy Statman, clarinet and mandolin
Members of the Brave Old World and Klezmer Conservatory Band and other special guests
Sunday | February 15 | 7pm | Symphony Hall
Subscriber tickets start at $49
Violinist Itzhak Perlman returns to Symphony Hall with the Klezmer Conservatory Band and a cast of klezmer all-stars to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his beloved Emmy-winning PBS special, In the Fiddler’s House
Experience Itzhak Perlman’s virtuosity, unmistakable warmth, and infectious joy as he connects with the music of his Yiddish-speaking childhood and time-honored Jewish traditions.
Don’t miss your chance to “see and hear a gifted musician experiencing the pleasure of getting in contact with his roots” (Los Angeles Times), and get ready to laugh, smile, and dance in the aisles when In the Fiddler’s House returns to Symphony Hall!
MAO FUJITA
Mao Fujita piano
Thursday | February 19 | 7:30pm | Longy’s Pickman Hall
Subscriber tickets start at $65
DEBUT SERIES
Japanese pianist Mao Fujita made his United States solo recital debut in 2023 on one of this country’s most storied stages for classical music, Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium. Now, on our Debut Series, you can experience his artistry up close in the intimate setting of Longy’s Pickman Hall. A young artist on a trajectory to the top of the classical music world, Fujita has earned acclaim and captivated audiences with his eloquence and poetic touch, drawing comparisons to the fluidity and momentum of a stream or a gust of wind.
Fujita’s program leans toward the Romantic, with sonatas from Beethoven and Brahms, variations by Mendelssohn and Berg, and two selections by Wagner, concluding with Isoldes Liebestod. It’s a spectacular introduction to Boston audiences from a limitless young artist.
PROGRAM:
Ludwig van Beethoven
Richard Wagner
Alban Berg
Piano Sonata No.1 in F minor, Op. 2, No. 1
Ein Albumblatt, WWV94
Twelve Variations on an Original Theme
Felix Mendelssohn Variations Sérieuses, Op. 54
Johannes Brahms
Wagner/Liszt
Piano Sonata No.1 in C Major, Op.1
Isoldes Liebestod
“When his fingers touched the keys, ... waves of airy filigree, beautifully formed and finished, emerged in almost uninterrupted streams for his two-hour solo recital.”
— THE NEW YORK TIMES
STAVE SESSIONS
FEBRUARY 18-21
Crystal Ballroom at Somerville Theatre
Subscriber tickets start at $35
yMusic
Wednesday | February 18 | 8pm
Alex Sopp flutes
Mark Dover clarinets
CJ Camerieri trumpet/horn
Boundary-defying sextet yMusic creates music that welcomes you in, blending the soaring beauty of classical chamber ensembles with the fresh energy, and accessibility of popular music. Celebrated for their collaborative spirit, they have worked with artists of all kinds, from composers Nico Muhly and Missy Mazzoli, to singer-songwriters Ben Folds and Paul Simon, and choreographer Kyle Abraham and a company of 17 dancers. Immersive, immediate, and unforgettable, yMusic’s live shows are must-see events that redefine the concert experience.
Dublin Guitar Quartet
Thursday | February 19 | 8pm
Brian Bolger Chien Buggle
Pat Brunnock Tomas O’Durcain
Called “a quartet with a difference” by the Irish Times, the Dublin Guitar Quartet is the first classical guitar quartet dedicated to modern and contemporary music. On eight-string and eleven-string acoustic guitars—and occasionally electrics—the foursome brings fresh perspectives to the stage through bold commissions and their own arrangements. First heard on our Debut Series in 2015, they return to Boston with a program featuring works by Bryce Dessner, Rachel Grimes, Marc Mellits, and Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, arranged for four guitars.
Dublin Guitar Quartet
Rob Moose violin
Nadia Sirota viola
Gabriel Cabezas cello
Stave Sessions returns to Davis
Square's Crystal Ballroom for four nights to celebrate contemporary music of all kinds in a relaxed club setting. Enjoy a full bar, gather round, and get ready for surprises.
Ringdown
Friday | February 20 | 8pm
Caroline Shaw
Danni Lee Parpan
Ringdown is a self-described “cinematic electro-pop” duo creating songs that are intricate, textured, and emotionally resonant. Grounded in Danni Lee Parpan’s soulful folk/ pop vocals and songwriting and launched into the abstract by Caroline Shaw’s boundarybreaking composition and performance techniques, Ringdown’s music is both intimate and expansive. More than just collaborators, Parpan and Shaw—partners on stage and in life—create songs that inspire love, connection, and reflection. Their unique blend of raw lyricism and avant-garde artistry makes this an experience as stirring as it is unforgettable.
Elisapie
Saturday | February 21 | 8pm
Canadian Inuk singer-songwriter Elisapie’s music will get your attention. It will sound familiar, with her lovely, soulful voice that slides effortlessly from folk to rock and back again. But listen closer. You know the tune—it’s “Time After Time” or “Heart of Glass”—but you don’t know the words: she’s singing in Inuktitut, an Inuit language. She has transformed a pop culture touchstone into a heartfelt moment of beauty; you can hear the nostalgia, the melancholy. Elisapie reinvents iconic pop and rock songs, beautifully and with intention, to connect to her memories of growing up in Nunavik among the people, places, and language she can never forget.
DANISH STRING QUARTET
Danish String Quartet
Friday | February 27 | 8pm | NEC’s Jordan Hall
Subscriber tickets start at $49
It’s always a pleasure to welcome the Danish String Quartet to our stages. Over three previous appearances, they have captivated audiences with thoughtfully curated programs, peerless ensemble playing, and the unmistakable warmth and camaraderie that come from more than two decades of performing together.
The self-described “three Danes and one Norwegian cellist” return with a program that shows their admirable range. Postmodern Soviet composer Alfred Schnittke’s String Quartet No.2 paints a sorrowful picture of grief and mourning while offering moments of intensity and virtuosity. Jonny Greenwood’s five-movement suite from the film There Will be Blood brings an atmospheric edge to the program. His foreboding, intricately textured score features “leaping, fiendish” (Pitchfork) writing for cello, making it a striking addition to the quartet’s repertoire. Ravel’s only string quartet closes the program, offering a moment of lyrical and subdued beauty from this extraordinary ensemble.
PROGRAM:
Alfred Schnittke String Quartet No. 2
Jonny Greenwood Suite from There Will Be Blood Maurice Ravel String Quartet in F Major
“So what is it about them that prompts such acclaim? …For my part, I’ve got to give it to two things: their commitment to connecting and contextualizing music from all areas of the concert music tradition and beyond, and the unbridled joy they take in playing with one another.”
—THE BOSTON GLOBE
Jessica Vosk
CLARINET WEEKEND
The clarinet—nimble, expressive, authentic, and earthy—features in orchestral, chamber, folk, and jazz works from around the world. Don’t miss two free concerts that celebrate the heart of the woodwind family!
Jazz, Latin, and Klezmer Concert
Saturday | February 28 | 2pm | Multicultural Arts Center
Juan Ruiz clarinet
Camila Cortina piano
Itay Dayan Quintet
with members of the Klezmer Conservatory Band trumpet, piano, bass, drums
This event features two incredible soloists sharing the stage in contrasting global music offerings. Colombian clarinetist and saxophonist Juan Ruiz—known for his work with 15-time Grammy winner Paquito D’Rivera—joins forces with Cuban pianist and composer Camila Cortina. Together, they explore the rich blend of jazz and Latin musical traditions in an expressive, rhythm-forward set.
The second half features Israeli-born clarinetist Itay Dayan, a rising voice in contemporary klezmer. Performing with musicians from the acclaimed Klezmer Conservatory Band, Dayan leads a spirited and soulful performance that honors honoring both klezmer and contemporary jazz traditions while pushing musical boundaries.
Classical Clarinet
Sunday | March 1 | 2pm | Multicultural Arts Center
Christopher Elchico clarinet
Christine Lee cello
Meng-Chieh Liu piano
Second clarinetist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Christopher Elchico is a versatile performer and in-demand collaborator. For this program, he is joined by cellist Christine Lee and pianist Meng-Chieh Liu for an elegant afternoon of classical works featuring clarinet, cello, and piano— a combination of instruments known for their warmth, depth, and lyricism.
CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Klaus Mäkelä conductor and music director designate Sunday | March 1 | 5pm | Symphony Hall
Subscriber tickets start at $65
Preview one of the most exciting partnerships in American orchestral music when the Chicago Symphony returns to Boston with music director designate Klaus Mäkelä. Fresh off his 2024 Series appearance with Orchestre de Paris, the 29-year-old Finnish superstar doesn’t officially take the helm of this legendary orchestra until the 2026/27 season—but this concert offers a thrilling preview of what’s to come.
Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony sets the stage with its infectious, light-footed energy— an irresistibly lively introduction to this dynamic maestro and his new ensemble.
The program concludes with Berlioz’ Symphonie fantastique, a sweeping, semi-autobiographical work depicting an artist consumed by unrequited love and fevered hallucinations. From the dreamy first movement to the frenzied “Witches’ Sabbath” finale, Symphonie fantastique is a true showpiece for both orchestra and conductor.
The CSO hasn’t played in Boston since 2001: catch up with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and hear the exciting sound of this great orchestra’s future!
PROGRAM:
Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92
Hector Berlioz Symphonie fantastique, Opus 14
VIENNA PHILHARMONIC WITH LANG LANG
Vienna Philharmonic
Andris Nelsons conductor
Lang Lang piano
Tuesday | March 3 | 7:30pm | Symphony Hall
Subscriber tickets start at $59 PRESENTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
The legendary Vienna Philharmonic returns to Boston—its first visit since 2003—under the baton of the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Andris Nelsons for a program of sumptuous late Romantic and 20th-century masterpieces.
Piano superstar Lang Lang, fresh off his triumphant, sold-out 2025 Celebrity Series recital, returns to Symphony Hall as the soloist in Bartók’s third and final piano concerto.
PROGRAM:
Béla Bartók Piano Concerto No. 3 in E Major, Sz. 119
Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 1 in D Major
JAZZ FESTIVAL
March 5-8
Arrow Street Arts
Four nights of fascinating, exhilarating jazz at Harvard Square’s newly renovated theater and entertainment hotspot: ARROW STREET ARTS .
Tradition and innovation, high concept and deep feeling: Grammy Award-winning alto saxophonist
Miguel Zenón saxophone
Luis Perdomo piano
Hans Glawischnig bass
Henry Cole percussion
Miguel Zenón doesn’t see these as opposites, but as the foundation for his smart, stylish, and expressive music. Rooted in his Puerto Rican heritage and propelled by Henry Cole’s inventive percussion work, Zenón’s post-bop explorations blend intellectual depth with rhythmic vitality, amplified by the global sensibility of his powerhouse quartet. Don’t miss an evening of brilliant music-making that poses big questions while delivering irresistible grooves.
Isaiah Collier & The Chosen Few
Friday | March 6 | 7pm & 9pm
Saxophonist Isaiah Collier, a vital creative force in Chicago’s jazz scene, makes his Boston debut with a program inspired by one of his musical heroes, John Coltrane. Still in his mid-20s, Collier is a leading voice in “spiritual jazz:” music that transcends time and reaches for a spiritual level beyond the day-to-day. In this performance, Collier and his quartet, The Chosen Few, honor Coltrane’s prolific legacy with electrifying interpretations of his own iconic works.
Kris Davis Trio
Saturday | March 7 | 7pm & 9pm
Kris Davis piano
Robert Hurst bass
Johnathan Blake drums
In her Run the Gauntlet album, Kris Davis, accompanied by the extraordinary talents of bassist Robert Hurst and drummer Johnathan Blake, pays homage to six trailblazing women pianists who have influenced her development as a pianist and composer. Seamlessly melding composition with improvisation, this album stands as a testament to Davis’ singular voice within the jazz landscape.
Sullivan Fortner Trio
Sunday | March 8 | 5pm & 7pm
Sullivan Fortner piano
Tyrone Allen bass
Kayvon Gordon drums
Pianist Sullivan Fortner, a 2024 Grammy Award winner seen on the Series in concerts with vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant and with trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, makes his debut as a bandleader with his trio. Expect deeply soulful and inventive music, marked by Fortner’s signature blend of technical brilliance, emotional depth, and boundless creativity—qualities that piano luminary and album producer Fred Hersch describes as “technique always in the service of expression, joy and humor, fearlessness and pianistic mastery.”
CASTLE OF OUR SKINS
Castle of our Skins
featuring Boston Children’s Chorus
Saturday | March 7 | 3pm | Salvation Army Kroc Center
Free and open to the public
Praised by the Boston Globe for their “ambitious hopes” that “seem right for a world that more often than not seems agonizingly divided,” Castle of our Skins celebrates more than a decade of championing Black artistry, past and present. Endlessly collaborative across disciplines, they are a longtime Neighborhood Arts partner organization, twice co-creating world premiere works in the Solo(s) Together commissioning project.
In this powerful program, the Castle of our Skins string quartet joins forces with the nextgeneration voices of Boston Children’s Chorus to explore our shared cultural connections. Derrick Skye’s American Mirror for string quartet and vocalists incorporates African, European, classical Indian, and American folk styles to define “classical music” for our time and place.
Experience two of Boston’s standout performing arts organizations in a program that celebrates the ties that unite us all.
SHEKU AND ISATA
KANNEH-MASON
Sheku Kanneh-Mason cello
Isata Kanneh-Mason piano
Thursday | March 12 | 7:30pm | Groton Hill Music Center’s Meadow Hall
Subscriber tickets start at $55
Friday | March 13 | 8pm | NEC's Jordan Hall
Subscriber tickets start at $49
Ten years ago, pianist Isata and cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason arrived on the international classical music scene by way of Britain’s Got Talent: they made a splash as the eldest and third siblings in a remarkable family of musicians. As their stars rose, the young artists lived up to the hype, earning acclaim from critics and rapturous applause from audiences for recitals, orchestral appearances, and chart-topping recordings.
The Kanneh-Masons’ artistic evolution has been nothing short of exhilarating. Sheku has become one of the most in-demand orchestral soloists of our time, bringing depth and brilliance to a repertoire that spans centuries. Isata, a pianist of remarkable insight and artistry, captivates in any setting as a performer and as a curator, acclaimed for pairing beloved masterpieces alongside overlooked treasures.
With flights of jaw-dropping virtuosity and moments of subtle camaraderie, Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason convey the sheer joy of classical music. Together, these siblings are unmissable.
PROGRAM:
Felix Mendelssohn Cello Sonata No. 1 in B-flat Major, Op. 45
Nadia Boulanger Three pieces for cello and piano
Robert Schumann Five Pieces in Folk Style, Op. 102
Rebecca Clarke Viola Sonata
TENEBRAE
Tenebrae
A Prayer for Deliverance
Saturday | March 14 | 8pm | Sanders Theatre
Subscriber tickets start at $39
Described as “phenomenal” (The Times) and “devastatingly beautiful” (Gramophone Magazine), award-winning choir Tenebrae, based in London, is one of the world’s leading vocal ensembles. Passion and precision are the core values that guide Tenebrae and Artistic Director Nigel Short. The group gives audiences meditative, memorable, and transporting concert experiences.
Their Boston debut program, A Prayer for Deliverance, mixes iconic choral works with music by some of today’s most exciting composers, centering themes of rest and respite. Joel Thompson’s virtuosic new work, the 15-part showpiece that gives the program its title, is a must-hear highlight.
PROGRAM:
A Prayer for Deliverance
Works by Gustav Holst, Cecilia McDowall, Francis Pott, Caroline Shaw, Richard Rodney Bennett, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Joel Thompson, John Tavener, Robert Pearsall, Arthur Sullivan, Herbert Howells, William Harris.
CONRAD TAO
Conrad Tao piano
Sunday | March 15 | 3pm | NEC’s Jordan Hall
Subscriber tickets start at $39
Pianist Conrad Tao wowed and delighted Celebrity Series audiences earlier this year in the joyfully exhilarating Counterpoint, alongside tap dancer Caleb Teicher.
Tao returns in the new season to showcase his range and sensitivity with Poetry & Fairy Tales, a program that interweaves evocative contemporary works with well-known pieces by Brahms and Ravel.
Structure and freedom, mood and narrative, dynamism and introspection combine when Conrad Tao—an artist of “probing intellect and open-hearted vision” (The New York Times) returns to Celebrity Series.
PROGRAM:
Poetry & Fairy Tales
Johannes Brahms Klavierstücke, Op. 118, no. 1
David Fulmer I have loved a stream and a shadow, Part 1
Brahms Klavierstücke, Op. 118, nos. 2-4
Rebecca Saunders Mirror, mirror on the wall
Brahms Klavierstücke, Op. 118, no. 5
Todd Moellenberg Leg of Lamb (after Bernadette Mayer)
David Fulmer I have loved a stream and a shadow, Parts 2 and 3
Maurice Ravel Gaspard de la nuit
Brahms Klavierstücke, Op. 118, no. 6
IRISH CELEBRATION WITH MARTIN HAYES
Martin Hayes and the Common Ground Ensemble
A St. Patrick’s Day Celebration curated by Martin Hayes
Wednesday | March 18 | 8pm | Symphony Hall
Subscriber tickets start at $39
Martin Hayes fiddle
Cormac McCarthy piano
Kate Ellis cello
Kyle Sanna guitar
Brian Donnellan bouzouki, harmonium, concertina
with special guests
Sam Amidon singer, multi-instrumentalist
Síle Denvir Sean Nós singer, harpist
Stephanie Keane dancer
Morgan Bullock dancer
Paul Muldoon poet
One of the world’s most celebrated Irish fiddlers, Martin Hayes has been a standout on the Irish trad scene for decades. A six-time All-Ireland fiddling champion from County Clare—the homeland of traditional Irish music—Hayes has a unique ability to transform and broaden listeners’ understanding. His music remains deeply rooted in Irish expression, yet it reaches across styles and cultures, creating a truly global conversation.
With his Common Ground ensemble, Hayes brings together an extraordinary lineup of guest artists from diverse disciplines—contemporary classical, jazz, dance, and even poetry—for a vibrant cultural celebration. Joining his core group of musicians for this concert are American jazz/folk multi-instrumentalist Sam Amidon, Irish dancer Stephanie Keane, Sean Nós (“old style”) singer and harpist Síle Denvir, and American Irish dancer Morgan Bullock, who became a social media sensation for her step dance remix of Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage” in 2020. Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon adds another essential Irish art form to this rich and dynamic celebration.
VÍKINGUR ÓLAFSSON
Víkingur Ólafsson piano
Opus 109
Friday | March 20 | 8pm | Symphony Hall
Subscriber tickets start at $39
In just four years, Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson has become a mainstay on our season, and a welcome presence in Boston.
Anything but routine, his programs are consistently brilliant and reliably unconventional. Ólafsson’s debut at Pickman Hall offered a thoughtfully curated and insightfully performed tour through the works of Mozart and his contemporaries. At Jordan Hall, he explored Bach’s landmark Goldberg Variations with striking clarity. And last season at Symphony Hall, he joined the dazzling, formidable Yuja Wang for a two-piano recital that bounded playfully across centuries and styles.
Now, Ólafsson returns to Symphony Hall for his solo debut on that grand stage. With the title, he draws our attention to Beethoven’s antepenultimate piano sonata, Opus 109, composed in 1820. On the way to that monumental work, Ólafsson treats us to a journey through works by Bach, and earlier sonatas by Beethoven and Schubert, all in the key of E major or minor.
Stringfest: Eduardo Betancourt & Friends, featuring Boston String Academy
Saturday | March 21 | 3pm | Salvation Army Kroc Center
Free and open to the public
Eduardo Betancourt harp
Carlos Capacho cuatro
Carlos Sulbarán bass
Leo Blanco piano
Boston String Academy
Stringfest performances provide children in local string education programs with opportunities to learn from and perform alongside professional artists. Stringfest programs are open to the public, and we invite you to witness the magic that unfolds when young musicians engage with dynamic, world-class performers!
This year, harpist Eduardo Betancourt leads his all-Venezuelan jazz quartet in an exciting collaboration with the young musicians of Boston String Academy’s El Sistema-inspired program.
Separately and side by side, they'll perform classical, jazz and Venezuelan folksongs in this multicultural, intergenerational afternoon of music!
JONATHAN SUAZO
Jonathan Suazo & Friends RICANO, Volume 2 Preview
Saturday | March 28 | 3pm | Roxbury Community College Media Arts Center
Free and open to the public PRESENTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH
ÁGORA CULTURAL ARCHITECTS
Boston-based Jonathan Suazo is an award-winning saxophonist, composer, and cultural catalyst, using music to celebrate and illuminate his Puerto Rican and Dominican roots. Whether leading drum circles, mentoring young artists, or crafting dynamic performances, he seamlessly bridges tradition and innovation.
His first album, Ricano, was named one of The New York Times’ top ten Jazz albums of 2023, with DownBeat Magazine praising how “Suazo envelops us in a soundscape propelled by lyrical sax playing.”
As the release of Ricano, Vol. 2 approaches, don’t miss this exciting live preview of Suazo’s potent, thrilling Afro-Caribbean jazz.
“Richly built, written from the heart and packed with complexity, always seeking the next level of altitude.”
—THE NEW YORK TIMES
DAVID SEDARIS
David Sedaris
Thursday | April 9 | 7:30pm | Symphony Hall
Subscriber tickets start at $29
Aging. Politics. Family drama. Pretty heavy stuff, right?
For a lot of authors, sure, but not from the pen of the incomparable David Sedaris. Big issues are taken down to size, conflicts are sliced through, and hilarity emerges, somehow, from misfortune in David Sedaris’ telling.
Some problems don’t go away, but David Sedaris invites you to see them in a new way: to find a way to laugh despite everything that vexes us or divides us.
David will read new and unpublished works, and will stay after the performance to meet and sign books for every person in line.
This performance will feature American Sign Language interpretation.
I DREAM A WORLD
I Dream A World Youth Choral Showcase
Saturday | April 11 | 3pm | Roxbury Community College Media Arts Center
Free and open to the public featuring:
Boston Children’s Chorus
Boston City Singers
Handel and Haydn Society Youth Choruses Chamber Choir
Mike Block cello
Francesca McNeeley cello
This must-see event for the United States’ 250th anniversary year brings together a stage full of talented young singers, the words of American literary luminaries, two amazing Boston-based cellists, and the world premiere of a new choral commission by B.E. Boykin.
Each youth choir presents a unique musical setting of Langston Hughes’ “I Dream A World,” in compositions by esteemed composers Rollo Dilworth, Mike Block, Andre Thomas, Dan Welcher, and more.
The program also brings new life to the words of Boston’s Phillis Wheatley—a brilliant poet, transAtlantic literary celebrity, and the first published African American author. Cellists Mike Block and Francesca McNeeley collaborate for a stirring arrangement of Wheatley’s “A Farewell to America,” while composer B.E. Boykin and author Brittny Ray Crowell set other Wheatley texts to music for the assembled choirs.
TAKÁCS QUARTET
JORDAN BAK
Takács Quartet with Jordan Bak
Saturday | April 11 | 8pm | NEC’s Jordan Hall
Subscriber tickets start at $49
Edward Dusinberre and Harumi Rhodes violins
Richard O’Neill viola
András Fejér cello with Jordan Bak viola
The Takács Quartet—long celebrated for their fearlessness, power, and interpretive clarity—finds a well-matched partner in American violist Jordan Bak. Like the Quartet, Bak draws praise for his power and warmth, commanding presence, and ability to captivate the (or an) audience’s attention and imagination.
While all five musicians are dedicated champions of contemporary music, they bring their interpretive insights to bear on string quintets by Mozart, a composer whose legacy echoes across history.
The Quartet opens the program with Schubert’s Quartettsatz, a riveting movement filled with turbulence and lyricism. At the heart of the program, hear two relative rarities performed with unparalleled artistry and depth as Jordan Bak joins forces with the inimitable Takács Quartet!
PROGRAM:
Franz Schubert Quartettsatz in C minor, D. 703
W. A. Mozart String Quintet No. 4 in G minor, K. 516
W. A. Mozart String Quintet No. 3 in C Major, K. 515
PIERRE-LAURENT AIMARD
Pierre-Laurent Aimard piano
Friday | April 17 | 8pm | NEC’s Jordan Hall
Subscriber tickets start at $49
Pierre-Laurent Aimard, one of the world’s most respected pianists, makes a long-anticipated Celebrity Series debut with his signature intellect, expressiveness, and clarity.
“A brilliant musician and an extraordinary visionary,” according to the Wall Street Journal, Aimard is a champion of contemporary music, yet here he tackles a cornerstone of keyboard literature—Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II—a work that shaped the course of Western music.
Join Aimard for an 88-key journey though the 24 keys of the preludes and fugues, where his insightful interpretation reveals the genius of Bach in thrilling new dimensions.
PROGRAM:
J.S. Bach The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II
“The fundamental sensation of hearing Aimard’s fingers glide through the notes, masses of sound coming together to create harmonies that were barely there before morphing into a new chord or phrase, the two hands in complex counterpoint, was emotionally and physically enthralling.”
—NEW YORK CLASSICAL REVIEW
JOYCE YANG
Joyce Yang piano
Saturday | April 18 | 8pm | NEC’s Jordan Hall
Subscriber tickets start at $49
Blessed with “poetic and sensitive pianism” (Washington Post) and a “wondrous sense of color” (San Francisco Classical Voice), Grammy Award-nominated pianist Joyce Yang captivates audiences with her virtuosity, lyricism, and interpretive insight.
Acclaimed for her “extraordinary” and “kaleidoscopic” recital programs (Los Angeles Times), Yang brings Boston audiences a program anchored in piano suites that show off her range of colors and emotional sensitivity. Yang’s program features Schumann’s Kreisleriana—a captivating dialogue between lyricism and fiery passion—and Gershwin’s Songbook for Piano—18 of the composer’s iconic songs, playfully reimagined—to take you on a virtuosic, exuberant journey through myriad styles and emotions.
PROGRAM:
Johannes Brahms Four Pieces for Piano, Op. 119
Robert Schumann Kreisleriana, Op. 16
Leoš Janáček No. 1 from In the Mists
Alexander Scriabin Three Pieces, Op. 45
George Gershwin Songbook for Piano
TONY SIQI YUN
Tony Siqi Yun piano
Thursday | April 23 | 7:30pm | Meadow Hall at Groton Hill Music Center
Subscriber tickets start at $49
Still in his early 20s and only two years out of Juilliard, Canadian pianist Tony Siqi Yun is already making waves as a soloist and recitalist. Praised for his refinement, muscular sound, and intimate expressivity, Yun has “an emergent big personality” (Philadelphia Inquirer) that makes him a pianist you’ll want to experience firsthand.
Yun’s debut program spans lyrical Bach/Busoni, Beethoven’s radiant “Waldstein”, Berio’s crystalline Wasserklavier, Liszt’s virtuosic Réminiscences de Norma, and Brahms’ epic Piano Sonata No. 3. It’s a thrilling journey through color, clarity, and intensity—perfectly suited to showcase the expressive range of this rising star.
A compelling introduction to a must-hear young artist, the program promises to showcase the poetry and power that set Tony Siqi Yun apart on the global stage.
PROGRAM:
J.S. Bach/Ferruccio Busoni Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, Chorale Prelude, BWV 639
Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 21 in C Major, Op. 53, “Waldstein”
Franz Liszt/Vincenzo Bellini Réminiscences de Norma, S. 394
Luciano Berio Wasserklavier
Johannes Brahms Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 5
“Tony is a true poet of the keyboard. Expressive, and with his own distinct voice, yet elegant and poised.”
— PIANIST MAGAZINE
CELEBRITY SERIES SHINE! GALA
Saturday | April 25 | The Cyclorama at the Boston Center for the Arts
Save the date for Celebrity Series’ annual SHINE! Gala, an evening celebrating live performance, community, partnerships, and artistry!
Join us for cocktails, performances, dinner by The Catered Affair, and after-dinner dancing. Produced in partnership with Rafanelli Events, it’s an annual event not to miss.
Celebrity Series encourages anyone to join in the fun; if you love, are curious about, support, or express yourself through the performing arts, we’d love to see you there!
We can’t wait to SHINE! with you!
For more information, visit celebrityseries.org/gala.
“Bell has exquisite technique in jumping from sweet notes to a commanding sound with maximum dramatic effect. And those high notes have a beautiful musicality; they don’t sound forced from his violin, they float from it.”
—THE ORLANDO SENTINEL
JOSHUA BELL
Joshua Bell violin
Sunday | April 26 | 3pm | Symphony Hall
Subscriber tickets start at $49
Beloved violinist Joshua Bell stands among the most celebrated artists of our time, captivating audiences with his virtuosity for nearly four decades. Renowned for his animated stage presence and “lucid, energetic, and compelling” (Bachtrack) interpretations, he draws audiences closer to the music with deep emotional connection and undeniable charisma.
With a repertoire spanning Baroque to contemporary commissions, Bell curates programs that delight, inspire, and move audiences. No matter what he plays, Joshua Bell will play it wholeheartedly.
ALVIN AILEY
AMERICAN
DANCE THEATER
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Thursday | April 30 | 8pm
Friday | May 1 | 8pm
Saturday | May 2 | 2pm & 8pm
Sunday | May 3 | 3pm
Boch Center Wang Theatre
Subscriber tickets start at $39
Beauty, grace, strength: these are the hallmarks of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. For more than six decades, the magnificent Ailey dancers have inspired us, touched our hearts, and invited us to joyously clap along with them as they take their curtain calls in the beloved Revelations.
The Ailey company honors the legacy of African American cultural touchstones and brings us a world of contemporary dance through new commissions.
Under the leadership of new Artistic Director Alicia Graf Mack, the Company embarks on its next era, guided as ever by Alvin Ailey’s pioneering legacy. Ailey will continue to break new ground, pushing the bounds of what the human body can do and what the human spirit can achieve.
“She played with pure, gorgeous tone and fabulous technique... Could you have fairly asked for more? The audience, to judge from its standing ovation, was fully content.”
—THE NEW YORK TIMES
LISA BATIASHVILI
Lisa Batiashvili violin
Giorgi Gigashvili piano
Friday | May 1 | 8pm | NEC’s Jordan Hall
Subscriber tickets start at $49
Beloved by audiences worldwide for her “fearless…tonally rich and technically immaculate” (The Guardian) playing, violinist Lisa Batiashvili returns to the Series after her acclaimed 2023 performance alongside pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet and cellist Gautier Capuçon. Don’t miss your chance to witness an artist who effortlessly blends delicacy with intensity and lyricism with precision in a rare duo recital with Giorgi Gigashvili.
Batiashvili’s program features an early Beethoven sonata, showcasing her special affinity for the composer, as well as Bartók’s 1922 Violin Sonata No. 1, a striking fusion of classical sonata tradition, folk influences, and the modernism of the postwar period. The recital concludes with Franck’s Violin Sonata in A Major—a radiant, rarely heard masterpiece originally written as a wedding gift—that Batiashvili performed “fervently and beautifully” (San Francisco Classical Voice) on her 2022 album Secret Love Letters.
Pianist and Berklee College professor Zahili Zamora offers a captivating preview of her forthcoming album, a dynamic fusion of classical piano, jazz, and Afro-Cuban rhythms. With extraordinary improvisational skill, Zamora weaves these influences into a deeply personal yet universally relevant narrative that speaks to healing, resilience, and the transformative power of creativity.
Experience Zahili Zamora’s genre-fusing improvisation and celebrate the power of creativity!
CHUCHO VALDÉS AND HIS ROYAL QUARTET
Chucho Valdés and His Royal Quartet
Saturday | May 2 | 8pm | Berklee Performance Center
Subscriber tickets start at $49
Chucho Valdés piano
José Armando Gola bass
Horacio Hernandez drums
Roberto Jr. Vizcaino percussion
Chucho Valdés, in over six decades in the public eye, has never rested on his laurels. Leading big bands and small ensembles, he’s defined and redefined Afro-Cuban jazz for generations of listeners. A 2025 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, Valdés blends jazz, blues, funk, Latin, classical, and African influences into a captivating musical experience.
Valdés and His Royal Quartet of next-generation standouts, heard on the 2024 album Cuba & Beyond, pay homage to Chick Corea and Mozart, play American blues and Cuban folksongs with an Afro-Latin twist, and apply a playful, creative, and surprising approach to every selection.
Not just a visionary artist with boundless creativity, Chucho Valdés has an irrepressible sense of fun. You’ll share his joy and love for the music when you hear Chucho Valdés and His Royal Quartet.
GROUP SALES
Great performances are meant to be shared! Celebrity Series offers group sales at every performance throughout the season for groups of 10 or more. Get special discounts and personalized options for you and your group plus, there’s no need to wait: groups get early access before tickets go on sale to the general public!
Visit celebrityseries.org/groups to learn more.
GIFT CERTIFICATES
Give the gift of live performing arts with a Celebrity Series gift certificate! Visit celebrityseries.org/gift to treat your friends and family to memorable performances.
MISSION, VISION, VALUES
Our Mission
To enrich and inspire our community through exceptional live performances.
Our Vision
We envision a community of Greater Boston where the performing arts are a valued, life-long, shared experience—on stages, on streets, in neighborhoods—everywhere.
Our Values
COLLABORATION CURIOSITY EQUITY
INTEGRITY
THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPORTERS
2025/26 SEASON SPONSORS
Crescendo Donor Advised Fund and Susan & Michael Thonis
Anonymous (3) | Jill & David Altshuler | Leslie & Howard Appleby | Amy & Joshua Boger
Stephanie L. Brown | Michael & Adrianne Canning | Lizbeth & George Krupp | Susanne Marcus Collins Foundation
Eleanor & Frank Pao | Stephen C. Perry & Oliver Radford | Rabb Family Foundations | Reuben Reynolds
Royal Little Family Foundation | Schrafft Charitable Trust | Sally S. Seaver, PhD
Jeremy Silverman & Mary Sutherland | Belinda Termeer | Susan & Michael Thonis
Urban Agenda Grant Program from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Economic Development (EOED)
