2022/23 Performance Season
Welcome to the 2022/23 season!
After two years of disruptions, I am proud to share with you one of our largest and most diverse seasons that Celebrity Series has ever presented in its 84-year history.
I invite you to explore the variety of genres, diversity of styles, and the full range of Boston-area venues that will allow for myriad ways to experience the thrill of live performance. From debut artists in every genre to familiar favorites, this season will remind you why artists in live performance are an essential part of a vibrant community.
I look forward to seeing you – in person! – at a performance this season.
Gary Dunning President & Executive Director
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Select your own seats for any three performances to become a subscriber, and get valuable benefits like ticket exchange privileges, locked-in subscriber pricing for the whole season, and one low handling fee.
On-Demand Digital Streaming
Watch nine performances on demand for up to one week! Recordings will premiere two days after the live event and will be available for one week.
For full information, please see celebrityseries.org/athome
Cover: A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham, Donovan Reed. Photo by Peter Hönnemann. Requiem: Fire in the Air of the Earth is a Celebrity Series co-commission.
See the full list of benefits at celebrityseries.org/subscribe celebrityseries.org/photo-credits
2022/23
Cal endar
Maria Schneider Orchestra, Data Lords
Fri | October 7 | 8pm | ST
Chucho Valdés, The Creation
Fri | October 14 | 8pm | BPC
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
María Dueñas, violin
Sun | October 23 | 5pm | SH
Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo-soprano
Kristian Bezuidenhout, piano
Sat | November 5 | 8pm | JH
Jessica Vosk, My Golden Age
Fri | November 11 | 8pm | SH
Berliner Philharmoniker
Kirill Petrenko, conductor
Noah Bendix-Balgley, violin
Sun | November 13 | 8pm | SH
A.I.M by Kyle Abraham, Requiem: Fire in the Air of the Earth
Fri & Sat | November 18 & 19 | 8pm | BCST
What Makes It Great? with Rob Kapilow
Inventing America, Part 1:
The Songs of Irving Berlin
Sun | November 20 | 3pm | GBH
Víkingur Ólafsson, piano
Tue | November 29 | 8pm | PH
Mountain Stage
hosted by Kathy Mattea featuring Rosanne Cash
Sun | December 4 | 7pm | BPC
Martin Helmchen, piano
Tue | December 6 | 8pm | PH
Soweto Gospel Choir,
Hope: It’s Been a Long Time Coming
Fri | December 9 | 8pm | BPC
Junction Trio
Sat | December 10 | 8pm | JH
Seong-Jin Cho, piano Sun | December 11 | 3pm | JH
Stefanie Batten Bland Company, Look Who’s Coming to Dinner
Sat & Sun | Jan. 14 & 15 | 8pm & 3pm | PS
LaTasha Barnes’ The Jazz Continuum
Thu – Sat | January 19 – 21 | 8pm | PS
Emerson String Quartet
Sun | January 22 | 3pm | JH
Danish String Quartet
Fri | January 27 | 8pm | JH
An Evening with Branford Marsalis
Sat | January 28 | 8pm | BPC
Chris Thile
Fri | February 3 | 8pm | ST
Artemis Sat | February 4 | 8pm | BPC
What Makes It Great? with Rob Kapilow Inventing America, Part 2:
Appalachian Spring Sun | February 5 | 3pm | JH
Circa, Sacre
Thu – Sat | February 9 – 11 | 8pm | BCST
Emi Ferguson and Ruckus
Sat | February 11 | 8pm | GBH
Jason Moran and the Harlem Hellfighters, James Reese Europe and the Absence of Ruin Fri | February 17 | 8pm | BPC
Alexi Kenney, violin
Wed | February 22 | 8pm | PH
Dreamers’ Circus
Fri | February 24 | 8pm | JH
Igor Levit, piano
Sat | March 4 | 8pm | JH
Lawrence Brownlee, tenor
Kevin Miller, piano
Sun | March 5 | 3pm | GBH
Melissa Aldana Quartet
Wed | March 8 | 7pm | AFH
Hiromi
Thu | March 9 | 7pm | AFH
Nnenna Freelon
Fri | March 10 | 7pm | AFH
Ambrose Akinmusire
Sat | March 11 | 7pm | AFH
KODŌ, Tsuzumi
Sun | March 12 | 5pm | SH
Aoife O’Donovan
Fri | March 17 | 8pm | ST
Chineke! Orchestra
Andrew Grams, conductor
Stewart Goodyear, piano
Wed | March 22 | 8pm | JH
Terri Lyne Carrington + Social Science
Fri | March 24 | 8pm | BPC
STAVE SESSIONS:
Sō Percussion and Shodekeh
Wed | March 29 | 8pm | CB
Fatma Said, soprano
Rafael Aguirre, guitar
Thu | March 30 | 8pm | PH
Wild Up
Thu | March 30 | 8pm | CB
Yasmin Williams
Fri | March 31 | 8pm | CB
Craig Taborn
Sat | April 1 | 8pm | CB
David Sedaris
Sun | April 2 | 7pm | SH
Joshua Bell, violin
Daniil Trifonov, piano
Tue | Apr 4 | 8pm | SH
Beatrice Rana, piano
Fri | April 14 | 8pm | JH
Paul Taylor Dance Company
Fri – Sun | April 14 – 16 | BCST
An Afternoon with Itzhak Perlman
Itzhak Perlman, violin
Rohan De Silva, piano
Sun | April 16 | 3pm | SH
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
Fri | April 21 | 8pm | SH
Doric String Quartet with Benjamin Grosvenor, piano
Sat | April 22 | 8pm | JH
Evgeny Kissin, piano Sun | April 23 | 3pm | SH
Davóne Tines, bass-baritone
Adam Nielsen, piano
Wed | April 26 | 8pm | PH
Osvaldo Golijov’s Falling Out of Time Sun | April 30 | 2pm | SH
Aizuri Quartet
Wed | May 3 | 8pm | PH
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Thu-Sun | May 4-7 | BCWT
Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer & Zakir Hussain Sat | May 6 | 8pm | BPC
SHINE Gala!
Save the Date
Fri | May 12
The Legendary Count Basie Orchestra featuring Diane Schuur Sat | May 20 | 8pm | GBH
AFH | Artists For Humanity EpiCenter
BPC | Berklee Performance Center
BCST | Boch Center Shubert Theatre
BCWT | Boch Center Wang Theatre
CB | Crystal Ballroom, Somerville Theatre
GBH | GBH’s Calderwood Studio
JH | NEC’s Jordan Hall
PH | Longy’s Pickman Hall
PS | NEC’s Plimpton Shattuck Black Box Theatre
ST | Sanders Theatre
SH | Symphony Hall
Also available for on-demand digital streaming two days after the in-person performance!
Chucho Valdés
The Creation
with the Yoruban Orchestra
Hilario Durán & John Beasley musical directors
Fri | October 14 | 8pm
Berklee Performance Center
Chucho Valdés’ The Creation takes audiences through the Regla de Ocha story of creation from the Afro-Cuban religious practice Santería. This evening-length suite engages with powerful cultural rituals and explores how Valdés has woven his heritage throughout his extraordinary career.
Maria Schneider Orchestra
Data Lords
Fri | October 7 | 8pm
Sanders Theatre
One of the jazz world’s most respected and original voices, Maria Schneider brings her accomplished and cohesive ensemble to Sanders Theatre for the local premiere of Data Lords, her most ambitious project to date and a profound statement on the tension between our dystopian digital environment and the natural world.
Be among the first to experience this extraordinary artist’s vital and relevant new work.
“One of the great treasures of the music world… Valdés grounds his work in the aural history of mother Cuba… weaving in aspects of folk, jazz, and classical”
- DownBeat magazine
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Gustavo Dudamel conductor
María Dueñas violin
Sun | October 23 | 5pm
Symphony Hall
PROGRAM:
Gabriela Ortiz Violin Concerto (Boston premiere)
Mahler Symphony No. 1
Constant innovation and reinvention define the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Now in his 12th season as music & artistic director, Gustavo Dudamel’s vision has led the New York Times to herald the ensemble as “the most important orchestra in America—period.”
Joining Dudamel for the local premiere of a newly commissioned work by Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz is the young and electrifying Spanish violinist María Dueñas in her Boston debut.
Anne Sofie von Otter mezzo-soprano
Kristian Bezuidenhout piano
Sat | November 5 | 8pm NEC’s Jordan Hall
Mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter, universally recognized for her versatility and superlative skill at conveying a work’s textual meaning through her insightful musical interpretation, performs works by Schubert and Fanny Mendelssohn, as well as songs from her native Sweden.
Kristian Bezuidenhout, one of today’s most notable and exciting keyboard artists, collaborates with von Otter as she creates an atmosphere where subtlety, detail, and delicacy showcase the interplay of text, music, meaning, and drama in a compelling and unforgettable recital.
Jessica Vosk, My Golden Age
Fri | November 11 | 8pm Symphony Hall
Jessica Vosk, star of Wicked’s second national tour, makes her Boston concert debut with a program she premiered at a sold-out Carnegie Hall. In My Golden Age, Vosk pays homage to the iconic voices who inspired her—Bette Midler, Linda Ronstadt, Judy Garland—and to composers Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz, and Leonard Cohen.
“Dazzling audiences with her talent, energy, sincerity and humor…a perfectly crafted cabaret that sent the audience into a frenzy.”
- BroadwayWorld
“An orchestra in which every player has the virtuosity and, more tellingly and as required, the attitude of a soloist.”
- The Guardian
Berliner Philharmoniker
Kirill Petrenko conductor Noah Bendix-Balgley violin
Sun | November 13 | 8pm Symphony Hall
Kirill Petrenko makes his eagerly awaited Boston debut as music director of the Berliner Philharmoniker in what promises to be a highlight of the new season: a truly unmissable event.
Petrenko leads the orchestra in three pieces, culminating with the sweepingly dramatic and moving Korngold Symphony, one of the great works of the 20th century.
PROGRAM:
Andrew Norman Unstuck
Mozart
Korngold
Violin Concerto No. 1, K.207
Symphony in F-sharp Major
A.I.M by Kyle
Abraham
Requiem: Fire in the Air of the Earth
Fri & Sat | November 18 & 19 | 8pm Boch Center Shubert Theatre
In Requiem: Fire in the Air of the Earth, a new work cocommissioned by Celebrity Series, Kyle Abraham poignantly reimagines Mozart’s Requiem in collaboration with electronic music pioneer Jlin. Abraham’s deep grounding in classical ballet, hip-hop, modern dance, and street dance unites with Jlin’s extraordinary sense of rhythm for a powerful and unforgettable experience.
“What Abraham brings … is an avant-garde aesthetic, an original and politically minded downtown sensibility that doesn’t distinguish between genres.”
- Vogue
What Makes It Great? with Rob Kapilow
Inventing America, Part 1
The Songs of Irving Berlin: An American Voice for Popular Music
Rob Kapilow piano and commentator Michael Winther vocalist
Sun | November 20 | 3pm Calderwood Studio at GBH Boston
In the first performance of this two-part series, Rob Kapilow peels away the layers of composer Irving Berlin’s iconic American songs.
The program features unforgettable favorites including, “Cheek to Cheek,” “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” “You’re Just in Love,” and many more.
It’s a must-see event for anyone who enjoys Broadway, Hollywood musicals, and the American songbook.
Víkingur Ólafsson piano
Tue | November 29 | 8pm
Longy’s Pickman Hall
Acclaimed pianist Víkingur Ólafsson makes his Boston debut with a carefully-curated program that places works from Mozart’s last decade in fascinating dialogue with pieces by contemporaries Haydn, C.P.E. Bach, Cimarosa, and Galuppi.
“An arresting artist who in concert creates unique aural landscapes.”
– LA Times
Mountain Stage hosted by Kathy Mattea featuring Rosanne Cash
Additional artists to be announced!
Sun | December 4 | 7pm
Berklee Performance Center
NPR Music’s Mountain Stage radio show—produced by West Virginia Public Broadcasting—comes to Berklee Performance Center with a star-studded showcase celebrating the talented women of the Americana, folk, and bluegrass traditions. Hosted by Kathy Mattea and featuring Rosanne Cash, with other extraordinary artists to be announced.
Martin Helmchen piano
Tue | December 6 | 8pm
Longy’s Pickman Hall
PROGRAM:
Bach Partita No. 6
Schumann Selected Novelletten, Op. 21
Schumann Gesänge der Frühe, Op. 133
Brahms Sonata No. 3, Op. 5
German pianist Martin Helmchen’s “creamy tone” and “crystalline beauty” (Boston Globe) have made him known as one of the greatest pianists of his generation.
“Under the pianist’s beautifully regulated touch, phrases arched and connected with a fluidity that always felt natural in their unfolding ...”
- Chicago Tribune
Soweto Gospel Choir
Hope: It’s Been a Long Time Coming
Fri | December 9 | 8pm
Berklee Performance Center
South Africa’s Soweto Gospel Choir returns with an inspiring, feel-good program entitled Hope: It’s Been a Long Time Coming. Dressed in vibrant colors, the choir melds together African and American musical influences, from gospel to Christian to pop and Broadway covers.
Clap along, tap your feet, and get ready to find joy with the Soweto Gospel Choir!
“Absolutely thrilling singers... dazzling music”
- Billboard
Junction Trio
Sat | December 10 | 8pm
NEC’s Jordan Hall
PROGRAM:
Johannes Ciconia Le ray au soleyl (Chantilly Codex, circa 14th c.)
Amy Williams Bells and Whistles (2022)
Co-commissioned by Celebrity Series of Boston
Carlo Gesualdo Selection from Tenebrae Responsoria (16th c.) (arr. Junction Trio)
Schumann Piano Trio No. 1
Three game-changing musicians combine their talents into one sensational and eclectic group. Violinist Stefan Jackiw, cellist Jay Campbell, and pianist Conrad
Tao have all dazzled Celebrity Series audiences in unexpected pairings, and the trio will deliver a program that interweaves the old and the new: arrangements of chant and madrigals and a Schumann trio sit alongside a Celebrity Series co-commission for the group, Bells and Whistles by Amy Williams.
Seong-Jin Cho piano
Sun | December 11 | 3pm
NEC’s Jordan Hall
PROGRAM:
Handel Suites Nos. 2 and 5
Brahms Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel
Brahms Selections from Klavierstucke
Schumann Symphonic Etudes
With an overwhelming talent and innate musicality, Seong-Jin Cho is a rising star on the world stage and is considered one of the most distinctive pianists of his generation. His playing combines panache with purity and is driven by an impressive natural sense of balance.
Hear the 2015 International Chopin Piano Competition winner in his Boston recital debut!
Company SBB // Stefanie Batten Bland
Look Who’s Coming to Dinner
Sat & Sun | January 14 & 15 | 8pm & 3pm
NEC’s Plimpton Shattuck Black Box Theatre
Stefanie Batten Bland’s work Look Who’s Coming to Dinner is a thought-provoking theatrical dance piece that evokes the 1967 film of a similar name as a cast of seven talented dance theater artists literally and metaphorically seek a seat at an ever-changing dinner table.
Accompanied by an original score performed live, Stephanie Batten Bland creates a powerful performance, delving into complex human relationships in the context of social, political, and racial issues.
LaTasha Barnes’ The Jazz Continuum
Thu – Sat | January 19 – 21 | 8pm
NEC’s Plimpton Shattuck Black Box Theatre
Dancer, choreographer, and educator LaTasha Barnes brings together her collective of extraordinary dance artists and jazz musicians in The Jazz Continuum. Seven dancers and seven musicians come together in lively and fun interplay as they explore the parallel flourishing of jazz music and Black American social dance styles through the decades, beginning with Lindy Hop.
“Continuum is expertly choreographed—the details of the movements and the architecture of the staging clearly drawn—but there is yet an easy-going feeling of improvisation”
- Boston Globe
Emerson String Quartet
Sun | January 22 | 3pm
NEC’s Jordan Hall
PROGRAM:
Bartók
String Quartet No. 2
George Walker Lyric for Strings
Shostakovich
String Quartet No. 12
Beethoven String Quartet, Op. 59, No. 2
Do not miss your chance to be there when the Emerson String Quartet takes the stage at Jordan Hall for their final concert with Celebrity Series, the last of 27 appearances, a tenure marked by stirring performances, brilliant collaborations, and memorable moments.
The program will be drawn from their Grammy award-winning recordings of quartets by composers Bartók, Shostakovich, and Beethoven. The poignant Lyric for Strings by George Walker sets the tone as we bid the beloved Quartet a fond farewell.
Danish String Quartet
Fri | January 27 | 8pm
NEC’s Jordan Hall
PROGRAM:
Haydn String Quartet, Op. 20, no. 3
Shostakovich String Quartet No. 7
Folk music arrangements by Danish String Quartet
Danish String Quartet makes a long-awaited return to Celebrity Series to present works representing its wide range of performance interests, spanning the classical quartet literature and beyond. Quartets by Haydn and Shostakovich sit alongside a set of Nordic folk tunes, beautifully arranged by members of the
“The adventurous young members of the Danish String Quartet play almost everything excitingly.”
- New York Times
An Evening with Branford Marsalis
Sat | January 28 | 8pm
Berklee Performance Center
Branford Marsalis, with his longtime quartet, brings a kaleidoscope of moods and perspectives to a program that includes selections from their latest album, The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul. Marsalis’ long musical relationships with bandmates Joey Calderazzo, Eric Revis, and Justin Faulkner are evident when the four play together: while leaving room for improvisation and surprise, their musical alignment is clear.
“Marsalis stands as one of the most imposing tenor and soprano saxophonists in jazz today.”
- Chicago Tribune
Chris Thile
Friday | February 3 | 8pm
Sanders Theatre
When Chris Thile takes the stage with his mandolin, you never quite know what you’re going to hear. Classical, bluegrass, originals, and covers are all fair game, and he plays everything with flair and conviction.
He will perform selections from his most recent release, Laysongs; the album is a solitary reflection on faith, doubt, devotion, and community—it’s his most personal work to date. Don’t miss your chance to be amazed and moved by this brilliant artist!
What Makes
Artemis
Sat | February 4 | 8pm
Berklee Performance Center
Renee Rosnes piano
Alexa Tarantino alto saxophone / flute
Nicole Glover tenor saxophone
Jazz supergroup Artemis makes its Celebrity Series debut with an unforgettable, unique performance. Hailing from the US, Canada, and Japan, six of the top-charting female jazz musicians come together as one, giving audiences high-wire interplay infused with pure joy.
“A killer line-up of players, composers, and performers who hail from all over the world...they all converge on this extremely cosmopolitan, sleek, rhythm-forward, modern sound.”
- NPR Music
It Great? with Rob Kapilow
Inventing America, Part 2
Copland’s Appalachian Spring: An American Voice for Classical Music
Rob Kapilow piano and commentator
A Far Cry ensemble
Sun | February 5 | 3pm
NEC’s Jordan Hall
Originally commissioned as a ballet for Martha Graham, the suite has become auditory shorthand for a kind of populist Americana, but Kapilow finds elements of the piece that keep avid listeners coming back. He illustrates Copland’s specific choices that surprise, subvert audience expectations, and set the work apart.
Ingrid Jensen trumpet
Noriko Ueda bass
Allison Miller drums
Emi Ferguson and Ruckus
Fly the Coop
Sat | February 11 | 8pm
Calderwood Studio at GBH Boston
Emi Ferguson, the principal flutist of the Handel and Haydn Society, and freewheeling Baroque continuo band Ruckus take you on a wild romp through some of Bach’s most playful and transcendent works as they infuse the music with equal parts tradition, funk, whimsy, and fun.
“...blindingly impressive...a fizzing, daring display of personality and imagination”
- New York Times
Circa, Sacre
Thu – Sat | February 9 – 11 | 8pm
Boch Center Shubert Theatre
Australian contemporary circus ensemble Circa returns to Boston with Sacre, a new work set, in part, to Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring.
The ten Circa performers—through lifts, balancing, pyramids, and more—use their bodies as a canvas for the audience’s emotional interpretation. The acrobats’ amazing feats are the conduit for a riveting and meditative journey into ritual and community.
“… a revolution in the spectacle of circus.”
- Les Echos
DEBUT SERIES
Alexi Kenney violin
Wed | February 22 | 8pm
Longy’s Pickman Hall
Shifting Ground
Violinist Alexi Kenney—praised for his “beautiful, aching tone” (Strings)—makes his Celebrity Series debut this season with a program entitled Shifting Ground. In this recital for solo violin with and without electronics, which the New York Times called “breathless and often daring,” Kenney weaves selections from Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas with contemporary compositions, placing the past and the present in a compelling dialogue.
Jason Moran and the Harlem Hellfighters
James Reese Europe and the Absence of Ruin
Fri | February 17 | 8pm
Berklee Performance Center
Brilliant pianist, composer, and multimedia artist Jason Moran turns his boundless creativity and curiosity to a celebration of the life of often-overlooked African American musical pioneer James Reese Europe, credited with introducing jazz music to the European continent during World War I.
Moran, with his trio and an expanded horn section, shares archival photos, recordings, and original multimedia creations to help build his musical monument to a truly transformational artist.
Igor Levit piano
Sat | March 4 | 8pm
NEC’s Jordan Hall
PROGRAM: Beethoven’s Last Three Sonatas Opp. 109-111
Virtuosic pianist Igor Levit—who became a social media sensation during the COVID-19 lockdown for his series of 52 consecutive home performances spanning the piano repertory from Bach to Billy Joel—returns in the new season to take on three pinnacles of the piano literature.
Don’t miss enduring masterworks performed by one of the “most important artists of his generation” (New York Times) when Igor Levit plays Beethoven’s last sonatas.
Dreamers’ Circus
Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen violin
Ale Carr Nordic cittern
Nikolaj Busk piano, accordion
Fri | February 24 | 8pm
NEC’s Jordan Hall
Contemporary and innovative in their approach, Dreamers’ Circus draws inspiration from the deep traditions of Nordic folk music and reshapes them into something bright, shiny, and new.
“This is music that paints images in your mind, that fires the imagination.”
- Folk Radio (U.K.)
KODŌ, Tsuzumi
Sun | March 12 | 5pm
Symphony Hall
Exploring the limitless possibilities of the taiko, the traditional Japanese drum, Kodō is forging new directions for a vibrant living art-form. With this group, there’s no substitute for the feeling of the in-person experience. Be there when they fill Symphony Hall with their propulsive music and movement!
“Don’t miss this, the sound of their drums will be engraved forever on your memory.”
- Le Quotidien de Paris
Lawrence Brownlee tenor Kevin
Miller piano
Sun | March 5 | 3pm
Calderwood Studio at GBH Boston
Tenor Lawrence Brownlee, “one of the most in-demand opera singers in the world today” (NPR), returns alongside pianist Kevin Miller with a program of song based on texts by poets and authors of the Harlem Renaissance set to brand-new music that he is commissioning from acclaimed Black composers.
Join Lawrence Brownlee as he shares a bold and thrilling vision: he reflects on the past as he looks ahead to a more inclusive era of composition and vocal performance.
Jazz Festival at the Artists For Humanity EpiCenter
Melissa Aldana Quartet
Wed | March 8 | 7pm
Thanks to her lyrical, elegant, powerful playing and her visionary band leadership, Melissa Aldana has been on an impressive upward trajectory in recent years. The Chilean tenor sax player is a co-founder of the supergroup Artemis and is leading her own trio to new heights of refined playing, assured songwriting, and thoughtful self-expression. Come hear one of the leaders of the new generation in jazz!
Hiromi
Thu | March 9 | 7pm
Across her career, multifaceted Japanese pianist Hiromi has thrilled fans and critics alike with creative energy that can’t be contained by genre. She says, “I don’t want to put a name on my music. ... It’s just the union of what I’ve been listening to and what I’ve been learning. It has some elements of classical music, it has some rock, it has some jazz, but I don’t need to give it a name.” Don’t miss this fiery solo performance from an audacious pianist!
Nnenna Freelon
Fri | March 10 | 7pm
Born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, renowned jazz vocalist Nnenna Freelon has scaled the heights of jazz over her storied career, from headlining all-star shows, to performing for presidents and other heads of state. She brings her elegant voice and compelling stage presence to the pop-up club setting of Artists For Humanity EpiCenter in what will be a memorable experience.
Ambrose Akinmusire
Sat | March 11 | 7pm
Berkeley, California-based trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire has become a force in jazz, at once excelling at his craft yet simultaneously stretching beyond the genre, making connections to classical, hip hop, and other artistic circles. Refusing to be contained, he weaves inspiration from myriad sources into compositions that are as poetic and graceful as they are bold and unflinching.
Chineke! Orchestra
Andrew Grams conductor
Stewart Goodyear piano
Wed | March 22 | 8pm
NEC’s Jordan Hall
PROGRAM:
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Othello Suite
Stewart Goodyear Callaloo, Caribbean suite for piano and orchestra
Florence Price Symphony No. 1
Aoife O’Donovan
Fri | March 17 | 8pm Sanders Theatre
With her ethereal voice and substantive songwriting, Grammy awardwinning musician Aoife O’Donovan captivates fans and critics alike. For her show at Sanders Theatre, O’Donovan features songs from her recently released album Age of Apathy, backed by her world-class touring band.
A Boston-area native, she returns to Celebrity Series following her celebrated 2021 Celebrity Series at Home streaming concert with Chris Thile.
This season marks an exciting and important Boston debut: the inaugural visit by Britain’s Chineke! Orchestra. Founded in 2015 by the pioneering double bass player Chi-chi Nwanoku, OBE, the Orchestra is the first professional majority Black and Asian orchestra in Europe.
“The purity of tone and rhythm were enchanting”
- The Times (London)
DEBUT SERIES
Fatma Said soprano
Rafael Aguirre guitar
Thu | March 30 | 8pm
Longy’s Pickman Hall
Terri Lyne Carrington + Social Science
Fri | March 24 | 8pm
Berklee Performance Center
Activist, educator, and drummer Terri Lyne Carrington and her band Social Science appear on the Celebrity Series this season, two years after earning a Grammy nomination for their album, Waiting Game. Special guests to be announced will join the group for a multi-dimensional vocal and instrumental musical experience.
Terri and her new band (pianist Aaron Parks, guitarist Matthew Stevens, DJ Kassa Overall, vocalist Débo Ray, and multi-instrumentalist Margan Guerin) confront a range of social justice issues including mass incarceration, police brutality, gender justice, and more.
Egyptian soprano Fatma Said, making her United States recital debut, and Spanish guitarist Rafael Aguirre bring diverse, interconnected cultures together to create a sublime and illuminating experience that you won’t want to miss.
Said’s partnership with Aguirre brings a cross-cultural flair to this recital, which features Spanish, Egyptian, and Lebanese songs, as well as selections from Brazil.
“Wit, spice and plenty of polish”
- The Times (London)
STAVE SESSIONS
at the CRYSTAL BALLROOM AT SOMERVILLE THEATRE
Sō Percussion and Shodekeh
Wed | March 29 | 8pm
Join adventurous percussion group Sō Percussion and groundbreaking beatboxer Dominic “Shodekeh” Talifero in a program of genre-defying works by Angelica Negron, Bryce Dessner, Pauline Oliveros, Jason Treuting, and Shodekeh in an “exhilarating blend of precision and anarchy, rigor and bedlam” (The New Yorker ). Journey into new worlds of sound with this intriguing collaboration.
Wild Up
Thu | March 30 | 8pm
Los Angeles-based ensemble Wild Up creates mind-bending and theatrical contemporary music experiences by playing with place, structure, the relation of artist to audience: any aspect of the concert experience is up for reinvention at any time. Led by Founder and Artistic Director Christopher Rountree, the collective at once upholds and spontaneously redefines the notion of a traditional ensemble.
Yasmin Williams
Fri | March 31 | 8pm
Yasmin Williams is an acoustic fingerstyle guitarist with an unorthodox, modern style of playing. Her style utilizes various techniques including alternate tunings, percussive hits, and lap tapping. Her “radiant sound and adventitious origins have made her a key figure in a diverse dawn for the solo guitar” (New York Times). Williams’ music is rich and harmonious, while “challenging widespread preconceptions about the music made by young Black people or acoustic guitars” (Washington Post).
Craig Taborn
Sat | April 1 | 8pm
Audiences know pianist Craig Taborn for his versatility as a leader, a soloist, and a sideman in dozens of bands and his brilliance as an improvisor in any number of musical contexts, from straight-ahead jazz to electroacoustic sound collage. For twenty-five years, he’s continued to push the boundaries of composition and improvisation in jazz, new music, electronic, rock, noise, and more. Don’t miss a boundless innovator and his equally daring trio, who incorporate new and innovative sounds in each performance.
Performances at the Crystal Ballroom at Somerville Theater are general admission, with cabaret seating and bar service available.
Joshua Bell violin
Daniil Trifonov piano
Tues | April 4 | 8pm
Symphony Hall
PROGRAM
Beethoven Sonata No. 1, Op. 12
Prokofiev Sonata No. 1 in F Minor
Franck Sonata in A major for Violin and Piano
Joshua Bell and Daniil Trifonov, two of the most brilliant and awarded artists in classical music, each command the stage, yet complement each other as a duo. Undeniable star power and sublime music-making abound when “an astonishing pianist,” (Los Angeles Times) and “one of the world’s greatest violinists” (Washington Post), join forces for this extraordinary recital!
David Sedaris
Sun | April 2 | 7pm Symphony Hall
David Sedaris has shared his life with us and made us laugh for decades. From the absurdist adventures of his early career to his wry and devastating recent examinations of aging, family, and mortality, his essays, diaries, and bestselling books have reflected his expansive curiosity, relentless powers of observation, and cheerful misanthropy. Don’t miss the return of a Celebrity Series favorite!
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Beatrice Rana piano
Fri | April 14 | 8pm
NEC’s Jordan Hall
PROGRAM TO INCLUDE:
Chopin Sonata No. 2
Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 29, Op. 106, Hammerklavier
Italian pianist Beatrice Rana has become a force in the international classical music world, receiving admiration from critics and audiences alike. As renowned for her sensitivity and musical intelligence as she is for her vivid colorations and pyrotechnics, she is a pianist who truly has it all.
She takes on one of the highlights of the piano repertoire, Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata, in her return to the Series.
Paul Taylor Dance Company
Fri – Sun | April 14 – 16 | 8pm, 8pm, and 3pm
Boch Center Shubert Theatre
A favorite of Boston audiences for decades, the Paul Taylor Dance Company returns as part of the company’s global tour honoring the legacy of Taylor under its new artistic director, Michael Novak. Boston audiences can expect to enjoy classic Taylor works alongside newly commissioned works by contemporary choreographers.
“The American spirit soars whenever Taylor’s dancers dance.”
- San Francisco Chronicle
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
Fri | April 21 | 8pm
Symphony Hall
Since hearing the band’s debut in 1992, Celebrity Series audiences have known and loved the awe-inspiring musical juggernaut that is Wynton Marsalis and his Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. This time-tested ensemble always delivers a tight and polished experience that impeccably conjures the big band heyday, even when they are playing new works or reinterpreting classics. Marsalis’ insightful commentary and often-witty banter will draw you even closer to the music and the stories behind it.
An Afternoon with Itzhak Perlman
Itzhak Perlman violin
Rohan De Silva piano
Sun | April 16 | 3pm Symphony Hall
The great violinist Itzhak Perlman–an international treasure–has been beloved by Celebrity Series audiences since his first Boston recital in 1971. Perlman shares a deeply personal look at his childhood and the earliest years of his long and celebrated career in this afternoon of multimedia, music, and storytelling. Don’t miss your chance to see archival photos and videos, and experience musical selections that you won’t hear anywhere else!
Evgeny Kissin piano
Sun | April 23 | 3pm
Symphony Hall
PROGRAM:
Bach
Doric String Quartet with Benjamin Grosvenor piano
Sat | April 22 | 8pm
NEC’s Jordan Hall
PROGRAM:
Beethoven String Quartet, Op. 95 “Serioso”
Haydn String Quartet, Op. 50, no. 6 “The Frog”
Frank Bridge Piano Quintet, H. 49
The Doric String Quartet is a leading quartet of its generation, receiving enthusiastic responses from audiences and critics across the globe. Pianist Benjamin Grosvenor joins the Quartet for British composer Frank Bridge’s Quintet in D minor. Grosvenor “commands the stage with aristocratic ease” and “makes you sigh with joy,” wrote the New York Times.
Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue
Mozart Sonata No. 9 in D Major
Debussy Estampes
Rachmaninoff “Lilacs”
Prelude in A minor, Opus 32, no. 8
Prelude in G-flat Major, Opus 23, no. 10
Eight Études-Tableaux, Opus 33
This season, Evgeny Kissin takes center stage with his first Symphony Hall solo recital since 2014. The event promises power, staggering technical prowess, and sublime music-making.
Presented in association with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
DEBUT SERIES
Davóne Tines bass-baritone and Adam Nielsen piano
Wed | April 26 | 8pm
Longy’s Pickman Hall
PROGRAM:
Recital No. 1: MASS
Bass-baritone Davóne Tines, Musical America’s 2022 Vocalist of the Year, makes his Celebrity Series debut with an ambitious and brilliantly curated program entitled Recital No. 1: MASS. Tines invites listeners to recontextualize Bach arias, Caroline Shaw’s Mass, and religious ritual. Woven amongst these works are spiritual arrangements by Tyshawn Sorey, Moses Hogan, and Margaret Bonds, as well as Julius Eastman’s powerful a cappella work, Prelude to the Holy Presence of Joan d’Arc.
Osvaldo Golijov’s Falling Out of Time
A Tone Poem in Voices, from the novel by David Grossman
Translation from Hebrew by Jessica Cohen
Biella da Costa voice
Nora Fischer voice
Ensemble
Sun | April 30 | 2pm
Symphony Hall
This special concert presents Argentina-born American composer Osvaldo Golijov’s Falling Out of Time, composed for a multicultural, multistylistic instrumental group of musicians that includes members of Silkroad Ensemble. Drawing powerfully on popular and folk-music styles, and based on David Grossman’s experimental novel about parents’ grief at the loss of a child, Golijov’s urgently impactful piece is here presented in a semi-staged performance.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Thu – Sun | May 4 – 7 | 8pm, 8pm, 2pm & 8pm, 3pm Boch Center Wang Theatre
From seminal repertory pieces like Alvin Ailey’s Revelations, to new material that engages with vital social movements and other choreographic traditions, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater creates dances with the power to transform and bring people together. The company’s annual return is a Boston tradition, and we invite you to come celebrate this alwaysamazing group!
DEBUT SERIES
Aizuri Quartet
Wed | May 3 | 8pm
Longy’s Pickman Hall
PROGRAM:
Clara Schumann Ich stand in dunkeln Träumen
(arr. Karen Ouzounian)
Bartók String Quartet No. 4
Tanya Tagaq Sivunittinni (2015)
Haydn String Quartet, Op. 76, No. 4 “Sunrise”
The Aizuri Quartet infuses all their music-making with infectious energy, joy, and warmth, and cultivates curiosity in listeners.
Tracing a journey from darkness to dawn, and culminating in the warmth of Haydn’s “Sunrise” Quartet, this program explores the ways in which the atmosphere, psychological power, and political metaphor of the night have been an inspiration for composers from the classical era to the present.
Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer & Zakir Hussain
Sat | May 6 | 8pm
Berklee Performance Center
Three masterful genre-benders—Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain, and Edgar Meyer—come together once again to blur geographic borders and musical boundaries for an exuberantly virtuosic and exciting evening of music. Bluegrass, classical, global music, jazz, and more come together and recombine in unheard-of ways. Their joy is palpable, and the audience will share the excitement and enthusiasm!
The Legendary Count Basie Orchestra featuring Diane Schuur
Saturday | May 20 | 8pm
Calderwood Studio at GBH Boston
Thirty-five years after their electrifying 1987 team-up and the Grammy-winning album that resulted, vocalist Diane Schuur reunites with The Legendary Count Basie Orchestra for an unforgettable night of swinging jazz at GBH’s Calderwood Studio.
Be there for an evening of old-school swing when two enduring acts come together for an event that brings the spirit of the Big Band era vitally and electrifyingly to the present!
MISSION
To present performing artists who inspire and enrich our community.
VISION
We believe in the power of excellence and innovation in the performing arts to enrich life experience, transform lives, and build better communities. 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.
EQUITY
Celebrity Series of Boston recognizes that many existing systems of power grant privilege and access unequally, and that equity is crucial to the long-term viability of both the arts and culture sector and communities-at-large. Our Racial Equity Plan describes our commitment to ensure that everyone who wants has equal access to a full, vibrant creative life, which is essential to a healthy and democratic society. To learn more about our ongoing efforts, see celebrityseries.org/equity.
Thank You To Our Leadership Supporters
Celebrity Series of Boston is grateful to season sponsors Amy & Joshua Boger and to the many individuals, corporations, foundations, and government agencies whose support helps fulfill our mission to present performing artists who inspire and enrich our community and our vision of a community of Greater Boston where the performing arts are a valued, lifelong, shared experience - on stages, on streets, in neighborhoods - everywhere.
Anonymous (3) | Jill & David Altshuler | Leslie & Howard Appleby | Stephanie L. Brown Foundation | Julia Byers & Steven Holtzman
Kathleen & Chris Gaffney | Harriet & David Griesinger | Peter & Anna Kolchinsky | George & Lizbeth Krupp | Susanne Marcus Collins Foundation
Eleanor & Frank Pao | Stephen C. Perry & Oliver Radford | The Rabb Family Foundations
Cynthia & John S. Reed Foundation | Royal Little Family Foundation | Sally S. Seaver, PhD
Stifler Family Foundation | Belinda Termeer | Susan & Michael Thonis | Dorothy & Stephen Weber | Yawkey Foundation
Celebrity Series Boards
Board of Directors
Joshua Boger, PhD, Chair+
Jill S. Altshuler
Howard Appleby
Stephanie L. Brown+
Michael S. Canning+
Joanne Cheng
Amy d’Ablemont Burnes
Margaret Eagle
Kathleen Gaffney+
Gabor Garai
Paul D. Goldenheim, MD
Dr. Joan Helpern Goldberg*
Yvette Hochberg
Andrea Hoff
John Patterson
Stephen C. Perry*
Leontyne Price, Honorary Director
Melinda Rabb
Michael Raizman*
Reuben Reynolds
Sharon L. Rich*
Lawrence Stifler*
Mary Elisabeth Swerz+
Belinda Termeer
Susan Thonis+
Yukiko Ueno
Dorothy Altman Weber*
Janet Zwanziger*
Board of Directors, Emeriti
Harris A. Berman, MD*^
Caroline Collings
Benjamin H. Lacy
Jann E. Leeming*
Norman C. Nicholson, Jr
Eleanor Y. Pao
Walter Pierce*
Nancy Richmond Winsten*
Arnold Zetcher
Board of Advisors
Leslie Appleby
Meryl Beckingham
Marilyn Benson*
Diana L. Bourgeois
Martin Carmichael*
Joseph C. Cefalu
Fernadina Chan
Geoff Chasin
Jolyon Cowan
JoAnne Dickinson*
Timothy W. Diggins
C. Nancy Fisher
Gail Flatto
Susan Y. Friedman
Glenda Garrelts Mattes
Ellen Glanz
Dr. Peter H. Gordon*
Rosalind E. Gorin
Harriet Griesinger
Teri Groome
Zachary R. Haroutunian
Stephen C. Harrison*
Paul Hartung
Randolph Hawthorne, Chair
Betty Hillmon
Ilisa Hurowitz
Maurice Joffe
Sandy Johnston
Lisa Kelly-Croswell
Nathan Kono
Kate Kush
Fred Ledley
Stephen Leonard*
Margot LeStrange*
York Lo
Valeria Lowe-Barehmi
Joelle Lurie
Theresa C. McLoud, MD
Dr. Michael Merport
Marilyn Miller*
Dr. Gordon Moore*
John P. Mordes, MD*
James L. J. Nuzzo
Ellen Offner*
Stella J. Owen
Rich Parker, MD*
James Perrin
Dr. Beth Pinals
Suzanne Priebatsch
Oliver Radford*
Mona J. Roberts*
Millard Rose
Abby Rosenfeld*
Sally S. Seaver, PhD*
Sandra Shapiro*
Susan Shapiro Magdanz*
Dr. Samuel J. Shubrooks, Jr.*
Dr. Michael Silverman
Dr. Margaret Simon
Lori Solon
Joel A. Stein*
Marylen R. Sternweiler*
Jeffrey A. Thomson*
Sarah Rainwater Ward
Wendy L. Watson
Barnet Weinstein
Sharon R. Weinstein, MD
Peter J. Wender*
Sarkis Zerounian
+ Denotes Executive Committee
* Denotes 25+-year subscriber
^ Deceased
As of April 4, 2022
Your Gift At Work
Thanks to the support from generous donors, Celebrity Series made a successful return to live performance in the 2021/22 season while also broadening artistic horizons. Your gift will help Celebrity Series invest in the transformative power of the performing arts by presenting the international touring artists featured on our 2022/23 subscription season and by investing in Boston-area artists and communities through our Arts for All! community engagement programming.
• Your gift supports our efforts to embrace new and creative takes on the performing arts in the 2022/23 season through innovative new experiences in a variety of venues across greater Boston
• Your gift encourages increased equity in Boston’s cultural and civic life through the amplification of diverse artistic perspectives from across the country and around the globe
• Your gift connects Boston communities by providing vital opportunities for expression and employment for local artists through our Arts for All! community programs
• Your gift ensures that future generations will experience the unifying force of the performing arts and the unique magic of live performance for many years to come.
Arts For All! Programs
Take Your Seat
Take Your Seat provides free and discounted tickets to our performances via partnerships with Boston-based community organizations.
“Because of your generosity, we were able to bring together 200 METCO students, parents, [and] teachers, to celebrate and share in this stunning cultural experience. Thank you!”
- Kristen Fumarola, METCO, Inc.
Neighborhood Arts
Neighborhood Arts partners with Boston area artists and community organizations to present free performances and interactive workshops for youth in Dorchester, Hyde Park, Mattapan, Roslindale, Roxbury, the South End, and Cambridge.
“Creative, masterful, soul uplifting music.”
- Neighborhood Arts audience member
A full season of Neighborhood Arts programming will be announced in Summer 2022!
Artist Connections
Masterclasses, lecture-demonstrations, and workshops bring Celebrity Series touring artists to schools, universities, and conservatories, offering students interactive experiences with world-class artists.
“You all really inspired me like I won’t quit dancing now!!! Thank you so much!”
- Anisah, Charlestown High student
Join the 100% Subscriber Family
Did You Know? Beyond our subscription season programming, Celebrity Series offers hundreds of free concerts and programs throughout the Boston area, designed to ensure that the arts remain a shared, lifelong experience for ALL.
Join thousands of individuals who support Celebrity Series by becoming a 100% Subscriber. You help us bring outstanding artists to Boston and ensure that people of all ages and backgrounds experience the creative power of the performing arts.
Become a 100% Subscriber by including a gift of $100 or more with your subscription.
Join us for an unforgettable evening in celebration of Celebrity Series’ vision to bring the arts to everyone and everyone to the arts. Mark your calendars now! More information to follow in Fall 2022.
Membership at Celebrity Series
Celebrity Series offers an array of membership benefits at different levels, including:
• Acknowledgement in concert programs
• Invitations to special events
• Personalized ticketing assistance
• And more!
For a complete list of Celebrity Series donor levels and benefits for the 2022/23 season, visit celebrityseries.org/membership.
Support the future of artistic performance by making a gift to Celebrity Series! Scanning this QR code with your smartphone camera will take you straight to our lightning-fast donation form.
