Perception | A Far Cry
May
10
8:00 PM20:00

Perception | A Far Cry

How does music create a mood or fuel an emotional response? How do framing and context impact our perception of something? Exploring these questions, the program features one of Bartók’s best-known compositions—made famous from the soundtracks of films including Being John Malkovich and The Shining—a musical fever dream that heightens our senses with constantly changing meters and a vast range of sounds generated by the largest (self-conducted!) orchestral forces of the season. Gubaidulina transforms a Bach chorale, infusing it with irresistible smoky turbulence. In between, Mozart’s light and happy serenade stands in stark contrast and suddenly feels otherworldly...

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African Tales | Castle of Our Skins (UK Tour: Leeds)
May
23
7:45 PM19:45

African Tales | Castle of Our Skins (UK Tour: Leeds)

African Tales brings together the unique musical and personal stories of composers Bongani Ndondana-Breen, Undine Smith Moore, and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. Ndodana-Breen's "Safika: Three Tales of African Migration" depicts Black South Africans’ dispossession, migration, and translocation. Moore's "Soweto" calls to mind the horrors of South African apartheid. And through Coleridge-Taylor's piano quintet, we can engage with a personal tale of African roots and Pan-African ideals.

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African Tales | Castle of Our Skins (UK Tour: Southhampton)
May
26
7:30 PM19:30

African Tales | Castle of Our Skins (UK Tour: Southhampton)

African Tales brings together the unique musical and personal stories of composers Bongani Ndondana-Breen, Undine Smith Moore, and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. Ndodana-Breen's "Safika: Three Tales of African Migration" depicts Black South Africans’ dispossession, migration, and translocation. Moore's "Soweto" calls to mind the horrors of South African apartheid. And through Coleridge-Taylor's piano quintet, we can engage with a personal tale of African roots and Pan-African ideals.

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A Juneteenth Celebration | Castle of Our Skins
Jun
15
4:00 PM16:00

A Juneteenth Celebration | Castle of Our Skins

Celebrating Juneteenth, Landmarks Orchestra, in collaboration with Castle of Our Skins, starts the 2024 summer season with a performance at the Kroc Center!

Featuring works from Florence Price, William Grant Still, Jessie Montgomery and more, this concert will be a celebration of the life and artistry of iconic Black composers.

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Roots | Castle of Our Skins
Apr
21
1:30 PM13:30

Roots | Castle of Our Skins

Roots explores the origins of inspiration, the anchors from where creativity is born. Castle of our Skins teams up with critically-acclaimed pianist  Kyle P. Walker  to explore this concept highlighting music from the African diaspora. Color, memory, history, and culture serve as the thread that binds this program featuring a breadth of fresh voices rooted in folk, jazz, classical and contemporary. Including solo and chamber music works by Hannah Kendall, David Baker, Trevor Weston, Shelley Washington and Brian Raphael Nabors.

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The Wanderer's Tethering | Castle of Our Skins
Apr
6
3:00 PM15:00

The Wanderer's Tethering | Castle of Our Skins

The Wanderer’s Tethering is a celebration of Black folk songs, Black women in America, and the layered and multifaceted experience of people belonging to the Black diaspora. The program features a Boston Lyric Opera commissioned work, "The Wanderer’s Tethering," which combines poetry by Boston Poet Laureate Porsha Olayiwola and music by composer, vocalist, and multimedia artist Mason Bynes; alongside additional selections including Trevor Weston’s “Juba,” Jessie Montgomery’s “Source Code,” and Florence Price’s settings of familiar Negro folk songs for string quartet. ​Together, they provide a rich tapestry linking the voices of Black creators from the past with those of the present. ​​

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You Are Free | enNEWSRQ
Mar
25
7:30 PM19:30

You Are Free | enNEWSRQ

Raven Chacon’s Pulitzer Prize-Winning Voiceless Mass anchors this program of powerful works for mixed instrumentation. Our second World Premiere and enSRQ Commission from Kyle Rivera, written for our enSRQ Artists, follows works by Ania Vu, Shawn Okpebholo and Sarah Kirkland Snider.

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From Suffrage to Selma: Celebrating Black Women's Fight for Equality | Castle of our Skins
Mar
17
3:00 PM15:00

From Suffrage to Selma: Celebrating Black Women's Fight for Equality | Castle of our Skins

In celebration of Women's History Month, join us at Simmons University for a special fundraiser event for our friends at the League of Women for Community Service. Hear stories of three generations of Black women connected to LWCS who paved the way for civil rights through music & oration. 

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As I Heard When I Was Young | Castle of our Skins with the Celebrity Series of Boston
Dec
2
3:00 PM15:00

As I Heard When I Was Young | Castle of our Skins with the Celebrity Series of Boston

As I Heard When I Was Young features chamber music with African roots and Pan African ideals. Featuring works by South African composers Monthati Masebe and Bongani Ndodana-Breen, Ugandan composer Justinian Tamasuza, and American composers Derrick Skye & Brian Raphael Nabors, this program centers concepts of unity, solidarity, and connections across the African diaspora.

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Grand Valley Piano Chamber Series
Nov
6
7:30 PM19:30

Grand Valley Piano Chamber Series

  • SVS Recital Hall, Grand Valley State University (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

Since the time of Bach, Leipzig has remained to be one of the most influential musical cities in the classical music world. This season, the GVPCS explores music by the composers who had associations with this city. Join us as we travel and trace the artistic lineage stemming from

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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone™ in Concert | Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra
Aug
26
8:00 PM20:00

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone™ in Concert | Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra

Relive the film that started it all. Watch the wand choose the wizard, a troll run amok and magic mirrors in high-definition while the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra performs John Williams’ iconic score. Don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime event as Harry, Ron, Hermione and all your favorite characters return to the screen and enchant the world all over again.

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Stride | Boston Festival Orchestra
Jul
16
3:00 PM15:00

Stride | Boston Festival Orchestra

Start your summer season off on the right foot with "Stride," a dynamic program celebrating the ways we move together and the resilience of our ever-changing community. From the multicultural storytelling of Gabriela Lena Frank’s Elegía Andina to the lilting sighs of Jean Sibelius’ Valse Triste, this concert twists and turns through the world of rhythm and dance. Johannes Brahms’ Hungarian Dances have entertained audiences for 150 years, while Zoltan Kodaly’s Dances of Galanta and William Grant Still’s Patterns get a well-deserved spotlight. Showcasing the vivacious spirit and stylistic versatility of the Boston Festival Orchestra, this concert is bursting with joy, virtuosity, and passion!

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