Get ready to immerse yourself in the enchanting compositions of Robert Schumann, performed by world-renowned musicians across various cities. From the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s chamber music event in Lenox featuring Yo-Yo Ma, to the Boston Artists Ensemble’s ‘Enchanted Spheres’ in Salem, and the Celebrity Series of Boston’s concerts spanning Boston, Groton, and Cambridge, there’s something for every classical music enthusiast. Highlights include Emanuel Ax’s recital featuring Schumann’s exquisite Arabeske, the Dover Quartet’s rendition of Schumann’s String Quartet No. 1, and Julia Fischer and Jan Lisiecki’s performance of Schumann’s Violin Sonata No. 2.

Celebrating Schumann: Unmissable Musical Events in Lenox, Salem, Boston, Groton, and Cambridge

Immerse yourself in the timeless brilliance of Ludwig van Beethoven with an array of electrifying events across Boston, Groton, and Cambridge. Join us for an unforgettable journey through Beethoven’s masterworks, featuring performances by Emanuel Ax, the Vista Philharmonic Orchestra, and Yulianna Avdeeva. Experience the extraordinary as these world-renowned artists bring Beethoven's legendary compositions to life.

Celebrate Beethoven in Boston, Groton, and Cambridge with Emanuel Ax and More!

Blessed with “a voice of phenomenal beauty” (New York Times), Jane Monheit is a jazz and contemporary vocalist with a deep passion for the Great American Songbook. With many highly acclaimed solo albums, countless awards and accolades, and over two decades of international touring experience, Jane has had the privilege of making music with some of the greatest musicians, arrangers, and producers in jazz.

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Jane Monheit

Groton Hill Music Center

Beethoven’s “Ninth” is always a momentous event, so we’re thrilled to present two performances of this beloved piece. Known as “Ode to Joy” because of the familiar theme in the symphony’s fourth movement, it’s the first symphony to incorporate vocal soloists and chorus into what was previously a purely instrumental genre. We’re delighted to welcome the acclaimed Worcester Chorus of Music Worcester to our stage along with four outstanding soloists to bring this monumental yet whimsical composition to life. But first, our program opens with an important work by Margaret Bonds, noted as one of the first Black composers and performers to gain recognition in the United States. Written in 1964 after the composer’s visit to Montgomery, Alabama, the Montgomery Variations fervently examines seminal events from the civil-rights movement.

Vista Philharmonic Orchestra – Ode to Joy

Dar Williams’ lyrics contain bouquets of optimism, delivered on melodies alternating between beguiling lightness and understated gravity. Williams strongly believes that all of us possess our own power and ability to achieve, and she rejects the exceptionalism that encourages us to “admire that yonder star,” while making us feel small and insignificant; unworthy of shining on our own but hoping to catch enough distant light to inspire some tiny accomplishment. Williams has always been very interested in how to control our future and this album has to do with the fact that at some point, you just can’t.

Dar Williams

Among the most intensely admired composers in jazz, Wayne Shorter is a true legend whose career stretched over half a century. The golden era of this saxophonist’s extraordinary musical journey was marked by the formation of his quartet with Danilo Pérez, John Patitucci, and Brian Blade, who went forth to confound all preconceptions of jazz in a prolific 24-years of concerts and Grammy Award winning recordings. Shorter’s great musical legacy lives on through this kindred trio, as they take to Zero Gravity – a shared fearlessness espoused by their mentor and Zen guru.

Danilo Perez, John Patitucci, Brian Blade – Legacy of Wayne Shorter featuring special guest Mark Turner

The musical partnership between consummate performer Alasdair Fraser, “the Michael Jordan of Scottish fiddling”, and brilliant Californian cellist Natalie Haas spans the full spectrum between intimate chamber music and ecstatic dance energy. Over the last 20 years of creating a buzz at festivals and concert halls across the world, they have truly set the standard for fiddle and cello in traditional music. They continue to thrill audiences internationally with their virtuosic playing, their near-telepathic understanding and the joyful spontaneity and sheer physical presence of their music.

Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas

Since becoming the youngest solo artist to take home a Grammy® award (“Best New Artist”) at 14, and the first country artist to win “Artist of the Year” at the Billboard Artist at 15, LeAnn Rimes has sold more than 48 million units globally, won 2 Grammy® Awards; 12 Billboard Music Awards; 2 World Music Awards; 3 Academy of Country Music Awards; 2 Country Music Association Awards and one Dove Award. In 2022, LeAnn was presented with the prestigious ASCAP Golden Note Award, which is an award presented to genre–spanning songwriters, composers and artists who have achieved extraordinary career milestones.

LeAnn Rimes

The two sonatas of Beethoven’s Opus 27, rarely heard together, throw the form’s rules aside: tempo, structure, and flow are at the composer’s whim. Ax pairs the two works with Schumann’s exquisite Arabeske, and his virtuosic showpiece Fantasie in C Major, dedicated to Liszt and published to raise funds for a statue of Beethoven in Bonn. Corigliano’s Fantasia on an Ostinato reflects on an unconventional passage from Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony to create a modern-day showpiece.

Celebrity Series of Boston presents Emanuel Ax

Widely regarded as one of the foremost songwriters of her generation, Suzanne Vega emerged as a leading figure of the folk revival of the early 1980s when, accompanying herself on acoustic guitar, she sang what has been called contemporary folk or neo-folk songs of her own creation in Greenwich Village clubs. Since the release of her self-titled, critically acclaimed 1985 debut album, she has given sold-out concerts in many of the world’s best-known venues. Known for performances that convey deep emotion, Vega’s distinctive, “clear, unwavering voice” (Rolling Stone) has been described as “a cool, dry sandpaper-brushed near-whisper” by The Washington Post, with NPR Music noting that she “has been making vital, inventive music” throughout the course of her decades-long career.

Suzanne Vega – Old Songs, New Songs and Other Songs

Who could have known that the opening theme of Richard Strauss’ iconic 1896 tone poem would become one of today’s most recognizable sound bites? From the epic 1968 sci-fi film 2001: A Space Odyssey to 2023’s Barbie, this work continues to thrill audiences around the world. We felt it was the perfect way to open our 50th season. If you haven’t heard it in the exquisite Concert Hall yet, you’re in for a treat. Our Opening Night performance will also feature a new listening experience for Vista Philharmonic fans, with Grammy-winning modern composer Mason Bates’ Sea-Blue Circuitry. This astounding accomplishment of contemporary classical is a shimmering, colorful workout for the orchestra. With virtuosity and passion at his fingertips, our guest artist – piano phenom Joshua Mhoon – transcends boundaries and captivates audiences worldwide. We know he will captivate us all in Rachmaninoff’s beloved concerto.

Vista Philharmonic Orchestra – Opening Night 2024

An alumnus of celebrated progressive bluegrass bands Joy Kills Sorrow and the Yonder Mountain String Band, Jacob Jolliff is one of the genre’s top mandolinists and a sought-after collaborator, sharing the stage with Darol Anger, Tony Trischka, Sam Bush, David Grisman, Ronnie McCoury, Michael Daves, and many others.. 

The Jacob Jolliff Band

Cécile McLorin Salvant, is a composer, singer, and visual artist. The late Jessye Norman described Salvant as “a unique voice supported by an intelligence and full-fledged musicality, which light up every note she sings”. Salvant has developed a passion for storytelling and finding the connections between vaudeville, blues, folk traditions from around the world, theater, jazz, and baroque music. Salvant is an eclectic curator, unearthing rarely recorded, forgotten songs with strong narratives, interesting power dynamics, unexpected twists, and humor. Salvant won the Thelonious Monk competition in 2010. She has received Grammy Awards for Best Jazz Vocal Album for three consecutive albums, “The Window”, “Dreams and Daggers”, and “For One To Love”. In 2020, Salvant received the MacArthur fellowship and the Doris Duke Artist Award. Salvant released her debut Nonesuch records release “Ghost Song” in 2022; the album went on to receive two Grammy nominations. “Mélusine”, an album mostly sung in French, along with Occitan, English, and Haitian Kreyòl, was released on March 24 th, 2023 and was also nominated for two Grammys.

Cécile McLorin Salvant

For the past 50 years, BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet has been making some of the most potent and popular Cajun music on the planet. Born out of the rich Acadian ancestry of its members, and created and driven by bandleader Michael Doucet’s spellbinding fiddle playing and soulful vocals, BeauSoleil is notorious for bringing even the most staid audience to its feet. BeauSoleil’s distinctive sound derives from the distilled spirits of New Orleans jazz, blues rock, folk, swamp pop, Zydeco, country and bluegrass, captivating listeners from the Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans, to Carnegie Hall, then all the way across the pond to Richard Thompson’s Meltdown Festival in England.

BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet

From an early age, Michael Cleveland heard old-time and bluegrass music at local jams and festivals near his hometown of Henryville, Indiana. His grandparents hosted regular bluegrass gatherings at the American Legion, and at age four, he began playing the fiddle. He attended the Kentucky School for the Blind in Louisville, where he learned the Suzuki method of violin. While he practiced the violin at school, he played fiddle at home. Cleveland began playing professionally after he graduated from high school, first with Jeff White, later with Dale Ann Bradley and Rhonda Vincent. However, Cleveland had always dreamed of leading his own band and in 2006, he formed Flamekeeper, seven-time recipients of the IBMA’s “Instrumental Group of the Year” award, including Josh Richards, Nathan Livers, Jasiah Shrode, and Chris Douglas. In addition to touring with his band, Cleveland has performed with a legendary list of bluegrass greats: Bela Fleck, Tommy Emmanuel, Billy Strings, Vince Gill, and more. Widely considered the bluegrass fiddler of his generation, Cleveland has been recognized 12 times as the IBMA’s Fiddle Player of the Year and in 2018 was inducted into the National Fiddlers Hall of Fame. His recording Fiddler’s Dream was nominated in 2018 for a GRAMMY for Best Bluegrass Album, and in 2019, he won a GRAMMY for his album Tall Fiddler. The same year, Cleveland’s amazing life of adversity and achievement was featured in the documentary film Flamekeeper: The Michael Cleveland Story. And in 2022, he was awarded the National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellowship.

Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper

Will Dailey is an acclaimed independent recording artist, performer, artist advocate, and sonic survivor. His sound has been described as a Venn diagram of multiple genres with a rich vintage vibe and a firm appreciation of AM rock, pop, and big hooks. There is an artistic DIY spirit fueling all of it, bringing in the spins, Billboard charts, rave reviews, and Boston and New England Music Awards. Famed rock journalist Dan Aquilante has called him “the real deal.”

Will Dailey & His Band

Best known for his work in theatre, television, and film, Broadway star Aaron Tveit won a Tony Award for his performance as Christian in Moulin Rouge! The Musical. He is currently starring as the titular role in Sweeney Todd. Tveit originated the roles of Frank Abagnale in Catch Me If You Can and Gabe in Next to Normal (Helen Hayes Award, Lucille Lortel nomination, The Actors Equity Clarence Derwent Award) as well as playing Fiyero in Wicked and Link in Hairspray. Other stage credits include: Assassins (West End), Rent (Hollywood Bowl), Company  (Barrington Stage).

An Evening With Aaron Tveit

Of Boston-based saxophonist Noah Preminger, The New York Times declares: “Mr. Preminger designs a different kind of sound for each note, an individual destiny and story.” Preminger, 37 and two-time winner of Downbeat Magazine’s “Rising Star Best Tenor Saxophonist,” has recorded over twenty critically acclaimed albums as a band-leader. Preminger has released multiple new recordings, including Meditations On Freedom (Dry Bridge), released on Inauguration Day, 2017, as a musical protest at ominous political developments in America. In addition, a duo album recorded in Jordan Hall with pianist, Frank Carlberg, and a Preminger Plays Preminger album – the music of Otto Preminger’s films – on French, vinyl-only label, Newvelle Records. In 2018, Preminger and co-leader, Rob Garcia, created the Dead Composers Club and released The Chopin Project (BJU), the first of the quartet’s planned annual examinations of deceased composer’s oeuvre. Their second recording, featuring music of the prolific 11th century composer, Hildegard von Bingen, will be released in 2024. In 2019, Preminger released two new recordings: After Life (Criss Cross), a collaboration with poet Ruth Lepson, and Zigsaw: Music of Steve Lampert (Dry Bridge), an exciting, new avenue for Preminger that features electrifying electronic/acoustic music. In 2020, Preminger released a new Quartet recording, Contemptment (SteepleChase), and in 2021 he released THUNDA (Dry Bridge) with bassist, Kim Cass, as well as Preminger’s second album for SteepleChase, Songs We Love, with guitarist, Max Light. In 2022, Preminger released his 3rd album for Criss Cross Records, Sky Continuous, featuring a trio with Kim Cass on bass and Bill Stewart on drums, and he will be heading into the studio in 2024 to record his 4th album for the label. In June 2023, Preminger and Kim Cass released The Dank (Dry Bridge), a much anticipated follow up to THUNDA and created in part with grant funding awarded through New Music USA.

Noah Preminger Quartet

Patty Griffin is among the most consequential singer-songwriters of her generation, a quintessentially American artist whose wide-ranging canon incisively explores the intimate moments and universal emotions that bind us together. Over the course of two decades, the 2x GRAMMY® Award winner – and 7x nominee – has crafted a remarkable body of work in progress that prompted the New York Times to hail her for “[writing] cameo-carved songs that create complete emotional portraits of specific people…[her] songs have independent lives that continue in your head when the music ends.”

Patty Griffin with special guest Lori McKenna

Aoife O’Donovan and Hawktail join together for a night of joyous music. Hawktail opens the evening with their signature songs and cosmopolitan sound. Aoife O’Donovan will then take the stage with Hawktail as her band, performing songs from the Grammy-award winning musician’s 4th studio album All My Friends (out March 22, 2024).

Aoife O’Donovan & Hawktail: All My Friends Tour

Internationally recognized for their “fearless, yet probingly beautiful” (The Strad) performances, the Grammy Award-winning Parker Quartet has distinguished itself as one of the preeminent ensembles of its generation, dedicated purely to the sound and depth of their music. Inspired performances and exceptional musicianship are hallmarks of the Quartet, having appeared at the world’s most illustrious venues since its founding in 2002.

Parker Quartet

With works by Coleridge-Taylor, Cohen, Long, Anderson, Raff, LeBow, and more, the audience will be treated to “mountain top” music as the ensemble is preparing a concert tour in Switzerland soon after their Groton Hill appearance. From Swiss composer Joachim Raff’s “Dance of the Dryads” from his alpine forest symphony to Leonard LeBow’s exciting “Ride the Matterhorn,” listeners will be transported to the idyllic countryside of the Swiss Alps. In addition, several American composers will be featured during this celebratory concert.

Metropolitan Flute Festival Orchestra: 2024

Director Jerry Sabatini leads an afternoon of Samba, Bossa Nova, Cha Cha, Afro Cuban, and swingin’ Big Band beats as we celebrate songs that bring the heat of the sun and the cool of the shade! From its earliest roots, Jazz music has drawn from the infectious rhythms and musical forms of South America, the Caribbean, and Africa to define a style of music known as Latin Jazz. Get a jump on the summer and imagine yourself listening to a beautiful Bossa Nova on a beach in Brazil or dancing in the streets to musicians playing in a Cuban marketplace.

Groton Hill Big Band: Celebrating Latin Jazz

Through soft acoustic guitar picking and deftly accented trombone sighs, rising singer-songwriter Haley Heynderickx’s music immediately recalls folk music of the ‘60s and ‘70s mixed with a love of jazz radio. But Heynderickx’s singing—her vocals that range from tender to operatic—belie a tenacity in her soul. Her debut album, I Need to Start a Garden, created out of a search for calm through these waves of uncertainty and upheaval, is out now via Mama Bird Recording Co.

Haley Heynderickx

Negro Spirituals are at the bedrock of the African American musical experience, providing the foundation upon which many genres that are enjoyed now were built. Although the composers of these spirituals are largely anonymous and nameless, their music named the non-anonymous tragedy of slavery, while also naming a steadfast hope for a better tomorrow — maybe not for them, but for the future generation. The Negro Spiritual Songbook Volume I is a product of that hope from the future generation. It takes the words, melodies, and rhythms of that time and translates it into our current context of the twenty-first century. The result is a soulful celebration of what was, a dynamic presentation of what is, and a warm invitation for what is to come.

Gregory Groover Jr – Negro Spiritual Songbook

“Friends of Dorothy” is a captivating and enchanting show that takes the audience on a journey through a whimsical wonderland of delightful surprises. Get ready to be captivated and enchanted by a glitter-filled extravaganza that celebrates the true spirit of the LGBTQ+ community. With a perfect blend of music, dance, and storytelling, this campy spectacle promises to be wickedly fabulous.

Boston Gay Men’s Chorus: Friends of Dorothy

The first time banjo legend Béla Fleck, tabla master Zakir Hussain, and double bass virtuoso Edgar Meyer got together to make an album, it was to write, not to play.  When Fleck and Meyer were looking for a third partner for a triple concerto they had been commissioned to write to mark the opening of Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center, they thought of Hussain, who was quite interested in orchestral writing. “We thought we could learn a whole lot from this guy!” says Béla. The result was The Melody of Rhythm (2009), recorded with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra under Leonard Slatkin.

As We Speak: Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain, Edgar Meyer, featuring Rakesh Chaurasia

Join us as 90 young singers lift their voices in songs we are sure you will know and love. It all ends with a dance party finale you won’t want to miss!

Groton Hill Youth Choruses: Season Finale

See this thriving community of woodwind, brass, and percussion players come together for their summer concert! Led by concert band conductor, Andrea Mejia.

New Horizons Band: Spring Concert

GRAMMY-winning jazz vocalist Kurt Elling and hybrid guitarist Charlie Hunter combine for a kaleidoscopic collection of new songs, surprising covers, and dynamic reinventions. Elling is without question today’s preeminent male jazz vocalist, renowned worldwide for his unparalleled virtuosity and flair for trailblazing artistic exploration. From his stunning reinvention of timeless standards to his own captivating original songcraft, the Chicago-based musician has fused his dazzling talents across a panoply of musical approaches, emblazoning each with signature imagination, insight, and emotional intelligence.

SuperBlue: Kurt Elling & Charlie Hunter

One of the country’s pre-eminent singer-songwriters, Rosanne Cash has released 15 albums of extraordinary songs that have earned 4 Grammy awards and 14 nominations. She is also an author, whose 2010 memoir, Composed, garnered widespread praise from critics and landed on The New York Times best seller list. In addition, Cash is a music community catalyst who often brings together giants of American roots music for various events and is a valued voice in documenting modern music history.

Rosanne Cash

Director Nicole O’Toole leads this outstanding 21-member ensemble in classical and contemporary works arranged or written for flutes. Travel the world through music, from city centers to mountains and rivers, the Italian countryside, and a Japanese village. Featured composers include Joplin, Gershwin, Higdon, Coleman, Mascagni, and Offermans, as well as the world premiere of a newly commissioned piece by Alexa Letourneau.

Groton Hill Flute Orchestra: Season Finale

Praised by the New York Times for his “genuine originality,” Rufus Wainwright has established himself as one of the great male vocalists, songwriters, and composers of his generation. The New York-born, Montreal-raised singer-songwriter has released ten studio albums to date, three DVDs, and three live albums including the GRAMMY® nominated Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall. He has collaborated with artists such as Elton John, Burt Bacharach, Miley Cyrus, David Byrne, Boy George, Joni Mitchell, Pet Shop Boys, Heart, Carly Rae Jepsen, Robbie Williams, Jessye Norman, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Sting, and producer Mark Ronson, among many others. He has written two operas and numerous songs for movies and TV.

Rufus Wainwright

Maestro Bruce Hangen says: Ever since my early days, I’ve liked the combination of Beethoven and Stravinsky. They’re both very muscular and strong in their musical language. Beethoven is all about rhythm translated into melody, and Stravinsky is all about alternating rhythms and contrasting rhythms. Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ is the turning point into the romantic period, for both the composer and music in general. 

Vista Philharmonic Orchestra – Season Finale

A special evening featuring world-renowned violinist, Midori!

Vista Philharmonic Orchestra featuring Midori

Isidore String Quartet, the red-hot ensemble who won the 2022 Banff Competition and were awarded a 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant, makes their Boston debut in a program of Haydn, Billy Childs, and Beethoven.

Celebrity Series of Boston presents Isidore String Quartet

Tonight’s concert features three captivating masterworks that Maestro Bruce Hangen has enjoyed listening to and conducting for many years. He says: “Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 is my all time favorite piano concerto! His music is both classical and romantic — it sits between periods, so there’s a lot to dig into.” Versatile, internationally-known, and Grammy-nominated pianist John Novacek is our soloist.

Vista Philharmonic Orchestra featuring pianist John Novacek

The Borromeo String Quartet were very popular at the chamber music series we presented for many years at The Kalliroscope Gallery here in Groton. Tonight they will join us for this concert’s centerpiece: Arnold Schoenberg’s Concerto in B-flat Major for String Quartet and Orchestra. Written in 1933, this delightfully inventive work is described as a ‘free transcription’ of G.F. Händel’s Concerto Grosso, Op. 6, No. 7.

Vista Philharmonic Orchestra featuring Borromeo String Quartet

Pianist Hélène Grimaud’s Boston-area recital debut shows off her expressive skills and technical control in Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 30, Brahms’ late piano works, and the pyrotechnics of Busoni’s transcription of Bach’s Chaconne.

Celebrity Series of Boston presents Hélène Grimaud

Pianist and author Jeremy Denk curates a program that unites female composers across the centuries, telling a story of women’s genius, whether celebrated, neglected, remembered, or forgotten.

Celebrity Series of Boston presents Jeremy Denk

Maestro Bruce Hangen has created a memorable program of sacred and secular Christmas music, all with tradition in mind. The full Orchestra will share the stage with chorus, vocal soloist, and narration to celebrate the season, concluding with a fun sing-along for all!

Vista Philharmonic Orchestra: Christmas Magic

The Bad Plus are the ultimate originals. A democratic unit with a clear vision and a refusal to conform to convention. For the past two decades they have played with spirit and adventure, made their own rules and done so with a bold sense of creativity and intent. Avoiding easy categorization, The Bad Plus has won critical acclaim and a legion of fans worldwide with their unique sound and flair for live performance.

The Bad Plus

Witty & engaging, Damn Tall Buildings’ energizing music finds beauty and glory in the mundane workaday struggle of everyday life: time keeps passing and the seasons come and go, you scroll too much, you smoke too much, you lose yourself, only to sit with yourself & find yourself again, you laugh with your friends, and you look out the window & dream about what else might be out there. It all keeps coming around. You carry on, intent on flourishing and thriving. This is what Damn Tall Buildings sings about, what they seek to share with their audience.

Damn Tall Buildings

Maestro Bruce Hangen says: There are two concerts in the season that I think have ideal pairings of composers. Ideal because of how the nature of each composer completes, contrasts, and complements the other. One of those pairings is Beethoven and Stravinsky in May; the other is tonight’s concert with Mahler and Mendelssohn. Musicians love to play Mahler, and I love to conduct it. His music is his personal, soulful expression.

Vista Philharmonic Orchestra featuring violinist Alice Hallstrom

While it may come as a surprise to hear that the newly-formed vocal super-group, säje (rhymes with beige), received a GRAMMY® nomination for “Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals” for their first original composition “Desert Song”, a John Lennon Songwriting Contest Grand Prize Award for their second composition “Wisteria”, and a Jazz Journalists Association Award nomination for “Best Vocal Group”, those in the know continue to eagerly await the debut album from this transcendent and genre-defining group.

säje

Black Opry is a showcase for Black artists and fans of country, blues, folk, and Americana music. One of the most valuable aspects of traditional music is its versatility and diversity in sound, and these remarkable young artists explore all of the intersections of these genres and beyond. According to founder Holly G: “No matter what it’s for or where we are, there’s an intense feeling of home, created simply by us being in the same room and celebrating this music that we all love. That feeling resonates throughout whatever space we are in, and it never fails to feel like a healing experience.”

Black Opry Revue

“Like the sounds of a forest or the symphony of the sea, Hawktail’s music has an organic quality—the sounds grow together in perfect harmony.” – Folk Alley
“A fantasia of pizzicato viola, nyckelharpa harmonics, and twelve-string melodicism…this was quiet, shapely majesty in a set overflowing with magic, musicality, wit, and whatever the Swedish might be for bonhomie.” – Tradfest Review (Edinburgh)

Hawktail Väsen

Club d’Elf has been helping audiences lose track of time for twenty five years with its mesmerizing synthesis of Moroccan traditional music and electronic, dubbed-out funk. Circling about bassist/composer Mike Rivard and drummer Dean Johnston, each Club d’Elf performance features a different line-up, drawn from a constellation of some of the most creative improvisers from the jazz, DJ, rock & world music scenes of Boston, NYC and beyond. The band’s music draws from a startlingly wide spectrum of styles, including jazz, hip hop, electronica, avant garde, prog-rock and dub.

Club d’Elf with John Medeski

Bill Frisell’s career as a guitarist and composer has spanned more than 40 years and many celebrated recordings, whose catalog has been cited by Downbeat as “the best recorded output of the decade.” Recognized as one of America’s 21 most vital and productive performing artists, Frisell has won copious awards and is also the subject of a new documentary film by director Emma Franz, entitled Bill Frisell: A Portrait, which examines his creative process in depth.

Bill Frisell FIVE featuring Thomas Morgan, Rudy Royston, Tony Scherr & Kenny Wollesen

Sutton Foster is a Tony Award winning American actress, singer, and dancer who was most recently seen on stage as Marian Paroo in the Broadway revival of The Music Man, opposite Hugh Jackman at The Winter Garden Theatre. Her performance earned her seventh Tony award nomination as well as the coveted 2022 Drama League Distinguished Performance Award.

Sutton Foster

Pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason returns to Celebrity Series for her third performance—this time, her solo debut.

This show is part of a 4-concert series being presented in Groton Hill’s Meadow Hall and is available by subscription only until single tickets for select performances go on sale Tuesday, August 22.

Celebrity Series of Boston presents Isata Kanneh-Mason

One of the most multi-faceted minds in roots music, Alison Brown is a Grammy-winning musician, Grammy-nominated producer, former investment banker (with an A.B. from Harvard and an M.B.A. from UCLA), and co-founder of The Compass Records Group which is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2023.

Alison Brown

Our 49th Season opens as a journey through art as expression, with works from literature and painting as the composers’ inspirational backdrop. Our gifted guest vocalist, bass-baritone Christopher Humbert Jr.,  will be on hand for two selections with literary origins. Living composer Eleanor Alberga’s romantic work for baritone and string orchestra, The Soul’s Expression (2017), is set to texts from three very different 19th century writers: George Eliot, Emily Brontë, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. And Maurice Ravel’s song cycle (his last composition) is based on the story of Cervantes’ epic novel Don Quixote. The concert opens with the familiar overture to Verdi’s opera “The Power of Destiny,” based on a Spanish drama, and closes with Modest Mussorgsky’s powerful masterpiece, Pictures at an Exhibition.

Vista Philharmonic Orchestra featuring bass-baritone Christopher Humbert

An intimate evening with an American folk legend.!

Loudon Wainwright III

Praised for its authentic, soulful, and orchestral sound, The String Queens is a dynamic trio that creates stimulating musical experiences that inspire diverse audiences to love, hope, feel, and imagine! The three women—Kendall Isadore (violin), Dawn Johnson (viola), and Élise Sharp (cello)—have a strong commitment to artistic integrity and music education. With an array of repertoire spanning from the Baroque era to the Jazz Age to today’s Billboard Hot 100 Chart, TSQ performs versatile programs that take listeners on a rousing musical journey through time and a multitude of musical genres.

The String Queens

Jazz guitarist Julian Lage expands his horizons on View With A Room, a collection of 10 compelling original compositions that marks his second release for Blue Note Records. Having established a home base with his brilliant and deeply attuned trio of bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Dave King—most recently heard on the guitarist’s acclaimed 2021 Blue Note debut Squint—Lage casts his gaze outward to discover new orchestrational possibilities with the addition of six-string icon Bill Frisell, who adds his inimitable voice to this absolutely stunning album.

Julian Lage

Under the baton of Maestro Bruce Hangen, the Vista Philharmonic Chamber Players open the 23-24 season with a special performance in Meadow Hall. Principal players from the orchestra will present a varied program of large chamber works by Benjamin Britten, Ernest Bloch, and Claude Debussy, featuring amazing pianist Jenny Tang in a concerto by Johann Sebastian Bach.

Vista Philharmonic Chamber Players – 2 Shows!

“…extraordinary songs, mesmerising guitar playing, and a voice that goes effortlessly from bruise-tender to scar-hard in a matter of minutes… her lyrics are crafted and clever, full of subtlety and polished phrases…With delicious sarcasm and acerbic stories, she held the audience spellbound… her songs are so personal to her that they speak to everyone who listens.” – The Guardian

Shawn Colvin

Over the last four decades, Béla Fleck has made a point of boldly going where no banjo player has gone before, a musical journey that has earned him 15 Grammys in nine different fields, including Country, Pop, Jazz, Instrumental, Classical and World Music. But his roots are in bluegrass, and that’s where he returns with his first bluegrass project in 24 years, My Bluegrass Heart.

Bela Fleck: My Bluegrass Heart

Effervescent and engaging, Boston-based fiddler Hanneke Cassel’s fiddle music fuses influences from the Isle of Skye and Cape Breton with Americana grooves and musical innovations. Her music is a blend of the contemporary and traditional, described by the Boston Globe as “exuberant and rhythmic, somehow wild and innocent, delivered with captivating melodic clarity and an irresistible playfulness.”  For this duo project, Hanneke joins forces with pianist Dave Wiesler who has built a national reputation for his rhythmic and innovative piano playing, and his sensitive accompaniment of dance music, choruses, and soloists.  Hanneke and Dave have played together for over 20 years, recorded together on six albums, and have toured the East coast of the United States and across France, performing concerts and playing for Scottish Country Dances.

Hanneke Cassel & Dave Wiesler / Keith Murphy & Yann Falquet

Christmas Magic returns to the Concert Hall this year with a very special program of holiday favorites and family fun! We’ll be joined by special guests to fill the hall with the sound of anticipation and joy. Make Christmas Magic part of your family holiday tradition this year!

Vista Philharmonic Orchestra: Christmas Magic 2024

One of the most influential bands in the history of traditional music, Lúnasa has sold over a quarter of a million records and performed over 2,000 shows across 36 countries. Their complex arrangements and unique sound have reshaped the boundaries of traditional music and energized audiences the world over. Collaborations with singers Natalie Merchant, Mary-Chapin Carpenter, and Tim O’Brien and high-profile concerts at The Hollywood Bowl, New York’s Carnegie Hall, the Glastonbury Festival, and Bercy Arena Paris have broadened the band’s audience and cemented its place at the forefront of contemporary Irish music.

A Celtic Holiday with Lúnasa

Pianist Yulianna Avdeeva, a Chopin Competition gold medalist with a flourishing career throughout Europe, makes her eagerly anticipated Celebrity Series debut, offering a bold and audacious program. Avdeeva performs Liszt’s daring, convention-defying keyboard compositions, each piece a captivating narrative of moods—from brooding and introspective to frenzied and impassioned—before plunging into Beethoven’s mighty Hammerklavier sonata. A towering masterpiece that has served as a proving ground for generations of brilliant pianists, the work embodies a profound fusion of rigorous structure and deep feeling, and the intricacies of a multi-voiced fugue.

Celebrity Series of Boston presents Yulianna Avdeeva

We’re proud to present an evening of evocative impressions of Latin America with works from three composers you’ll recognize and one we’re proud to introduce this season. Venezuelan / American composer and cellist Paul Desenne, who passed away in 2023 at age 63, was a founding member of the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra and resident composer for El Sistema. His 2013 Concerto for 2 Flutes will feature Robert Langevin, Principal Flute of the New York Philharmonic, and Marco Granados, one of the world’s leading flutists in Latin American music. The program opens with a lyrical, edgy work by Argentine tango composer Astor Piazzolla, followed by Heitor Villa-Lobos’ Bach-inspired representations of Brazilian life. We’ll finish the evening with American icon Aaron Copland, who infused Mexican folk music into his rousing work.

Vista Philharmonic Orchestra – Music Without Boundaries

Renowned for the expressive agility of her playing, violinist Midori returns to the Series for the first time since 2012 with a program that lends her finely honed touch to songs of mourning and lamentation across cultures.

Celebrity Series of Boston presents Midori & Özgür Aydin

Our March program celebrates the global travels and diverse influences of some of our favorite composers, creating a rich tapestry of sound that will be meaningful for both the orchestra players and our audience. Czech composer Antonín Dvořák spent three years in America (from 1892-1895) as director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York City, which is where he composed his great Cello Concerto. We’ll be joined by guest cellist Nicholas Canellakis, a multifaceted artist who appears regularly with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Hungarian composer Béla Bartók was well known in America as a pianist, teacher, and ethnomusicologist, and his Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta is one of his most popular compositions. We’ll open the concert with a world premiere symphonic work from young Bahamian composer Stefan Thompson, a recent Boston Conservatory graduate, now studying for a PhD in Screen Scoring at New York University.

Vista Philharmonic Orchestra – Remarkable Origins

This concert’s composers all have different stories to tell, and our orchestra is grateful for the opportunity to perform these deep, meaningful, and introspective meditations. For example, Maurice Ravel’s moving work Kaddish includes a prayer for universal peace. Czech / Austrian composer Viktor Ullmann met his death in Auschwitz, but wrote in his journals, “By no means did we sit weeping on the banks of the waters of Babylon. Our endeavour with respect to arts was commensurate with our will to live.” His melodious Slavonic Rhapsody (1940), featuring guest soloist Kenneth Radnofsky on alto saxophone, is a testament to endurance in a turbulent time. And, in our closing work, Adolphus Hailstork’s recently completed Fourth Symphony, the composer asks us to consider the roots of American music and the evolution of civil rights.

Vista Philharmonic Orchestra – Still Holding On

The youngest cellist to win a Gold Medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition, 24-year-old Zlatomir Fung enjoys a busy and varied international career. His appearances with renowned orchestras have showcased canon works and new commissions, demonstrating the breadth of his technique and musical insight.

Celebrity Series of Boston presents Zlatomir Fung

Our season finale is deeply meaningful to all of us in the Vista Philharmonic. This is a performance about change, about respect, and about standing up for the things we believe in.

Groton Hill Music Center

Nov 17, 2024

Hanneke Cassel & Dave Wiesler / Keith Murphy & Yann Falquet

7 - 8 Dec, 2024

Vista Philharmonic Orchestra: Christmas Magic 2024

Dec 21, 2024

A Celtic Holiday with Lúnasa

Jan 16, 2025

Celebrity Series of Boston presents Yulianna Avdeeva

Feb 8, 2025

Vista Philharmonic Orchestra – Music Without Boundaries

Nov 10, 2024

Jane Monheit

Nov 9, 2024

Vista Philharmonic Orchestra – Ode to Joy

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