BSO Presents Free Concert to Celebrate Symphony Hall's Reopening
As the culmination of the Boston Symphony Orchestra's 2021-22 season-opening weekend, the orchestra presents a special BSO/Boston Pops community concert under the direction of Andris Nelsons, Thomas Wilkins, John Williams, and Keith Lockhart (in order of appearance) on Sunday, October 3, at 3 p.m., at Symphony Hall in Boston.
Entitled "Concert for Our City: Reunited at Symphony Hall," this free performance celebrates the reopening of Symphony Hall to audiences after an 18-month hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The concert will begin with welcoming remarks from BSO President and CEO Gail Samuel.
"It is our hope that this special free performance will provide some much-needed joy and inspiration as we celebrate the reopening of Symphony Hall and share that beautiful space again with our Boston community," said BSO President and CEO Gail Samuel. "For all of us at the BSO, we can't imagine a better counter to the pandemic than welcoming concertgoers back to live performances at Symphony Hall."
Complimentary general admission tickets can be reserved starting on Monday, September 27, at noon, at www.bso.org/concertforourcity or by calling SymphonyCharge at 617-266-1200. Tickets to the October 3 concert also have been distributed to dozens of the BSO's community partners, including organizations such as Boston Public Schools, Asperger/Autism Network, and Boston Center for Youth and Families.
BSO and Boston Pops musicians greatly anticipate reconnecting with the Boston community in a festive program that encompasses various genres and spotlights the many musical gifts of the Boston Symphony and the Boston Pops. To open the program, BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons will conduct the BSO in Beethoven's "Consecration of the House Overture" — the first piece ever performed by the BSO in 1881 — a work that imparts a sense of renewal and revitalization as orchestra and audience come together again in a shared space. Mr. Nelsons will also lead the BSO in a BSO signature work, the final movement of Bartók's "Concerto for Orchestra" (music that the BSO premiered in 1944 under then-Music Director Serge Koussevitzky).
BSO Youth and Family Concerts Conductor Thomas Wilkins leads movements from William Grant Still's evocative 1948 orchestral suite "Wood Notes," music inspired by poems about America's natural beauty. Boston Pops Conductor Laureate John Williams takes the baton for three of his recent film score arrangements for violin and orchestra with German violin virtuoso Anne-Sophie Mutter as soloist. Boston Pops Conductor Keith Lockhart leads the Pops in the humorous "Ringtone Cycle" arranged by Mark Cumberland, Rachel Bruerville's propulsive "Dancing on Tiptoes" (but never falling), and an arrangement of "St. Louis Blues" by "Father of the Blues" W.C. Handy.
Please note that Concert for Our City: Reunited at Symphony Hall will not have an intermission.