Boston Symphony Orchestra To Present E PLURIBUS UNUM: FROM MANY, ONE Festival
Monthlong series will run January 8–February 1 across venues in Greater Boston.
By: A.A. Cristi Nov. 12, 2025
The Boston Symphony Orchestra will launch E Pluribus Unum: From Many, One on January 8, a monthlong festival spotlighting a wide range of American voices across music, scholarship, and the arts. Running through February 1, the festival will pair BSO programs with events throughout Greater Boston, including talks, chamber concerts, recitals, and conversations with guest artists.
BSO CONCERTS
BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons will open the festival with concert performances of Samuel Barber’s Vanessa in collaboration with Boston Lyric Opera (January 8 & 10). The following week, Nelsons leads Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms and the BSO premiere of Allison Loggins-Hull’s Rhapsody on a Theme by Joni, alongside Seong-Jin Cho in Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 (January 15–17). Nelsons will then conduct an all–John Williams program featuring the Boston premiere of Williams’ Piano Concerto with Emanuel Ax (January 22–25).
Under the festival’s theme and the BSO’s multi-season initiative Faith in Our Time, the orchestra will perform the Boston premiere of Carlos Simon’s Good News Mass (January 29 & 31). Conducted by BSO Artistic Partner Thomas Wilkins, the program includes narration by Marc Bamuthi Joseph, video by Melina Matsoukas, and gospel contributions led by Dennis Slaughter. The program is paired with David Lang’s poor hymnal.
EVENTS
A schedule of 13 additional events will take place across the city. Highlights include a Vanessa pre-concert talk by Dr. Carolyn Abbate (January 8); a chamber program by Allison Loggins-Hull at the Boston Athenaeum (January 13); a conversation with Krista Tippett and Nicole Krauss at Temple Ohabei Shalom (January 14); and a Boston Symphony Chamber Players concert with Seong-Jin Cho (January 18).
Violinist Johnny Gandelsman will perform three free solo programs from his anthology This Is America (January 21, 25 & 26). Additional events include an MFA talk on American road trip photography with David Campany, Karen Haas, and Amani Willett (January 22); Emily Wells’ Regards to the End at ICA/Boston with BSO musicians (January 23); and a John Williams pre-concert lecture by Tim Greiving (January 25).
Carlos Simon Will join a live taping of the podcast Vibe Check at WBUR CitySpace (January 28) and will participate in a free “What I Hear” program at New England Conservatory (January 29). The festival will conclude with Augustin Hadelich and Orion Weiss performing the American Road Trip recital at MIT, including the world premiere of Simon’s Serenade (February 1).
TICKETING
Tickets and information for all festival programs are available at bso.org, by calling 888-266-1200, or at the Symphony Hall Box Office. Admission to the Vanessa and John Williams pre-concert talks is included with tickets to those performances. Gandelsman’s This Is America concerts are free with advance registration. The NEC “What I Hear” event is free without registration, subject to capacity.
Videos