BSO Presents A Free CONCERT FOR THE CITY in May

The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) will open its doors for a free concert on Sunday, May 7 at 2 p.m. Led by BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons and Boston Pops Conductor Keith Lockhart, the program will feature a diverse musical program designed to celebrate the City of Boston while building community through the shared experience of great music.

"We want everyone in this great city to be able to experience the beauty of the Boston Symphony Orchestra inside one of the world's great concert halls and one of Boston's greatest architectural landmarks," said the BSO's Interim Eunice and Julian Cohen President and CEO Jeffrey D. Dunn. "We are thrilled that Mayor Wu will join us as a guest performer for what will be a Boston-inspired program, and we wish to extend a warm welcome to all of our neighbors who may be attending their first concert in Symphony Hall."

"Music unites and inspires us, and we are blessed to have the world-renowned Boston Symphony Orchestra as part of the foundation that makes Boston so vibrant," said Mayor Michelle Wu. "I'm thrilled for this incredible opportunity to make the orchestra accessible for residents of all ages to enjoy."

The BSO last offered a Concert for the City in October 2021 to celebrate the return that fall to in-person performances following Symphony Hall's pandemic closure. In the 18 months since then, the BSO and Pops schedules have resumed their regular cadence, with attendance now nearing pre-pandemic levels.

Doors will open at 12:30 p.m. for pre-concert activities starting at 12:50 p.m. in smaller spaces throughout Symphony Hall. Visitors of all ages can touch and explore instruments on the Instrument Playground and enjoy performances by local music and dance groups including the Berklee Chinese Traditional Music Club, DEAFinitely, and OrigiNation. The orchestral concert will begin at 2 p.m. and will run for about 75 minutes without an intermission.

General admission seating will be offered free of charge and tickets may be reserved online or in person through the BSO Box Office starting on Thursday, April 20 at 10 a.m. (See ticketing details below.) Tickets have been offered to dozens of BSO community partners and the Boston Public Schools.

Program Details about the Concert for the City on May 7 at 2 p.m.

With Andris Nelsons and Keith Lockhart taking turns conducting, Concert for the City will open with former longtime Boston Pops Conductor John Williams' rousing Fanfare for Fenway and close with the Dropkick Murphys' anthemic Shipping Up to Boston. Mayor Wu will perform as soloist in the second movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 in C, K.467. Other highlights will be Duke Ellington's Come Sunday narrated by Charlotte Blake Alston and an original reading by Anjalequa Leynneyah Verona Birkett who was named Boston's second Youth Poet Laureate in 2022.

Concert for the City also features Valerie Coleman's Seven O'Clock Shout, which was inspired by the daily 7 p.m. shouts to honor the frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Roberto Sierra's orchestral fantasy Fandangos.

Rounding out the musical program are George Whitefield Chadwick's exuberant Jubilee, Florence Price's lively "Juba Dance" from Symphony No. 1, and Chick Corea's jazz fusion classic Spain.

"The musical items selected for inclusion in Concert for the City represent just a sampling of the incredible artistic life of our community and of the creative talent that has been nurtured in Boston," said Anthony Fogg, the BSO William I. Bernell Vice President, Artistic Planning.

"The program includes music by two pioneering figures in Boston's musical history, George Chadwick and Florence Price, as well as important voices of our time: Valerie Coleman and Roberto Sierra. And the performances of Duke Ellington's moving Come Sunday, as well as music by the Dropkick Murphys, remind us how the Boston Pops has for nearly 140 years embraced and championed the widest range of musical genres," said Mr. Fogg. "We are also honored that Mayor Michelle Wu has agreed to play the beautiful slow movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21, with the Boston Symphony and Andris Nelsons."

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