Boston Symphony Orchestra Partners With Hip-Hop Band STL GLD and Presents Works by James Lee III, Copland & Brahms

Boston Symphony Orchestra has announced this week's virtual programming!

See details below:

THOMAS WILKINS, BSO MUSICIANS, AND MOE POPE AND STL GOLD IN MULTI-VIDEO COLLABORATION, US: SESSIONS

AVAILABLE NOW AT BSO.ORG/STLGLD
In what is being described as a celebration of community, the BSO and Thomas Wilkins are delighted to present Us: Sessions, a collaborative video series with Boston-based hip-hop artist Moe Pope and the award-winning band STL GLD, marking the first public manifestation of a partnership, which began in 2018 during the BSO's three-year residency in Jamaica Plain. The series kicked off on Thursday, October 29, with the release of a powerful music video by STL GLD and eight members of the BSO string section, all playing on camera at home, in a special arrangement of STL GLD's 2019 song "With Me." Six conversations follow over the course of two weeks, one released each Monday (11/2 & 11/9), Wednesday (11/4 & 11/11), and Friday (11/6 & 11/13). The videos, along with bios and supplementary materials, are available at bso.org/stlgld.

This week, on Monday, November 2, in the first of the six video podcasts, Thomas Wilkins joins three members of STL GLD-emcee Moe Pope, producer The Arcitype, and saxophonist Tim Hall (left) for a lively and illuminating conversation with a focus on the value of being open to music of all kinds. On Wednesday, November 4, BSO horn player Rachel Childers, folklorist/storyteller Dzidzor, and singer-songwriter Julia Easterlin join Tim Hall for a discussion ranging from the question "when do you finally feel like a professional artist?" to facing loss and rage. On Friday, November 6, BSO bassoonist Suzanne Nelsen, STL GLD vocalist Christopher Talken, BSO Assistant Principal Bass Lawrence Wolfe, and host Tim Hall discuss the importance of amplifying marginalized voices and the influence of church music.

ENCORE BSO RECITALS, AVAILABLE THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5

STARTING AT NOON AT WWW.BSO.ORG

In this recital, BSO Associate Principal Flute Elizabeth Ostling performs two American works. Aaron Copland's 1967 Duo features both the pastoral lyricism and the rhythmic bounce so characteristic of the composer. The Michigan-born composer James Lee III drew on his strong relationship with Brazil's music and musicians for his Chôro sem tristeza, "lament without sadness." Also on the program, Johannes Brahms' F minor piano quintet began life as a string quintet before Brahms realized he needed the contrasting power of his own instrument, the piano, to bring the piece to its full potential. It today stands as one of the great chamber music works in the repertoire.

Program Listing: Encore BSO Recitals, Thursday, November 5-releases at noon at www.bso.org and is available through Thursday, November 19
COPLAND Duo for Flute and Piano
Elizabeth Ostling, flute; Randall Hodgkinson, piano
James Lee III Chôro sem tristeza, for solo flute
Elizabeth Ostling, flute
BRAHMS Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34
Alexander Velinzon and Bracha Malkin, violins; Cathy Basrak, viola; Blaise Déjardin, cello; Jonathan Bass, piano

ENCORE BSO RADIO BROADCAST ON CRB CLASSICAL 99.5 FM AND CLASSICALWCRB.ORG ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, AT 8 P.M., HOSTED BY RON DELLA CHIESA

For this week's BSO encore concert broadcast and stream on CRB Classical 99.5 and classicalwcrb.org, former BSO Associate Conductor Ken-David Masur leads the BSO in Schumann's Symphony No. 3 ("Rhenish") as well as the American premiere of Unsuk Chin's Mannequin (a BSO co-commission) and Liszt's Totentanz, with piano soloist Louie Lortie. The broadcast origially aired on November 7, 2015. For more information about future CRB encore broadcasts, please go to classicalwcrb.org.

COMPLIMENTARY ONLINE ACCESS FOR ESSENTIAL WORKERS AND A NEWLY-REVISED ONLINE COLLEGE CARD

In appreciation for the support of essential workers in our communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, in partnership with Bank of America, is pleased to offer complimentary access to select online concerts and other programs. For additional information about the Essential Workers Program, visit www.bso.org/essential. The BSO also is proud to continue offering access to college students via the newly-revised online College Card program, in partnership with the Arbella Insurance Foundation.

BSO EXPANDS ITS ONLINE CONTENT IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER UNDER THE NEW RUBRIC BSONOW

On October 28, the Boston Symphony Orchestra announced details of its expanded digital content series BSONOW to be recorded at Symphony Hall and made available through bso.org/now beginning on November 19. Over the next six months, November through April, the BSO is committing to its online video presence on a whole new level, highlighting newly recorded performances by its beloved ensembles-the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops orchestras-while also shining a spotlight on individual BSO musicians in chamber music works, its BSO Youth and Family Concerts, and its unique educational and community partnerships. Now under the new rubric BSONOW, this newly recorded online video content, as well as related performances from the BSO Archives, will be released at www.bso.org/now on select Thursdays, at noon, November 19-April 29, and will remain available for 30 days after each initial posting. The BSO, Pops, and youth-focused video performances will be recorded from the stage of Symphony Hall-widely considered one of the top three acoustic concert halls in the world-which will also be featured for all its beautiful detail and historic significance.

Additional BSONOW programming details, January-April, will be announced on a rolling basis in order for the BSO to respond effectively to any changes in restrictions that might be implemented around official COVID-19 protocols.

BSONOW and the Encore BSO Recital series are part of the BSO's continuing series of online offerings created in response to the live performance hiatus imposed by regulations around the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing health crisis. In response to this hiatus from live performances, the BSO launched its expanded digital offerings on March 26 with BSO at Home and BSO HomeSchool, followed by Boston Pops at Home (all available at www.bso.org), the Tanglewood 2020 Online Festival (www.tanglewood.org), and, currently, Encore BSO Recitals (www.bso.org), available through November 19. The success of these programs, which have generated millions of interactions-both directly with the actual online content and indirectly through the orchestra's social media channels about that content-has been an inspiration for the orchestra to continue to explore new ways of reaching its music community and beyond with new, innovative, and compelling programming during the COVID-19 pandemic. As of March 13, 2020, and continuing on through April 2021 and possibly beyond, the orchestra has been forced to cancel the remainder of its 2019-20 BSO Youth Concert Series and 2019-20 BSO season and the entire 2020 Boston Pops, 2020 Tanglewood, 2020 Holiday Pops, and 2020-21 BSO seasons.

THE BSO'S REOPENING STRATEGY FOR ITS BSONOW ONLINE RECORDING SCHEDULE AT SYMPHONY HALL

Working with 9 Foundations, Inc., the BSO's reopening strategy for its BSONOW online recording schedule at Symphony Hall will include a robust testing schedule, two layers of daily screening, social distancing, universal masking, engineering controls, and enhanced cleaning and disinfection protocols. In addition, BSO musicians will sit on a 35.5 foot stage extension-more than doubling the size of the stage-especially built to accommodate official social distancing requirements between orchestra members.

With the health and safety of everyone involved the highest priority, the BSO will continually monitor updates from the Centers for Disease Control, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the City of Boston, as well as its own team of experts, to determine when it can gradually start inviting audiences bad to Symphony Hall and its other venues. The timing of this process will not be known for at least several months. All official Boston Symphony Orchestra updates will be announced through press releases and postings on www.bso.org.

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