Boston Landmarks Orchestra's Free Summer Wednesday Concert Programs to Run 7/16-8/27

The DCR's Hatch Shell on the Esplanade comes alive with orchestral splendor on Wednesday evenings during July and August, as the Boston Landmarks Orchestra returns for its 2014 main series. Led by Music Director Christopher Wilkins, the Orchestra brings together a diverse group of artists and partner organizations from across Greater Boston for seven unique programs, from the July 16 opening featuring Carmina burana, to the final concert on August 27, O'er the Land of the Free: Bicentennial of The Star-Spangled Banner. All Esplanade concerts begin at 7pm at the DCR's Hatch Shell. Privately funded, the Orchestra shares live orchestral music in unique settings, through neighborhood concerts (6pm on July 9 in Charlestown and 6pm on July 13 in Jamaica Plain), and offers community-oriented programming appropriate for all Bostonians. The orchestra is committed to removing barriers of access for people with disabilities, especially at its Hatch Shell performances, through its Breaking Down Barriers initiative. For more information, call 617-987-2000 or visit landmarksorchestra.org.

July 16, 2014 - Opening Night - Carmina burana

The premiere of Larry Bell's adaptation of "At the River" (the Orchestra's unofficial anthem) honors the Hatch Shell, one of Boston's most iconic concert settings. Also on tap is Leonard Bernstein's "On the Waterfront," from the classic film featuring Marlon Brando. The program concludes with Carl Orff's Carmina burana, featuring the Back Bay Chorale (Scott Allen Jarrett, music director) and the One City Choir (singers from all parts of the city). This music is known and beloved by every generation. Special guest artists include Teresa Wakim, soprano, R. Joshua Reynolds, tenor, and Aaron Engebreth, baritone.

July 23, 2014 - Fiesta sinfónica

In partnership with Inquilinos boricuas en acción (IBA), Landmarks offers up an evening of Latin music and dance, beginning with George Gershwin's rumba-inflected Cuban Overture. Two worlds meet as the Orchestra is joined by "a pocket-sized salsa orchestra" performing festive music from a half-dozen Caribbean nations, with new nations represented this summer. Featured artists and partners include Conservatory Lab Charter School Dudamel Orchestra, Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and drummers from Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston. The program features La noche de los Mayas (Silvestre Revueltas), En memoria de Chano Pozo (David Amram) and Viaje (Gonzalo Grau). Get ready to dance the night away!

July 30, 2014 - Longwood Symphony Orchestra

The Orchestra's collaboration with the acclaimed Longwood Symphony Orchestra of Boston's medical community is one of its longest partnerships. Music Director Ronald Feldman leads a program of classic works offered in the spirit of service, to celebrate the international nature of this exceptional institution, alongside the New World Chorale presenting Carmen Suite No. 1 (Georges Bizet), Cello Concerto No. 1 (Camille Saint-Saens) with Natasha Farny, cello, Pavane (Gabriel Faure), Nocturnes (Claude Debussy) and Carmen Suite No. 2 (Georges Bizet).

August 6, 2014 - Boston Lyric Opera

The Landmarks Orchestra proudly continues its series of highly successful collaborations with Boston Lyric Opera, in a program featuring excerpts and scenes from operas by Verdi, Mozart, and others. Fans of the Orchestra and BLO alike will enjoy a sneak peek at the company's upcoming 2014-15 season. It will include Mozart's Don Giovanni, Verdi's La Traviata as well as his The Force of Destiny, and Janacek's Katya Kabanova.

August 13, 2014 - From the New World: The Legacy of the Spirituals

African American spirituals are revered the world over as expressions of deepest faith. The New England Spiritual Ensemble and One City Youth Choir (new this year) bring together young people from across Boston to perform these anthems of the American experience. The program, which is funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation, features the premiere of Griot Legacies by American composer Trevor Weston. Other works include The Chariot Jubilee (R. Nathaniel Dett) and Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 ("From the New World").

August 20, 2014 - Rhapsody in Green

The annual "green" concert offers music of brilliant colors and cooling shades befitting a late summer evening. Der Freischütz (Carl Maria von Weber) unfolds in a fairy-tale forest. Jean Françaix's The Flower Clock is an oboe concerto depicting a clock assembled from diverse flowers, where each blooms at a different hour. Simon Parmet said of Jean Sibelius's Symphony No. 2 in D Major, op 43, "It is a song of praise to summer and the joy of living." Featured artist is Andrew Price, oboe. Rounding out the program is Suite No. 1 in A minor, op. 42 (Edward MacDowell).

August 27, 2014 O'er the Land of the Free: Bicentennial of The Star-Spangled Banner

In partnership with the 1812 Marine Guard for the USS CONSTITUTION, the USS CONSTITUTION Museum, and a full color guard of today's Marines from Fort Devens, MA.

The War of 1812, America's "Second Revolution," despite its numerous and tragic miscalculations, helped unify a young nation. The flag and the song - both known as the Star-Spangled Banner - share an enthralling history, memorialized by Boston composer Michael Gandolfi in Chesapeake: Summer of 1814. Reflecting Beethoven's role as a powerful contemporary voice for democracy known around the world, the program features two of his masterpieces from 1814: Overture to Fidelio, (1814) and Symphony No. 8. Other works include Festival Overture on the American National Air (Dudley Buck) and Variations on America (Charles Ives). One City Choir to perform.