Celebrity Series Of Boston Announces 2018-2019 Season

The Celebrity Series of Boston announced its 2018-2019 season today, marking 80 years of bringing the world's greatest performing artists to Boston. In total, the 2018-2019 season will include 50 music, dance, and entertainment mainstage engagements, including a new artistic initiative to present three dance ensembles in their Boston debuts with live music at NEC's Plimpton Shattuck Black Box Theatre. The season will open on September 23 with Jazz Along the Charles, A Walkable Concert along the Charles River Esplanade featuring 25 jazz ensembles along a 2-mile loop. Neighborhood Arts will feature more than 150 workshops, classes, and concerts in schools and community venues performances across Boston.

The 2018-19 season is sponsored by Amy and Joshua Boger.

Gary Dunning, President and Executive Director of the Celebrity Series of Boston, says, "I am very much looking forward to our 80th season of bringing live performing arts to the Greater Boston area. This season continues the tradition that Aaron Richmond started in our very first year-bringing artists from around the world in order to broaden the cultural experience of Boston audiences. We have Boston debuts in dance, classical music, jazz, and contemporary music. There is a strong mix of long-time favorites of Celebrity Series stages and young artists who bring a new perspective on performance and composition. I hope everyone will explore Celebrity Series' 2018-2019 season and join in the celebration.

The 2018-2019 season offers thirteen ensembles; five piano recitals; five instrumental recitals; nine human voice or vocal performances; eleven jazz and popular song performances; and seven dance companies, including a new series of three dance performances at the New England Conservatory's Plimpton Shattuck Black Box Theatre.

Celebrity Series events will take place in NEC's Jordan Hall (30 Gainsborough Street, Boston), NEC's Plimpton Shattuck Black Box Theatre (Student Life & Performance Center 255 St. Botolph Street, Boston), Symphony Hall (301 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston), Longy's Pickman Hall (27 Garden Street, Cambridge), Berklee Performance Center (136 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston), Sanders Theatre (Memorial Hall, 45 Quincy Street, Cambridge), Boch Center Shubert Theatre (265 Tremont Street, Boston), and the Boch Center Wang Theatre (270 Tremont Street, Boston).

Subscription sales (any order with three or more events), both online and by mail, will begin on April 11, 2018. Online subscriptions will be available beginning at 9am on April 11 at www.celebrityseries.org. Subscription brochures will be mailed the week of April 11. Subscription sales include half-price child ticket pricing for most events.

The Priority Seating deadline is June 1 and subscription orders by phone will begin on Monday, June 4, 2018, and single ticket sales for most events will begin on Monday, September 10, 2018. The deadline for subscription orders is Friday, October 5, 2018.

Persons who wish to receive a copy of the new brochure or paper order form in the mail should email brochures@celebrityseries.org with their full name and mailing address or write to Celebrity Series of Boston, 20 Park Plaza, Suite 1032, Boston, MA 02116.

The 2018-2019 season will feature the Boston debuts of Academy St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble; Batsheva Dance Company; a cappella group Cantus; Dance Heginbotham; Ephrat Asherie Dance; Dover Quartet; Amir ElSaffar's Two Rivers Ensemble; Mnozil Brass; dance ensemble Sankofa Danzafro; Philharmonix; bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni; pianist Beatrice Rana; composer Max Richter; and guitarist Pablo Sáinz Villegas.

Making their Celebrity Series debuts during the 2018-2019 season are ACME (American Contemporary Music Ensemble); cellist Gautier Capuçon; singer-songwriter Shawn Colvin; mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato; guitarist Bill Frisell; tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain; cellist Steven Isserlis; vocalist José James; musician Storm Large; percussionist Pedrito Martinez; percussionist Charles McPherson; rock band OK Go; Cuban jazz pianist Alfredo Rodriguez; singer/songwriter Lucinda Williams; and jazz band The Yellowjackets.

The Debut Series continues for the seventh year at Longy's Pickman Hall with countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo; Dover Quartet; guitarist Pablo Sáinz Villegas; pianist Beatrice Rana; and a cappella group Cantus. The Debut Series is sponsored by Harriet and David Griesinger and the Longy School of Music of Bard College.

Celebrity Series will launch a new artistic initiative in the 2018-2019 season with performances at NEC's Plimpton Shattuck Black Box Theatre, an intimate, flexible space in the Student Life & Performance Center at 255 St. Botolph Street, just around the corner from Jordan Hall. This first season's programming will emphasize dance and, in particular, younger, groundbreaking choreographers and dance ensembles in their Boston debuts with Boston premiere works, all performed to live music. Celebrity Series is proud to deepen its ongoing partnership with the New England Conservatory to include this new performance space and to continue our long-standing tradition of bringing debut performances and new works to Boston.

Celebrity Series will present its signature contemporary music series Stave Sessions for the fifth year March 19-23, 2019 at 160 Mass. Ave. Performers to be announced in the fall of 2018. Stave Sessions is sponsored by Margaret Eagle & Eli Rapaport, Susan & Michael Thonis, and the Barr Foundation.

Jazz Along the Charles: A Walkable Concert will take place on Sunday, September 23, 2018 from 2-4pm along the Charles River Esplanade, Boston. On a single fall afternoon, Celebrity Series will produce a free, outdoor concert at a series of connected locations along the Charles River Esplanade. 25 jazz ensembles will interpret the same curated list of Boston-related tunes, each in their own style. While each band is unique, together they will create one collective event that celebrates the great jazz community in Boston today. The audience will stroll along the Charles River on a 2-mile loop, discovering new favorite songs, artists, and areas of the Esplanade, creating a dynamic and evolving jazz concert experience. Jazz Along the Charles is a free public event, part of Celebrity Series' commitment to free public performance experiences for the people of Boston. Previous Celebrity Series public projects have included Street Pianos Boston (2013 & 2016), Le Grand Continental (2014), and Let's Dance Boston (2015 & 2017).

Jazz Along the Charles: A Walkable Concert is sponsored by Leslie & Howard Appleby, Amy & Joshua Boger, the Stephanie L. Brown Foundation, Donna & Michael Egan, and the Barr Foundation.

Celebrity Series will present composer and musician Max Richter with the ACME ensemble on Thursday, October 11, 2018 at 8pm at the Berklee Performance Center. With Richter on keyboards and electronics and ACME in quintet form, the ensemble will perform music from Richter's 2010 release, Infra, and the HBO series The Leftovers.

Academy of St Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble will make its Boston debut on Friday, October 12, 2018 at 8pm at NEC's Jordan Hall. With members from its world-renowned chamber orchestra, Academy of St Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble will perform Nielsen Serenata in vano, Françaix Octet, and Schubert Octet in F Major for Winds & Strings, D.803. An Aaron Richmond Recital

OK Go, the rock band famous for their wildly creative videos, brings their unique magic to the stage for The Live Video Tour. The band will perform their songs live and in sync with 20 of their iconic videos, pausing for question/answer sessions with the crowd and special performances. Friday, November 2, 2018 at 8pm at Berklee Performance Center.

Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain, and Edgar Meyer are masterful virtuosos on their respective instruments who move with ease among the worlds of classical, bluegrass and world music. The super group will bring a mix of global grooves and dazzling solos to Sanders Theatre on Saturday, November 17, 2018 at 8pm. Sponsored by Julia Byers & Steven Holtzman.

The Dover Quartet makes their Boston debut as part of the Debut Series on Wednesday, December 5, 2018 at 8pm at Longy's Pickman Hall. Following a sweep of the 2013 Banff Competition, the ensemble was recently named the Cleveland Quartet Award winner and awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant. The program consists of Tchaikovsky Quartet No. 3 in E-flat minor, Opus 30; Mason Bates From Amber Frozen; and Dvo?ák Quartet in A-flat Major, Opus 105. The Debut Series is sponsored by Harriet and David Griesinger and the Longy School of Music of Bard College.

Mnozil Brass, the Austrian brass septet, will bring their program Cirque in their Boston debut to NEC's Jordan Hall on Saturday, February 9, 2019 at 8pm. Media Partner 99.5 WCRB.

The Hagen Quartet, who first debuted with the Celebrity Series as part of the Debut Series in 2012, make their first return engagement on Saturday, March 23, 2019 at 8pm to NEC's Jordan Hall. The program consists of Schubert Quartet in A minor, D. 804, "Rosamunde"; Webern Five Movements for String Quartet, Opus 5; and Beethoven Quartet in C-sharp minor, Opus 131. An Aaron Richmond Recital; Media Partner 99.5 WCRB.

San Francisco Symphony with conductor Michael Tilson Thomas returns to the Series on Sunday, March 24, 2019 at 5pm at Symphony Hall. Joined by violin soloist Christian Tetzlaff, they will perform one of Tilson Thomas's own compositions, Agnegram; Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor, Opus 64; and Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, "Eroica." Sponsored by Foley & Lardner, LLP with additional support provided by the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany.

S? Percussion will perform Steve Reich's early-1970s masterwork, Drumming, a piece inspired by the music of Ghana. The ensemble will make its first return performance on the Series since their debut in 2016 as part of the new music festival Stave Sessions on Thursday, March 28, 2019 at 8pm at Sanders Theatre.

Australian Chamber Orchestra led by Richard Tognetti will be joined by pianist Paul Lewis on Saturday, April 13, 2018 at 8pm at NEC's Jordan Hall. They will perform Bach The Art of Fugue: Contrapunctus I - IV; Mozart Piano Concerto No. 12 in A Major, K.414; Beethoven String Quartet, Opus 130 (arr. for string orchestra); and Beethoven Grosse Fugue, Opus 133 (arr. for string orchestra).

Collaborators violinist Joshua Bell, cellist Steven Isserlis, and pianist Jeremy Denk join forces on Sunday, April 28, 2019 at 5pm at Symphony Hall. The trio will perform a Mendelssohn Trio (TBD); Shostakovich Trio No. 2 in E minor; Rachmaninoff Trio élégiaque No. 1 in G minor; and Ravel Trio in A minor. Media Partner 99.5 WCRB.

Philharmonix, comprised of members of the Vienna Philharmonic, two Berlin Philharmonic soloists, one of the most versatile Austrian pianists, and a singing violinist, make their Boston debut on Friday, May 3, 2018 at 8pm at NEC's Jordan Hall. Sponsored by Sally Seaver, PhD;
Media Partner 99.5 WCRB.

The 2018-2019 Celebrity Series season will feature five piano recitals, beginning with Emanuel Ax on Sunday, October 28, 2018 at 3pm at Symphony Hall. His program is Bach Partita No. 1 in B flat Major, BWV825; Schoenberg Six Little Piano Pieces, Opus 19; Schumann Fantasiestücke, Opus 12; Ravel Valses Nobles et Sentimentales; Chopin Mazurkas TBD, Andante Spianato and Grand Polonaise Brillante, Opus 22. An Aaron Richmond Recital. Sponsored by Dorothy & Stephen Weber. Media Partner 99.5 WCRB.

Pianist Inon Barnatan returns to the Series for his fourth engagement on Sunday, November 18, 2018 at 3pm at NEC's Jordan Hall. He will perform Bach Toccata in E Minor, BWV 914; Handel Allemande from Suite in E Major, HWV 430; Rameau Courante from Suite in A minor, RCT 5; Couperin L'Atalante; Ravel Rigaudon from Le tombeau de Couperin; Adès Blanca Variations; Ligeti Musica Ricercata No. 10 and No. 11; Barber Fugue from Sonata in E minor; and Brahms Variations & Fugue on a Theme by Handel. An Aaron Richmond Recital.

Rob Kapilow and recent Debut Series pianist Orion Weiss take on one of Beethoven's greatest and most technically challenging piano works, Sonata No. 23, Opus 57, the "Appassionata," as part of What Makes It Great? on Sunday, December 2, 2018 at 3pm at NEC's Jordan Hall. Sponsored by Amy and Joshua Boger.

Leif Ove Andsnes performs a solo recital on Friday, January 18, 2019 at 8pm at NEC's Jordan Hall. The program consists of R. Schumann Three Romances, Opus 28; Janá?ek On an Overgrown Path, Book 1; Bartók Three Burlesques, Opus 8; and Schumann Carnaval, Opus 9. An Aaron Richmond Recital. Sponsored in memory of Blanche & George Jones.

Italian pianist Beatrice Rana makes her Boston debut as part of the Debut Series on Wednesday, February 27, 2019 at 8pm at Longy's Pickman Hall. Just 24 years old, Rana won the Silver Medal and Audience Award at the 2013 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. She will perform Chopin Ètudes, Opus 25; Ravel Miroirs; Stravinsky/Agosti The Firebird. The Debut Series is sponsored by Harriet and David Griesinger and the Longy School of Music of Bard College.

Pianist Kirill Gerstein and pianist and composer Thomas Adès will perform on Friday, March 15, 2019 at 8pm at NEC's Jordan Hall. They will perform Debussy En Blanc et Noir; Stravinsky/Shostakovich Symphony of Psalms; Lutoslawski, Variations on a theme by Paganini; Debussy, Lindaraja; Adès, Concert paraphrase on Powder Her Face; and Ravel, La Valse. The performance is a co-presentation with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Violinist Gil Shaham and pianist Akira Eguchi perform in recital on Friday, November 16, 2018 at 8pm at NEC's Jordan Hall. The program consists of Leclair Sonata in D Major, Opus 9; Wheeler, The Singing Turk; Prokofiev, Five Melodies; Kreisler, Praeludium and Allegro (In the Style of Pagnani); and Franck, Sonata in A Major. Media Partner WCRB.

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