Celebrity Series of Boston Announces 2015-16 Season
By: BWW News Desk Apr. 22, 2015
The 2015-2016 season offers a five-performance debut series, three orchestras, ten ensembles, five piano recitals, four instrumental recitals, four vocal recitals, fourteen jazz and popular song performances, six dance and physical movement companies and two spoken word performances.
Celebrity Series events in the 2015-2016 season will take place in NEC's Jordan Hall (30 Gainsborough 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 (45 Quincy Street, Cambridge), Citi Shubert Theatre (270 Tremont Street, Boston), and the Citi Wang Theatre (270 Tremont Street, Boston).
Subscription sales (any order with three or more events), both online and by mail, will begin on April 22, 2015. Online subscriptions will be available beginning at 9am on April 22 at www.celebrityseries.org. Subscription brochures with mail order forms will be mailed the week of April 22. Subscription sales include half-price child ticket pricing for most events.
Persons who wish to receive a copy of the new brochure 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.
Subscription orders by phone will begin on Monday, June 8, 2015, and single ticket sales for most events will begin on Monday, September 14, 2015.
BOSTON DEBUTS
The 2015-2016 season will feature the Boston debuts of Pavel Haas Quartet, Quatuor Debussy (performing live with Circa in Opus), pianist Denis Kozhukhin, pianist Alexandre Tharaud (with the Orchestre National de France), dance ensemble BalletBoyz, dancer and choreographer Akram Kahn, Cuban dance ensemble Malpaso Dance Company, mezzo-soprano Tara Erraught, and violinist Jennifer Koh in her recital debut.
CELEBRITY SERIES DEBUTS
Making their Celebrity Series debuts during the 2014-2015 season are Bach Collegium Japan, mandolinist Avi Avital, jazz pianist Joey Alexander, tenor Paul Appleby, flamenco dancer Israel Galván, visual artist David Michalek, vocalists Mavis Staples and Joan Osborne, pianist Shai Wosner, Former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins, singer-songwriter Aimee Mann, jazz pianist Billy Childs, vocalist Alicia Olatuja, vocalist Ana Gasteyer, singer-songwriter Patty Griffin, singer-songwriter and fiddler Sara Watkins, songwriter Anaïs Mitchell, SERIAL podcast creators Sarah Koenig & Julie Snyder, and SF JAZZ Collective.THE DEBUT SERIES
The Debut Series continues for the fourth year at Longy's Pickman Hall with Pavel Haas Quartet, violinist Jennifer Koh and pianist Shai Wosner, mezzo-soprano Tara Erraught, pianist Denis Kozhukhin, and tenor Paul Appleby. The Debut Series is sponsored by Harriet and David Griesinger and the Longy School of Music of Bard College.
ORCHESTRAS
Celebrity Series will present Bach Collegium Japan with conductor Masaaki Suzuki and soprano Joanne Lunn on Sunday, November 8, 2015 at 3pm at NEC's Jordan Hall. They will perform J.S. Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 and Cantata No. 51 "Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen;" Vivaldi's Recorder Concerto in C Major, RV 443 and Oboe Concerto in A minor, RV463; and Handel's Gloria in B-flat Major, HWV deest. Media partner 99.5 WCRB.Orchestre National de France with music director Daniele Gatti and piano soloist Alexandre Tharaud will perform on Sunday, January 24, 2016 at 3pm at Symphony Hall. The program consists of Debussy's Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune; Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K. 488; and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5. Sponsored by Eleanor and Frank Pao; Media partner 99.5 WCRB.
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and music director & violin soloist Joshua Bell will perform on Sunday, March 20, 2016 at 3pm at Symphony Hall in a program of Prokofiev's Classical Symphony, Opus 25; Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto, Ligeti's Concert Românesc; and Beethoven's Symphony No. 8. Sponsored by PTC; Media partner 99.5 WCRB.
PIANISTS
The 2015-2016 Celebrity Series season will feature five piano recitals, beginning with pianist Lang Lang on Sunday, October 25, 2015 at 3pm at Symphony Hall. He will perform Bach's Italian Concerto in F Major, BMV 971; Tchaikovsky's The Seasons; and Chopin's Four Scherzos. Sponsored by Eleanor and Frank Pao; Media partner 99.5 WCRB.
Russian pianist Denis Kozhukhin makes his Boston debut on Wednesday, January 20, 2016 at 8pm at Longy's Pickman Hall in a program of Haydn, Brahms, Rachmaninov, Franck, and Prokofiev. This performance is part of The Debut Series, sponsored by Harriet and David Griesinger and the Longy School of Music of Bard College.
Sir András Schiff explores the final piano sonatas of Haydn, Beethoven, Mozart, and Schubert on Friday, February 26, 21016 at 8pm at NEC's Jordan Hall. An Aaron Richmond Recital.
MacArthur Fellow and Avery Fisher Prize winner Jeremy Denk will perform a solo piano recital on Saturday, April 2, 2016 at 8pm at NEC's Jordan Hall. An Aaron Richmond Recital; Sponsored by the D.L. Saunders Real Estate & Hotel Investors Group, AMO; Media partner 99.5 WCRB.
Pianist Emanuel Ax will conclude the piano series on Sunday, May 1, 2016 at 3pm at NEC's Jordan Hall with Beethoven's Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Opus 13, "Pathetique"; Sonata in A Major, Opus 2; and Sonata in F minor, Opus 57, "Appassionata." The program also consists of Dussek's Sonata in F-Sharp minor, Opus 61, "Elégie harmonique" and a Fantasy (TBD) by C.P.E. Bach. An Aaron Richmond Recital.
ENSEMBLES
Thursday, October 22, 2015 at 8pm, the Pavel Haas Quartet begins the 2015 Debut Series at Longy's Pickman Hall. They will perform Martinu's Quartet No. 3, H. 183, Dvo?ák's Quartet No. 9 in D minor, Opus 34, and Beethoven's Quartet in E minor, Op. 59, no. 2, "Rasumovsky". The Debut Series is sponsored by Harriet and David Griesinger and the Longy School of Music of Bard College.Takács Quartet brings the Boston premiere of a new work by Timo Andres; Haydn's Quartet in C Major, Opus 74, no.1; and Dvo?ák's String Quartet No. 14 in A-flat Major, Opus 105 to NEC's Jordan Hall on Friday, December 4, 2015 at 8pm. An Aaron Richmond Recital; Sponsored by Tufts Health Plan; Media partner 99.5 WCRB.
Cellist David Finckel, pianist Wu Han, and clarinetist David Shifrin perform a recital of Beethoven, Bruch, and Brahms trios on Friday, January 15, 2016 at 8pm at. NEC's Jordan Hall. Sponsored by Sally Seaver; Media partner 99.5 WCRB.
Brooklyn Rider and Gabriel Kahane, featured as part of the Celebrity Series' Stave Sessions in 2015, will perform selections from the Brooklyn Rider Almanac and Kahane's Come On All You Ghosts for quartet and voice, Bradbury Studies and The Ambassador on Friday,
February 5, 2016 at 8pm at Sanders Theatre.
Violinist Christian Tetzlaff, cellist Tanja Tetzlaff, and pianist Lars Vogt perform Schumann's Trio No. 2 in F Major, Opus 80; Dvo?ák's Trio in E minor, Opus 90, "Dumky"; and Brahms' Trio No. 1 in B Major, Opus 8 on Saturday, February 27, 2016 at 8pm at NEC's Jordan Hall. An Aaron Richmond Recital; Sponsored by the D.L. Saunders Real Estate & Hotel Investors Group, AMO; Media partner 99.5 WCRB.
Violinist Itzhak Perlman celebrates the 20th Anniversary of In The Fiddler's House with music director Hankus Netsky, clarinetist Andy Statman, the Klezmer Conservatory Band, and other special guests on Sunday, March 6, 2016 at 7pm at Symphony Hall.
Rob Kapilow brings the What Makes It Great? spotlight to Beethoven's Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21 with the NEC Philharmonia on Sunday, March 6, 2016 at 3pm at NEC's Jordan Hall. Sponsored by Amy and Joshua Boger.
Mandolinist Avi Avital's "Between Worlds Tour" with accordionist Ksenija Sidorova and percussionist Itamar Doari will explore the borders between folk and classical music on Friday, March 11, 2016 at 8pm at NEC's Jordan Hall. It will include works by Fritz Kreisler, J.S. Bach, Villa-Lobos, Bartók, and traditional Turkish and Israeli music. Sponsored by the D.L. Saunders Real Estate & Hotel Investors Group, AMO; Media partner 99.5 WCRB.
Jerusalem String Quartet and pianist Inon Barnatan return to Boston on Sunday, April 17, 2016 at 3pm at NEC's Jordan Hall. The program consists of Beethoven's Quartet in G Major, Opus 18, no. 2; Bartók's Quartet No. 6; and the Brahms Piano Quintet in F minor, Opus 34. An Aaron Richmond Recital; Sponsored by the D.L. Saunders Real Estate & Hotel Investors Group, AMO; Media partner 99.5 WCRB.
INSTRUMENTALISTS
Violinist Gil Shaham will perform Bach's Six Solos for violin, with original films by David Michalek on Sunday, November 1, 2015 at 5pm at Sanders Theatre. The multimedia performance includes newly commissioned films by visual artist David Michalek, creator of the internationally celebrated outdoor installation, SLOWDANCING.
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma teams up with his long-time collaborator, pianist Kathryn Stott, on Tuesday, November 17, 2015 at 8pm at Symphony Hall. Sponsored by Joseph McNay and Eleanor and Frank Pao.
Grammy-nominated violinist Jennifer Koh joins Avery Fisher Career Grant winner and pianist Shai Wosner for Bridge to Beethoven, in their Debut Series recital. The program features the East Coast premiere of a new commission from jazz pianist and composer Vijay Iyer as a companion piece to Beethoven's "Kreutzer" sonata. The recital takes place on Wednesday, November 18, 2015 at 8pm at Longy's Pickman Hall, and features Beethoven's Violin Sonata No. 1 in D Major, Iyer's new commission, and Beethoven's Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Major and Violin Sonata No. 9 in A Major, "Kreutzer." The Debut Series is sponsored by Harriet and David Griesinger and the Longy School of Music of Bard College.
Guitarist Miloš Karadagli? returns after his two sold-out performances the inaugural season of the Debut Series in 2013 on Sunday, February 21, 2016 at 3pm at NEC's Jordan Hall, Sponsored by Charlesbank Capital Partners LLC; Media partner is 99.5 WCRB.
CLASSICAL VOCAL RECITALS
Soprano Dawn Upshaw and pianist Gilbert Kalish bring a program inspired by folk songs, to include works by Schubert, Messiaen, Bartók, Kodály, Ives and Bolcom on Saturday, October 17, 2015 at 8pm to NEC's Jordan Hall. Media partner 99.5 WCRB.
Irish mezzo-soprano Tara Erraught performs a vocal recital as part of The Debut Series on Wednesday, December 2, 2015 at 8pm at Longy's Pickman Hall. The Debut Series is sponsored by Harriet and David Griesinger and the Longy School of Music of Bard College.
Tenor Paul Appleby is a graduate of the Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, and already a regular artist at The Met. He performs a solo recital as part of The Debut Series on Wednesday, March 9, 2016 at 8pm at Longy's Pickman Hall. The Debut Series is sponsored by Harriet and David Griesinger and the Longy School of Music of Bard College.
Mezzo-soprano Susan Graham will perform a vocal program to include Schumann, Grieg, Strauss, Fauré, Mahler, Ravel, Poulenc, and Granados on Friday, April 29, 2016 at 8pm at NEC's Jordan Hall. Media partner 99.5 WCRB.
POPULAR VOCALISTS
On Friday, November 6, 2015 at 8pm Rob Kapilow brings What Makes It Great? to NEC's Jordan Hall with All the Things You Are, American song from Kern to Copland and beyond. Sponsored by Amy and Joshua Boger and D.L. Saunders Real Estate & Hotel Investors Group, AMO.
Singers Mavis Staples and Joan Osborne collaborate in their first tour together, Solid Soul, Saturday, November 7, 2015 at 8pm at Berklee Performance Center. Mavis Staples has been a leader in American music for six decades, since her chart-topping hits with the Staple Singers. Joan Osborne is a multi-platinum singer-songwriter with seven Grammy nominations. Sponsored by Donna and Mike Egan.
Soweto Gospel Choir, the decorated South African vocal ensemble, blends African gospel, reggae, and original arrangements of American pop music on Sunday, November 15, 2015 at 3pm at Symphony Hall. Sponsored by Tufts Health Plan and D.L. Saunders Real Estate & Hotel Investors Group, AMO.
Billy Collins & Aimee Mann collaborate in An Evening of Poetry, Acoustic Music & Conversation on Saturday, November 21, 2015 at 8pm at Sanders Theatre. Former U.S. Poet Laureate and Guggenheim Fellow Billy Collins and Oscar- and Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Aimee Mann come together for a rare evening of music and discussion about their art forms and the creative process.
Bluegrass ensemble The Del McCoury Band sings unreleased songs of America's great folk music poet Woody Guthrie on Saturday, January 23, 2016 at 8pm at Sanders Theatre. To help bring new life to Guthrie's work, his daughter, Nora Guthrie, gave Del McCoury exclusive access to the archives of her father's unpublished work.
Ana Gasteyer makes her Celebrity Series concert debut in Ana Gasteyer in Concert on Saturday, February 6, 2016 at 8pm at Sanders Theatre. Gasteyer, a Saturday Night Live alum, evokes a classic nightclub swagger and swing with songs like One Mint Julep and Proper Cup of Coffee.
Patty Griffin, Sara Watkins, and Anaïs Mitchell, Together on Stage, unites the three singer-songwriters on Thursday, March 10, 2016 at 8pm at Sanders Theatre. This "singers-in-the-round" style show features the three artists sharing songs and accompanying each other. Sponsored by D.L. Saunders Real Estate & Hotel Investors Group, AMO.
Sweet Honey In The Rock brings vocal music rooted in African American legacy and traditions to Sanders Theatre on Friday, May 6, 2016 at 8pm. Sponsored by D.L. Saunders Real Estate & Hotel Investors Group, AMO.
SPOKEN WORD
NPR humorist and best-selling author David Sedaris opens the 2015-16 season on Wednesday, October 14, 2015 at 8pm at Symphony Hall.
Creators of the hit podcast SERIAL, Sarah Koenig & Julie Snyder, bring their new show Binge-Worthy Journalism: Backstage with the Creators of SERIAL to Symphony Hall on Wednesday, March 30, 2016 at 8pm. When it launched, Serial became the fastest podcast to reach 5 million downloads in iTunes history. In this presentation, Koenig and Snyder will take the audience backstage in the creation of this cultural phenomenon. Using some of their favorite tape, they'll tell personal behind-the-scenes stories, explain how they constructed certain episodes, and allow the audience to follow the creation of a new form of modern journalism.
JAZZ
Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés is the winner of five Grammys and three Latin Grammy Awards and is the most influential figure in modern Afro-Cuban jazz. On Thursday, November 12, 2015 at 8pm at the Berklee Performance Center, he performs Chucho Valdés: Irakere 40 with Irakere, the influential Afro-Cuban jazz ensemble he founded 40 years ago. Sponsored by Donna and Mike Egan.
Pianist Danilo Pérez, bassist John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade make up the Children of the Light trio with special opening artist Joey Alexander on Friday, November 20, 2015 at 8pm at Sanders Theatre. Alexander is a 12 year old Balinese jazz pianist with an impeccable sense of swing improvisation.
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis is composed of fifteen of jazz music's finest soloists. They perform at Symphony Hall on Sunday, November 22, 2015 at 5pm. Sponsored by Foley & Lardner, LLP; Media partner 99.5 WCRB.
Billy Childs brings Reimagining Laura Nyro with vocalists Becca Stevens and Alicia Olatuja to Sanders Theatre on Friday, January 22, 2016 at 8pm. Joined by an extended ensemble including saxophone, harp, guitar and string quartet, jazz pianist and Guggenheim Fellowship recipient Childs brings us an evening of Nyro's songs made famous by other artists including Barbra Streisand, The 5th Dimension, Patti LaBelle, and Blood, Sweat & Tears.
Mack Avenue Superband featuring vibraphonist Gary Burton, saxophonist Tia Fuller, trumpeter Sean Jones, and the Christian McBride Trio perform on Thursday, February 4, 2016 at 8pm at Berklee Performance Center. The front line boasts Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra alum Sean Jones on trumpet, saxophonist Tia Fuller from Beyoncé's all-female band, bassist Christian McBride, and vibraphonist Gary Burton. Sponsored by Donna and Mike Egan and Tufts Health Plan.
SF JAZZ Collective brings The Music of Michael Jackson and Original Compositions to the Berklee Performance Center on Sunday, April 24, 2016 at 7pm. The all-star ensemble is comprised of eight of today's finest jazz musicians as they perform fresh arrangements of music made famous by the "King of Pop," Michael Jackson. Sponsored by Donna and Mike Egan.
DANCE
Italian dance ensemble Spellbound Contemporary Ballet will perform choreographer Mauro Astolfi's reimagined Le Quattro Stagioni (The Four Seasons) October 16 & 17, 2015 at the Citi Shubert Theatre. Dancers explore the four seasons to segments of Antonio Vivaldi's masterpiece juxtaposed with original music by Luca Salvadori and fragments of bird song, modal ancient melody, abstract electronic sound bites, the glass harmonica, and bass flute.
BalletBoyz, founded by former Royal Ballet principal dancers Michael Nunn and Billy Trevitt, will perform January 29 & 30, 2016 at the Citi Shubert Theatre. An all-male company of ten dancers, their program will include Christopher Wheeldon's Mesmerics.
Choreographer and dancer Akram Kahn and flamenco star Israel Galván bring their show, Torobaka, to the Citi Shubert Theatre February 27 & 28, 2016.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns for their annual visit with exciting and expanded repertoire under the guidance of Artistic Director Robert Battle from March 17-20, 2016 at the Citi Wang Theatre; Sponsored by Tufts Health Plan.
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago brings its exceptionally talented dancers and diverse repertoire to the Citi Shubert Theatre, April 15-17, 2016.
Closing the 2015-2016 season will be Cuban dance ensemble Malpaso Dance Company with Arturo O'Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble May 14 & 15, 2016 at the Citi Shubert Theatre. Malpaso Dance Company is one of only a handful of Cuban dance companies that operates independently from the Cuban government, and the Boston debut of the company will include new works by American choreographer Trey McIntyre and Malpaso's Artistic Director Osnel Delgado, with live music by Arturo O'Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble. Sponsored by D.L. Saunders Real Estate & Hotel Investors Group, AMO.
The Dance Series is sponsored by the Stephanie L. Brown Foundation, the Royal Little Family Foundation and the John S. and Cynthia Reed Foundation.
CONTEMPORARY CIRCUS
Circa's Opus features fourteen acrobats and the live string quartet Quatuor Debussy as they celebrate the music of Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich November 13-15, 2015 at the Citi Shubert Theatre.
SPECIAL EVENTS
The 2016 Gala will be held on May 7. Join the Celebrity Series for a spectacular evening that will recognize the Celebrity Series' history and its impact on Boston's cultural community. Supporters, patrons and community leaders will come together to celebrate the future of the Celebrity Series of Boston during this black-tie event. Proceeds from the Gala will benefit the education, programming and outreach efforts of the Celebrity Series of Boston.
ABOUT CELEBRITY SERIES OF BOSTON - Celebrity Series of Boston was founded in 1938 by pianist and impresario Aaron Richmond. Over the course of its 77-year history, Celebrity Series has presented an array of the world's greatest performing artists, including Sergei Rachmaninoff, Arturo Toscanini, Ignace Paderewski, Artur Rubenstein, Vladimir Horowitz, Glenn Gould, Fritz Kreisler, Jascha Heifetz, Isaac Stern, Andrés Segovia, Kirsten Flagstad, Marian Anderson, Luciano Pavarotti, Béla Bartók, Igor Stravinsky, Martha Graham, Ballet Russe De Monte Carlo, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Mstislav Rostropovich, and the New York City Opera Company.
The Celebrity Series has been bringing the very best performers-from orchestras and chamber ensembles, vocal and piano music, to dance companies, jazz, and more-to Boston's major concert halls for 77 years. The Celebrity Series of Boston believes in the power of excellence and innovation in the performing arts to enrich life experiences, transform lives and build better communities. Through its education initiatives, the Celebrity Series seeks to build a community of Greater Boston where the performing arts are a valued, lifelong, shared experience-on stages, in schools, at home- everywhere. For more information on Celebrity Series of Boston, call (617) 482-2595 or visit us online at www.celebrityseries.org.
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