Boston Symphony Orchestra

Orchestral Music Programs: Internationally recognized as one of the finest orchestras, the BSO is one of the largest orchestral organizations in the world as measured by the scope of its operations. Within the U.S., it is the fourth-largest performing arts institution. Between September 22, 2022 - May 6, 2023, the Boston Symphony Orchestra performed 91 concerts in Symphony Hall for more than 142,521 audience members. The BSO performed works by Mahler, Beethoven, Britten, Mozart, and Ravel and highlighted under-represented composers including Samuel Coleridge Taylor, William Grant Still, William Dawson, Margaret Bonds, and Lilli Boulanger. Programming spoke to timeless themes: the struggle for social justice and the human cost of war. In a continuation of the orchestra's extended exploration of Shostakovich, the BSO performed both of his piano concertos with Yuja Wang and his Symphony No. 13 Babi Yar, which was the last of BSO's multi-year effort to record all of Shostakovich's symphonies. Diversity on stage was found in guest conductors, soloists, and composers. Among the Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) artists who had BSO debuts this year were conductors André Raphel and Andrés Orozco-Estrada, cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, pianist Awadagin Pratt, South African soprano Golda Schultz, and jazz vocalist Barbara Walker. The BSO performed works by several living women composers including Ella Milch-Sheriff, Unsuk Chin, Julia Wolfe, Jessie Montgomery, and Julia Adolphe and featured Iman Habibi, Carlos Simon, Anthony Davis, and Wynton Marsalis-all BIPOC composers. The Symphony Orchestra was the first American orchestra to perform in Japan after the pandemic. They were enthusiastically received in two performances at Carnegie Hall; and the BSO returned to Europe in May for the first time in five years. The orchestra gave acclaimed performances at the BBC Proms and the Lucerne and Salzburg Festivals followed by performances in Ljubljana and across Germany, concluding in Paris. Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops shared the festive spirit in 34 Holiday Pops concerts-many of which were sold out. The varied 18 Spring Pops programs included a symphonic version of the Broadway hit Ragtime, trumpeter Bryan Stripling, a celebration of George Gershwin, the always-popular film night, and an immersive video game experience. 105,837 people attended these performances. For 73 days this summer, Tanglewood was filled with a wide range of music-90 concerts by the BSO, Pops, Fellows of the Tanglewood Music Center, guest ensembles, and popular artists and an audience of 292,807. Among the many highlights were concert performances of Mozart's Cosi fan tutte and Orff's Carmina Burana led by Andris Nelsons and performed with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. Nelsons also conducted works by Mahler, Stravinsky, Gershwin, Carlos Simon, Julia Adolphe, Ravel, and Shostakovich. Joshua Bell, the Lorelei Ensemble, mandolin player Jeff Midikoff, and pianists Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Martin Helmchen were celebrated soloists. The Pops gave thrilling tributes to John Williams and a concert version of Ragtime. Guest ensembles included the Knights; Philharmonia Baroque; and Aaron Diehl Trio.

The BSO's two main properties, Symphony Hall and Tanglewood, have long and significant histories and attract visitors from near and far. Symphony Hall's acoustic qualities have earned it a place among the top three concert auditoriums in the world, a fact underscored by the Hall's 1999 designation as a National Historic Landmark. Symphony Hall resonates with more than a century of performances by key artists. It is also a key performance venue for a number of other ensembles and presenters, including the Handel and Haydn Society, the Celebrity Series of Boston, Boston Speakers Series, and the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra. The Hall seats 2,625. The organization spent $1.7 million in maintenance projects at Symphony Hall. Located in the Berkshire hills of Lenox, Massachusetts and established in 1936 by then-Music Director Serge Koussevitzky, Tanglewood is the summer home of the BSO. Its performance venues-Koussevitzky Music Shed, Seiji Ozawa Concert Hall, and Linde Center-and 80 ancillary buildings are located on 526 pastoral acres. Built in 1938, the Koussevitzky Music Shed is a seasonal hall open on three sides with 5,121 seats and can seat an additional 12,000 on the surrounding lawn. Opened in 1994, Seiji Ozawa Hall is a brick and wood structure that typically provides a venue for chamber music performances and for performances by the Tanglewood Music Center. It seats 750 audience members on the orchestra level and 450 in the two balconies, as well as hundreds more on the lawn. The BSO invested approximately $3.3m maintaining Tanglewood including maintenance of support buildings and landscaping and grounds maintenance. Rentals: When not being used by the orchestra, the BSO rents its facilities at Tanglewood and Symphony Hall to other groups including Celebrity Series, Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, and other groups. Local high schools and Berkshire Community College use the Koussevitzky Shed for graduations and community groups, including the Stockbridge Library and Austin Riggs use Studio E at the Linde Center during the fall, winter, and spring.

Education and community programs are integral to the BSO's mission. In Boston: Six Youth Concerts introduced 6,110 students and educators to orchestral music in a compelling program that used a range of composers to consider creativity and curiosity. Boston Public School students from Roxbury, Dorchester, Jamaica Plain, and East Boston were joined by school groups from Cambridge, Melrose, Needham, Reading, Malden, Quincy, and Scituate as well as peers from CT and New Hampshire. The BSO significantly subsidized all the attendees, and Boston Public Schools students attend for free. 1,062 high school students and their teachers attended one of three High School Open Rehearsals-an increase of more than 330% from FY22. They watched as a work-in-progress became a work of art. Special conductor cams and screens showed the conductor as the orchestra sees him, giving students a rare view of the communication between musicians and conductor. Before each rehearsal, a conductor, soloist, or composer answered questions the students submitted in advance. Engaging the Autism Community: A Sensory Friendly Holiday Pops Concert in December and a Sensory Friendly Family Concert in April gave 1,834 people with autism and their families a rare chance to enjoy a public experience. Keith Lockhart welcomed the audience, "this concert is for you. Let the music move you. Jump if you want to jump, clap, dance, or just sit and enjoy." Sensory Friendly concerts address a community need, profoundly move audiences, strengthen the BSO's inclusion work, and build meaningful connections between the BSO and organizations that serve the autism community. On May 7, Andris Nelsons and Keith Lockhart joined forces for the free Concert for the City-a love song to Boston. Mayor Wu's turn as soloist for Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 was surrounded by works by John Williams, Dropkick Murphys, Duke Ellington, Florence Price, and Chick Corea-all with a connection to Boston. The joy that filled the Hall was exemplified by the rousing encore of Sweet Caroline, which had 2,300 people singing along. To reach new communities, local arts leaders from diverse communities invited their networks. Of the people who attended, 61% secured their tickets through these individuals or the BSO's community partners-almost all were first-time BSO attendees. The BSO opened its doors to 22,124 children, high school and college students, young adults, health care workers, veterans, teachers, and people eligible for public benefits through discounted and free tickets, which had an estimated value of $2m. In December, musicians of the Boston Pops brought holiday cheer to patients at Boston Children's Hospital. At Tanglewood: Founded in 1940, the Tanglewood Music Center (TMC), the BSO's summer music academy welcomed 137 Tanglewood Music Center Fellows from 27 states and 16 countries. For eight weeks, these talented young musicians rehearsed and performed in 30 chamber and orchestra concerts, which honed their performance skills. They also benefitted from coaching by TMC faculty members, BSO musicians, and guest artists and performing under the batons of Andris Nelsons, Dame Jane Glover, Stefan Asbury, and Xian Zhang. The culmination of their intensive schedule of performances and training was standing in for the BSO in the final orchestra concert of the summer where they performed Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus under the baton of Susanna Malkki. In summer 2023, the Tanglewood Learning Institute (TLI) offered robust programming for 7,000 people. Six Open Workshops shed light on process by which emerging musicians gain mastery of their craft under the tutelage of master musicians. Moderated conversations with composer Carlos Simon, three composers featured during the Festival of Contemporary Music, Pops conductor Keith Lockhart, and operatic baritone, Will Liverman illuminated how artists approach their creative process. TLI welcomed Isabel Wilkerson who discussed her ground-breaking book Caste to a nearly full Ozawa Hall. Dr. Saidiya Hartman spoke on the 25th anniversary edition of her award-winning book Scenes of Subjugation, and Keith Hamilton Cobb adapted his two-hander American Moor specially for the Linde Center. He gave two performances of this play that explored the Black male experience in America vis-a-vis Shakespeare's Othello. 2,410 people enjoyed Tanglewood's Family Concert conducted by Thomas Wilkins. 1,384 year-round Berkshire residents had discounted access to the lawn through a special pass, which they used 7,815 times. Nearly 10,000 youth under age 18 attended concerts for free and 2,000 people enjoyed free events such as Berkshire Night.

Electronic Media: The BSO reaches millions who listen via recordings, television, and radio broadcasts. Every Saturday evening, Classical Radio Boston (a subsidiary of GBH public broadcasting) broadcast a BSO concert. These concerts were available to stream via the GBH website for a month after they are aired. During Tanglewood, CRB-Classical and WAMC Northeast Public Radio broadcast BSO Friday and Saturday evening performances, and Sunday afternoon concerts reaching audiences across seven mid-Atlantic and New England states and WMHT (public radio out of Schenectady, NY) offered a weekly broadcast featuring TMC.

Merchandise Sales: The BSO operated its Symphony Hall retail operations during the Pops seasons and opened its Tanglewood retail shops in Summer 2023.