Boston Landmarks Orchestra Announces Free Summer Concerts

Enjoy free summer concerts on the Charles River Esplanade with the Boston Landmarks Orchestra.

Landmarks-Orchestra

Image via Boston Landmarks Orchestra

Look no further than the DCR Hatch Memorial Shell on the Charles River Esplanade for free another series of performances this summer, thanks to Boston Landmarks Orchestra and musical director Christopher Wilkins. After temperamental weather and rain last summer, causing many of their performances to be rescheduled or relocated, the orchestra is striving for a positive season this time around. Every Wednesday evening, from July 15 through August 26, expand your musical horizons while enjoying tastes of Latin symphonic music to familiar ballet music, and more.

Here’s what the Boston Landmarks Orchestra has to offer this summer.

Opening Night: Rhapsody in Green
July 15 at 7 p.m.

The opening night of the summer concert series, conducted by hometown favorite Jayne West, imagines life at sea. Performances include Debussy’s La Mer, Hovhaness’ And God Created Great Whales, and the New England premiere of Pulitzer Prize winning composer Kevin Puts’ tone poem, River’s Rush.

Fiesta Sinfónica
July 22 at 7 p.m.

Spice up your summer with some Latin symphonic sounds. From mambo to merengue, you’ll hear a blend of salsa and symphony. The dancers at BAJUCOL Folkloric Ballet and young musicians from the Conservatory Lab Charter School join the orchestra for an exciting night.

Longwood Symphony Orchestra
July 29 at 7 p.m.

The Boston medical community orchestra delivers its annual performance at the Hatch Shell, conducted by musical director Ronald Feldman. Longwood Symphony Orchestra will deliver the program “Night at the Ballet,” including familiar pieces like Stravinsky’s The Firebird and Offenbach’s Gaîté Parisienne.

Italian Night
August 5 at 7 p.m.

Opera stars Barbara Shirvis and Stephen Powell join the Boston Landmarks Orchestra and many local choirs for a night of Italian operatic music. The program includes music from the Federico Fellino’s film La Strada (who composed music for The Godfather), and also pieces from Aida, and Pagliacci.

Sheherazade Meets Clarice Assad
August 12 at 7 p.m.

Clarice Assad, Brazilian composer, pianist and vocalist, collaborates with neighborhood ensembles to create a joyful and vibrant performance. Sheherazade is included in the program, a symphonic poem based on One Thousand and One Nights, composed by Nikolai Rimsky Korsakov.

Drums Along the Charles
August 19 at 7 p.m.

Join the orchestra for a night of rhythmic dances from a variety of different cultures, with performing pieces including The Swordfishers, Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists, and Symphonic Dances.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream
August 26 at 7 p.m.

Shakespeare fans, unite. Culminating the summer concert series is a collaboration with the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the most celebrated and most successful musical score written for a play.