Boston Landmarks Orchestra

Each summer, thousands of people enjoy free classical music concerts at the Hatch Shell. Boston Landmarks Orchestra was founded in the year 2000 by Charles Ansbacher to perform free concerts at varying locations in greater Boston. The Landmarks Orchestra performances are of high quality, and bring classical music to a diverse population in Boston that may otherwise be unable to attend such concerts.

Some of the goals of the orchestra are to provide high quality music and make it available to all, foster a broad appreciation of classical music, enhance the awareness of greater Boston as a cultural destination, and promote the appreciation and preservation of historic and architectural landmarks in the area.

The main venue for the Boston Landmarks Orchestra is the Hatch Shell, but the orchestra also performs at other significant locations. The Sanders Theatre at Harvard University in Cambridge, the Peabody-Essex Museum in Salem, Jamaica Pond, and local churches have been locations for free concerts in the past.

The Boston Landmarks Orchestra is an asset to the community, it collaborates with greater Boston organizations such as schools, community centers, churches, museums, environmental groups, and senior centers to devise and implement educational partnerships of various forms, including youth programs, lectures, and open rehearsals.

Charles Ansbacher was the founder and former conductor of the orchestra. He attended Brown University and the University of Cincinnati, and had studied conducting in Salzburg, Austria and other European locations. Early in his music career he helped build the Colorado Springs Symphony. He held titled positions with orchestras in Boston, Moscow, Sarajevo, and Bishkek. He conducted the Boston Landmarks Orchestra through the Beethoven series in the summer of 2010, and passed away on September 12, 2010 at the age of 67.

July, 2018

Wednesday July 11, 6:00 pm
(Rain Date: Canceled if Rain) 

Season Tune-Up/ Family Musical Night

Program: 
Musical Playground – Try out a Musical Instrument
Maestro Zone – Practice your Conducting Skills
Face Painting 
Boston Children's Museum Exhibits 
New England Aquarium Exhibits

Location: Hatch Shell

Wednesday July 18, 7:00 pm 
(Rain Date: Thursday, July 19)

The Planets (Opening Night)

Artists: 
Boston Landmarks Orchestra, Christopher Wilkins, Conductor
ZUMIX
St. Paul’s Girls’ School Choir

Program: 
Edward Elgar – Pomp and Circumstance No. 1
Claude Debussy – Claire de lune
Gonzalo Grau – Pegasus Promenade (world premiere)
Gustav Holst – The Planets

Location: Hatch Shell

Wednesday July 25, 7:00 pm 
(Rain Date: Canceled if Rain)

Boston University Tanglewood Institute

Artists: 
Young Artists Orchestra, Paul Haas, Conductor
Young Artists Wind Ensemble, H. Robert Reynolds, Conductor

Program: 
Leonard Bernstein – Candide Overture
Bernstein – Suite from Mass
Bernstein – Symphonic Dances from West Side Story for wind ensemble
Igor Stravinsky – The Rite of Spring

Location: Hatch Shell

August, 2018

Wednesday August 1, 7:00 pm 
(Rain Date: Thursday August 2)

Verdi Requiem

Artists: 
Pre-concert prelude (at approximately 6:20 pm) by North End Music & Performing Arts Center Children’s Choir
Boston Landmarks Orchestra, Christopher Wilkins, Conductor
One City Choir
Back Bay Chorale, Scott Allen Jarrett, Music Director
Meredith Hansen, soprano
Ann McMahon Quintero, mezzo-soprano
Yeghishe Manucharyan, tenor
Nathan Stark, bass-baritoner

Program: 
Giuseppe Verdi – Messa da Requiem

Location: Hatch Shell

Wednesday August 8, 7:00 pm 
(Rain Date: Canceled if Rain)

Longwood Symphony Orchestra

Artists: 
Longwood Symphony Orchestra, Ronald Feldman, Conductor

Program: 
To Be Announced

Location: Hatch Shell

Wednesday August 15, 7:00 pm 
(Rain Date: Thursday August 16)

Sounds of the Sea

Artists/Contributors: 
Boston Landmarks Orchestra, Christopher Wilkins, Conductor
New England Aquarium
Boston String Academy

Program: 
Maurice Ravel – Une Barque sur l’océan
Bernard Herrmann – Moby Dick excerpts
Stella Sung – Oceana (world premiere)
Claude Debussy – La Mer

Location: Hatch Shell

Wednesday August 22, 7:00 pm 
(Rain Date: Thursday August 23)

Symphonic Dances

Artists/Contributors: 
Boston Landmarks Orchestra, Christopher Wilkins, Conductor
Peter DiMuro/Public Displays of Motion
The Dance Complex
Boston Ballet II
Conservatory Lab Charter School
Camp Harbor View
Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston
New England Aquarium
Boston String Academy

Program: 
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Scenes from Swan Lake
Amy Beach – Bal masqué
A Tribute to Leonard Bernstein

Location: Hatch Shell

Wednesday August 29, 7:00 pm 
(Rain Date: Canceled if Rain)

Mercury Orchestra

Artists: 
Mercury Orchestra, Channing Yu, Conductor

Program: 
Works of Dmitri Shostakovich
Alexander Borodin
Tchaikovsky

Location: Hatch Shell

 

Contact Information & Address:

Boston Landmarks Orchestra (Hatch Shell Venue) 
Storrow Drive & Mugar Way, Boston, MA 
617.520.2200 
landmarksorchestra.org

Weather Hot Line: 617.987.2000 or Text Landmarks to 27138