Boston Symphony Orchestra Inc

Education and community programs are integral to the BSO's mission. In Boston: 3,700 high school students attended one of the BSO's High School Open Rehearsals, giving them and their teachers a rare opportunity to watch as a work-in-progress became a work of art, exposing students to a powerful artistic experience. Symphony Hall was bursting with students during an open rehearsal where Yo-Yo Ma performed Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1 and No. 2. The BSO's three Youth Concerts engaged 5,533 third - ninth grade students from Boston and well beyond. The orchestra performed excerpts by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and William Grant Still as Conductor Thomas Wilkins talked about friendship, and the importance of listening and of being heard. The students felt his warmth radiate from the stage as he communicated, "this music is for you. This orchestra is here for you." They responded in kind. Each concert ended with a rousing standing ovation. To honor veterans, the Boston Pops gave a free Holiday Pops Military Preview performance for more than 2,000 veterans, their families, and active service members, filling the Hall with a joy and sending a powerful message of appreciation for these men and women. This realization of one of Keith Lockhart's dreams will become an annual offering. The Pops gave a Holiday Pops performance for people with autism and those who care for them. The BSO made many accommodations to welcome this population so they and their loved one could share a quintessential New England tradition as a family. Musicians of the Boston Pops brought holiday cheer to patients at Boston Children's Hospital. 1,360 people from across Boston gathered as Symphony Hall opened its doors for a free Concert for the City that began with a celebration of local musicians performing before the concert and a performance by Boston Symphony Orchestra led by Andris Nelsons, Keith Lockhart, Thomas Wilkins, and James Burton-highlighting the orchestra's range and skill. The BSO forged connections with Boston Arts Academy, Project STEP, the Greater Roxbury Arts and Cultural Center, and in the Berkshires with Multi-Cultural Bridge, Kid 4 Harmony, and Latina413 and continued to work with Boston Public Schools and the Berkshires Superintendents Roundtable. Throughout the year, approximately 20,000 children, high school and college students, adults under the age of 40, veterans, MA public school teachers, health care workers, and people who are eligible for public benefits were able to attend concerts thanks to free and discounted tickets. At Tanglewood:Founded in 1940, the Tanglewood Music Center (TMC), the BSO's summer music academy welcome 133 Fellows from 31 U.S. states including Puerto Rico and 17 countries. During eight weeks, the TMC Fellows benefitted from coaching by 108 instructors who were BSO players, visiting artists, and TMC faculty as they prepared for more than 30 chamber and orchestra concerts. TMC Orchestra concerts were conducted by Andris Nelsons, Dima Slobodeniouk, Alan Gilbert, and Stefan Asbury. The two Conducting Fellows stepped in when Hannu Lintu canceled his appearance with the TMC Orchestra on August 19 due to an injury. In summer 2024, the Tanglewood Learning Institute (TLI) presented 39 programs last summer and three community concerts during the fall/winter/spring. These programs created opportunities for people to discover and connect with various artforms and to discover a sense of belonging at Tanglewood. Summer programs included a new series that brought families with young children to Tanglewood for an arts-rich experience that was offered in partnership with Norman Rockwell Museum and WBUR's Circle Round. TLI also programmed a new six-part series: The Art of Conducting where audiences gained an inside look at how conductors think about and teach their craft. Conductors Andris Nelsons, Dima Slobodeniouk, and Thomas Wilkins one worked closely with the two TMC conducting Fellows giving immediate and hands-on guidance on how to communicate clearly to a small ensemble of TMC musicians. In TLI's series of open master classes, audiences saw how musicians at the top of their form share their knowledge with a new generation. Talks with guest artists illuminated their creative process and their approach to the repertoire they were preparing to perform. Other offerings included a look at cabaret, and programs that probed in music what it means to be an American performed by Johnny Gandelsman, Jeremy Denk, and Nicholas Phan. The Spotlight Series brought Henry Louis Gates, poet Tracy K. Smith, and technology writer David Pogue to Lenox for compelling conversations. 2,475 people enjoyed Tanglewood's Family Concert conducted by Thomas Wilkins. Nearly 10,000 youth under age 18 attended concerts for free and 2,000 people enjoyed free events such as Berkshire Night.

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 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 $2.2 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 425 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 provides a more intimate concert experience and is often used for chamber concerts 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 $2.9m 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 others including Celebrity Series, Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Speakers Series, to name a few. Local high schools and Berkshire Community College use the Koussevitzky Shed for graduations and community groups, including the Stockbridge Library and Austin Riggs use Tanglewood's Linde Center during the fall, winter, and spring.

The BSO's music is shared with several hundred thousand through recordings, television, radio and online broadcasts. Every Saturday evening, Classical Radio Boston (a subsidiary of GBH public broadcasting) broadcasts a BSO concert. These concerts are 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) conducted almost weekly interviews about upcoming musical events at Tanglewood.

The BSO operated its Symphony Hall retail operations during concert days and its Tanglewood retail shops in summer 2024.