Special to the Sun
Boston Landmarks Orchestra, under the direction of Music Director Christopher Wilkins, announces its 25th anniversary season of free summer concerts, bringing live orchestral music to some of the city’s most beloved outdoor and neighborhood spaces from June 14 to August 27, 2025. The concerts and events celebrate community and the joy of music-making with a lineup of performances at the DCR Hatch Memorial Shell on the Esplanade and throughout Boston’s neighborhoods.
Highlights include a collaborative performance with the New England Aquarium, the third annual Juneteenth concert, works by great American composers such as John Williams and Amy Beach, iconic works such as Mahler’s First Symphony and Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony, two guest ensembles, a free family community event, and more.
Everyone is welcome at Landmarks Orchestra concerts. On the Esplanade, audiences are encouraged to bring a picnic—and even dogs are invited. Join us to celebrate another summer of music-making under the stars!
Music Director Christopher Wilkins says, “Every summer, we aim to make live orchestral music accessible to everyone in Boston—whether you’re a lifelong classical fan or experiencing it for the first time. This season, we honor our past while building toward a more connected future.”
Board Chair Emmett G. Price III adds, “For 25 years, Boston Landmarks Orchestra has been a musical bridge—connecting generations, communities, and cultures. This season is a celebration of those connections and the power of music to uplift us all.”
The Orchestra is a proud recipient of a major grant from the Free for All Concert Fund, supporting its ongoing commitment to accessible, high-quality performances.
A full concert schedule, program notes, and accessibility details can be found at landmarksorchestra.org.
2025 Summer Concerts and Events
All performances and events are free and open to the public.
ASL interpreters will be present at many performances; see the website for current details.
A JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION
Saturday, June 14 at 3pm
The Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center | 650 Dudley Street, Boston
RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-juneteenth-celebration-tickets-1374584953599
Our third annual Juneteenth celebration features flutist DeShaun Gordon-King, and centers around musical bridges between the old and new worlds. The program includes works by Ellington, Still, Gottschalk, Bologne, and Mouquet. Boston composer Karen Walwyn’s haunting Angels Nine pays tribute to those killed in the shooting at the Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston, SC exactly 10 years ago.
DeShaun Gordon-King has given performances throughout Europe, Asia, and the United States. He grew up surrounded by jazz and gospel music, and began his classical studies while at Duke University. Inspired by these worlds of music and spirituality, he is passionate about programming that blends jazz, gospel, and classical to create unique and healing concert experiences.
Christopher Wilkins, conductor
DeShaun Gordon-King, flute
William Grant Still Summerland
Karen Walwyn Angels Nine
Duke Ellington “Martin Luther King, Jr.” from Three Black Kings
Jules Mouquet La Flûte de Pan
Louis Moreaux Gottschalk Bamboula
Joseph Bologne The Anonymous Lover Overture
LANDMARKS MUSICAL KICKOFF PARTY
Sunday, July 13, 2-4pm | DCR Hatch Shell
Join Boston Landmarks Orchestra and community partners for a day of musical fun and games for the whole family! Explore instrument petting zoos, enjoy face painting, and celebrate the joy of music together—completely free and open to all.
SPECIAL GUEST:
LONGWOOD SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Wednesday, July 16 at 7pm | DCR Hatch Shell
Longwood Symphony Orchestra, the orchestra of Boston’s medical community, opens our 2025 concert series at the Hatch Shell, led by Music Director Jotaro Nakano.
Longwood Symphony Orchestra, Jotaro Nakano, Music Director
Program TBA
THE BEST OF BOSTON
Wednesday, July 23 at 7pm | DCR Hatch Shell
In celebration of Landmarks Orchestra’s 25th season, Best of Boston showcases some of Boston’s most celebrated composers of the past and present, including familiar music by Leonard Bernstein and John Williams, gems by Florence Price and John Harbison, and featuring the Hatch Shell premiere of Amy Beach’s Piano Concerto, a rarely-heard masterpiece.
John Williams Selections from film and TV scores
Amy Beach Piano Concerto in C-sharp Minor
Leonard Bernstein Candide Overture and Suite (selections)
Florence Price Juba from Symphony No. 1
John Harbison Rubies
Boston Landmarks Orchestra, Christopher Wilkins, conductor
Asiya Korepanova, piano
PETER & THE WOLF AND MORE
Wednesday, July 30 at 7pm | DCR Hatch Shell
Prokofiev’s charming Peter and the Wolf has been enchanting audiences of all ages for almost a century, and is the centerpiece of this program of musical storytelling with additional selections to be announced.
Boston Landmarks Orchestra, Christopher Wilkins, conductor
Prokofiev Peter and the Wolf
Additional works TBA
SPECIAL GUEST:
MERCURY ORCHESTRA
Wednesday, August 6 at 7pm | DCR Hatch Shell
Mercury Orchestra, led by Music Director Channing Yu, performs Respighi’s majestic Pines of Rome, and Finzi’s poignant cantata Intimations of Immortality.
Ottorino Respighi Pines of Rome
Gerald Finzi Intimations of Immortality
Mercury Orchestra, Channing Yu, Music Director
DEBUSSY AND THE MUSIC OF THE SEA
In partnership with the New England Aquarium
Wednesday, August 13 at 7pm | DCR Hatch Shell
Debussy’s evocative La Mer and music depicting the sea and its creatures are featured in our latest collaboration with the New England Aquarium.
Claude Debussy La Mer
Additional works TBA
Boston Landmarks Orchestra, Christopher Wilkins, conductor
in partnership with the New England Aquarium, Vikki Spruill, President and CEO
EROICA SYMPHONY: BEETHOVEN AND
REVOLUTION
Wednesday, August 20 at 7pm | DCR Hatch Shell
with repeat performances in Boston neighborhoods on August 21 and 22
Beethoven’s revolutionary “Eroica” Symphony was born of the social and political turbulence following the American and French Revolutions, while Boston-based composer and “Sound Chemist” Val Jeanty draws on the cultural heritage of her native Haiti to create revolutionary works of her own.
Beethoven Symphony No. 3 “Eroica”
Val Jeanty Faces
Additional works TBA
Boston Landmarks Orchestra, Christopher Wilkins, conductor
Val Jeanty, composer and sound chemist
Adrian Anantawan, violin
MAHLER & RAVEL
Wednesday, August 27 at 7pm | DCR Hatch Shell
Our 2025 season concludes with two of the greatest works of the late Romantic period, the second suite from Ravel’s sensuous Daphnis and Chloe, and Mahler’s towering Symphony No. 1, both heard for the first time at the Hatch Shell.
Boston Landmarks Orchestra, Christopher Wilkins, conductor
Mahler Symphony No. 1
Ravel Daphnis and Chloe Suite No. 2
Boston Landmarks Orchestra was founded in 2001 by conductor and community advocate Charles Ansbacher. The orchestra comprises many of the area’s finest professional musicians. In its earliest years, the orchestra performed in such historically important settings as Fenway Park, the USS CONSTITUTION pier, Jamaica Pond, Franklin Park, Copley Square, Boston Common, and other landmark locations. Since 2007, its principal home has been at the DCR’s Hatch Memorial Shell. For more history visit landmarksorchestra.org.