2021-2022 Annual Report

Boston, Berkshires, and Beyond

We’ve never been more proud to call Boston and the Berkshires our home. In 2021-2022, we once again continued to celebrate the traditions that make these places special for our audiences. At the same time, we’re expanding into new communities, growing our digital offerings, and welcoming even more people into the BSO family.

Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular

One of the most iconic celebrations of civic and national pride, the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular returned to the Charles River Esplanade after two years. Concertgoers once again gathered at the Hatch Memorial Shell to celebrate our nation’s independence and enjoy performances by Chaka Khan, Middlesex County Volunteers Fifes & Drums, the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and the Pops. “I’m so grateful to all of our city departments and partners for activating our spaces so that families can enjoy this beloved tradition on the fourth of July,” said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.

Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular

Expanding Audiences at Tanglewood

The idyllic grounds of Tanglewood have served as the BSO’s summer home since 1937, and we continued our joyous tradition of brightening the Berkshires with music in 2022. As part of efforts to broaden and diversify our audience base, the Popular Artists series included such legends as Brandi Carlile, Ringo Starr, Bonnie Raitt, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Judy Collins. We’ve maintained our deep commitment to the region with events like the annual Berkshire Night, during which more than 2,000 year-round residents can enjoy a free performance, and Tanglewood in the City, which includes a BSO concert video projected at the Pittsfield Common.

Legacies of Song

As we work to welcome new listeners into the BSO family, the 2022 Spring Pops season featured a diverse and eclectic range of styles presented by performers with abiding connections to particular musical genres and composers. In June, Brian Stokes Mitchell appeared with the Pops for a celebration of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. “Duke Ellington was playing in our house before I was even born,” Mitchell said in an interview with The Patriot Ledger. “My dad, who was a Tuskegee airman and an electronics engineer, would play albums by Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Ellington, and others in his private time.” The two-time Tony Award winner shares his parents’ love for one of America’s greatest bandleaders and composers, even naming his son Ellington. “Duke Ellington popularized the jazz form, essentially making it America’s music. He was magical in knowing what people wanted and having the ability and intelligence to provide it.”

Legacies of Song

Digital Streaming and New Recordings

Thanks to digital tools, our reach has broadened beyond Boston and the Berkshires to include music fans from across the world. In the spirit of peace and unity—and with hope for the end of conflict in Ukraine and around the world—archival concert footage of the BSO’s 1963 American premiere of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem was made available for free to global listeners via BSO NOW. 2022 also saw Deutsche Grammophon’s release of Andris Nelsons’ comprehensive anthology of the works of Richard Strauss with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and BSO. The 7-disc set features three albums from each orchestra, as well as their joint performance of the Festival Prelude. “This joint Strauss project is very dear to my heart,” says Nelsons. “I am deeply grateful to have the opportunity to share it with our music communities in Boston and Leipzig and throughout the world.”