Special to the Gazette
Boston Landmarks Orchestra, under the direction of Music Director Christopher Wilkins, welcomes the New Year with two free concerts featuring celebrated violinist Thomas Cooper. The performances will take place in Jamaica Plain and Dorchester on Friday, January 9, and Saturday, January 10, offering the public a diverse and uplifting program to begin 2026.
The program highlights a rich tapestry of composers, including works of Mozart and his renowned contemporary Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, and works by more recent composers such as Valerie Coleman and Julia Perry.
“We are thrilled to bring such a vibrant and inspiring program to the heart of Boston’s neighborhoods,” says Music Director Christopher Wilkins. “The New Year is a time for renewal, and this concert is a celebration of the depth and breadth of orchestral music, offering moments of both reflection and sheer joy. We are especially excited to feature the exceptional talent of Thomas Cooper.”
Program:
• Boston Landmarks Orchestra | Christopher Wilkins, conductor
• Thomas Cooper, violin
• Ralph Vaughan Williams The Wasps: Overture & Finale
• Valerie Coleman Umoja
• Julia Perry Ye, Who Seek the Truth
• Wolfgang Amadè Mozart Symphony in D major, K. 121
• Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges Violin Concerto in A major, Op. 5 No. 2
• Thomas Cooper, violin
• Fritz Kreisler Präludium and Allegro
• Thomas Cooper, violin
Friday, January 9 at 7:00pm
• Bethel AME–100 Wachusett Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
Saturday, January 10 at 3:00pm
• Ray and Joan Kroc Center–650 Dudley Street, Dorchester, MA 02125
For more information, visit landmarksorchestra.org.
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.
Major funders of Boston Landmarks Orchestra include the Free for All Concert Fund, The Boston Foundation, Encore Boston Harbor, Liberty Mutual and the Klarman Foundation. These programs are supported in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Massachusetts Cultural Council, the League of American Orchestras, and the Boston Cultural Council, a local agency which is funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council and administered by the Mayor’s Office of Arts + Culture for the City of Boston. WCVB Channel 5 and CRB Classical 99.5 are proud media sponsors.