2025-26 Season in Review
Updated: Aug 11
Highlights from this past season include classics by Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, and Beethoven; rarely performed works by Still, Ginastera, and Coleridge-Taylor; and a concert dedicated to women composers with works by Kati Agócs, Lera Auerbach, Autumn Maria Reed, Louise Farrenc and Margaret Bonds. as well as featuring three wonderful young soloists, and, of course, we celebrated the holidays with the Fireside Barbershop Quartet.
Our September concert, Remembrance, presented works by Margaret Brouwer, Alan Hovhaness, and Dimitri Shostakovich's brilliant Symphony No. 5. In November, we presented Tchaikovsky's marvelous Capriccio Italien, William Grant Still's evocative Symphony No. 3, The Sunday Symphony, and we were thrilled to present Young Steinway Artist Taige Wang with Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1,
With our holiday concert, The Fireside Barbershop Quartet was front and center, as well as a lovely selection of music for the season.
In February, we began with Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man, featured MassBay President Dr. David Podell narrating Copland's Lincoln Portrait, and ended the concert with Beethoven's epic Third Symphony, Eroica. March featured our young soloist winner Daphne Lee, playing the 3rd movement of Pyotr Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto. In honor of women's history month, 5 notable works by woman composers were performed, and we remembered our long-time principal clarinet and board member with Mark Latham's composition: Elegy in Memoriam Dianne Mahany.
Our May season finale featured our principal harp, Emily Richardson with works of Pierné and Debussy, with the orchestra presenting Stravinsky's Petrouchka and a rousing finale: Alberto Ginastera's Estancia: Four Dances.
Lastly, we happily sent off another wonderful group of MassBay graduates, playing for their Commencement.
Under the leadership of music director and conductor, Mark Latham, we've grown in size and musical breadth, performing a wide range of music from baroque to modern, including music by lesser-known composers. It's been a challenging and rewarding season!
What do our musicians say?
Mark is such a delight to play for, every season I get to play under him is such a gift and a joy.
I love the variety of pieces the orchestra plays and I am sure that it is all due to our music director which I appreciate very much!
An absolute gem.
Mark is an inspiration!
As if that wasn't enough, our chamber groups performed family-friendly “Music Up Close” programs at libraries in Wellesley, Needham, Sherborn, and Framingham. Our Schuhoff Trio performed at the Framingham Callahan Senior Center. These informal performances/demonstrations show off the instruments and musicians ‘up-close’ to new and long-time music fans of all ages.
We're just about to begin rehearsals for our new season. You can keep up with our goings-on with our mailing list, on Facebook and Instagram. We hope to see you around!
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