The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1881, the BSO performs most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at Tanglewood.
Seiji Ozawa was a Japanese conductor known internationally for his work as music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, and especially the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO), where he served from 1973 for 29 years. After conducting the Vienna New Year's Concert in 2002, he was director of the Vienna State Opera until 2010. In Japan, he founded the Saito Kinen Orchestra in 1984, their festival in 1992, and the Tokyo Opera Nomori in 2005.
The Tanglewood Festival Chorus, directed by James Burton, is a chorus which performs with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops in major choral works. The Tanglewood Festival Chorus (TFC) was organized in the spring of 1970, when founding conductor John Oliver became director of vocal and choral activities at the Tanglewood Music Center, the summer home of the BSO. Originally formed for performances at the BSO's summer home at the behest of the BSO's conductor designate Seiji Ozawa, the Tanglewood Festival Chorus is the official chorus of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops Orchestra year-round, performing in Boston, New York and Tanglewood.
Tanglewood is a music venue and festival in the towns of Lenox and Stockbridge in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. It has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1937. Tanglewood is also home to three music schools: the Tanglewood Music Center, Tanglewood Learning Center, and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. Besides classical music, Tanglewood hosts the Festival of Contemporary Music, jazz and popular artists, concerts, and frequent appearances by James Taylor, John Williams, and the Boston Pops.
The Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI) is a summer music training program for students age 10 to 20 in Lenox, Massachusetts, under the auspices of the Boston University College of Fine Arts.
John Ferrillo is an American oboist. He has been the Principal Oboe of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 2001. He is also member at the Tanglewood Music Center. Prior to these posts, he was Co-Principal Oboe of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in New York from 1986 to 2001 as well as a former teacher at the Juilliard School and Mannes School of Music. Ferrillo studied with John de Lancie at the Curtis Institute of Music.
Katherine Needleman is the American principal oboist of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra since 2003 and a professor of oboe at the Curtis Institute of Music since 2022.
Ann Hobson Pilot is an American musician and the former principal harpist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops. She has performed with the National Symphony Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony, and as a soloist with many orchestras in the United States. She was one of four African American musicians who were the first to play in United States symphony orchestras during the 1960s.
Ralph Gomberg was the principal oboist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra for 37 years (1950-1987). His brother Harold held the same chair with the New York Philharmonic for much of the same period (1943-1977).
Andris Nelsons is a Latvian conductor. He is currently music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Gewandhauskapellmeister of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. He was previously music director of the Latvian National Opera, chief conductor of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, and music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
Lorna McGhee is a Scottish flutist and teacher, who since 2024 helds the position of Principal Flute at the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She served as Principal Flute of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra from 2012 to 2024. In addition, she is an Artist Lecturer in Flute at Carnegie Mellon University. Past positions include co-principal flute of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and associate professor of flute at the University of British Columbia. She is currently a member of a flute, viola, and harp ensemble, 'Trio Verlaine' with her husband, violist David Harding and harpist Heidi Krutzen. McGhee is known for her "luscious tone colors and dynamics."
Doriot Anthony Dwyer was an American flutist. She was one of the first women to be awarded principal chair for a major U.S. orchestra. She was the principal flute for the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1952 until 1990. She was second flute for the National Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She was an adjunct professor of Music at Boston University.
Fenwick Smith was an American flutist. He studied under Joseph Mariano at the Eastman School of Music, graduating from there in 1972. Shortly thereafter he became a member of the New England Woodwind Quintet and began a thirteen-year membership with Boston Musica Viva. He became the assistant principal flutist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1978, serving in that position until September 2006. During this time he was also principal flutist of the Boston Pops Orchestra. Smith was also a member of the Boston Chamber Music Society since 1984, and since 1983 gave annual recitals at Jordan Hall.
The Missouri Chamber Music Festival and Adult Chamber Music Intensive (ACMI) was founded in 2010. The goal of the MOCM Festival concerts is to present the fine art of small ensemble music to a wide audience through an accessible, community-based festival. The ACMI workshop is the educational portion of the festival, placing adult instrumentalists in chamber ensembles with Festival artists for coaching and performance.
James Burton is a British conductor and composer. He is currently the Boston Symphony Orchestra Choral Director and Conductor of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. He previously held the position of Director of Orchestral Activities and Master Lecturer in Music at Boston University.
William Morris Kincaid was an American flutist and teacher. He is known for his work as principal flute of the Philadelphia Orchestra for almost 40 years, teaching at the Curtis Institute and being a guiding force in the creation of an American School of flute playing.
Leone Buyse was the Joseph and Ida K. Mullen Professor of Flute and Chair of Woodwinds at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music. Prior to a full-time career teaching, Buyse spent over 22 years as an orchestral flutist, including a decade from 1983-1993 as Principal Flute of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops Orchestra. Other orchestral positions include Rochester Philharmonic as solo piccolo and second flute, and assistant principal of San Francisco Symphony. In addition to the Shepherd School, she has held faculty positions at the New England Conservatory, Boston University, University of Michigan, as visiting professor at the Eastman School of Music and numerous summer festivals including the Tanglewood Institute. Her primary teachers include Marcel Moyse, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Michel Debost and Joseph Mariano.
Marianne Gedigian is an American flutist and teacher. She holds a Butler Professorship as Professor of Flute at the University of Texas at Austin Butler School of Music. She has formerly held positions as acting principal flute of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, and as principal flute of the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra. Gedigian has worked with composer John Williams and can be heard on the film scores for Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan. Her teachers include Clement Barone, Doriot Anthony Dwyer, and Leone Buyse. She has performed solo recitals on four continents in the US, Australia, Japan and England. Gedigian is a Haynes flute artist.
Helen Campo is an American flute virtuoso. She has held the flute chair on nine Broadway shows, including the long-running hit Wicked. Campo has recorded extensively for films, television, and albums, including the 2005 Grammy-winning cast album of Wicked.
Lois Elizabeth Schaefer (1924–2020) was an American flutist and piccoloist. From Yakima, Washington, Schaefer dedicated her education and career to playing the flute. Most notably, she spent the majority of her career as principal flute and piccolo of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Schaefer sat on the board of the National Flute Association as well as being a faculty member of the New England Conservatory of Music. Her decades-long music legacy made her a trailblazing musician for women and contributed to the success of BSO's flute section.
