Make a Gift
Make a tax-deductible contribution to support live performance in Boston.
Free concerts, open to the public, at venues around Boston and Cambridge!
Neighborhood Arts is our free concert series that's open to all and presents Boston-based and Boston-affiliated artists in venues across Boston and Cambridge. Churches, neighborhood performance halls, and other community spaces come alive with jazz, contemporary music, international styles, and classical.
The program works in harmony with other Arts For All initiatives to present over 70 events annually, such as performances, workshops, and residencies. We give artists a platform to share their voices, and further support creatives by commissioning works from nationally-known composers.
Locations
We return to Cambridge's Multicultural Arts Center, and have a robust schedule at Back Bay's beautiful Arlington Street Church (come early and check out the Tiffany stained glass windows!) celebrating the marvelous diversity of Latin and contemporary music in partnership with Ágora Cultural Architects. We return to Jamaica Plain to present concerts at the spacious and accessible Bethel AME Church. Roxbury Community College's Media Arts Center hosts music and dance.
Education this season: connecting student performers with professional artists
Connecting student performers and working professionals in our Stringfest programs is an important part of Neighborhood Arts. This season, there are wonderful opportunities for in-person mentorship and co-creation experiences for young musicians. The nationally-renowned Brentano String Quartet and the folk-inspired Rasa String Quartet lead Stringfest performances at the Salvation Army Kroc Center in Dorchester.
Exciting dance collaborations
Dance collaborations take center stage this season, just like on our ticketed subscription season. From the old to the new, dance will move you this year. Dance along with Wampanoag Nation Dancers & Singers. .Celebrate Day of the Dead with Veronica Robles and Mexican folkloric dance students from her East Boston Cultural Center. Let yourself be dazzled by brilliant creators with big ideas when choreographer Jenny Oliver and marimbist Steph Davis join forces for the all-new Gray Space / Blue Skies.
Solo(s) Together
Launched in 2022 as we considered what it means to be together after the isolation of the pandemic, the Solo(s) Together project matches nationally-renowned composers with amazing Boston-based ensembles. Celebrity Series will commission a short work with a solo for each player before the artists once again perform as a group.
The Solo(s) Together project centers a diverse group of creators and musicians from communities historically underrepresented in the chamber and classical music establishment.
In Spring 2025, get ready to hear exciting new works created just for these acclaimed ensembles!
Castle of our Skins Wind Quintet with a world premiere work by Brian Raphael Nabors
Saturday, March 1 at 3pm at Bethel AME Church, Jamaica Plain
Boston Conservatory Faculty Brass Quintet with a world premiere work by Alice Gomez
Sunday, April 6 at 4pm at Arlington Street Church, Back Bay
Trio Oko with a world premiere work by Reena Esmail
Saturday, May 3 at 3pm at Bethel AME Church, Jamaica Plain