About

About Celebrity Series

We are a multi-disciplinary non-profit performing arts presenter, founded in 1938.

Our mission is to enrich and inspire our community through exceptional live performances. Read on to learn more about what we do, and how and why we do it.

Celebrity Series Programs

Klaus Mäkelä leads the Orchestre de Paris, featuring piano soloist Yunchan Lim, March 2024. Photo by Robert Torres.

from behind, a black woman in a sparkly silver sheath dress leads a diverse group of elementary and middle school students in a strings workshop. — Violinist and bandleader Chelsey Green leads young strings players in a rehearsal for a Stringfest performance, 2024. Photo by Robert Torres.

a woman with light skin and long brown hair passionately plays a cello in front of multicolored lighted panels. — Cellist Alisa Weilerstein performs her FRAGMENTS 1 program, blending new works and Bach, 2023. Photo by Robert Torres.

a diverse group of people, mostly women but all ages, participate in a choreography workshop. They stand in a strong pose, feed apart and arms down — Participants at an Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater workshop at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center, 2024. Photo by Robert Torres.

audra mcdonald sings an emotional song in front of an orchestra, her face expressive, her gesture pleading. — Audra McDonald at Symphony Hall with an orchestra of locally-recruited union musicians, 2024. Photo by Robert Torres.

facing away, a man and a woman lead an outdoor dance lesson for a large crowd — Let's Dance Boston, 2022. Photo by Robert Torres.

“The sound of the piano in that beautiful hall was absolutely magical. Great acoustics and facility and divine musicianship. And such a friendly audience — I got to know several of them sitting around me in conversation before the show and during the intermission!”
Audience Member Survey Response, 2023/24

“Wonderful concert, great facility, enthusiastic audience. The musicians were amazing and had a great connection with the concertgoers.”
Audience Member Survey Response, 2023/24

Our Work:

Subscription Series

The core of our business since 1938: we present renowned artists at venues across Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville. We are one of the nation’s most highly regarded independent presenting organizations, partnering with established, internationally-acclaimed artists and emerging talent to curate a diverse lineup of performances.

Arts For All!

Top local artists perform free and low-cost concerts in Neighborhood Arts, often brought to life through deep collaboration and co-creation with youth arts groups, at community venues in six Boston neighborhoods. Our Take Your Seat ticketing program makes subscription season performances accessible for community organizations and school groups, and Artist Connections brings masterclasses and workshops to students of all ability levels.

Public Performance Projects

Now an annual tradition, we present free outdoor projects across the city and in some of Boston’s most iconic public spaces: Street Pianos Boston, Jazz Along the Charles along the Esplanade, Let’s Dance Boston on the Rose Kennedy Greenway, and more.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

In summer 2020, Celebrity Series began a long-overdue organizational journey inspired by the racial justice reckoning taking place nationally and, in particular, within the performing arts sector. Our purpose is to develop action plans with clear goals, metrics to track, and means to hold ourselves accountable. Learn more about our racial equity statement, our current plans, and our diversity dashboard.

History

Established by Aaron Richmond in 1938, Celebrity Series of Boston is one of the nation’s largest and most highly regarded multi-disciplinary non-profit performing arts presenting organizations.

Arts for All!

On stage and off, the Celebrity Series Arts for All! programs engage people of all ages and backgrounds in community programs that harness the creative energy of the performing arts to build thriving communities and cultivate the next generation of artists and audiences.

Publications

Please visit our Publications page to view our Bravo! annual magazine, Arts for All! brochures and reports, audited financial statements, and 990s.

Employment Opportunities

Join the Celebrity Series team: check out our current job openings and internship opportunities.

Land Acknowledgement

We acknowledge that Celebrity Series presents performances in multiple venues around Boston which reside on traditional ancestral and unceded lands of the Massachusett tribe. We honor their people, past, present and emerging, and their connection to the land on which we gather.