This January, BSO music director Andris Nelsons leads the Boston Symphony Orchestra in two spectacular programs that feature music by beloved American composers. 

The program on January 15, 16,  and 17, opens with American composer Allison Loggins-Hull’s Rhapsody on a Theme by Joni, featuring flutist Lorna McGhee and highlighting the music of legendary singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. Nelsons and the orchestra will then be joined by the Tanglewood Festival Choir for Bernstein’s Chichester Songs. One of Bernstein’s most powerful works, Chichester Psalms is a plea for peace that blends Christian choral traditions with Judaic liturgical styles. Chichester Psalms will only be performed at the January 15 and 17 performances. Acclaimed pianist Seong-Jin Cho joins the orchestra in the second half for Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, originally premiered in Boston in 1875. 

On January 22, 23, 24, and 25 Nelsons leads the BSO in an all-John Williams program, featuring music from some of his most beloved compositions. The concert opens with “Joy Ride” from Escapades, which draws from his raws from his Academy Award-nominated score for Catch Me If You Can. It’s followed by Williams’ Piano Concerto, which was composed for Emanuel Ax, who reprises his performance, and received its premiere at Tanglewood in summer 2025. In the second half, violinist

Gil Shaham joins Nelsons and the orchestra for TreeSong, which he premiered with the BSO and Williams at Tanglewood in 2000, and for the poignant theme from Schindler’s List. The concert concludes with the Suite from Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Nelsons’ full performance schedule can be viewed here.