MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND PRESIDENT & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR AND PRESIDENT & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

DEAR FRIENDS,

WELCOME TO BRAVO!, OUR OVERVIEW OF CELEBRITY SERIES’ 78th SEASON.

This was a season of many highlights, starting with the return of Street Pianos Boston. For 18 days in the fall of 2016, Celebrity Series placed sixty decorated pianos in public outdoor spaces in every Boston neighborhood and Cambridge for people to encounter, play and enjoy. Each piano featured the simple invitation: “Play Me, I’m Yours.” This project is a direct manifestation of our vision that the arts are for everyone.

Our Arts for All! program brought the joy of live performance to Boston communities throughout the year with more free concerts, residencies, workshops and demonstrations than ever before.

The season was filled with great performances from well-known luminaries to future stars in the making. We presented the third season of Stave Sessions, our mini-festival of new, contemporary artists. We continue to attract new households to our audiences and our donor base grew for a fourth consecutive year. Thanks to your generous support and a vibrant audience, Celebrity Series posted another modest operating surplus, our third in a row.

As another season approaches, we remain deeply grateful to our Board of Directors and Overseers, our donors and audiences, and to all who support the performing arts in Boston.

We look forward to seeing you at a performance this season. With gratitude,

Joshua Boger

Chair, Board of Directors

Gary Dunning

President & Executive Director