BOSTON
INSTRUMENTAL
FESTIVAL
March 22-23, 2025
Boston Symphony Hall
Join instrumental ensembles from across the country to perform on the Boston Symphony Hall stage in front of an enthusiastic audience celebrating the national and musical history in Boston!
about the festival
Music Celebrations International is pleased to produce the Boston Instrumental Festival taking place March 22-23, 2025 in the iconic Boston Symphony Hall. Each ensemble will have a clinic opportunity with Charles Peltz, Faculty Emeritus at the New England Conservatory. Few cities in the United States rival the historical and musical significance of Boston.
By American standards, Boston is old! You can walk cobbled streets lit by gas lamps and visit sites integral to the American Revolution. This is the city of Paul Revere, Sam Adams, John Hancock and Elizabeth “Mother” Goose. By day, see a re-enactment of the Boston Tea Party or a game by the Red Sox, and at night attend a concert by the Boston Symphony or the Pops. Retrace Revere’s ride to Concord and Lexington, or go to Salem to visit the House of Seven Gables and the Witch Museum. Have a memorable seafood dinner in historic Gloucester or Rockport on Cape Ann.
From its celebrated symbols of patriotism to its undiscovered neighborhoods, the sights and sounds of the nation’s revolutionary birthplace inspire millions of visitors every year. Packed with famous sights, free attractions, and an endless calendar of special events, Boston offers year-round inspiring experiences.
In addition to its historic significance, Boston was also home to the Second New England School, made up of six composers whose music embodies American Classical music.
Click below to download the brochure
Festival Clinician
Charles Peltz
Faculty Emeritus at the New England Conservatory
Music Director of the Glens Falls Symphony
Exciting performances in an extraordinarily wide range of repertoires are the marks of conductor Charles Peltz. Early in his career as principal conductor of Musicisti Americani, his performances drew the enthusiastic praise of the Italian press: “He draws haunting sounds from the orchestra…in finely judged performances.” The American press is equally impressed noting “a special sensitivity which Peltz clearly has” and that “this opera was an aural delight, one was tempted to close one’s eyes and just listen.” And in South America “he is a fiesta for eyes and ears.” His collaborations with artists from a wide world of music show the range of his work – from John Cage to Jose Ferrer, from Lucas Foss to Howard Shore, from Sarah Chang to Richard Hyman.
Sample itinerary
Day One: Friday, March 21, 2025
- Afternoon arrival in Boston
- Meet your MCI Tour Manager (1 full-time tour manager per motorcoach), who will remain with you for the entire duration of your time in Boston
Guided tour of Boston’s Freedom Trail to include Faneuil Hall, Quincy Market, Boston Common, Massachusetts State House, Boston Latin School (with the Benjamin Franklin Statue), Paul Revere’s House and Old North Church. The Freedom Trail is a unique collection of museums, churches, meeting houses and historic markers that tell the story of the American Revolution. The Freedom Trail is a world-renowned experience attracting millions of people annually to follow the footsteps of America’s founding fathers - Check-in to the hotel with free time to relax and freshen up
- Evening welcome dinner at a local restaurant
- Return to the hotel for overnight
Day Two: Saturday, March 22
- Breakfast at the hotel
- Visit the historic Boston Navy Yard, the oldest shipbuilding facility of the United States Navy, where you will explore the famous USS Constitution, “Old Ironsides”. Launched in 1797, the USS Constitution served in the American Revolution, the American Civil War, the Battle of 1812 and is the world’s oldest commissioned U.S. naval vessel still afloat. Also visit the Bunker Hill Monument, which commemorates the first major battle of the American Revolution
- Lunch, on own
- Guided campus tour at one of Boston’s most famous music institutions – the New England Conservatory of Music, Boston Conservatory of Music at Berklee or the Boston University School of Music
- Private clinic with Charles Peltz as part of the Boston Instrumental Festival
- Dinner at a local restaurant
- Return to the hotel for overnight
Day Three: Sunday, March 23
- Breakfast at the hotel
- Morning guided tour of Lexington and Concord – the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. These battles marked the beginning of armed conflict between Great Britain and its thirteen colonies in America
- Soundcheck and main-stage rehearsal at Symphony Hall as part of the Boston Instrumental Festival
- Lunch, on own
- Festival Concert Performance at Symphony Hall as part of the Boston Instrumental Festival
- Enjoy some afternoon time at leisure for some shopping at the Faneuil Hall Marketplace & Quincy Market
- Dinner at a local restaurant
- Return to the hotel for overnight
Day Four: Monday, March 24
- Breakfast at the hotel and check-out
- Visit the Congress Street Bridge, to see where the Boston Tea Party took place and learn more about this important historic event
- Drive through the Fenway neighborhood and see Fenway Park, the oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball. Have a Fenway park photo op with your group
- Lunch, on own
- Depending on your departure time, enjoy some time for shopping and free time near Fenway Park
- Afternoon departure for home
The Boston Six
John Knowles Paine
One of the first American born composers to achieve fame for large scale orchestra works
Arthur Foote
The first American composer to be trained entirely in the United States
George Chadwick
One of the first composers to be recognized as responsible for the first significant body of concert works by composers from the United States
Amy Beach
First succesful American female composer of large scale art music. Her “Gaelic Symphony” was premiered by the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1886
Edward MacDowell
One of the first 7 Americans to be honored by membership in the American Academy of Arts and Letters
Horatio Parker
Charles Ives teacher, he was an organist at Trinity Church and graduated of Cambridge