Free Concerts in the Courtyard Series Returns to BPL
Colombian quintet Nicolás Castañeda Group performs tonight
One of the city’s favorite summer traditions—the Boston Public Library’s Concerts in the Courtyard series—is in full swing, providing free biweekly music all summer in the picturesque outdoor Italianate courtyard of the main branch’s McKim Building in Copley Square. Offering performances from classical repertoire and world music to jazz, rock, blues, and folk, the series showcases local and international musicians.
Featured tonight is the Nicolás Castañeda Group, led by harpist and Berklee jazz composition student Castañeda. The quintet will perform original jazz compositions by Castañeda inspired by the traditional music of his native Colombia.
Other artists scheduled in the series are the Brazilian chorinho band ChoroBop, featuring guitar and mandolin, seven-string guitar and bass, and percussion (June 17); the Rowe’s Lane Quartet, comprising members of Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society, currently celebrating its 200th anniversary, who will perform a concert of string quartets composed during the Revolutionary War era in celebration of Independence Day (July 3); and MIXCLA, a one-of-a-kind Latin jazz ensemble fusing musical influences from Chile, Japan, and Cuba (August 12).
The library’s courtyard provides a majestic setting for the summer lineup, with its arched colonnade and replica of Frederick MacMonnies’ bronze cast fountain statue Bacchante and Infant Faun. Guests can also enjoy the Courtyard Restaurant, which is open for lunch Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; it also serves a formal tea Wednesday through Friday from 2 to 4 p.m.
The Boston Public Library Concerts in the Courtyard are every Wednesday at 6 p.m. and every Friday at 12:30 p.m. through August 28, at the main branch, 700 Boylston St., Copley Square. The one-hour shows are free and open to the public. In the event of inclement weather, concerts will be inside in the Commonwealth Salon. Find a complete list of performers here. Take an MBTA Green Line trolley to Copley Square.
Michelle Marino can be reached at michelle.g.marino@gmail.com.
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