‘Jaja’s African Hair Braiding’ showcases the joys and struggles of immigrants in America
The SpeakEasy Stage's production of the Tony Award-winning play centers hair braiders and their lives over one day in the salon in which they work.
Music & Culture Events
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VirtualExplorers: A New History with Matthew Lockwood
Prize-winning historian Matthew Lockwood looks at the impulse to explore, the travels of Pocahontas, Columbus, Sacagawea, and Captain Cook alongside others who rightfully deserve the title of “explorers” including immigrants and fugitive slaves.
According to Lockwood, people of every background imagine new worlds. The impulse to seek new places is universal to humanity. In his new book, “Explorers,” he unfurls a tapestry of surprising and historically overlooked travelers spanning forty centuries and six continents. His illustrated talk will share the stories of such seekers as David Dorr, born into slavery in New Orleans who embarked on a Grand Tour or Europe and Egypt, and the Viking female voyager Gudrid Far-Traveler, who sailed to North America in 1000 AD; among other pioneers.Partner:American Ancestors -
In Person
The Ulysses Quartet at The Boston Public Library (May 2025)
Join GBH Music's quartet in residence, the Ulysses Quartet, for a performance at the Boston Public Library! -
In PersonVirtual
GBH Music Presents JazzNOW: Gabrielle Goodman in tribute to Ella Fitzgerald
GBH Music and JazzBoston close the 2025 JazzNOW series with a tribute to jazz icon Ella Fitzgerald, featuring acclaimed Boston-based vocalist Gabrielle Goodman. Ella Fitzgerald, celebrated for her groundbreaking scat improvisation, impeccable vocal technique, and definitive interpretations of the Great American Songbook, redefined jazz over her 60-year career, earning 13 Grammys and breaking barriers for women and Black artists. Gabrielle Goodman and her band honor Fitzgerald’s legacy with fresh interpretations of the works that made her "The First Lady of Song." A professor at Berklee College of Music, Goodman is a versatile artist whose career spans jazz, R&B, classical, and gospel. She has performed with legends like Chaka Khan, Nancy Wilson, and Roberta Flack, who calls her "one of the finest singers today." Goodman has released six acclaimed albums, including Travelin' Light and Until We Love on the Verve label, and was paired with Ella Fitzgerald recordings on a compilation album from Verve. She has also performed internationally at major jazz festivals.
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Culture in the News
New book spotlights Madam C.J. Walker’s daughter A’Lelia, who forged her own path
The daughter of America's first Black millionaire became the “joy goddess” of Harlem in the 1920s.
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Mass. Museum of African American History loses federal grant
The president of the state’s Museum of African American History, which has locations in Boston and on Nantucket, is worried about the president’s call to reframe history. -
Boston's theater standouts recognized with annual Elliot Norton Awards
“The Grove” and “Gatsby” received 10 nominations apiece. -
At Boston’s Human Movement Lab, the arts and physical health are ‘one and the same’
“The goal is to kind of share a new way to move the body,” says founder Kim Holman. “To discover what it means to give yourself permission and maybe take some notes on physical autonomy.”
GBH Music
More Culture Programs
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Upstairs with Lesley Nicol
Go behind the scenes of Christmas with The Tabernacle Choir with beloved actress Lesley Nicol. -
An die Freude (Ode to Joy) excerpts from Symphony No. 9
The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra turn Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” into a climactic tour de force. -
To the Cradle Run (based on “Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella”)
Watch Richard Elliott's spirited Christmas fantasia for organ and the Gabriel Trumpet Ensemble. -
Vom Himmel hoch (From Heaven on High)
The Gabriel Trumpet Ensemble joins The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra for "Vom Himmel hoch."
