Overture to Spring: A Black History Month Family Concert

“Overture to Spring: A Black History Month Family Concert” combines two community-rooted Boston music ensembles for a free, joyful and kid-friendly celebration of Black artistry and collaboration on Feb. 15 @ 3 pm at The Strand Theatre, 543 Columbia Rd. in Dorchester. Presented by Jamaica Plain-based Sheffield Chamber Players in collaboration with Roxbury-based City Strings United, the show opens with performances by CSU’s young musicians and expands into an accessible, family-focused program by Sheffield of works by Black composers, including: 18th century polymath Joseph de Bologne; 20th century pianist and arranger Margaret Bonds; contemporary musician/vocalist Hawa Diabaté (whose piece is inspired by rhythmic handclapping songs from her native Mali); violinist and educator Jessie Montgomery (recently named 2025 Classical Woman of the Year by NPR’s “Performance Today” show); and prolific Haitian American performer Daniel Bernard Roumain.

The performance culminates in a special joint performance of rising Texas-born composer Kevin Day’s “Overture to Springtime,” a Sheffield commission created expressly for their City Strings United partnership that incorporates short musical ideas drafted by City Strings students.

“Overture to Spring” performance is free. Reservations requested at sheffieldchamberplayers.org

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Host or Publisher Jennifer Astin