The Boston Philharmonic Orchestra (not to be confused with the Boston Symphony Orchestra

Boston Symphony Orchestra

The Boston Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1881, the BSO plays most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at the Tanglewood Music Center...

) is a semi-professional orchestra

Orchestra

An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

 based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1979.

Their concerts take place at New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall

Jordan Hall

Jordan Hall is a 1,019-seat concert hall in Boston, Massachusetts, the principal performance space of the New England Conservatory. It is one block from Boston's Symphony Hall, and together they are considered two of America's most acoustically perfect performance spaces...

 and at Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

's Sanders Theatre. Currently, the orchestra is conducted by Benjamin Zander

Benjamin Zander

Benjamin Zander is an American conductor from the United Kingdom.-External links:* *-Interviews:* * * *...

. Each concert is preceded by a talk which explains the musical ideas and structure of the pieces about to be performed.