“We The People,” Part 2: Yo-Yo Ma, Aoife O’Donovan, and Jennifer Kreisberg at Tanglewood

Saturday, August 8, 2026
8:00 PM

Special guests Jon Batiste, Jennifer Kreisberg (a founding member of the Native women’s trio ULALI), Aoife O’Donovan, James Taylor, historian Heather Cox Richardson, and Bryan Stevenson come together for the second of three concerts curated by Yo-Yo Ma. This quintessentially American program — featuring compositions with close ties to Tanglewood and the BSO, including works by Brent Michael Davids, Julia Wolfe, Bernstein, Copland, and Ives — reflects the triumphs, tragedies, and possibilities of our country, asking who we are, where we are going, and who we can be.

“America is an experiment, and to be an American is to always ask: Who are we? What is our purpose? What gives us meaning?” — Yo-Yo Ma

Boston Symphony Orchestra 
Teddy Abrams and Ken-David Masur, conductor 
Yo-Yo Ma, cello 
Aoife O'Donovan, vocals 
Jennifer Kreisberg, vocals 
James Taylor, vocals 
Jon Batiste, piano and vocals 
Heather Cox Richardson, guest speaker 
Bryan Stevenson, guest speaker 
Diana Wyenn, director and dramaturg

Aaron COPLAND Fanfare for the Common Man
Charles IVES The Unanswered Question 
Brent Michael DAVIDS Indigenous/Undigenous II – Lenape 
Stephen FOSTER Slumber My Darling
Traditional, (arr. Jeremy KITTEL) Lakes of Pontchartrain (with Bonnie Bewick, violin) 
John Knowles PAINE Columbian March and Hymn
Antonín DVOŘÁK Cello Concerto, third movement
Leonard BERNSTEIN Improvisation on Somewhere from West Side Story
Jennifer KREISBERG naká·yè·r sihskę̀·nę (may it be that you have peace) 
Julia WOLFE Liberty Bell 
Jon BATISTE American Symphony theme; Big Money 
FOSTER Hard Times Come Again No More 
Carole KING You've Got a Friend 
COPLAND Symphony No. 3, fourth movement 

Also on this broadcast, from the Tanglewood Music Center:

Cellists of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Tanglewood Music Center
Yo-Yo Ma, cello
Julius KLENGEL Hymnus, Op. 57
Recorded on August 6th, 2026

Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra
Lauren Smith, conductor
Maurice RAVEL Le Tombeau de Couperin: III. Menuet, IV. Rigaudon
Recorded on August 3rd, 2026

Hear a conversation with Yo-Yo Ma about "We The People":

Blog

With Gratitude and Hope, Yo-Yo Ma Looks to the Future

Ahead of "We The People," a week-long festival he curated for the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood, legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma speaks about the power of practicing gratitude, music's role in restoring the spirit, and what we can learn from Johannes Brahms.

Listen • 17:08

For more information on Tanglewood concerts, visit the BSO box office.