Concert Halls & Auditoriums -- The Hatch Shell on the Esplanade (tel. 617/727-9547, ext. 450) is an amphitheater best known for the Boston Pops' Fourth of July concerts. On many summer nights, free music and dance performances and films take over the stage, to the delight of crowds on the lawn. (T: Red Line to Charles/MGH, or Green Line to Arlington.)
The repertoire of the Boston Lyric Opera (tel. 617/542-6772, 617/542-4912, or 800/447-7400 [Tele-Charge] for tickets; www.blo.org) includes classical and contemporary works. The season runs from October to March. Performances are at the Shubert Theatre, 265 Tremont St. Tickets cost $32 to $117; student rush tickets are half price.
Students and faculty members at two prestigious musical institutions perform frequently during the academic year; admission is usually free. For information, contact the New England Conservatory of Music, 290 Huntington Ave. (tel. 617/585-1100; www.newenglandconservatory.edu), or Cambridge's Longy School of Music, 1 Follen St. (tel. 617/876-0956, ext. 500; www.longy.edu). Also check listings when you arrive in town for the particulars of other student performances at area colleges; most are free or cheap, and the quality is often surprisingly high.
Concert Series -- The biggest names in classical music, dance, theater, jazz, and world music appear as part of the FleetBoston Celebrity Series (tel. 617/482-2595, or 617/482-6661 for Celebrity Charge; www.celebrityseries.org). It's a subscription series that also offers tickets to individual events, which go on sale in September. Performances take place at Symphony Hall, Jordan Hall, the Wang Theatre, and other venues.
World Music (tel. 617/876-4275; www.worldmusic.org) showcases top-flight musicians, dance troupes, and other performers from around the world. Shows (60 a year) are at the Somerville Theater, the Berklee Performance Center, Sanders Theatre, and other venues.
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 280 The Fenway (tel. 617/734-1359; www.gardnermuseum.org; T: Green Line E to Museum), features soloists, local students, chamber music, and sometimes jazz in the Tapestry Room. Performances are Saturday and Sunday at 1:30pm from late September to early May. Tickets (including museum admission) are $18 adults, $12 seniors, $10 students with ID, $5 children 5 to 17. Children under 5 not admitted.
Music Under the Sky and Stars -- Founded in 2001, the Boston Landmarks Orchestra (tel. 617/520-2200; www.landmarksorchestra.org) schedules a series of free classical concerts in parks around town, including Boston Common, on weekend afternoons and evenings in July and August. The goal of the "greatest hits" repertoire is to demystify classical music and call attention to the historic settings.
A Major Music Festival in the Bucolic Berkshires -- When the Boston Symphony Orchestra goes on summer vacation, it goes to Tanglewood (tel. 413/637-5165, or 617/266-1492 out of season; www.bso.org), in Lenox, Massachusetts, a 3-hour drive from Boston. Weekend concerts sell out in advance, but tickets to weeknight performances and Saturday morning rehearsals are usually available at the box office. If you can't get a seat inside, bring a blanket and picnic on the lawn.
Free (And Almost Free) Concerts -- Radio stations sponsor free outdoor music all summer. Specifics change regularly, but you can count on hearing oldies, pop, jazz, and classical music at various convenient venues, including City Hall Plaza, Copley Square, and the Hatch Shell, at lunch, after work, and in the evening. Check the papers when you arrive, listen to a station that sounds good to you, or just follow the crowds.
Dance -- The best-known offering by Jose Mateo's Ballet Theatre of Boston (tel. 617/262-0961) is The Nutcracker, performed throughout December at the Old Cambridge Baptist Church, 1151 Mass. Ave., Cambridge, or the Emerson Majestic Theatre, 219 Tremont St. Although Boston Ballet's production has more impressive sets, BTB's has a reputation as a good "starter" ballet. Tickets run $9 to $29.
