Arts roundup—Wellesley Symphony Orchestra concert; “Starry Nights” at Clever Hand; Dana Hall School student is poetry champ; Society of Artists presents pastels demonstration; and more

March 19, 2026

Wellesley is fortunate to have a lively arts scene, with various opportunities to engage with or make art at any given time. Check out a concert, theater performance, or art reception this month. Here are just a few events happening soon, here and beyond Wellesley.

Wellesley Symphony Orchestra, “Women Compose”

DATE/TIME: Sunday, March 22, 2pm
LOCATION: This concert will be at the Wellesley High School Auditorium, 50 Rice St, Wellesley, MA
TICKETS here
A HIGHLIGHT: Daphne Lee, winner of the 2025 Michael H. Welles Young Soloist Competition, performs the 3rd Movement of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto

Art Wellesley, exhibit and artists reception

RECEPTION DATE/TIME: March 26, 6pm-8pm
RECEPTION free, but registration required
EXHIBIT runs March 26 – April 11, Wednesday-Saturday, 11am-4pm
LOCATION: Wellesley History and Exhibit Center, 323 Washington St.
JURORS: David Teng Olsen and Samara Pearlstein

The Clever Hand Gallery presents “Starry Nights”

EVENT: Artists reception
DATE: Friday, March 27, 4pm-6 pm
LOCATION: The Clever Hand Gallery, 52 Central St, Wellesley

Clever Hand, Wellesley
Necklace by Jackie Mosher.

The Clever Hand Gallery, an artisans’ cooperative, is presenting “Starry Nights,” an imaginative exhibition inspired by Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh. The show features original interpretations by its members and consigning artists of van Gogh’s radiant stars and kinetic swirls, reinterpreted in various media including glass, pottery, textiles and beaded jewelry. The show will run March 24- April 12, with an artists reception on March 27, from 4-6 pm.

Dana Hall School student is poetry champ

Nia Cao, Dana Hall School, Poetry Out Loud Champion
Nia Cao, Dana Hall School

Congratulations to Nia Cao, a Junior from Dana Hall School in Wellesley, who has been named the 2026 Poetry Out Loud Massachusetts State Champion. The national recitation contest run is locally by The Huntington Theatre, in partnership with the Mass Cultural Council, and nationwide by the National Endowment for the Arts. The honor comes with prize earnings of $200 and an all expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C. to compete at Nationals in Washington, DC, April 27-29. Dana Hall School also will receive a $500 stipend to purchase poetry books for the school’s library. Nationals will be livestreamed online at arts.gov.

The 21st annual Massachusetts state finals competition was held at the Old South Meeting House earlier this month, with twelve student finalists competing, representing high schools from across the state, with five emerging as the top finalists.

Wellesley Society of Artists presents pastels demonstration

Wellesley Society of Artsts
Painting by Janet Schwartz

EVENT: Janet Schwartz—Figurative Painting with Pastels
DATE/TIME: Tuesday, April 7, 6:30pm
LOCATION: Needham Free Public Library, 1139 Highland Ave., Needham
COST: Free
DESCRIPTION: Needham Art Association and the Wellesley Society of Artists are pleased to welcome pastel artist Janet Schwartz. The driving force behind Janet’s figurative paintings is the connection between people and/or the environment. In this demo, Janet will focus on capturing the gesture and mood in a figurative painting to tell a story.

Wellesley memorialized on Boston Marathon quilt

EVENT: Quilt show, “A Thread Runs Through It”
DATE: Saturday, April 11, 2026 and Sunday, April 12, 2026 from 10 am – 5 pm
LOCATION: Hopkinton Center for the Arts, 98 Hayden Rowe Street, Hopkinton
COST: $10/person; children 12 and under are free of charge
DESCRIPTION: The Marathon Quilt Guild, located in Hopkinton, MA, is celebrating its 30th anniversary by presenting a quilt show which will celebrate 30 years of the guild’s history, the 130th running of the Boston Marathon, and the 250th anniversary of the United States. The show’s highlight includes a unique “Go the Distance” Boston Marathon Invitational Quilt Exhibit, in which an especially SWELL town we all know and love will be showcased.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater coming to Boston

Vivo Performing Arts, Boston
Alvin Ailey company

DATES: 5 performances, April 30-May 3.
LOCATION: Boch Center Wang Theater, 270 Tremont Street in Boston
TICKETS here
PRESENTED BY: Vivo Performing Arts
DESCRIPTION: The annual run of Alvin Ailey company’s 20-city national tour returns with several Boston premieres, part of the inaugural season with new Artistic Director Alicia Graf Mack. Fresh for local audiences are Boston-born choreographer Matthew Neenan’s “Difference Between,” among other luminaries. Ailey’s own iconic “Revelations” closes each of the five performances

An Evening with Megan Hilty

DATES: May 29 and 30, 8pm
LOCATION: Umbrella Arts Center, 40 Stow St., Concord, Mass.
DESCRIPTION: The Tony nominee and television star, well known for NBC’s “Smash” and for starring as Glinda in the national tour of Wicked, headlines a concert featuring songs from her celebrated stage and screen career.
TICKETS here

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