Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Presents Wanderlust: Third Thursday concert series features Zilzala Middle Eastern Ensemble

BOSTON, MA (Feb. 2014) – Recently hailed Boston.com’s “Best Museum/Gallery Event,” the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s popular “Third Thursday” concert series welcomes the Zilzala Middle Eastern Ensemble to perform on Thursday, Feb. 19. Pletenitsa Balkan Choir, directed by Christiane Karam, will perform in collaboration with the ensemble and will transport guests across the globe from the Museum’s Calderwood Hall.

Third Thursdays at the Gardner are a monthly gathering involving artful activities, drinks, and music with a different theme each month, featuring jazz, world, and roots rhythms, performed by musicians from around the world.

The event runs from at 5:30 to 9 p.m. at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, located at 25 Evans Way in Boston. The performance of the evening consists of two 40 minute sets of music starting at 7 and 8:p.m. in Calderwood Hall. Tickets are required, which may be purchased in advance or at the door, and include Museum admission. Admission is $15 for adults; $12 for seniors, $5 for students with valid IDs; and free for children ages 7 to 17; youth ages 7 and under will not be admitted. There will be a cash wine bar around the Courtyard. Café G will be open for snacks, dinner, and drinks. For information or to purchase tickets in advance, visit www.gardnermuseum.org or call 617-278-5156.

Third Thursdays Premier Sponsor: Bank of America

Bank of America’s support of the arts reflects our belief that the arts are a powerful tool to help economies thrive, to help individuals connect with each other and across cultures, and to educate and enrich societies. Our program has supported the arts sector in the United States as well as serving as a cultural diplomat through global programs such as international tours of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, support of museums, theater, and dance worldwide, and our distinctive Art Conservation Project, which conserves the art of many nations and cultures.

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum • 25 Evans Way Boston MA 02115 • Hours: Open daily from 11 am to 5 pm and Thursdays until 9 pm. Closed Tuesdays. • Admission: Adults $15; Seniors $12; Students $5; Free for members, children under 18, everyone on his/her birthday, and all named “Isabella” • $2 off admission with a same-day Museum of Fine Arts, Boston ticket • Info Line: 617.566.1401 • Box Office: 617.278.5156 • www.gardnermuseum.org

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum—a work of art in totality—is at once an intimate collection of fine and decorative art and a vibrant, innovative venue for contemporary artists, musicians and scholars. Housed in a 1902 building, modeled after a 15th century Venetian palazzo, and a 2012 wing, designed by Renzo Piano, the Museum provides an unusual backdrop for the viewing of art. The Collection galleries installed in rooms surrounding the verdant Courtyard contain more than 2,500 paintings, sculptures, tapestries, furniture, manuscripts, rare books and decorative arts featuring works by Titian, Rembrandt, Michelangelo, Raphael, Botticelli, Manet, Degas, Whistler and Sargent. Visit the Gardner Museum online at www.gardnermuseum.org for more about special exhibitions, concerts, innovative arts education programs, and evening events.