Vivo Performing Arts’ Inaugural Artist in Residence Immanuel Wilkins Named MacArthur Fellow
The saxophonist will perform at the Jazz Festival, followed by a collaboration with Boston-based trumpeter Jason Palmer and Roxbury partners to create an original work inspired by the neighborhood’s history and the paintings of Allan Rohan Crite
Season Artist Images | Photos from the September Artist in Residence Visit |
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For Immediate Release—October 26, 2026—Vivo Performing Arts’ inaugural Roxbury Artist in Residence, jazz saxophonist and composer Immanuel Wilkins, has been named a 2026 MacArthur Fellow, one of the highest honors available for creative thinkers and artists. During his time as Vivo’s Artist in Residence this season, Wilkins will collaborate with Boston-based trumpeter Jason Palmer and Roxbury community partners to create an original musical work inspired by the neighborhood’s history, culture, and residents. The composition will premiere at a Neighborhood Arts concert on Saturday, April 24, 2027, at Roxbury Community College.
Wilkins will also perform with his quartet at the Jazz Festival co-presented by Vivo Performing Arts and the Museum of Science on Saturday, April 3, 2027.The performance will take place in the Museum's William and Charlotte Bloomberg Public Science Common, a new 10,000-square foot civic venue designed to inspire lifelong engagement with science by sparking discourse and discovery through immersive experiences.
“Recognition with a MacArthur Award is singular in importance,” says Thor Steingraber, President and CEO of Vivo Performing Arts. “Their selection process identifies groundbreaking artists at the pivotal point in their development. To be with Immanuel during this exciting time will be a privilege, and affirms Vivo’s commitment both to veteran artists and those who are emerging.”
Known for his inventive approach to contemporary jazz, and praised by the MacArthur Foundation for his deep engagement with history and memory, Wilkins brings a distinctive musical voice to his Vivo Performing Arts Roxbury Artist in Residency. He will connect his artistic practice with the neighborhood’s rich history of Black arts and culture and with its contemporary creative community. The residency extends beyond the stage, engaging local artists and community organizations in a collaborative process that will shape the new work.
Inspired by the paintings of Allan Rohan Crite, who documented Black life in Boston for decades, Wilkins and Palmer will develop a new commissioned finale informed by visits to historic sites, conversations with residents, and engagement with local arts and cultural leaders.
During a September 2026 visit, Wilkins and Palmer began with a visit to the Boston Athenaeum to explore their resources on Crite, before exploring the Roxbury neighborhood with young guides from the UU Urban Ministry’s Roxbury Youth Program. The walking tour, curated by Dayenne Walters, included historic sites, murals in Nubian Square, and works by Crite, whose paintings offer an enduring record of Roxbury’s people and daily life. The visit prompted Wilkins to consider a central question for the residency: “How can I make work that also holds space for the city?”
That question will guide the collaborative process in the months ahead, as additional visits planned for February and April 2027 will provide further opportunities for research, dialogue, and creative exchange.
“During Wilkins’ first visit to Roxbury, I walked with him through the neighborhood on a tour to important historic locations,” adds Steingraber. “I witnessed him absorbing the early inspirations for his residency with Vivo. He is an artist who responds to visual cues as much as musical ones.”
“The opportunity to celebrate Roxbury’s history and culture while honoring the work of visual artist Allan Rohan Crite resonated with both Immanuel Wilkins and Jason Palmer,” says Robin Baker, Associate Director of Community Engagement. As we launch our inaugural Roxbury Artist in Residence program, we’re excited to bring these exceptional jazz artists together with our partner organizations to create a performance that reflects their shared experiences and celebrates Roxbury’s cultural legacy and creative community.”
The residency engages a range of Boston and Roxbury-based organizations, including the National Center of Afro-American Artists, which holds an extensive collection of Crite’s work; the Hamilton-Garrett Center for Music and Arts; UU Urban Ministry; St. John St. James Episcopal Church which features a number of religious artworks by Crite; Roxbury Community College; and the Boston Athenaeum Crite collections.
The Roxbury Artist in Residence program grows out of Vivo Performing Arts’ commitment to presenting exceptional performances while creating meaningful opportunities for community participation in the arts. By supporting a process in which artists and residents help shape the work together, the program aims to create a performance that reflects Roxbury’s distinct history and living culture, while strengthening connections among generations and supporting community-led cultural activity.
EVENT LISTINGS
Jazz Festival: Immanuel Wilkins Quartet
co-presented by Vivo Performing Arts and the Museum of Science
Saturday, April 3, 2027 at 8pm
at the Museum of Science William and Charlotte Bloomberg Public Science Common
Tickets on sale January 7, 2027
More information
Alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins is one of the most magnetic young musicians in America. With his quartet, he brings a sound marked by confidence, clarity of purpose, and an intensity that feels wholly alive in the moment.
Jason Palmer Quintet featuring Immanuel Wilkins, saxophone
Saturday, April 24, 2027 at 3pm
Roxbury Community College
Tickets: Free
More information and signup
As part of his Roxbury Artist-in-Residence program, saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins joins trumpeter Jason Palmer. The concert features the premiere of a song Wilkins will create inspired by the paintings of Roxbury artist Allan Rohan Crite.
SUPPORTERS OF THE ROXBURY ARTIST IN RESIDENCE PROGRAM INCLUDE:
Support for the Roxbury Artist-in-Residence Program is provided by the Richard K. Lubin Family Foundation.
The Roxbury Artist-in-Residence performance is presented with thanks to Lizbeth & George Krupp for their leadership of Vivo Performing Arts' programming in Roxbury.
SUPPORTERS OF THE JAZZ FESTIVAL INCLUDE:
Special thanks to Amy & Joshua Boger for supporting Vivo Performing Arts' programming at the Museum of Science William and Charlotte Bloomberg Public Science Common.
The Jazz Festival is made possible in part by support from Vivo Performing Arts' Amy & Joshua Boger Innovation Fund. Vivo Performing Arts thanks Debra & Joseph Corrado for their generous support of the Jazz Festival and Amy & Ethan d'Ablemont Burnes for their support of the Immanuel Wilkins Quartet performance. Special thanks to our Jazz Festival Media Sponsor, GBH Music.
ABOUT VIVO PERFORMING ARTS
Vivo Performing Arts was founded in 1938 and, for generations, has welcomed Boston audiences to an array of outstanding performances. Vivo Performing Arts offers national and international talent in orchestral and chamber music, vocal and piano artistry, dance, and jazz in the city’s major concert venues as well as excellent Boston-based and -affiliated artists in its free Neighborhood Arts series and public performance projects. Guided by its values of equity, integrity, and collaboration, and its belief in the performing arts as a source of curiosity and joy, Vivo Performing Arts partners with artists, audiences, and neighborhoods to create experiences that strengthen connection and invite discovery. Through all of its ticketed and free offerings, the organization builds a Greater Boston where the performing arts are a valued, lifelong, and shared experience—on stages, on streets, and in neighborhoods throughout the region.
Vivo Performing Arts is grateful to 2026/27 Season Sponsors Crescendo Donor Advised Fund and The Thonis Family, and to the many individuals, corporations, foundations, and government agencies whose support helps fulfill our mission to enrich and inspire our community through exceptional live performances. Individual and institutional supporters include Jill & David Altshuler, Leslie & Howard Appleby, Keith Backman in memory of Dr. Ulla M. Hansen, the Barr Foundation, Amy & Joshua Boger, Michael & Adrianne Canning, Debra & Joseph Corrado, Crescendo Donor Advised Fund, Google, Yvette & Lawrence Hochberg, Barbara & Amos Hostetter, Klarman Family Foundation, Lizbeth & George Krupp, Liberty Mutual Foundation, Nancy & Richard Lubin, Richard K. Lubin Family Foundation, Susanne Marcus Collins Foundation, Mass Cultural Council, Eleanor & Frank Pao, Stephen C. Perry & Oliver Radford, Rabb Family Foundations, Reuben Reynolds, Royal Little Family Foundation, Schraff Charitable Trust, Sally S. Seaver, PhD, Samuel & Gretchen Shubrooks, Jeremy Silverman & Mary Sutherland, The Estate of Marylen Sternweiler, Lawrence T. Stifler & Mary McFadden in honor of Gary Dunning, Belinda Termeer, The Thonis Family, Dorothy Altman Weber in memory of Stephen Weber, Nancy Richmond Winsten, Anonymous (4), and many others.
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