Tanglewood Music Center facts for kids
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| Formation | 1940 |
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| Type | Classical music |
| Purpose | Music Festival, Summer academy for pre-professional musicians |
| Location | |
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Region
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The Berkshires |
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Director
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Edward Gazouleas |
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Key people
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Serge Koussevitsky, founder |
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Parent organization
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Boston Symphony Orchestra |
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Formerly called
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Berkshire Music Center |
The Tanglewood Music Center (TMC) is a special summer school for talented young musicians. It's located in Lenox, Massachusetts, in the United States. Here, musicians who are almost professional get to perform, take advanced classes, and join workshops.
The TMC is part of the larger Tanglewood Music Festival. This festival is a series of outdoor concerts and is the summer home for the famous Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO).
Contents
History of the Tanglewood Music Center
The Tanglewood Music Center started in 1940. It was first called the Berkshire Music Center. It was founded by Serge Koussevitzky, who was the music director of the BSO. This happened three years after Tanglewood became the BSO's summer home.
Koussevitzky was the director of the center until 1950. After him, Charles Münch, the new BSO director, took over from 1951 to 1962. Then, Erich Leinsdorf led the TMC from 1963 to 1970.
In 1970, Seiji Ozawa began overseeing BSO activities at Tanglewood. Gunther Schuller became the TMC director, and Leonard Bernstein was a general advisor. In 1975, the Italian conductor Franco Ferrara started teaching conducting at the TMC. Schuller stayed as director until 1984.
Pianist and conductor Leon Fleisher became the director in 1985. He left in 1997. Ellen Highstein then took over in 1998. James Levine became the BSO director in 2001. He also worked with TMC students and led some concerts. Levine left the BSO in 2011 due to health reasons.
On May 16, 2013, the BSO announced Andris Nelsons as its 15th Music Director. Since he started in 2015, Nelsons has worked with the TMC Orchestra every summer. He also gives conducting classes to the students. After Ellen Highstein retired, Michael Nock was the interim director for summer 2022. In October 2023, Edward Gazouleas was named the new director of the Tanglewood Music Center.
Places at Tanglewood
Tanglewood is a very large area, about 210 acres (85 ha) of open fields. Most of this land was given to the BSO in 1936 by the Tappan family.
Students at the TMC usually live at Miss Hall's School. This is a boarding school for high school girls in nearby Pittsfield. Until 1999, students who studied composition lived separately at the Koussevitzky mansion. This practice stopped when Ellen Highstein became director.
Directors of the Tanglewood Music Center
- Serge Koussevitzky (1940–1950)
- Charles Münch (1950–1962)
- Erich Leinsdorf (1963–1970)
- Gunther Schuller (1970–1984)
- Leon Fleisher (1985–1997)
- Ellen Highstein (1998–2021)
- Michael Nock, Interim (2022)
- Edward Gazouleas (2023 – present)
Students and Teachers
Serge Koussevitzky wanted the TMC to be a place where students could learn closely from BSO musicians and guest artists. Students also learn a lot from each other. Getting into the program is very hard. For example, in 2007, over 1500 people applied, but only 156 students were chosen.
Many former TMC students become very successful in classical music. It's thought that 20% of all American symphony orchestra members have attended the program. Also, 30% of all first-chair players in orchestras are TMC alumni.
Some famous former students include:
- Composers: John Adams, Luciano Berio, Leonard Bernstein, William Bolcom, Mario Davidovsky, David Del Tredici, Jacob Druckman, Lukas Foss, Michael Gandolfi, John Harbison, Russell Peck, Ned Rorem, Gitta Steiner, Steven Mackey, Richard Aaker Trythall, Norma Wendelburg, and Oliver Knussen.
- Conductors: Leonard Bernstein, Robert Spano, Eleazar de Carvalho, Seiji Ozawa, Lorin Maazel, Claudio Abbado, Michael Tilson Thomas, David Zinman, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Zubin Mehta, and Marin Alsop.
- Other notable musicians: Dawn Upshaw, Wynton Marsalis, and Burt Bacharach.
Festival of New Music
The Festival of Contemporary Music is an event held every year at Tanglewood. The Tanglewood Music Center organizes it. It started in 1964. It was a project by BSO Music Director Erich Leinsdorf, Gunther Schuller, and music supporter Paul Fromm. Recent festivals have focused on music by specific composers.
