Music in the Berkshires: Classical Beyond Tanglewood, Part 3

For many decades there has been concern that there is not enough music education in the schools.   But one of the by-products of so much classical music in the Berkshires is a plethora of music education opportunities.

Let's start with Tanglewood.   We have four kids…..and I cannot tell you how important it has been for the past 12 years to be able to take our kids to Tanglewood concerts for free.   Sometimes they sit with us on the lawn, and sometimes they run around in the maze in back.   They all used to complain about going, but we knew….we knew…. that one day, through sheer exposure and osmosis, that they would begin to feel a sense of ownership in the experience.   Sure enough, our married daughters, who are now 26 and 25 take their husbands to Tanglewood as often as they can and seem to have totally forgotten that we used to have to drag them there when they were teenagers.   Our fifteen-year-old male twins are now making unrecognizable utterings like "can we go to Tanglewood and sit on the lawn this weekend?"    For all of our kids it started with "I hate classical music" but not surprisingly, they loved anything by John Williams…and then they learned that they liked stuff by Beethoven and Mozart as well and that it really was not so different from "Harry Potter."

Tanglewood does a lot more.   They host a program called "Days in the Arts" which houses hundreds of inner-city middle school kids in the Berkshires throughout the summer and entertains them with music, theatre and art.   The Tanglewood Music Center has existed since 1940 when Serge Koussevitsky understood that pairing emerging young symphonic performers with the resident musicians of the BSO could only foster the exponential growth of classical music.   The Tanglewood Institute, in partnership with Boston University, does the same for high school students from around the world.   And beyond that, there is a long list of programs to benefit young children, students and adults all summer.   Truly a world-class resource right in our back yard!

That covers the summer.   Williams College, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, Berkshire Community College and the Berkshire Music School offer programming by students all year long and listings can be found by going to the website of the Berkshire Eagle.

The Interharmony International Music Festival, held at Miss Hall's School, showcases talented students each June.

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