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BSO, Pops, Tanglewood, and Symphony Hall Logos

Quarter Notes

On the Road Again

Cassandra Gordon reviews the summer's bus trip to Tanglewood for BSAV members, which included the BSAV Named Concert.

On a perfect July summer morning at 9:15, 26 BSAV and Walter Piston Society members and their guests boarded a luxury bus, pulled away from Symphony Hall, and headed for Tanglewood. It had been a full two years since our last outing due to concerns over COVID-19. The energy on the bus was upbeat, and the tasty treats, homemade goodies provided by resident photographer Rita Paul only enhanced our highly anticipated day with the BSO!

A young woman holding a case of bottled water smiles as she stands inside a bus, with people scattered sitting in the seats

Boston BSAV on the Road. Photo credit: Rita Paul

A man wearing a colorful checkered shirt smiles as he sits in a window seat against a bus window, blurred green trees moving past him

Going home. Photo credit: Rita Paul

A woman wearing a white shirt and a red lanyard sits on a bus beside a woman wearing a blue shirt and a red lanyard, green leaves seen through the window behind them

Photo credit: Rita Paul

We arrived right on time at 11:30am and were warmly greeted by Erin Asbury and BSAV staff who handed out our tickets for the afternoon concert. We then headed for the Tent Club, where our pre-ordered luncheon awaited us. A shiver of joy and pride coursed through me as I walked across that beautiful campus. Already the “picnickers” were choosing shady spots to spread out their blankets and food outside the Shed.

Once in the Tent Club, everyone introduced themselves and chatted. Of course, the common thread was our love and dedication to and for the BSO. After lunch, a tour of Tanglewood was offered. We learned about its long history. And then came the main event! Paul Lewis, the highly celebrated English pianist, played Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto, the Emperor. This was his last concert of the season, as he had played the other concertos the two previous days. We were all transported.

A woman wearing a tan shirt and matching pants, a man wearing a black shirt and pants, a man wearing a blue button-down shirt and tan pants, and a woman wearing a white shirt and gray pants stand together against a white wall in a hallway

(Left to right) BSAV Vice-Chair Susan Price, pianist Paul Lewis, and BSAV Chair Bob Braun and his wife Carol backstage after the BSAV Named Concert.

A woman wearing a blue polo shirt and light gray pants stands in front of a group dressed in summer attire on a paved walkway, trees behind them

Boston Volunteers on a tour of the Tanglewood Grounds. Photo credit: Rita Paul

Four women sit in brown chairs in a row together in an open-air auditorium and smile, other audience members seen in the other rows behind them, green trees seen just outside

In the Shed for the BSAV Named Concert. Photo credit: Rita Paul

An orchestra sits onstage, blue light bathing the sides and top of the stage, as a crowd sits in the rows in front of the stage

The BSAV Named Concert. Photo Credit: Rita Paul

A group of people sit scattered on a green lawn, sitting on foldable chairs under tall green trees creating a canopy over them

Boston BSAV on the lawn. Photo credit: Sybil Williams

A woman wearing a white dress and a face covering sits beside a smiling man wearing a blue shirt and a young woman with red hair wearing a light blue dress on folding chairs on green grass, people scattered around on the lawn behind them in foldable lawn chairs

Erin Asbury, Jeff Bancroft, and Elizabeth Michalak on the lawn. Photo credit: Sybil Williams

After the concert, we gathered once again for final dessert, treats, and coffee in the Grille, where Tanglewood volunteer leadership joined us, before we boarded our bus and headed back to Boston, arriving as advertised at 8pm.

This field trip is just one of the benefits of being a BSAV member. I hope that next year we can all turn out for what was an amazing day!

A woman wearing a blue shirt and tan pants stands on the grass with a camera to her face, green trees behind her against a blue sky with wispy clouds

Rita Paul taking photos. Photo credit: Natsumi Malloy

Four woman stand together, arms wrapped around each other, as they smile on a paved walkway, grass and trees behind them

Found an old friend at Tanglewood. Photo credit: Rita Paul

A woman wearing a white dress and a baseball hat sits beside a woman wearing a red dress on a gray bench with a bag and a bottle between them against green trees

Natsumi and her daughter in the formal gardens. Photo credit: Rita Paul

A group of people dressed in summer attire stand together on a paved walkway and smile, grass and trees behind them

Group photo. Photo credit: Rita Paul

A landscape of green grass with a few tall green trees in the distance, against a blue sky filled with white clouds

It was a perfect day. Photo credit: Rita Paul

People sit at brown picnic tables in an open-air covered patio and chat while snacks and drinks sit on the tables, a small building and green trees seen behind them

Volunteers enjoying refreshments at the Tent Club before heading back to Boston on the bus.