Tanglewood Learning Institute

Alfredo Rodriguez’s ability to “play stories” on the keys allows him to connect with his listeners on a deeply personal level. His albums, including The Invasion Parade, Tocororo, and Duologue reflect his memories of Cuba, his experiences as an immigrant, and his journey of self-discovery through music. He’s been featured by All Things Considered, Downbeat, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the Wall Street Journal among many others, and performed for NPR’s Tiny Desk concert. Rodriguez creates an electrifying fusion of Latin, pop, timba, jazz, tango, and funk that will transport you straight to the heart of Havana, and his musical chops will leave you breathless. Don't miss this extraordinary celebration of music, courtesy of Alfredo Rodriguez.

Experience an extraordinary night of music as the Tanglewood Learning Institute and Berkshires Week present a special recital featuring two rising stars: classical concert pianist Evren Ozel and jazz sensation Brandon Goldberg.

Evren Ozel has wowed audiences since debuting with the Minnesota Orchestra at just 11 years old. Now a celebrated soloist, he has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, Jacksonville Symphony, and The Orchestra Now at Bard College. This spring his much-anticipated album of Mozart Concertos with the ORF Radio Symphony of Vienna and conductor Howard Griffiths will be released on Alpha Classics. Ozel's accolades include a 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant and a 2022 Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant.

Brandon Goldberg has earned acclaim on some of jazz's biggest stages, from the Newport Jazz Festival to SFJazz and Birdland Theater. His latest album, "Brandon Goldberg Trio: Live at Dizzy’s," showcases his exceptional talent. Goldberg is a 2024 YoungArts Winner with Distinction, a semifinalist in the 2023 Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz International Piano Competition, and the youngest recipient of the 2022 ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award.

Following their breathtaking performances, join us for a relaxed post-concert reception at Cindy’s Café, where you can meet the artists and mingle with fellow music lovers.

Presented by Berkshires Week, the Berkshire Eagle’s guide to the best in art, culture, food, and outdoor experiences, and the Tanglewood Learning Institute, now with year-round programming, this event is a must-see for residents and visitors alike.

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to witness two remarkable pianists sharing the stage for one unforgettable evening!

Isaiah J. Thompson is the winner of the 2023 American Pianists Awards and the Cole Porter Fellowship in Jazz of the American Pianists Association. Originally from West Orange, New Jersey, the pianist, bandleader, and composer began studying at the Calderone School of Music from an early age. Soon after, Thompson continued his studies with Jazz House Kids and NJPAC Jazz For Teens and was later admitted to the Juilliard School graduating with both his Bachelor’s in 2019 and Master’s of Music degrees in 2020. At TLI, Isaiah J. Thompson will present Modern Jazz Ministry premiering his most recent work, a suite entitled The Book of Isaiah. There has always been an intersection of jazz and faith that’s been explored throughout history. From Duke Ellington to Mary Lou Williams to John Coltrane, many musicians have placed spirituality at the core of their music. The Book of Isaiah continues this tradition by channeling faith in God through jazz.

Recently described by the New York Times as “the North Star of her instrument’s ever-expanding universe,” musician, interdisciplinary artist, and educator Claire Chase presents a concert of works from her 24-year commissioning initiative, Density 2036, part of the Density Arts family of programs. Performing selections of new works by composers like Terry Riley, Pauline Oliveros, Anna Thorvalsdottir, Vijay Iyer, Marcos Balter, Sarah Hennies, Suzanne Ferrin, George Lewis, and so many more, Chase is cultivating a new body of repertory for the flute each year until the 100th anniversary of Edgard Varèse’s groundbreaking 1936 flute solo, Density 21.5. In this spirit, Density Arts will commission, produce, and record a new program of flute music every year until 2036.

Hilary Poriss, Professor and Chair, Department of Music, Northeastern University

Trumpet greats Jon Faddis and Randy Brecker share the stage with the next generation of trumpet superstars – Benny Benack and Bria Skonberg – along with the Ted Rosenthal Trio, performing music of trumpet legends Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, and others. In addition to amazing trumpet virtuosity and improvisational creativity, the concert will feature the vocals of Benack and Skonberg who have toured together with Jazz at Lincoln Center, and follows up on last September’s sold-out Linde Center performance of Rosenthal's Bernstein & Bop: A Saxophone Colossus.

Karen Slack, soprano 
Kevin Miller, piano

A dazzling collaboration of music and storytelling featuring soprano Karen Slack and new music by acclaimed composers Jasmine Barnes, Damien Geter, Jessie Montgomery, Shawn Okpebholo, Dave Ragland, [BSO Deborah and Philip Edmundson Composer Chair] Carlos Simon, and Joel Thompson along with carefully selected traditional repertoire. Each work reflects the beauty, humility, passion, and power of the Queens being celebrated. The Boston Symphony Orchestra on behalf of the Tanglewood Learning Institute is a project co-commissioner of African Queens.

Concert Theatre Works 
Parker String Quartet

Rainer Maria Rilke’s nine letters to aspiring poet Franz Kappus are a clarion call to artists everywhere. Maurice Ravel’s single, masterful string quartet combines with Rilke’s letters in a unique union of music and text. The production reimagines the lost letters of Franz Kappus, the young poet, completing this famous correspondence in a new concert-theater work translated by Damion Searls and reimagined as a dramatic dialogue by Bill Barclay.

*Celebrating the 150th birth year of Maurice Ravel

Robert Kirzinger, BSO Director of Program Publications
Dawn Upshaw, TMC Head of the Vocal Arts

What feelings form when I try to recuperate the signal?

Acclaimed poet Aracelis Girmay explores the legacy of her great-grandmother in this words-and-music collaboration with director Dawn M. Simmons, composer Brittany J. Green, and violist Ashleigh Gordon of Castle of our Skins.

“Lois Davis was born in Georgia in 1909 and died in Chicago thirty-five years later, the mother of seven children,” Girmay writes. “When my own children were born, I began to think about her death differently. In this seam-torn work, through arrangements of syntax, gesture, and pitch, I am trying to attune my language to a flickering frequency in relation to this mother and her people and the ‘black noise’ (Saidiya Hartman) we are still making together.”

In collaboration with The Authors Guild Foundation.

Based on Nicholas Phan’s innovative BACH 52 web series, these programs will explore the question: “Is the music of Bach for everyone?” Tenor arias from Johann Sebastian Bach’s church cantatas will be paired with interviews with various guests probing this question and examining the relevance of Bach’s music to today’s increasingly secular and diverse society.

Based on Nicholas Phan’s innovative BACH 52 web series, these programs will explore the question: “Is the music of Bach for everyone?” Tenor arias with continuo accompaniment from Johann Sebastian Bach’s church cantatas will be paired with interviews with scholars, musicians, and audience-members to probe this question and examine the relevance of Bach’s music to today’s increasingly secular and diverse society.

Eric Henry Sanders, playwright
Rosalba Rolón and John Hellweg, actors
Donald T. Sanders, director
Eve Wolf, music director

Play with Time, by Eric Henry Sanders, features the music of Philip Glass and reconfigures a conversation between Philip Glass and the visual artist Fredericka Foster. It's a music theater piece on the theme of time and uses Glass's own method of iterative composition.

In collaboration with the Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts (MIFA) and Ensemble for the Romantic Century (ERC).