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Tanglewood Music Center

Musical Life

At Tanglewood, attendance at concerts is as important as performance. Our fellows find daily inspiration and instruction in the superlative music making that surrounds them.

Tanglewood is the site of nearly 75 concerts each summer, including multiple BSO programs each week, weekly chamber music and guest artist recitals, and concerts from the Boston Pops and Popular Artists. Fellows are encouraged to attend these events in their free time, via access to front-of-house seating or a picnic on the lawn under the stars.

The campus includes three concert venues, each with stunning acoustics and beautiful sightlines.

The Koussevitzky Music Shed

Since 1938, the open-air Koussevitzky Music Shed has been the principal venue for the BSO, seating over 5,000 indoors and an additional 15,000 on the lawn. For those not seated inside atop the clay floor, video images of the orchestra are broadcast to vivid LED screens on the lawn. All Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston POPS, and Popular Artist concerts are held in the Shed. The Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra performs in the Shed for Tanglewood on Parade, a joint gala concert with the BSO and the Boston Pops. 

Andris Nelsons conducting the TMCO at in the Tanglewood Shed
The outside of the Koussevitzsky Music Shed with people listening to the music on the lawn
Tanglewood Shed with no patrons, as viewed from the back of the facility

Ozawa Hall

Winner of multiple awards for architecture, Seiji Ozawa Hall opened in 1994. It serves as the principal performance and rehearsal venue for the Tanglewood Music Center. It seats over 1,100 inside and has excellent sight lines from the lawn, to which the back of the Hall is open whenever weather permits. Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra concerts, chamber music performances, and vocal recitals are held in Ozawa Hall, as well as BSO guest artist recitals and BSO Prelude concerts. The Leonard Bernstein Pavilion, an open-air courtyard located backstage, is a popular gathering place for TMC fellows after rehearsals and concerts. 

The lawn at Seiji Ozawa Hall
six musicians sitting in a circle playing on the Ozawa Hall Stage
Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra performing

The Linde Center for Music and Learning

The state-of-the-art Linde Center for Music and Learning was inaugurated in 2019. Located up the hill from the back of Ozawa Hall, it consists of three studios (Volpe, Gordon, and Studio E) of varying sizes and a café. The Linde Center houses most of the activities and offerings of the Tanglewood Learning Institute. In particular, the largest space, Studio E, is used for open TMC masterclasses. Additionally, the air-conditioned spaces are used for TMC rehearsals and some concerts, including Saturday evening preludes and select vocal concerts. The facility is fully equipped with technology for multi-media, theatrical, and live-streaming events. 

A string quartet and a coach reahearsing in a studio with floor to ceiling windows revealing a beautiful summer day.
The Linde Center for Music and Learning exterior
The Linde Center for Music and Learning covered pedestrian walkway leading to the inside of the building

Rehearsal and Practice Spaces

There are many small- to medium-sized rehearsal and practice spaces scattered throughout the Tanglewood Grounds. When spaces are not occupied with scheduled activities, most are available for private practice on a first-come, first-served basis. Practice space is also available in the fellows' dormitory at Miss Hall's School.

Pianos

Steinway is the official piano of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Tanglewood Music Center. The Steinway Company leases to the TMC more than 70 pianos for concerts, rehearsals, and practice.