Tanglewood Learning Institute

Whether you're a seasoned performer or a passionate admirer, this event will elevate your understanding and appreciation of the rich traditions and art of the string quartet.

Tanglewood Learning Institute talks and seminars are meant to broaden our understanding of music, the arts, and our shared humanity. Join BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons and violinist Hilary Hahn for the first installment of our “Art of Conducting” series and see how a conductor shapes the rehearsals, the relationship between the orchestra and guest artists, and the sound and feeling of the performance itself.

Tanglewood Learning Institute talks and seminars are meant to broaden our understanding of music, the arts, and our shared humanity, this time with powerhouse mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe.

Anthony Fogg, moderator with guest artist

Join Anthony Fogg, BSO vice president of artistic planning, for this unique series of talks with special guest artists.

TLI Talks and Walks is generously supported by Rabbi Rex Perlmeter and Rabbi Rachel Hertzman.

Join conductor and frequent BSO collaborator Dima Slobodeniouk for this installment of our “Art of Conducting” series and learn more about the multifaceted role a conductor plays in shaping performances.

Join us for an intimate look at the groundbreaking choreographer and ballet master George Balanchine, and his relationship with — and effect on — Russian composer Stravinsky, a meeting of the minds that birthed some of the most genre-redefining American ballets of the 21st century. Designed for musicians and music lovers alike, Tanglewood Learning Institute talks and seminars are meant to broaden our understanding of music, the arts, and our shared humanity.

Rebecca Sheir, host

WBUR’s Circle Round host Rebecca Sheir leads us in some family-friendly, kid-centric musical storytelling featuring student musicians from the Boston University Tanglewood Institute.

Join BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons and the TMC Vocal Fellows for this installment of our “Art of Conducting” series and learn more about the multifaceted role a conductor plays in shaping performances.

Tanglewood Learning Institute talks and seminars are meant to broaden our understanding of music, the arts, and our shared humanity. Join conductor and director of Les Arts Florissants William Christie for an exploration of inspiration and motivation.

Join Anthony Fogg, BSO vice president of artistic planning, for this unique series of talks with special guest artists.

TLI Talks and Walks is generously supported by Rabbi Rex Perlmeter and Rabbi Rachel Hertzman.

Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, memoirist, editor, translator, and librettist Tracy K. Smith served as the 22nd Poet Laureate of the United States and is a Professor of English and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University. Smith will speak about the connections between literature, poetry, libretti, and music.

The Spotlight Series is generously supported by Marillyn Tufte Zacharis.

Tanglewood Learning Institute talks and seminars are meant to broaden our understanding of music, the arts, and our shared humanity. Join BSO Germeshausen Youth and Family Concerts Conductor Thomas Wilkins for this installment of our “Art of Conducting” series and learn more about the multifaceted role a conductor plays in shaping performances.

Tanglewood Learning Institute talks and seminars are meant to broaden your understanding of music, the arts, and our shared humanity. This installment of our “Art of Conducting” series looks at the great film conductors throughout the history of Hollywood.

Join our principal bass Edwin Barker for an exploration of one of the most versatile instruments in the string family. Tanglewood Learning Institute talks and seminars are meant to broaden our understanding of music, the arts, and our shared humanity.

Join Anthony Fogg, BSO vice president of artistic planning, for this unique series of talks with special guest artists.

TLI Talks and Walks is generously supported by Rabbi Rex Perlmeter and Rabbi Rachel Hertzman.

Harlow Robinson, moderator, with Tom Godell, Kevin P. Mostyn, and Victor Yuzefovich

Through his visionary leadership and passionate advocacy for music education and contemporary composers, Serge Koussevitzky propelled the Boston Symphony Orchestra into a new era, created Tanglewood, and forever transformed the landscape of American classical music. Join the Tanglewood Learning Institute as we celebrate his legacy on the eve of the 150th anniversary of his birth.

Anthony Fogg, moderator with guest artist

TLI Talks and Walks is generously supported by Rabbi Rex Perlmeter and Rabbi Rachel Hertzman.

Rebecca Sheir, host

Anthony Fogg, moderator with guest artist

TLI Talks and Walks is generously supported by Rabbi Rex Perlmeter and Rabbi Rachel Hertzman.

Violinist and producer Johnny Gandelsman developed This is America in 2020, out of a time of rupture and disconnection. Thinking about ways that one person could make a small difference, he brought together commissioning partners across eleven states and territories to commission 22 new works. He invited the composers, all US-based, to reflect on the time we’re all living in. Since that initial burst of creativity This is America has been performed throughout North America and grown to encompass 28 compositions for solo violin.

“This is America celebrates America’s rich cultural tapestry and its myriad perspectives, thoughts and ideas, offering a vivid counterpoint to the idea that this land can be understood through a singular, dominant point of view. Each composition reflects on the current state of American society in a personal and intimate way, looking through an unflinching lens at universal topics like separation, loneliness, hope, and love.” - Johnny Gandelsman

Featuring Grammy award-winning tenor Nicholas Phan, this program explores our country’s rich legacy of protest songs. Repertoire includes traditional songs of protest and music inspired by social movements and historical events, including Nico Muhly’s Stranger, Akenya Seymour’s Fear the Lamb, and a new commission by Errollyn Wallen. Spanning genres, eras, and movements, A Change Is Gonna Come provokes conversation, confronts our past and present, and celebrates the act of protest as one of our most precious rights.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University. Emmy and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker, literary scholar, journalist, cultural critic, and institution builder, Professor Gates has published numerous books and produced and hosted an array of documentary films. Finding Your Roots, his groundbreaking genealogy and genetics series, is in its tenth season on PBS, and his most recent history series, Gospel, premiered on PBS in February 2024. His latest book is The Black Box: Writing the Race (Penguin Random House, 2024).

The Spotlight Series is generously supported by Marillyn Tufte Zacharis.

Violinist and producer Johnny Gandelsman developed This is America in 2020, out of a time of rupture and disconnection. Thinking about ways that one person could make a small difference, he brought together commissioning partners across eleven states and territories to commission 22 new works. He invited the composers, all US-based, to reflect on the time we’re all living in. Since that initial burst of creativity This is America has been performed throughout North America and grown to encompass 28 compositions for solo violin.

“This is America celebrates America’s rich cultural tapestry and its myriad perspectives, thoughts and ideas, offering a vivid counterpoint to the idea that this land can be understood through a singular, dominant point of view. Each composition reflects on the current state of American society in a personal and intimate way, looking through an unflinching lens at universal topics like separation, loneliness, hope, and love.” - Johnny Gandelsman

Anthony Fogg, moderator with guest artist

Terezín Music Foundation director and Fulbright scholar Mark Ludwig explores loss and remembrance in classical music with a particular focus on Gideon Klein, who Holocaust survivors remember as “our young Leonard Bernstein.” Klein’s meteoric and inspiring story is complemented by live performances by BSO members.

Presented in collaboration with the Terezín Music Foundation.

Terezín Music Foundation director and Fulbright scholar Mark Ludwig is joined by world-renowned composer Osvaldo Golijov as they discuss Golijov’s recent work Falling Out of Time. Ludwig will also examine composer Viktor Ullmann’s quest for meaning within the confines of the Terezín concentration camp through his unique synthesis of classical, jazz, and cabaret music. The program will include art and historic photos, with live performances by BSO members.

Presented in collaboration with the Terezín Music Foundation

Emmy-winning CBS Sunday Morning correspondent, NOVA host, and former New York Times columnist David Pogue is the go-to expert on disruptive tech and science in a fast-changing world. Pogue brings his expansive knowledge, engaging wit, and an occasional song to center stage in a talk about Artificial Intelligence and the future of music.

The Spotlight Series is generously supported by Marillyn Tufte Zacharis.

Rebecca Sheir, host

Anthony Fogg, moderator with guest artist

TLI Talks and Walks is generously supported by Rabbi Rex Perlmeter and Rabbi Rachel Hertzman.

Edmar Castaneda, harp
Andrea Tierra, vocalist
Shlomi Cohen, sax
Rodrigo Villalon, drums