Article updated Aug. 11, 2018 by Dave Read
Tanglewood on Parade, the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s annual fundraiser in support of the Tanglewood Music Center, with a schedule of concerts, recitals and events all afternoon and culminating with a gala evening concert, was visited by late afternoon thunderstorms that sent music lovers as well as all manner of picnicers skedaddling. Nobody was surprised by the storm; an alert was sounding when we arrived around two fifteen, gates were closed and patrons were told to leave the lawn, to take shelter in the Shed.
That warning expired soon as the storm passed by, the sky overhead cleared and we scurried back and forth from the press entrance near Seiji Ozawa Hall all the way over to the Theatre near the main entrance for the 2:30 concert by the Tanglewood Music Center percussion fellows. But the Theatre was empty – even despite being a designated shelter from (the) storm! The only person there was another drum fan; I walked over to the main gate, looked at the flyer being offered to entering patrons and saw the percussion concert had been re-scheduled for Ozawa Hall. But why wasn’t anybody at the Theatre, the designated shelter, while storm warnings were sounding and people were being shooed off the Lawn?
The concert by TMC percussion fellows was a fascinating display of the variety of percussion instruments – or more accurately, they showed that in the world of a skilled percussionist, anything can be used as one. In the first piece, the drummers began with quiet drumstick taps on the rim of the snare drum and finished with soft palm taps on the thigh! In between, the standard drum kits got thorough workovers and the audience got very excited.
Hotels in the Berkshires
Find hotels near Tanglewood with user reviews, check amenities, nearby attractions, availability and then book your room reservations at these lodging establishments through our partner, International Hotel Solutions (IHS), the leading provider of secure online hotel reservations.
2018 Tanglewood schedule
The 2018 Tanglewood schedulefeatures a season-long celebration of the centennial of Leonard’s Bernstein’s birth, culminating in the Aug. 25 Bernstein Centennial Celebration hosted by Audra McDonald, with Maestro Andris Nelsons, four guest conductors and soloists Yo-Yo Ma, Midori, and others.