or two weeks in September after the season just being in that beautiful community, to do everything that everyone else does all summer long: go to great restaurants, go to MASS MoCA and the Clark. My partner went to Williams and I went to Tufts, so we usually go up and watch the Tufts – Williams soccer game. We do those things that make the Berkshires so special, but that we rarely get to experience, because we are so busy at Tanglewood. So, to answer your questions, for me, that was a big learning curve— to realize just how intense ten weeks are. Every meal is accounted for. It’ s breakfast with donors or media, and lunches with artists— it’ s intense.

You had tremendous success with YOLA( Youth Orchestra Los Angeles). What are you bringing to the BSO and Tanglewood in that arena? The BSO’ s summer program at Tanglewood includes the Tanglewood Music Center, which is arguably the finest pre-professional training program for classical musicians in the world. I say that with humility. It’ s a true center of excellence. If you go hear the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra on Monday nights, you are literally hearing the future of music. It’ s an incredibly diverse group. Every Monday night, you hear them play at a level that is mindboggling. And for the kids— students, the fellows— they’ re getting to work with the greatest

conductors. The conducting roster that conducts the Tanglewood Music Center on Monday nights— to say nothing of the weekend concerts— is arguably one of the finest rosters of conductors of any orchestra in the world. They’ re working with an extraordinary roster of conductors, and that’ s just Monday nights!

It’ s been going on for 75 years, but that’ s the top of the pyramid. It’ s also how are we, as an institution, welcoming musicians in those formative early times into arts and culture One program we do— and have been doing for five decades— is“ Days in the Arts.” Every summer, we host kids from across the Berkshires from public schools to come

and do a one-week residency on the Tanglewood campus, with multi-arts classes and other work. We do the same thing in Boston with kids from innercity schools, with a week-long immersion camp called“ Days in the Arts Boston.” This is the way that we’ re welcoming people who might not have imagined that this world even existed, or that they were welcome in it.

The BSO’ s strategic planning process was recently completed, which outlines a new mission, vision, and value statement, and strategic pillars and investment areas. One of the big strategic investment areas is our education and community programs. We created an Education Task Force that is looking at where the BSO can be true value-add in