"It's Like Losing A Close Friend:" Tanglewood Goes Dark And The Heartache Is Real
We hear from a devoted audience member, the Tanglewood Business Partners, and volunteers.
Republished with the permission of the artist, Jeffrey Curnow.
Disappointed and sad.
Those are the words that come up again and again when talking to individuals from the various constituencies that serve or are served by the Tanglewood Music Festival. If you don’t live in or visit the Berkshires in the summer, it may not be so apparent how much influence the festival, which is the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, has on the scene here. A study by Williams College professor of economics Stephen Sheppard points out that Tanglewood’s impact on the economy of Berkshire County is more than $100 million. With Tanglewood’s live performances canceled for the summer, that’s a world of hurt.
To be fair, Tanglewood is not abandoning its audience. The Tanglewood 2020 Online Festival will offer a series of audio and video streams, including newly created content, some recorded at the Linde Center. The grounds will be open to the public three days a week (by reservation so visitors can maintain social distancing).
And, of course, it’s not just Tanglewood's actions casting a pall over the summer. Most of the other cultural organizations have canceled or severely truncated their seasons. The COVID-19-forced shutdown has left many bereft at the prospect of a summer without live music, theater and dance.
All are doing their best to continue their support for Tanglewood while wrestling with challenge of how to fill the hours they’d normally be spending on the grounds of the Big Kahuna. Here’s what some of them had to say.
The Tanglewood “Junkie”
Carole Siegel has gone to Tanglewood every summer since she was 16 years old, and in the 90s was chairperson of the volunteer association, which at the time numbered around 1,200. Normally, she’ be attending concerts several times a week, and sometimes more. She’s experiencing the recent news as a personal sense of loss, so much so that she’s almost upset with herself for being so distraught.
“Tanglewood has been a giant part of my life for almost my whole life,” she says. “It’s the most civilized of places. I can never walk on the grounds without feeling whole — it’s such a magical experience for me. Tanglewood is the best of what we’re about: the combination of the exquisite music and the magical environment. The symphony itself is an amazing metaphor — it’s greater than the sum of its parts.”
As someone who takes in so many of the Berkshires’ cultural opportunities — she’s a regular at the Berkshire Theater Group, Barrington Stage, and Jacob’s Pillow — Siegel is trying to figure out what she’ll be doing this summer. She will have more time to enjoy home on the shore of Pontoosuc Lake, and has signed up for a bunch of OLLI courses.
“I’ll probably watch a lot of the [Tanglewood] digital offerings,” she says, “but it won’t be the same.”
Photo: John Ferrillo
The Tanglewood Business Partners
More than 300 Tanglewood Business Partners, from the $750 level to the $25,000 level, provide support to the festival and its integral role in the life and economy of the Berkshires. The Partners underwrite educational programs and outreach initiatives and provide funding of fellowships for aspiring young musicians to attend the Tanglewood Music Center. In return, the Business Partners receive numerous benefits — advertising in Tanglewood publications, cocktail parties, parking passes, and other perks.
Most of the Business Partners were saddened but not surprised at the developments.
Laurence Oberwager, director of the Tanglewood Business Partners, offered some behind-the-scenes insight to the decisions made by Festival executives.
“It was a painful but necessary decision,” he says. “Senior staff and the board spent a tremendous amount of time looking at every possible situation. There were just too many moving parts and potentially unsafe situations to get people on the campus.”
He says that most of the Business Partners will survive the pandemic. His job now is to keep them informed and do whatever he can to support them. Oberwager has been sending out daily missives filled with uplifting thoughts, along with links to BSO/Tanglewood recordings, videos and news. He also circulates a list of member restaurants that are open for takeout.
“I want to make the Business Partners aware that the BSO needs their support more than ever, and that their support will be amplified because we have a group of anonymous trustees and board members who will be matching contributions.”
The Volunteer
For the last 15 years, Ellen Masters, who’s been a Tanglewood volunteer for four decades, has been a summer staffer with title of head greeter. She’s responsible for scheduling and assigning all of the greeters at the entrances and ushers in the Shed and Ozawa Hall. Normally, she’s on the grounds nearly every day of the week. She welcomed the opportunity to canvass some of the volunteers who she probably won’t be interacting with this year — and friendship is clearly part of the volunteer experience. Most of the volunteers expressed sadness that they won’t be spending time with their cohorts.
“As lifelong patrons and longtime volunteers at Tanglewood, we feel a certain emptiness heading into the summer,” says Mark Tully, who volunteers with his wife Lisa. Volunteer Mike Freundlich supplied the “like losing a close friend” quote.
Harriet Rothstein explains what she’ll miss. “Tanglewood is more than just the BSO and the Pops, though I spend all fall, winter and spring looking forward to the great music I will hear. Twenty-five-plus years at the Main Gate welcoming concert goers, many who come year after year, as well as working with other volunteers and staff has made Tanglewood feel like home and the people as family. “
Masters says she is considering this silenced summer a “pause,” and that it’s important to look at the big picture. Chuck Liebowitz sums it up nicely: “A season without Tanglewood saddens us but is completely expected and necessary. It will make the following season that much sweeter.”
To our readers: What do you plan to do this summer in the Berkshires with few cultural activities available? Fill us in — we want to know. Email Lisa Green, Editor.
