Every year when we set out to spotlight 10 music performances in the summer season, we know we’re setting ourselves up for a daunting task. It may be similar to your challenge, trying to fit as many of these music offerings as you can into your summer schedule. But with these 10 picks, we present a sprinkling of the eclectic — but all world class — programs that will be music to our ears. As they say, tickets on sale now!

Tanglewood
1. Andris Nelsons conducts Kossevitzky-commissioned composition, and Stravinsky featuring Paul Lewis piano
This year Tanglewood is celebrating its founder, Serge Koussevitzky, on his 150th birthday anniversary and 100 years since his appointment as BSO music director (1924-1949). Nelsons will conduct two Koussevitzky commissions — Stravinsky’s “Symphony of Psalms” and Thompson’s "Alleluia,” both with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus (James Burton, conductor) — to be performed alongside Copland’s Piano Concerto (a composition Koussevitzky helped premiere) with Paul Lewis and James Lee III’s 2022 work “Freedom’s Genuine Dawn” with narrator Thomas Warfield. July 28

2. Tanglewood Recital Series: Kirill Gerstein, Joshua Bell, and Steven Isserlis
Let’s not forget about all the fabulous recitals that happen every summer in Ozawa Hall. Pianist Kirill Gerstein, violinist Joshua Bell and cellist Steven Isserlis come together to play a program of Debussy, Ravel, and Faure. Three guys playing incredibly romantic music. Can you say dreamy? July 31

3. Popular Artist Series
Our hats are off to you if you can still snare tickets to James Taylor on July 3 and 4 (his 50th anniversary performance — how can that be?), but there may still be tickets available for some of the other very popular artists: Kool & the Gang and En Vogue (June 23), Boys II Men (June 27), Jon Batiste (June 28), Brandi Carlile (June 30), Jason Mraz with the Boston Pops (July 2), Beck with the Boston Pops (July 23), and the triple bill of Judy Collins, Rufus Wainwright, and the Indigo Girls (Aug. 30).

Music Mountain
4. The Merz Trio: “Alma Mahler Goes West”
Music Mountain Summer Festival in Falls Village, Connecticut, is one of the longest-running festivals of its kind in the world. It's playing out its 95th season with the theme “From Struggle to Triumph: The Power of Music,” a look into the creative ferment that produces works of unquenchable uplift and beauty. Doing their part, the Merz Trio offers a program that explores the musical and cultural collisions of the Second Viennese School with the School with contemporary music of that period through the lens of Alma Mahler’s fabled journeys through the United States. The second half features an arrangement for piano trio of the mesmerizing sextet Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night). Sept. 8

The Foundry
5. ARKAI          
How about adding some electroacoustic music into the mix? ARKAI, a violin and cello duo of Juilliard grads, has been making waves with their genre-defying string music, fusing classical virtuosity with sounds of a rock band, jazz combo and a string quartet. They’ve played in the world's most esteemed halls. Now they’ll be playing for us at The Foundry. July 27

The Garage At Chatham
6. Taka Kigawa, Pianist, And GAC World Premiere
The Garage At Chatham calls itself a summer arts series “in the tradition of the 19th century salon,” and while it did have its start in an elegantly outfitted garage, it’s moving many of classical music concerts, jazz, theater, and dance to larger venues within Chatham while maintaining its intimate ambience. Pianist Taka Kigawa, called a “phenomenon” by the New York Times, joins GAC, along with a clarinet, violin and cello trio, to perform Olivier Messiaen’s rarely heard masterpiece “Quartet for the End of Time” (1941). Also on the program: a world premiere by composer Charles Coleman, commissioned by GAC. This concert will be presented at Cady’s Hall on Chatham’s Main Street, and all of the concerts are free. Amazing. July 13

Berkshire Opera Festival
7. “Faust”
You know the story: Old Dr. Faust sells his soul to the devil to be young again. A story of tragedy and redemption is Charles Gounod’s masterpiece. Berkshire Opera Festival is staging the French romantic opera at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center. BOF never misses: We’re confident it will be as outstanding as all its previous productions. Aug. 24-30

The Mahaiwe
8. Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Uplifting vocal harmonies and signature dance moves are the hallmark of South Africa’s Ladysmith Black Mambazo. With a career total of 19 Grammy Award nominations (five as winners) under its belt, the group comes to Great Barrington to celebrate the 2024 release of “Soothe My Soul…Songs From Our South African Church,” and 50 years of joyous, uplifting music. Aug. 9

Norfolk Chamber Music Festival
9. Ives: Likes & Dislikes
Yale School of Music’s summer festival is sited on an idyllic landscape in Norfolk  — and in the now-air conditioned Music Shed. The Festival’s theme this year, “Charles Ives and the American Tradition,” celebrates American music and its influences with a special emphasis on Charles Ives, in observation of the 150th anniversary of his birth. Ives, a musical maverick, was a big fan of certain composers (Beethoven among them), but had a distaste for others but had a distaste for others (including the modernist composer Edgard Varèse (whose piece, “Octandre,” is on the program). Flutist Tara Helen O’Connor and trombonist Scott Hartman are joined by Norfolk Fellows in this concert. July 5

10. Imani Winds
The Grammy Award-winning Imani Winds are celebrated for their revolution and evolution of the wind quintet through dynamic playing and adventurous programming. The program includes “Black and Brown II: A Celebration of Composers of Color,” featuring works by Paquito D’Rivera, Damien Getter and others. The musicians are the featured performers for the Festival’s 2024 gala on this night, so you can enjoy the concert or go all in on the gala events. July 20

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