Tanglewood Sold Out for James Taylor Performances
Only Lawn Tickets Available for Taylor with Pops and John Williams
By: Charles Giuliano - Mar 18, 2009
Where appearances by James Taylor, a nearby Berkshire resident, have come to traditionally launch the Tanglewood season on the Fourth of July, this year, the much anticipated performances have been shifted to end the official season. Because Labor Day is late this year, even in these hard economic times, Tanglewood has actually added a week with intimate programs of Taylor and his friends in Ozawa Hall and a mega event with the Boston Pops and special guests, Yo Yo Ma, and Sheryl Crow in the Shed.
Jazz singer and pianist, Diana Krall, has been scheduled to fill the important Fourth of July booking that has belonged to James Taylor. She should provide the traditional fireworks to lanuch a Tanglewood season.
Here we are mid March and Tanglewood is announcing that this special series of popular performances has been sold out. While this will disappoint many fans it is welcome news and a sign of relief for those holding their breath about the busy arts season in the Berkshires in the midst of an ever deepening recession.
Because of the schedules of international conductors and guest performers, in general, Tanglewood plans its seasons well in advance. For the coming summer schedule most of the program was in place well in advance of the precipitous fall in the stock market, government bailouts, the stimulus bill, Madoff scandal, rising unemployment, and a tsunami of bad news.
When the BSO announced its season some time back at Shakespeare & Company the media was pleased and surprised at the depth of the programming. It was not only as ambitious as in the past but also seemed up a notch by adding the Taylor week as a bridge between the departure of the BSO and the now annual Labor Day weekend Tanglewood Jazz Festival.
While it remains to be seen just how the season plays out for Tanglewood, Jacob's Pillow and the other arts groups and theatres this will surely be regarded as good news. It should give encouragement, in particular, to Shakespeare & Company, which like the BSO/ Tanglewood, is moving ahead with pluck and creativity to assemble its most ambitious and diverse program in the history of the company.
These are difficult times and the arts are particularly vulnerable but it is encouraging that the season is being approached with remarkable courage and creativity. What follows is the press release from the BSO/ Tanglewood.
The Shed and Ozawa Hall are sold out for all four scheduled James Taylor concerts at Tanglewood, August 27, 28, 29, and 30. Tickets are no longer available for the performance on August 27, when James Taylor will preside over a program entitled The Band: Conversations Among Friends, an intimate and informal evening of conversation and performance at Ozawa Hall. In addition, tickets are no longer available for the August 28 and 29 concerts, featuring James Taylor in the Shed with his band and special guests Sheryl Crow and Yo-Yo Ma. Though lawn tickets are still available for Mr. Taylor's performance with the Boston Pops, led by conductor John Williams, on August 30, tickets are no longer available in the Shed.
These four concerts are part of an unprecedented weekend of events giving Tanglewood audiences the opportunity to experience Taylor and his band in a variety of contexts, including films, workshops and master classes for young musicians, and a round-table discussion on the popular music of our time, hosted by Rolling Stone publisher, Jann Wenner. James Taylor and John Williams will participate in the discussion, along with other special guests. Events begin on August 26 with a Percussion Master Class hosted by Vic Firth and featuring Steve Gadd and Luis Conte. For complete program information visit www.tanglewood.org.
Lawn tickets for the August 30 concert featuring James Taylor with the Boston Pops, led by John Williams, are priced at $21 and may be purchased online through the Boston Symphony Orchestra's website at www.tanglewood.org. Tickets may also be purchased by phone by calling SymphonyCharge at 617-266-1200 or 888-266-1200. There is a service charge for each ticket purchased online or by phone. The Tanglewood Box Office at Tanglewood's Main Gate on West Street in Lenox , Mass. , will open to the public on Friday, June 19, at 10 a.m. Lecture, Master Class, and film screenings are free with ticket purchases to Shed or Ozawa Hall concerts. R.S.V.P. required by calling 617-266-1200, beginning June 19.
Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, is in Lenox , Massachusetts For additional information about Tanglewood, visit www.tanglewood.org.