The Boston Symphony Orchestra with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. Stu Rosner Photo.

UPDATE: We have posted photos – both new and historic – and actual video footage narrated by Keith Lockhart from the 75th Anniversary Celebration here. It was quite a night, with 15,000 in attendance.

The Boston Symphony Orchestra knows how to throw a gala event, after all they’ve had years of practice. So with the historic 75th Anniversary of Tanglewood coming up July 14, they have assembled a formidable array of musicians to edge out even their splashiest earllier celebrations by a whisker. Those who follow the Tanglewood season know that Tanglewood on Parade is usually the biggest event of the year with three orchestras and conductors and a day filled with activities for the whole family. This year that event takes place on August 7.

But this year the Gala 75th on July 14 will set a new high bar for celebratory events as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Pops (which is the orchestra minus its first chair players), the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestras and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus are all tuned up and playing.

The choice collection of conductors is also historic with John Williams, Keith Lockhart, Stefan Asbury, Andris Nelsons and David Zinman sharing the podium.

With a gala like this, it is only right that some of the soloists most connected with the Orchestra return to mark the occasion. On hand in Lenox will be Yo Yo Ma, Emanuel Ax, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Peter Serkin, and….hello, what’s this? James Taylor!

In addition to all these sounds of music, there’s a huge Gala Party which is being designed in Art Deco fashion, the prevailing style of 1937 when Tanglewood was founded.

Here are further details from the BSO’s detailed release on the event:

Tanglewood’s 75th Anniversary Gala Concert and Party on July 14 will bring together some of the festival’s most distinguished and longtime guests and patrons for a once-in-a-lifetime celebration of one of the world’s most beloved summer music festivals.  The evening’s musical celebration will spotlight  Tanglewood’s three major orchestral forces—the Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, and the Tanglewood Music Center orchestras, as well as theTanglewood Festival Chorus—in performances with conductors John Williams, Keith Lockhart, Stefan Asbury, Andris Nelsons, and David Zinman, guest artists including pianists Emanuel Ax and Peter Serkin, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, Tanglewood’s longtime friend James Taylor, and former and current Tanglewood Music Center Vocal Fellows as vocal soloists. The gala concert will be heard far beyond the Berkshire Hills when it airs nationally on Friday, August 10, at 9 p.m. ET (check local listings) as part of GREAT PERFORMANCES in the PBS Arts Summer Festival line-up. This concert will also be broadcast internationally on the radio and locally via WGBH’s Classical New England service, including 99.5 FM in Boston and 88.7 in Providence; in Albany on WAMC 90.3 FM and its network of translators; and in Connecticut on WMNR 88.1 FM. In addition to broadcasting the concert live, these stations are also able to stream the concert at www.classicalnewengland.org; www.wamc.org; andwww.wmnr.org after August 10. Although the shed has sold out for this performance, lawn tickets remain available for $30 at www.tanglewood.org and 888-266-1200.

To kick off the evening’s festivities, BSO patrons, friends, and trustees will gather at 5 p.m. for the Tanglewood 75th Gala Party in the Hawthorne Tent, located on the hill overlooking Seiji Ozawa Hall on the magnificent Tanglewood grounds. The party will begin at 5:00 p.m., with a festive cocktail reception and celebratory dinner; following the concert, there will be a reception with the evening’s guest artists at the Highwood Manor House for Gold and Silver Benefactors.  The décor for the Tanglewood 75th Gala pre-concert dinner will reflect the Art Deco style, a period of design that was quite fashionable in 1937, the year of the founding of Tanglewood.

Tanglewood, one of the world’s most beloved music festivals and the famed summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra located in the beautiful Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts, celebrates its 75th anniversary season, June 22-September 2, with a spectacular lineup of musical guests and programs that spotlight Tanglewood’s rich tradition of presenting summertime concerts at their best since 1937. Tickets, priced from $9 to $117 for regular season concerts, are available at tanglewood.orgor at 888-266-1200; Tanglewood offers free lawn tickets to young people age 17 and under and a 50% discount on lawn tickets to college and graduate students. For season details, including press releases, a chronology, history, and downloadable current day and archival images, visit 
https://www.box.com/s/29a7ecaf12aa6fdbb6a5
.

PLEASE NOTE:  Though there are $30 lawn tickets available for purchase for the July 14 concert, available by visiting tanglewood.org or calling 888-266-1200, the Shed is sold out with no remaining seats available for sale. 

DETAILS OF THE GALA CONCERT
The Tanglewood 75th Celebration Gala will open with BSO brass performing Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, followed by a Boston Pops performance of Bernstein’s Three Dance Episodes from On the Town, both under the direction of Keith Lockhart. James Taylor will join Boston Pops Laureate Conductor John Williams and the Boston Pops Orchestra to perform some beloved hits of the Great American Songbook, including “Over the Rainbow,” “Shall We Dance?,” and “Ol’ Man River.” These tunes were each written in the 1930s and 1940s, the era of Tanglewood’s founding.  The next part of the program will feature the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, first accompanying soloist Emanuel Ax in the second and third movements of Haydn’s Piano Concerto in D, under the direction of Stefan Asbury, followed by Tchaikovsky’s Andante cantabile, for cello and strings, with Yo-Yo Ma, and Sarasate’s Carmen Fantasy, for violin and orchestra, with soloist Anne-Sophie Mutter, under the direction of Andris Nelsons. Following intermission, the Boston Symphony Orchestra takes center stage to perform one of its signature works—Ravel’s La Valse, under the direction of Andris Nelsons.  The program will come to a close with David Zinman leading the BSO in one of the most popular Tanglewood works, Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy in C minor for piano, chorus, and orchestra, featuring pianist Peter Serkin, the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and former and current TMC vocalists: sopranos Emalie Savoy and Eudora Brown; mezzo-soprano Paula Murrihy; tenors Alex Richardsonand William Ferguson, and bass-baritone Richard Ollarsaba.

GALA CHAIRS AND DETAILS OF THE TANGLEWOOD 75TH PARTY
The Gala Chairs for the Tanglewood 75th Anniversary Celebration include Emanuel and Yoko Ax, Keithand Emiley Lockhart, Yo-Yo Ma and Jill Hornor, Anne-Sophie Mutter, John Oliver, Andris Nelsons and Kristine Opolais, Peter and Regina Serkin, Caroline and James Taylor, and Johnand Samantha Williams.  These artists are expected to attend the post-concert festivities.

The Tanglewood 75th Anniversary Gala Party will take on the atmosphere of the Art Deco period, whose style and its lavishness are often attributed to a reaction against the forced austerity imposed by World War I.  Its signature mathematical geometric shapes and use of materials such as aluminum and stainless steel will be reflected in the linens and flowers that will adorn the tent.  Round dinner tables will be decorated with linens from Nuage Designs in shades of silver, khaki, and white, and elegant china, crystal, and silver provided by Be Our Guest. Crystal chandeliers from High Output and Flowers designed by Winston Flowers evoke a night club feeling – large banana leaves, elegant white orchids, and milk glass vases. Mirrored tabletops and vessels will add additional sparkle to the festive room.

The meal, created especially for this evening by Boston Gourmet, the official food service provider of the BSO, celebrates many of the local farms found in the Berkshire Hills. The menu will include Chilled Sweet Penniman Hill Farm Corn Soup and Herb Crusted Ioka Valley Farms Filet of Beef.  Canapes include Mini Ahi Tuna Burgers, Fresh Duck Spring Rolls, Fresh Fig and Chevre Tartlets and Mini Steak Frites with Crispy Shallots.  Special 75th anniversary sweets will finish the evening.

THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY COMMITTEE
Joining the Gala Chairs listed above, the event’s Benefactor Committee includes Roberta and George Berry; Jan Brett and Joseph Hearne; Gregory Bulger and Richard Dix; Susan and Gerald Cohen; Cynthia and Oliver Curme; Ginger and George Elvin; Nancy E. Feldman and Mike Chefetz; Sanford and Isanne Fisher; Nancy J. Fitzpatrick and Lincoln Russell; Susie and Stuart Hirshfield; Larry and Jackie Horn; Margery and Everett Jassy; Martin and Wendy Kaplan; Stephen B. Kay and Lisbeth L. Tarlow; Robert and Luise Kleinberg; Joyce Linde; Shirley andJay Marks; Dr. Robert and Jane B. Mayer; Claudio and Penny Pincus; Eduardo Plantilla, M.D.and Lina S. Plantilla, M.D.; Robin S. Richman and Bruce S. Auerbach; Scott and Robert Singleton; Margery and Lewis Steinberg; Jacqueline and Albert Togut; and Stephen andDorothy Weber. Jacqueline and Albert Togut have underwritten the gala dinner.

Boston-based companies involved in providing goods and services for the anniversary gala include Be Our Guest, Boston Gourmet, High Output, Mahaiwe Tent, and Winston Flowers.

TANGLEWOOD 2012 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
Tanglewood’s 75th anniversary season will present a spectacular lineup of musical guests, while honoring legendary moments from the festival’s rich tradition of presenting summertime concerts since 1937. The anniversary season will also look to the future with eight world premieres and new media initiatives including international radio broadcasts and major new streaming offers free to a worldwide audience.  The Tanglewood 75th anniversary gala concert on July 14, featuring many of the iconic artists identified with the festival mentioned above, has been added to the line-up of the PBS Arts Summer Festival and will air nationally on Friday, August 10 at 9 p.m. ET as part of GREAT PERFORMANCES (check local listings).

Highlights include a gala celebration with appearances by John Williams,Keith Lockhart, Andris Nelsons, James Taylor, Yo-Yo Ma, Peter Serkin, and Anne-Sophie Mutter performing with the BSO, Boston Pops, andTanglewood Music Center Orchestras (July 14); a special John Williams 80th Birthday Celebration (August 18); an all-Beethoven (BSO opener on July 6) and an all-Wagner program (July 21), replicating two programs from Tanglewood’s first season in 1937; and eight world premiere performances, spotlighting several composers who have had a strong connection with Tanglewood and the BSO, including Michael Gandolfi, John Harbison, André Previn, Gunther Schuller, and Edgar Meyer, as well as composers new to the BSO and its audiences.

The 75th anniversary season will also present James Taylor (July 2, 3, 4),Yo-Yo Ma with his Silk Road Ensemble (June 22 and 24); Joshua Bell(July 7); Jean-Yves Thibaudet (August 5); Mark Morris Dance Group(June 28 and 29); Chris Botti (August 5); Wynton Marsalis (August 20), and Train (August 31). Bernadette Peters (July 8), as well as Maureen McGovern and Brian Stokes Mitchell (August 24), make welcome returns with the Boston Pops.

In addition to the star-studded gala concerts and historically resonant programming, Tanglewood’s 75th Anniversary will reach out to a worldwide audience by way of international radio broadcasts; an extraordinary offer of 75 Free Digital Streams, available for purchase after a 24-hour free period; as well as free digital streams of master classes for the Fellows of the Tanglewood Music Center (TMC), the BSO’s renowned summer music academy for the advanced training of young professional-caliber musicians.

On the fun and light hearted side of the BSO’s Tanglewood 75th season, the anniversary will also be celebrated with a specially commissioned commemorative poster and stamp.  In addition, special anniversary banners will appear in towns throughout the Berkshires and a series of musical instrument sculptures will be scattered throughout the region to remind visitors of the anniversary.

TICKET INFORMATION IN BRIEF
Tanglewood, this year celebrating its 75th anniversary as the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, opens on Friday, June 22, with the return of Yo-Yo Ma and his Silk Road Ensemble, and closes September 2, with a Boston Pops concert led by Thomas Wilkins and featuring the ever-popular Michael Feinstein. For detailed information about the 2012 Tanglewood season, including how to purchase tickets, priced from $9 to $117 for regular season concerts (non-benefactor tickets to the July 14 Gala Anniversary Concert are priced from $30 to $250), visit www.tanglewood.org. Tickets are available through Tanglewood’s website, www.tanglewood.org, and through SymphonyCharge at 888-266-1200. Tanglewood continues to offer free lawn tickets to young people age 17 and under and a50% discount on lawn tickets to college and graduate students. 

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF TANGLEWOOD, THE BSO’S SUMMER HOME SINCE 1937
One of the most popular and acclaimed music festivals in the world, Tanglewood—the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s summer home since 1937—is located in the beautiful Berkshire Hills between Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts. With an average annual attendance of more than 300,000 visitors each season, Tanglewood has a $60 million impact on the Berkshire economy each summer. Tanglewood presents orchestra concerts by the Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, and visiting ensembles, featuring many of the greatest classical musicians of our time; recital and chamber music concerts in the intimate setting of Ozawa Hall; programs highlighting the young musicians of the Tanglewood Music Center; performances by some of today’s leading popular artists; and a season-ending Labor Day Weekend festival. Tanglewood is family-friendly, with free lawn tickets available for children and young people age 17 and under, a 50% discount on Friday-evening lawn tickets for college and graduate students, and a variety of special programs for children, including Kids Corner, Watch and Play, and the annual Family Concert, this year to take place Saturday, August 25. Tanglewood is also the home of the Tanglewood Music Center, the BSO’s preeminent summer music academy for the advanced training of young professional musicians, and Days in the Arts, a multi-cultural arts-immersion program that gives 400 fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-graders from communities across Massachusetts the opportunity to explore the arts throughout each week-long session of the summer. These are just two of the BSO’s many educational and outreach activities, for which more information is available at www.bso.org—the largest and most visited orchestral website in the country, receiving about 7.5 million visitors annually and generating over $70 million in revenue since its launch in 1996.  The Boston Symphony Orchestra is online at www.bso.org. 

RADIO BROADCASTS AND STREAMING
Concerts from the Shed are broadcast each Friday and Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon on WGBH’s Classical New England service, including 99.5 FM in Boston and 88.7 in Providence; in Albany on WAMC 90.3 FM and its network of translators; and in Connecticut on WMNR 88.1 FM. In addition, Sunday-afternoon concerts are broadcast on WFCR 88.5 in Amherst. Streaming, and now on-demand audio of the broadcasts can also be accessed via the stations’ websites at WGBH’swww.classicalnewengland.org; www.wamc.org; www.wmnr.org; and www.wfcr.org.

SPONSORSHIP
The Bank of America Charitable Foundation is proud to support Tanglewood and its education initiatives for Massachusetts students. Commonwealth Worldwide Chauffeured Transportation is proud to be in its ninth year as the official chauffeured transportation provider of the BSO. Steinway & Sons Pianos selected exclusively for Tanglewood. This Week at Tanglewood is sponsored by Harvard University Extension School.