Here is the thing about closing-weekend shows: they carry a different kind of energy. August 22 is the last Saturday of the 2026 Tanglewood classical season, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra is not going out quietly. This is a night with a historic first, a debut, and a program built around America’s 250th anniversary — and it happens in one of the best outdoor rooms in the Northeast.
About the Program
BSO Artistic Partner Thomas Wilkins conducts a lineup that opens with something genuinely unprecedented: the first-ever BSO performance of Florence Price’s Violin Concerto No. 2. Soloist Randall Goosby makes his Tanglewood debut here — a Juilliard-trained violinist who studied under Itzhak Perlman and received the 2022 Avery Fisher Career Grant. Goosby has been among the most committed advocates for Price’s music working today, having recorded her violin concertos with the Philadelphia Orchestra. He performs on the 1708 “ex-Strauss” Stradivarius, on loan from the Samsung Foundation of Culture.
The program rounds out with Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms — featuring the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and boy soprano Edward Njuguna — and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8. It fits the 2026 season’s theme, “E Pluribus Unum: From Many, One,” anchored in America’s 250th anniversary.
Practical note: if you’re holding an 8 PM ticket, you’re also welcome at the 6 PM Prelude Concert at Seiji Ozawa Hall on the same grounds. Arrive early — it’s included with your evening ticket.
About Tanglewood
Tanglewood is the BSO’s summer home in the Berkshire Hills of Lenox, Massachusetts, with main performances taking place in the Koussevitzky Music Shed — an open-air covered amphitheater with a capacity of 5,700. From Albany and the Capital District, it’s a straightforward westward drive into the Berkshires. If you’re making the trip from Syracuse or points north, build in extra time to enjoy the scenery — you’ll want to.
Free children’s tickets (up to four per parent or legal guardian) are available at the Tanglewood Box Office on the day of the performance.
Tickets
Tickets are on sale now. Get your tickets here.