Lenox Library 2025 Tanglewood Pre-Concert Talks

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LENOX, Mass. Dr. — Jeremy Yudkin returns for his 42nd season of Tanglewood pre-concert talks, presented by the Lenox Library Association.

These free programs will take place in the Lenox Town Hall auditorium, located at 6 Walker Street, from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m. on Friday afternoons and Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The Summer 2025 schedule will be as follows:

Sunday, July 6. All-Beethoven Program.

Why so many Leonore overtures? And: Do you really think you know the Fifth Symphony?

Friday, July 11. Prokofiev on Stage.

How many versions of Romeo and Juliet are there? Shakespeare, Prokofiev, Bernstein...

Sunday, July 13. Sibelius and Smith.

Nature in Finland in 1915 and in California in 2014.

Friday, July 18. Puccini's Tosca.

A masterpiece of Romantic opera or a "shabby little shocker"?

Sunday, July 20. Yuja and Harriet.

Inspiring women now and then: The Fantastical Symphony and Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 2.

Friday, July 25. Bach, Mahler, and Mendelssohn.

What do all these works have in common?

Sunday, July 27. Special Guest: Edwin Barker, Retiring Principal Bass of the BSO.

Orchestral playing at its most brilliant. Day of the Dead, French carnivals, and Beethoven's Pastoral.

Friday, August 1. Special Guest: Eugene Drucker, Violinist/Founding Member of the Emerson Quartet.

The Korngold Violin Concerto and Rachmaninov's Second Symphony.

Sunday, August 3. NO LECTURE.

Friday, August 8. Symphony or Concerto?

Lalo's Symphonie espagnole and the "New World."

Sunday, August 10. Another New World.

Pépin, Saint-Saëns, and Mendelssohn in Scotland.

Friday, August 15. Acknowledging the Masters.

Shaw, Tchaikovsky, and Beethoven's Fourth.

Sunday, August 17. Memory and Memorial.

Grant Still and Sibelius. Liszt, Piano Concerto No. 2.

Friday, August 22. Music for the Infinite.

Poulenc's Gloria and Gustav Holst's The Planets.

Sunday, August 24. Special Guest: Carlos Simon, Composer Chair/BSO.

New Look - Old Masterpiece.

?Carlos Simon's new work and Beethoven's Ninth.

The pre-concert talks are free thanks to the Lenox Library Association and Margery and Lewis Steinberg.

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Josh Billings Athletes Can Support Local Non-Profits

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. - A new fundraising initiative is giving participants in  one of the Berkshires’ most recognized community traditions a simple way to support local  nonprofits.
 
Launched this year by the Josh Billings RunAground and Mill Town Foundation, the Finish Line Fund allows participating teams to select a Berkshire-based nonprofit and invite friends, family members, colleagues, and others to support the organization through a  team fundraising page.
 
With time still remaining before the Sept. 20 event, participating teams already have raised more than $16,000 for local nonprofits.
 
“The Finish Line Fund is about expanding participation in local philanthropy,” said Andy Wrba, Program Director at Mill Town Foundation. “You don’t need to make a large gift to have an impact. When hundreds of people contribute $10 or $20 to organizations they care about, those individual gifts can add up to something significant. We want to make local  giving accessible, personal, and connected to an event people are already excited to be part of.”
 
Rather than directing all fundraising to a single beneficiary, the Finish Line Fund places the  choice in the hands of participants. Teams select a Berkshire nonprofit that is meaningful to them and use their own networks and personal stories to build support for the organization.  Donations made through each team’s fundraising page go directly to its selected nonprofit.
 
The initiative reflects a peer-to-peer approach to philanthropy in which individuals become  ambassadors for the organizations and causes they value. In addition to raising funds, the  program is designed to introduce more people to Berkshire nonprofits, expand their networks of supporters, and encourage community members to see themselves as active participants in local giving.
 
To encourage broad participation, Mill Town Foundation will also contribute an additional $500 to the nonprofit represented by each of the five teams that attracts the greatest number of individual donors. The incentive is based on the number of unique supporters – not the total amount raised – reinforcing the message that gifts of every size matter.
 
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