Magic happens when Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) Conductor Andris Nelsons arrives at Tanglewood, the country’s premier summer music festival, for a new season.
“When you walk on that pristine lawn, you can feel your breath deepen,” he said. “It’s truly an extraordinary atmosphere for music-making.”
And GBH Music is there, this and every year, producing live broadcasts hosted by Brian McCreath on CRB Classical 99.5. He feels the magic too.
“A musician once told me that when he arrives at Tanglewood, he feels his shoulders drop and feels himself exhale,” he said. “Tanglewood is a sanctuary.”
The music venue on the Stockbridge-Lenox line in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts has been the BSO’s seasonal home since 1937. CRB broadcasts three concerts each weekend—Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoon—for a total of 21 shows.
McCreath, who is also host of concerts from Symphony Hall, delivers his broadcasts from a small room on the left side of the Koussevitzky Shed stage, working with GBH audio producer Antonio Oliart and producer Alan McLellan, along with two BSO sound engineers.
Tanglewood can accommodate an in-person audience of about 15,000. The popular CRB broadcasts attract listeners from GBH sister stations New England Public Media, WAMC in Albany and WMNR in Connecticut and have a loyal following online.
“The BSO Tanglewood broadcasts are the highlight of the summer, and taken together they represent the pinnacle of music and broadcasting coming together to entertain and connect with audiences across the Commonwealth and far beyond,” said Anthony Rudel, General Manager of GBH Music.
McCreath, who had a full-time orchestral career playing the trumpet before turning to radio, says bringing music to people is his life’s passion.
“I think experiencing a great orchestra can be truly transformative. What the BSO does is utterly remarkable,” he said. “Having a world-class orchestra be our local orchestra is extraordinary.” And he says the 70-year-old partnership is also a perfect expression of GBH’s mission. After all, the very first GBH broadcast in 1951 was a BSO concert.
“This is what GBH was made to do—to bring great things to the broadest audience. GBH is meant to reflect our community in everything we do and make the arts free and accessible to everyone,” said McCreath. He peppers his broadcasts with anecdotes and artist interviews, telling the human stories behind the music, over seven weeks during July and August.
Nelsons, who listens later to the CRB programs, says he loves McCreath’s segments. “He asks terrific questions and offers insightful commentary,” he said. “I love GBH’s commitment to the community and its support of arts institutions like the BSO and Tanglewood.”
The biggest difference between a concert at Symphony Hall and Tanglewood, said McCreath, is the pace. “At Symphony Hall, they have time to do more rehearsals, so the musicians have more time to sit with the music. It’s like wine or scotch, with time it evolves and deepens,” he said. “At Tanglewood, where there’s less time for rehearsing, the performances have a charged excitement and spontaneity.”
That spirit is fueled by the bucolic setting, said Nelsons.
“An outdoor classical concert can have the same energy as a rock concert, and I really enjoy that,” he said. “The acoustics at Symphony Hall are world class and so resonant, but music at Tanglewood fills up the Shed in a way that is both palpable and balanced. And I love it when the birds outside the Shed seem to be singing along with the orchestra!”
