Iconic American Voices at Tanglewood
The history of vocal music at Tanglewood reflects the breadth and evolution of American musical life. From choral ensembles and classical vocal soloists to opera productions and performances by celebrated popular artists such as Roberta Flack and Dolly Parton, singers have long been central to the Tanglewood experience. Students and audiences alike have been inspired by legendary artists who learned, performed, and taught here. The careers of Phyllis Curtin and Dawn Upshaw—both distinguished performers and influential teachers—reflect Tanglewood’s unique legacy of nurturing talent and passing musical traditions from one generation to the next.
Learn about the soloists, teachers, choruses and ensembles that embody Tanglewood’s enduring commitment to artistic excellence, education, and the expressive power of the human voice.
Soprano Dawn Upshaw performs Britten's Illuminations, Op. 18 with the BSO in the Shed at Tanglewood on August 3, 2001.
Dawn Upshaw was a TMC fellow (1983) and has been a frequent performer at Tanglewood and Symphony Hall. She has also served on the TMC faculty regularly since 1999.
Photograph by Walter H. Scott
Studies at Tanglewood
American soprano Adele Addison sits on the whispering bench at Tanglewood in the summer of 1948.
Photographer unknown
Soprano Leontyne Price's application for the Tanglewood (Berkshire) Music Center, 1951
After spending one summer in the Berkshires as a student, Leontyne Price would go on to perform several times with the BSO at Tanglewood, Symphony Hall, and Carnegie Hall (on tour).
Letter written by soprano Leontyne Price to the Tanglewood Music Center administrative staff, looking for summer accommodations, 1951
In an America still marked by segregation, safe accommodations would have been a very important consideration for a Black student wishing to attend the music center.
Student Sherrill Milnes sings the role of the Cop in the TMC production and world premiere of Port Town, text by Langston Hughes and music by Jan Meyerowitz, in the Koussevitzky Music Shed during Tanglewood on Parade, ca. August 4, 1960.
Photograph by Heinz Weissenstein (Whitestone Photo)
Student tenor George Shirley in his role as a sailor in the Tanglewood Music Center's world premiere production of Jan Meyerowitz' Port Town, during Tanglewood on Parade, August 4, 1960.
George Shirley received a High-Fidelity Magazine scholarship of $300 to attend the TMC in 1960. He would later perform in four more operas, as well as Verdi’s Requiem, with the BSO at Tanglewood.
Photograph by Heinz Weissenstein (Whitestone Photo)
Student soprano Phyllis Bryn-Julson receives the Composition Performance Award from BSO Music Director Erich Leinsdorf during the Tanglewood on Parade Gala Concert, August 10, 1966.
Photograph by Heinz Weissenstein (Whitestone Photo)
Powerful soloists
American soprano Dorothy Maynor and BSO Music Director Serge Koussevitzky, 1940
Dr. Koussevitzky is said to have first heard Dorothy Maynor during her visit to the 1939 Berkshire Music Festival. A mutual friend persuaded him to hear her sing privately, and he was so impressed that he exclaimed, “World must hear her voice!” She gave her BSO debut on October 4, 1939, and a month later participated in a recording session with Koussevitzky and the BSO.
Photographer unknown
American tenor Kenneth Riegel performs Britten's Serenade, with Andrew Davis (conductor), Charles Kavalovski (horn), and the BSO on August 21, 1977
Photograph by Walter H. Scott
Seiji Ozawa conducts Vinson Cole and the BSO during Opening Night at Tanglewood on July 3, 1998
Photograph by Walter H. Scott
Soprano Barbara Bonney performs at Tanglewood's Seiji Ozawa Hall with pianist Margo Garrett on Tuesday, July 18, 2000.
Great vocal recitals are another vital component of the Tanglewood soundscape.
Photograph by Walter H. Scott
Phyllis Curtin: Student, Performer, Teacher
Tanglewood Music Center students Eunice Albert, Edith Evans, Phyllis Curtin, David Lloyd, and James Pease after their performance of Bach’s Magnificat at Tanglewood, July 8, 1951.
Photograph by Heinz Weissenstein (Whitestone Photo)
Aaron Copland and Phyllis Curtin look at the score for Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem, July 1963.
Phyllis Curtin was one of the soloists in the American premiere of the requiem on July 27, 1963. While at Tanglewood, she gave a visiting artist seminar for the Tanglewood Music Center, of which Aaron Copland was the faculty chair. Curtin would return the following year as a member of the TMC’s vocal department faculty, a relationship that would last over 50 years.
Photograph by Heinz Weissenstein (Whitestone Photo)
Phyllis Curtin coaches a vocal student.
Photographer unknown
Opera at Tanglewood
American composer Aaron Copland consults the score to his opera The Tender Land with Frederic Cohen (left) and Frederic Waldman, surrounded by cast members outside the Theatre-Concert Hall at Tanglewood, 1954.
The Tender Land is an opera by an American composer, set in a farming community in the American Midwest.
Photograph by Constantine Manos
Scene from Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex, featuring John Cheek (Creon) and Kenneth Riegel (Oedipus) conducted by Seiji Ozawa on August 6, 1982.
During Seiji Ozawa’s tenure, staged operas were frequently experienced at Tanglewood.
Photograph by Walter H. Scott
Glenda Maurice as Jocasta in Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex, conducted by Seiji Ozawa on August 6, 1982.
Photograph by Hilary Scott
Frederica von Stade (Idamante) and Renee Fleming (Ilia) in a performance of Mozart's Idomeneo at Tanglewood, July 13, 1991.
Photograph by Walter H. Scott
Choruses and Ensembles
The Tanglewood Festival Chorus supports American soloists Susan Dunn, Shirley Verrett, Vinson Cole and Paul Plishka during a performance of Verdi’s Requiem at Tanglewood, August 30, 1987.
Created in 1970 to fulfill the frequent need for chorus participation in the performance of orchestral repertoire, the Tanglewood Festival Chorus has performed nearly 1,000 concerts with the BSO, a quarter of those at Tanglewood.
Photograph by Walter H. Scott
Anonymous 4 performs in Seiji Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood on July 23, 1998
Photograph by Walter H. Scott
Chanticleer performs in Seiji Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood on July 12, 2001.
Photograph by Walter H. Scott
John Williams leads the Boston Children's Chorus and Boston University Tanglewood Institute Chorus during a Film Night at Tanglewood, August 2, 2014.
The vocal talents of children and high school students have also shone at Tanglewood.
Photograph by Hilary Scott
Popular Voices at Tanglewood
Tim Hardin and Joni Mitchell at Tanglewood on July 22, 1969.
Photograph by Heinz Weissenstein (Whitestone Photo)
Roberta Flack performing at Tanglewood, July 10, 1973
After a turbulent few years and a hiatus in 1972, there was an effort to soften the “hard-rock” orientation of the series. The newly named “Popular Artist Series,” produced by Don Law, consisted of performers like Roberta Flack and John Denver who, it was thought, would appeal to more quiescent crowds.
Photograph by Heinz Weissenstein, Whitestone Photo
Tony Bennett performs at Tanglewood, September 5, 1998
Photograph by Walter H. Scott
Dolly Parton performs at Tanglewood on June 17, 2016
Photograph by Hilary Scott