Lenox — The Boston Symphony Orchestra has announced details of its 2026 Tanglewood season, running June 21 through September 2. Tickets for most newly announced events go on sale March 5 at 10 a.m. via tanglewood.org or by phone (888-266-1200), while tickets for several major previously announced Popular Artist dates—including Paul Simon, James Taylor, Cynthia Erivo, Carrie Underwood, Jason Isbell, and “Weird Al” Yankovic—are already on sale.
The summer begins with Popular Artist Series energy: Yacht Rock Revue opens the Shed season on June 21. A major early classical-jazz highlight follows when the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra returns with Wynton Marsalis on June 26, their first Tanglewood appearance with him since 2015.
The Fourth of July weekend becomes a centerpiece of the America 250 celebration: James Taylor and his All-Star Band perform July 3 and 4, with fireworks after the Independence Day show, and the holiday stretch is bookended by two Boston Pops programs (July 2 and July 5) themed around American music.
From July 10 to August 23, Tanglewood’s core classical schedule features weekly Boston Symphony Orchestra concerts (Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons) plus performances by the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra. Andris Nelsons, the BSO’s music director and head of conducting at Tanglewood, leads a major portion of the season, especially July 10 through August 2, shaping programs that spotlight Tchaikovsky and Mozart and welcome a mix of celebrated returning soloists and emerging talents.
Star soloists across the summer include Emanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, Seong-Jin Cho, Renée Fleming, Augustin Hadelich, Thomas Hampson, Daniil Trifonov, and others.
Nelsons opens the classical season on July 10 with an all-Tchaikovsky program featuring Seong-Jin Cho in Piano Concerto No. 1 and a Boston Ballet collaboration with principal dancers performing an excerpt from “Swan Lake.” Throughout his run, Nelsons pairs major symphonic repertory (including Beethoven, Mahler, and Shostakovich) with contemporary works by such composers as Carlos Simon and Sarah Kirkland Snider, and he highlights rising violinists including Keila Wakao and the unbelievably talented young Himari.
A signature Nelsons event this summer is a landmark Mozart undertaking: the first full Tanglewood concert performance of “The Marriage of Figaro” (August 1). The cast is led by baritone Michael Sumuel (making his BSO debut in the title role) alongside sopranos Ying Fang (Susanna) and Hanna-Elisabeth Müller (Countess), with a supporting ensemble that includes Emily D’Angelo and Susan Graham. Nelsons’ final program on August 2 brings Joshua Bell back for his 37th consecutive Tanglewood season with the BSO, alongside Schumann and Snider.
Beyond Nelsons’ weeks, notable guest conductors and artists broaden the season. Fabio Luisi leads the BSO (July 12) featuring pianist Eric Lu, winner of the 2025 International Chopin Piano Competition, in Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2. Legendary film composer Joe Hisaishi makes his BSO conducting debut on July 18, leading music from his own catalog including a suite from “Princess Mononoke” and appearing with pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet. Finnish conductor-composer Esa-Pekka Salonen directs the Tanglewood Music Center’s annual Festival of Contemporary Music (July 23 through 27), then conducts the BSO on July 31 and the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra on August 3, also appearing in a conversation with BSO leadership.
From August 4 through 9, Yo-Yo Ma curates “We the People: Our Shared Past, Present, and Future,” performing in five programs and shaping a week that blends concerts, ideas, and community perspectives on the American experience. The residency includes orchestral programs with guest artists and contemporary works, plus a high-profile humanities conversation pairing historian Heather Cox Richardson with legal scholar and Equal Justice Initiative founder Bryan Stevenson (August 8). The week begins with Tanglewood on Parade (August 4), a day of campus-wide performances culminating in a major evening concert involving the BSO, the Pops, and the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra.
The BSO’s final weekend offers two programs with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus: On the last Saturday of Tanglewood’s classical season, BSO Artistic Partner Thomas Wilkins leads the Tanglewood debut of violinist Randall Goosby, a 2022 Avery Fisher Career Grant Winner, in the first BSO performance of Florence Price’s Violin Concerto No. 2. The program also includes Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms” with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and the Cambridge-based boy soprano Edward Njuguna and Dvořák’s popular Symphony No. 8 (Saturday, August 22, 8 p.m.).
The Boston Pops bring their own late-summer spotlights, including the annual John Williams Film Night conducted by Keith Lockhart (August 15) and a star turn by Cynthia Erivo with the Pops (August 21). Tanglewood’s popular lineup also expands with newly announced headliners: Tedeschi Trucks Band with special guest Lukas Nelson (September 2), Ziggy Marley with Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue (July 14), and Yacht Rock Revue, alongside previously announced “Weird Al” Yankovic, Jason Isbell, and Carrie Underwood.
Chamber music and recitals at Ozawa Hall remain a major feature, with appearances by the Boston Symphony Chamber Players, Les Arts Florissants, the Boston Camerata, the Danish String Quartet, and pianist Yuja Wang (August 19).
The season also highlights multidisciplinary and learning initiatives through the Tanglewood Learning Institute (TLI) and Tanglewood Music Center, offering talks, workshops, and special projects—underscoring Tanglewood’s identity as both a festival and a campus for music, ideas, and education.
Tickets for the 2026 Tanglewood season go on sale March 5 at 10 a.m. at tanglewood.org or (888) 266-1200. Tickets for Paul Simon, James Taylor, Cynthia Erivo, and other previously announced dates are already on sale.
