Tanglewood

One of my favorite parts of summer in New England is going up to Tanglewood, where the Boston Symphony Orchestra makes its summer home. Nestled in the Berkshire Mountains, in Western Massachusetts, the scenery is just gorgeous and the atmosphere serene. It's a fantastic place to sit outside under the stars and listen to some really spectacular music.

Pictured above is the main music shed with its giant lawn, where many people set up picnics for the evening. You can pay more to sit inside the shed - which is useful if it is raining on concert night, but I can't imagine why you'd want to do that on a gorgeous evening like this one.

There is also a smaller venue on the grounds, Seiji Ozawa Hall. On many concert nights, they have a pre-concert given by students and fellows studying at the Tanglewood Music Center. During the week, they also have full concerts here of opera and occasionally of dance (Mark Morris Dance Group performed here this summer).

Showtime as night falls.

Screens inside the shed project images of the orchestra so that people in the back and on the lawn can see the stage.