About

The Boston University Tanglewood Institute is one of the most prestigious and longest-running summer music training programs for high school-age musicians in the United States. Founded in 1966 at the invitation of Boston Symphony Orchestra music director Erich Leinsdorf, BUTI was designed from its inception as the pre-professional feeder to the BSO's own Tanglewood Music Center — the summer academy for college-age and graduate musicians. That institutional lineage shapes everything about the program: students train one mile from Tanglewood itself, perform at Seiji Ozawa Hall and the Koussevitzky Music Shed, attend BSO rehearsals and concerts, and receive lessons from BSO members and guest artists alongside BUTI's own faculty.

BUTI offers 25 individual programs spanning all orchestral instruments, piano, voice, harp, composition, and electroacoustic composition. The summer is structured in two phases. The Two-Week Workshops (June 21–July 4, 2026) are instrument-specific intensive sessions emphasizing fundamentals of technique and musicianship, small-group masterclasses, and performance. The Young Artists Programs (July 5–August 15, 2026) run three to six weeks and include flagship tracks: the Young Artists Orchestra, Young Artists Wind Ensemble, Young Artists Vocal Program, Young Artists Piano Program, and Young Artists Composition Program. These programs provide professional conservatory-level training through daily ensemble rehearsals, private lessons with BUTI faculty and BSO guests, chamber music coaching, and multiple public performances. Students may combine a Two-Week Workshop with a Young Artists Program to extend their stay and deepen their work across both formats.

The residential campus — 64 acres on the former Groton Place estate in Lenox — houses dormitories, practice facilities, a 250-seat theater, and a cafeteria. BUTI's more than 70 concerts per summer include performances at Tanglewood's main venues alongside Tanglewood Music Center fellows and BSO musicians, giving students direct proximity to the professional world they are training to enter. The average student age is approximately 16½; alumni include prominent musicians who have gone on to conservatories, professional orchestras, and careers in performance, composition, and arts education. In 2026, BUTI celebrates its 60th anniversary.