BU Tanglewood Institute Builds for the Future

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BUTI resident assistant Pablo Hernandez practices his euphonium on the lawn behind the 1903 mansion that is the main building of the BUTI campus. Photo by Jackie Ricciardi.

It would be easy to wax rhapsodic over the pastoral glories of the Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI), from its verdant setting in the Berkshires to the classical music that fills the air from every direction.

“Don’t write that story,” executive director Hilary Field Respass says with a smile. “Write about what we’re doing.”

Respass took the helm of the renowned summer program for musically gifted high schoolers in 2014 with a mandate to put the institute on firmer footing, both financially and organizationally. The Lenox, Mass., mansion that is BUTI’s main building and the tree-shaded paths and broad lawns look much the same as they did when the program began 51 years ago, and it continues its close connection to the Tanglewood Music Center, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, just down the street. But behind the scenes, a lot has changed.

This year, 432 students from 35 states and 11 countries are enrolled in BUTI’s various programs, the most ever, up 36 percent from 2014. Applications also reached a new high: 1,159, up 34 percent from 2014. Individual giving has quadrupled over the past three years, Respass says, thanks in large measure to a handful of generous donors—kicked off by a $100,000 gift from investment manager Martin Messinger. And the institute is forming an advisory board of supporters, moving the $3-million-a-year budget closer to financial self-sufficiency.

v_butoday_hillary-respass_300x450_buti50th_NM0556As BUTI executive director, Hilary Field Respass is helping to put the summer program for musically gifted high schoolers on firmer financial footing. Photo (right) by Natasha Moustache.

Under Respass’ direction, BUTI has also ramped up college-prep workshops and tightened its connection with BU’s admissions office; 16 of the 49 entering freshmen in the College of Fine Arts School of Music this fall are BUTI alums. The institute recently launched a health and wellness program to address potential problems from repetitive strain injuries from hours of daily instrumental practice to adolescent emotional upheavals magnified by the gifted students’ drive for perfection.

“We’re in a period of growth. We’re growing programs, we’re enhancing curriculum, and we’re building our resources,” Respass says. “We have to build our financial strength and balance our budget. We are gathering the resources to do that as well. With all of these parts coming together, we’re very optimistic about the future.”

Hands-on teaching

As in years past, this summer’s students attend a rigorous schedule of classes and private lessons as well as master classes with BSO and visiting artists, while also rehearsing and performing in a variety of ensembles. BUTI offers 70 mostly free concerts for the community by both students and faculty, both on and off its campus. The students receive Tanglewood lawn passes for BSO concerts as well as tickets to special performances and related events.

“There’s always music happening in every corner of this place,” says Jonathan Cole (CFA’10,’12), BUTI associate director of program operations and communications.

The imposing 65-room main building was built in 1903 as a summer cottage for a prominent Boston family. The campus also includes several smaller outbuildings, and tiny wooden practice sheds dot the property, beautiful sounds coming from each.

Late on a warm Wednesday afternoon in July, about 200 people, mostly BUTI faculty and students, file into the institute’s modern-looking theater for a master class by renowned opera singer Morris Robinson (CFA’01), an Opera Institute alum. Robinson is at Tanglewood for a performance of Wagner’s Das Rheingold with the BSO later in the week. Wiping sweat from his brow with a towel, Robinson looks every bit the NCAA offensive lineman he once was, which adds an extra layer of intimidation for the seven male singers he dubs his “sacrificial lambs,” who’ll be on the hot spot, while their fellow students and faculty look on.

“This is the gym, this is where you work out,” he tells them. “If you are going to do something wrong, do it here. And the way you correct that is to practice, practice, practice.”

One by one, the basses and baritones climb on stage, and with Patricia Au accompanying them on piano, deliver arias or art songs while Robinson listens intently from the front row, offering praise and technical critiques. “Roll those Rs,” he advises one. “Loosen your jacket, throw back your shoulders, and sing,” he tells another.

“I think you have more sound in you than you are putting out,” he tells student Jack Humphrey as he sings the aria “Vittorio, mio core,” by Giacomo Carissimi. Robinson then bounds on stage to press a hand against Humphrey’s diaphragm. “Use this,” he advises. As the student sings the number again, Robinson keeps his hand there, pushing the air out of him like a bellows.

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Author, Joel Brown can be reached at jbnbpt@bu.edu.