In Wednesday’s (8/19) Boston Globe, Geoff Edgers writes, “James Taylor, who has adopted the Berkshires as his home and musical headquarters, will be performing at the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s summer campus. What’s more, the Grammy-winner, starting next Wednesday, will be the centerpiece of an unprecedented five-day festival. Never before has the BSO devoted so much attention to a mainstream musician. … Instead of being paid for the gig, Taylor will give the symphony $500,000, his earnings after expenses. For Taylor, who has literally married into the BSO—his wife, Kim, was a longtime staffer and has now been elected to serve as a trustee—the concerts, roundtables, and master classes represent his latest and most dramatic show of support for the institution. … What makes the giving special, though, is that it is coming from a pop superstar. It comes as the relationship between the institution and the singer deepens. Taylor has already committed to a pair of shows next July, and Mark Volpe, the BSO’s managing director, said that the singer can return for as long as he wants. Volpe imagines the musician holding a special place in the BSO’s history.”
Photo: James Taylor performs with Yo-Yo Ma at Tanglewood, summer of 2008.
Credit: Hilary Scott
Posted August 20, 2009
