Tanglewood Symposium


The Tanglewood Symposium was a conference that took place from July 23 to August 2, 1967, in Tanglewood, Massachusetts. It was sponsored by the in cooperation with the Berkshire Music Center, the Theodore Presser Foundation, and the School of Fine and Applied Arts of Boston University. The purpose was to discuss and define the role of music education in contemporary American society and to make recommendations to improve the effectiveness of music instruction. Participants included sociologists, scientists, labor leaders, educators, representatives of corporations, musicians, and people involved with other aspects of music.

The Symposium

Position papers had been published in the March and April 1967 issues of the Music Educators Journal. The papers served as the bases for discussion at the 1967 MENC divisional conferences and for the Tanglewood Symposium. The sessions were moderated by Max Kaplan, Wiley Lee Housewright, Allen P. Britton, David P. McAllester, and Karl D. Ernst. Three broad questions were considered:
The Tanglewood Symposium is summarized in the statement entitled "The Tanglewood Declaration," which provided a philosophical basis for future developments in music education. Of particular importance, the Declaration called for music to be placed in the core of the school curriculum.