Zoe Heim at Boston University Tanglewood Institute
Zoe (AQF '23) shares her summer experience at Tanglewood and says that this was the best summer she has ever had!
My Favorite Summer
“My name is Zoe Heim and The Anthony Quinn Foundation allowed me to experience a summer at Tanglewood. To say that this was the best summer I’ve ever had so far would be an understatement. Tanglewood blew all of my expectations away!
The second I stepped outside of the Albany airport, I was pleasantly surprised. The air was so clear and the sky was beautiful. I then met a fellow horn player, Caroline. She was such an amazing friend over the summer. On the bus ride there, I got to see the beautiful trees and mountains. It was breathtaking. I never got to experience what real nature and mountains were like before.
Then, before I knew it, the bus pulled up to Groton Place. It was a beautiful, old, grey-stoned building. This is the main building where we would hang out and eat. I was then introduced to the campus and moved everything into my dorm. The music would start bright and early the next day.
The horn intensive program, led by Mr. Michael Thornton and Dr. Jessica Young was so incredibly helpful to me. I learned so much, because they provided me with the tools to better myself and how to fix problems. They also introduced to us many different routines, warm-ups, challenges, excerpts, and etudes. We worked everyday on different skills and I absorbed as much as I could, just like a sponge. I still think about what they taught me every single day in my practice. I also got to meet some of the most incredible people - Owen, Ryan, Adir, Isabell, Will, Anleah, Caroline, Joey, Sophie, Michael, and Flynn. I loved hearing about everyone’s unique experiences and love for music. I also learned from my friends as well as my teachers. We practiced a lot together, giving each other critiques and constructive criticism. Because everyone had different ideas and perspectives than me, it was really helpful to have different insights on music. I took their critiques and used it to better my phrasing, dynamics, technicality, and much more.
The wind ensemble program was when I felt like I could really hone in everything that I learned in the horn intensive. In the wind ensemble, Owen and Ryan stayed and three new people, Kasey, Ethan, and Finn, joined us. We became a very close section and would share a lot of goofs and gaffs. We worked really well as a team too. Our wind ensemble teachers Ms. Shelagh Abate and Ms. Anne Howarth, taught me a lot about playing the horn in a section and being a leader in the section. We ended up having two very successful concerts during those four weeks. Also, I was able to take part in a woodwind quintet with Nina the flutist, Annie the oboist, Logan the bassoonist, and Kate the clarinetist. We performed Carl Nielson’s Kvintet and Paquito
D'Rivera Aires Tropicales. I enjoyed rehearsing with them and sharing bagels every morning before a performance. However, my time at Tanglewood would unexpectedly continue. The orchestra was going to perform Mahler’s sixth symphony, and there were only six horns accepted in the orchestra program and there were eight horn parts. Kasey and I were invited to stay an extra two weeks to stay in the orchestra!
During these two weeks, I had a lot more free time since I was no longer doing a chamber ensemble and I only had to rehearse one piece with the orchestra. I went for long walks and hikes to enjoy the beauty of what is the town of Lenox. Kennedy Park and Olivia’s Overlook were my favorite views. During orchestra rehearsals, the air was tense and we worked hard. Although it was a difficult piece, we ended up doing such a good job at the final concert. I am so thankful to Tanglewood for allowing me to stay an extra two weeks with the amazing orchestra horns: Caroline, Sophie, Nola, Ethan, Matthew, and Max. I was able to learn a lot from them and we even had a master class with Eric Reed, a horn professor at Juilliard. Also during the time at Tanglewood, we received private lessons from Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Rachel Childers, a professor at New England Conservatory.
I think one of the most magical parts of being at BUTI was the lawn pass that gave us access to all of the BSO and TMC concerts. My friends and I went to so many of the concerts, and I enjoyed every single one. In particular, my favorites were TMC’s performance of Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite and the BSO’s performance of Dvorak’s ninth symphony. We also got to see the John Williams night performance and Tanglewood on Parade. I also got to make friends with people who played other instruments. Lauren, Dasha, Laz, and Lily were some of the other string players and vocalists I met there. It was so interesting to get to meet them and learn about their choirs and orchestras. I ended up making really close friends while I was there in addition to all of the musical lessons that I had learned.
I would like to say thank you to the Anthony Quinn Foundation for providing me with this opportunity. Without this scholarship, I don’t know if I would have been able to go, but I am so glad I went. I can’t wait to share my music with the world and I will always remember the summer I spent at Tanglewood, all thanks to the Anthony Quinn Foundation. My dream is to one day play in a major orchestra and teach kids about music and how to love music. This summer, I felt like I took a huge step in accomplishing that dream.”
Zoe Heim