LENOX — The Tanglewood Music Center, the Boston Symphony’s summer academy for advanced young musicians, has a new leader for the upcoming summer.
Ed Gazouleas, a former violist for the orchestra and a veteran faculty member of the center, will be in charge this season as interim director of the center. Effective immediately, his appointment fills a gap that opened when former Tanglewood Music Center and Learning Vice President Asadour Santourian resigned last month.
This summer’s Tanglewood season will be announced Wednesday, with details on performances and events by Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, the Popular Artist series, Tanglewood Music Center and Tanglewood Learning Institute.
Gazouleas is artistic director and provost of the Curtis Institute of Music, the Philadelphia-based academy established in 1924 that educates and trains exceptionally gifted young musicians.
As interim director of the center, he will split his time between his Boston Symphony and Curtis responsibilities.
“Ed’s deep familiarity with the Tanglewood Music Center and Boston Symphony Orchestra and absolute commitment to training the next generation of preeminent vocalists and instrumentalists have generated much excitement from musicians, faculty, trustees and donors dedicated to the mission and programs of the festival’s summer music academy,” stated Interim Boston Symphony President and CEO Jeffrey D. Dunn.
In a statement, Boston Symphony Music Director Andris Nelsons described Gazouleas as “thoughtful, forward-thinking, with an amazing knowledge of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Tanglewood Music Center. As someone who has attained one of the highest positions in the field of advanced music education as provost of the Curtis Institute, he is the ideal person to lead the TMC this summer.”
Gazouleas will oversee classes at the center, coaching, rehearsals and performances throughout the summer, working closely with Fellows, faculty, and staff, according to a Boston Symphony announcement. Reporting directly to Dunn, he will work closely with Tony Fogg, vice president of artistic planning, Lynn Larsen, vice president of orchestras and production, and Bobby Lahart, director of Tanglewood Facilities.
“To me, Tanglewood is a dream of art and nature, so I am thrilled and honored to return to the festival this summer,” Gazouleas stated. “Every summer fine young musicians arrive seeking instruction and inspiration and I am looking forward to welcoming them once again.”
During 24 years as a violist for Boston Symphony, he chaired the artistic advisory committee and was a member of the search committee that appointed Nelsons as music director, starting in the 2014-15 season.
Gazouleas was not available for an interview on Thursday, according to a spokesperson for the orchestra. He was a Tanglewood Music Center faculty member for 18 summers and has also been on the faculties of the Boston University College of Fine Arts, Boston Conservatory, Wellesley College, New England Conservatory and the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.
A 1984 graduate of the Curtis Institute, Gazouleas joined the Curtis faculty in 2017.
In his temporary role, he succeeds Santourian, who was named vice president, Tanglewood Music Center & Learning in January 2022 as part of a management shuffle affecting the orchestra’s summer institute for advanced young musicians as well as the Tanglewood Learning Institute, offering concerts, talks and special events for adults.
Santourian had been brought in by Boston Symphony President and CEO Gail Samuel from the renowned Aspen Music Festival. She had been hired away from her management posts at the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Hollywood Bowl in February 2021 as the orchestra’s first female top executive. Samuel took up her post with the orchestra at Tanglewood in June 2021, succeeding longtime Boston Symphony President and CEO Mark Volpe.
But last month, she resigned abruptly without explanation. The orchestra’s Board of Trustees offered no reason for her departure, including whether the resignation was voluntary. A search for a new leader began this month.
Also last month, Santourian departed for undisclosed reasons. Information obtained by The Eagle indicated that a human resources investigation had been underway concerned disparaging remarks he allegedly made to a young Tanglewood Music Center vocal student last summer.
The Boston Symphony board named Dunn, a current member of the orchestra board of advisers and the organization’s finance committee, as interim president and CEO. He started Jan. 4. Before his retirement in 2021, Dunn served as executive chairman, president and CEO of Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization that produces “Sesame Street,” the public television series.