The Mount Announces Its 2026 Summer Season

• Julia Ioffe, Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia, from Revolution to Autocracy — July       6 & 7

• Mark Braude, The Typewriter and the Guillotine — July 13 & 14

• Martha Ackmann with Anastasia Stanmeyer, Ain't Nobody's Fool: The Life and Times of Dolly Parton — July 20 & 21

• Carla Kaplan, Troublemaker: The Fierce, Unruly Life of Jessica Mitford — July 27 & 28

• Jeff Chang, Water Mirror Echo: Bruce Lee and the Making of Asian America — August 3 & 4

• Amanda Vaill, Pride & Pleasure: The Schuyler Sisters in an Age of Revolution — August 10       & 11

• Nicholas Boggs, Baldwin: A Love Story — August 17 & 18

• Peter S. Canellos, Revenge for  the Sixties: Sam Alito and the Triumph of the Conservative Legal Movement — August 24 & 25

Summer Author Series Tickets: $27 Members | $32 Non-members. Rain or Shine passes available

In Conversation with André Bernard: July 16 – August 20

In this intimate series, André Bernard, former Vice President of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, brings audiences into thoughtful dialogue with some of today's most influential voices shaping culture, politics, and public life.

• Jodi Kantor, Pulitzer Prize-winning Journalist and Author — July 16

• Max Boot, Historian, Foreign Policy Analyst, and Author — July 30

• General David H. Petraeus, Retired U.S. Army General, Former CIA Director, and Author — August 6

• Kiran Desai, Booker Prize-winning Novelist — August 13

• Lawrence Wright, Pulitzer Prize-winning Author, Screenwriter, Playwright, and Journalist — August 20

In Conversation Tickets: $35 Members | $40 Non-members

NEW | New York Stories

A dynamic new series explores the artists, visionaries, and power brokers who shaped New York's cultural and political identity—revealing stories of ambition, reinvention, glamour, and intrigue that still resonate today.

• Lenox to Harlem: The Life and Art of James Van Der Zee with Donna Van Der Zee and Jeff L. Rosenheim — July 8

• Gilded Age Fashion: Iconic Looks  and the Stories Behind Them with Elizabeth L. Block — July 22

• The Gods of New York with Jonathan Mahler in conversation with Sarah LaDuke — July 29

• Gilded Lives, Dazzling Tables: Food and Dining in Edith Wharton's New York with Carl Raymond, featuring Becky L. Diamond — August 12

• The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum with Margalit Fox in conversation with Debby Applegate — August 26

New York Stories Tickets: $10 Members | $15 Non-members

Poetry, Performance & Dance

Throughout the season, The Mount's grounds become a stage for storytelling in all its forms:

• Wharton on Wednesdays (June–October): Beloved weekly readings of Edith Wharton's short stories by local actors on the Terrace. Members: $10 | Non-members: $15

• WordXWord Poetry Programs: Immersive experiences that invite audiences to encounter poetry in dialogue with landscape and art.

• The Jazz Barn (August 16, 6 PM): A live performance and conversation exploring the legacy of jazz in the Berkshires with author John Gennari, featuring Ron Ramsay and Samantha Talora. Tickets: $30 Members | $35 Non-members

• Olga Dunn Dance Company (August 30, 5 PM): A sweeping site-responsive performance blending choreography, spoken word, and live cello music across The Mount's terraced lawns, culminating in a tribute to Wharton's life in France.

New Writing Workshops

Visitors are invited not only to listen, but to create. A series of innovative workshops offers space for reflection, storytelling, and creative exploration.

• Cultivating Resilience in the Face of Chaos with Rev. Eileen Mahoney — July 30

• Reshaping Our Relationship with the Future with climatologist Anne Therese Gennari — August 6

• Heirloom Meals Recipe Project: Preserving Family Stories through Food with Carole Murko — August 13

Live Music Across the Grounds

Music fills the gardens and grounds throughout the summer, offering moments of joy, discovery, and connection:

• Sounds of Summer Concerts (Free)

  • Natalia Bernal Quintet — June 11

  • Gato 6 with Suzi Stern — August        27

• Music in the Moment - July 23
  An intimate performance and conversation with Peggy Stern and saxophonist       Alex Cole, tracing the creative journey from inspiration to improvisation

Tickets: Members: $30 | Non-members: $35

Free Family & Youth Programs | Sundays, June–August

Sunday at The Mount are dedicated to creativity, curiosity, and play. Families can enjoy free weekly programming featuring arts and crafts, music, storytelling, movement, and hands-on workshops—from graphic novel creation to STEAM-based maker projects and collaborative poetry.

Community Day | August 9

A highlight of the season, Community Day offers a full day of free performances, activities, and shared celebration for visitors of all ages.

Sculpture at The Mount | May 24 – October 24

Set throughout the property's woods, gardens, and open vistas, Sculpture at The Mount transforms the landscape into an open-air gallery. The 2026 exhibition, Flourish, explores themes of growth, resilience, and connection—inviting visitors to experience art as an integral part of the natural world. Explore on your own or join a free guided tour.

Mansion and Garden Tours | May 9 – October 31

Join a tour of Edith Wharton's home and learn about the fascinating history of the house as well as Wharton's life and literature. Our expert guides share their stories and insights. Self-guided audio tours are also available. Garden tours are offered daily at 1 pm and are included with a mansion admission ticket. Tours are $22 for adults; Free for members and children 18 and under.

Tickets go on sale April 28 for Mount Members and May 5 for the public. Visit edithwharton.org for full details and updates.

The Classical Beat: Tanglewood, Sevenars Offer Thrilling Music and Performers

By Stephen DanknerSpecial to iBerkshires
11:16AM / Wednesday, August 05, 2026

With the second week of August, Tanglewood continues its high energy and innovative classical programming with three powerhouse concerts in the Shed – with highlights being especially illuminating, spiritual programs curated by Yo-Yo Ma in the Shed and in Ozawa Hall. Read below for all the details and performing artists appearing in these outstanding programs:

• Friday, August 7, 8:00 p.m. in the Shed: The Boston Symphony, led by Samy Rachlid, with Renaud Capucon, violin, Yo-Yo Ma, cello, and the Berkshire Lyric Chorus directed by Jack Brown present a program entitled "Gratitude and Friendship." Featured works by composers Gabriel Fauré ('Cantique de Jean Racine',) Brahms (String Sextet No. 2 in G, Op. 36,) and concluding with Brahms' rarely-performed Double Concerto for violin, cello and orchestra, Op. 102.  
• Saturday, August 8, 8:00 p.m. in the Shed:  This very special concert presents a journey in words and music we all share in our co-mingled American present: the land, both our individual and collective stories, and the ideals that motivate us. Together with the BSO and special guest musicians and artists, this program reflects the triumphs, tragedies and possibilities of our country. Featured performers include conductors Teddy Abrams and Ken-David Masur, vocalists Aofie O'Donovan and Jennifer Kreisberg, and members of  "An American Journey," with Yo-Yo Ma and Friends.
• Sunday, August 9, 2:30 p.m. in the Shed: A program entitled "Our Future Together" presents music by John Tavener, Kayhan Kalhor and Osvaldo Golijov. Featured performers include conductors Samy Rachlid and Anna Handler, cellists Yo-Yo Ma, Karen Ouzounian, and Christine Lee, vocalist Arooj Aftab, Kayhan Kalhor, karmancheh (an ancient traditional bowed Persian stringed instrument,) and the Boston University Tanglewood Chorus.
• Monday, August 10, 8:00 p.m. in Ozawa Hall: The Tanglewood Music Festival Orchestra, featuring TMC Conducting Fellows and TMC Vocalists, presents a program of American Opera, with works composed by Copland ('The Tender Land,') Tania Leon ('Scourge of the Hyacinths,') John Adams ('El Nino,') John Harbison ('The Great Gatsby,') Osvaldo Golijov ('Ainadamar,') Missy Mazzoli ('Proving Up') and Stravinsky ('The Rake's Progress'.)

For tickets for all Tanglewood/BSO concerts (lawn and Shed seating) and for special events call (617) 266-1200 or (413) 637-5180; online: tanglewood.org or customerservice@bso.org. In Lenox, visit the Tanglewood box office at the Main Gate located at 297 West Street.

Sevenars Music Festival

Sevenars presents an electrifying piano virtuoso

Founded in 1968, Sevenars Concerts, Inc., is celebrating its 58th season of six summer concerts, held at the Academy - now air-conditioned – a building designated "an acoustic gem in an idyllic setting," located in the  historic village of South Worthington,15 Ireland Street, off MA Route 112.

Sevenars is delighted to welcome back prizewinning virtuoso Junwen Liang, performing a stunningly varied American program entitled  "Echoes Across Horizons: American Voices in Classical Piano." 

Junwen graduated with a Graduate Performance Diploma from the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, under the tutelage of Richard Goode. See Junwenliangpianist.com for more about this wonderful artist.

He'll bring Sevenars a stunningly varied program, including music of Amy Beach, Florence Price, Tan Dun, Stephen Dankner, and the rare and masterful Sonata by Paul Aurandt, (sometimes described as a musical successor to Rachmaninoff) - along with other surprises! 

Sevenars concerts are presented on consecutive Sundays at 4:00 p.m. until August 16. Phone: (413) 238-5854 (please leave a message for a return call). Online: www.sevenars.org. Admission is by donation at the door (suggested $20). Refreshments will be available at no charge.