This past weekend John Oliver stepped off the stage for the final time as the conductor of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. Oliver was awarded the Tanglewood Medal, given to just one other person, Seiji Ozawa.
Three years after joining the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1967, Oliver founded the chorus with 60 singers. Nearly 50 years later the group features 340 volunteer members performing in a chorus that has logged more than a thousand performances in the United States, Europe and the Far East all while spanning five BSO music directors, but just one choral conductor.
Oliver spoke with WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Jim Levulis before the Lenox-based festival started this summer. Oliver talked about the chorus, his decision to step down and his future plans.
