Zoe’s Family Weekend plans allowed many of us to cross visiting Tanglewood off our bucket lists, and it provided a true brush with greatness.

But we had to drive virtually the length of the Bay State during peak summer travel hours to get there.

Actually, shoehorning Zoe’s weekend plans into this summer required significant special finagling.  First, she needed to be retrieved at trail’s end from her ORHS Outing Club three-day trek along the spine of the White Mountains.

Then we needed to link up with the rest of the family at a centrally-located park-and-ride, as it would have been too time consuming to drive all the way back to Durham to pick everybody up.  We really considered and planned this venture for quite some time, and realized it would take fairly split-second timing to pull everything off.

Unfortunately, the highways and byways of eastern and central Massachusetts did not facilitate split-second timing on this particular Friday afternoon.  Jen, Nadia and Lanie got held up on 495 and were late to our rendezvous in Tyngsboro.  Google Maps painted a gloomy picture of backups in Worcester and beyond, while routing us around much of the 495 congestion via winding secondary roads.

The main casualty of all this was Zoe’s shower, which she was supposed to nab during a quick visit to Grandma’s house on the way west — did I mention she had been hiking in the wilderness the previous three days?  We would all have to sacrifice; there would be no visit to Grandma’s this evening if we were going to make the concert start time of 8 pm.  (Don’t worry, Grandma fans, she factors into our plans later in the weekend.)

As we motored west, traffic eventually diminished, and we were treated to pleasant drive-throughs of a few pretty Berkshire towns, including Lee and Lenox.  This region was definitely in its glory; summertime strollers were circulating in the downtowns, and the shops and cafes looked bright and eager for visitors.  Still, we had to keep moving to make sure we got to our destination in good time.

You may be asking: Why all the rush?  Why go nuts to get out to the Berkshires at the risk of health and hygeine?

Well, this wasn’t a typical Boston Pops performance.  It was a performance of the Star Wars soundtrack in conjunction with a screening of the movie.  It seemed like a worthwhile occasion to get ourselves to Tanglewood…

…And it did not disappoint.  Upon arriving and jetisonning ourselves from our van (which we sometimes call the Milennium Falcon when we don’t call it Denty — fun fact) we were surrounded by peace and calm in a way that seldom happens in a field where thousands of cars are parked.  It was a beautiful field with wonderful cars.

Also, it cost barely anything to get in.  Jen and I paid $23 apiece and the kids were free (!).  Less than 50 bucks for a evening’s entertainment is quite palatable.  If we went to a movie at the local cineplex, it would have cost significantly more — and there wouldn’t be live accompaniment and there would have been just a regular parking lot, not a beautiful field with wonderful cars.  So, Tanglewood is a pretty good deal.

As difficult as it is to believe, once you get inside the gates, there’s another field that is at least as nice — possibly nicer — than the one with the cars.  It’s flat and laid out nicely around “the Shed,” a covered pavlion with three walls open to the collected riff-raff on the lawn.

We arrived, unshowered, at around seven.  Many people were already settled in, perhaps serveral hours into their Tanglewood experience.  Our arrival time still allowed us to find some green space, set up our blankets and chairs, and break into our picnic dinner.  Surrounded by thousands of fellow picnicers, though not so close we felt smothered, we did the first leisurly thing of the day — enjoy a lovely summer evening.  There was a gentle buzz of excited talk all around.  Relaxed movement danced in our peripheral vision, and occasionally a swirling light saber or billowing Darth Vader cape would draw attention away from the cheese, tomato, and bread sandwiches on which we dined.

The sky gradually dimmed.  the buzz picked up a little, and then a bell rang. Then it rang again.  The show was about to start!

Zoe, Lanie and Jen took some blankets and found space near the front of the lawn where it was easier to see the musicians. They settled in just in time to hear the first music of the night — not the opening chords of the Star Wars theme, but the snare drum leading to horns for the 20th Century Fox theme.

Then came the opening crawl and the iconic theme.

From my and Nadia’s vangate on the lawn, we could just make out conductor Keith Lockhart’s arms giving time and direction, but mostly our attention was on the screen high on the side of the Shed.  It was A New Hope, the newest version, with the added scenes of Han Solo talking to Jabba, etc.  The muisc was…well, if one weren’t looking at the performers, it was easy to forget they were there.  The music was just as emotive as the original soundtrack, powerful at some points, tender at others.  It was perfectly cued and seamlessly performed.  I consider it a compliment to say the musicians did not stand out.

They did work, though.  I did gather during the performance that there is a lot of music in this movie.  The orchestra was much more likely to be playing than not.  One note: the music during the Cantina scene was provided by the original soundtrack.  I guess the Pops didn’t have a steel drummer on hand to give it a try.

We all reassembled during intermission (which came just as the Milennium Falcon was coming for a landing inside the Death Star) and we all watched the second half from our spot on the lawn.  Just as the end credits started rolling, however, we packed up our stuff and headed to the front to catch a final glimpse of the performers.  An interesting note about this screening of Star Wars was that the performance was not over when the movie ended.  There was still a considerable amount of music to be played during the credits, and exciting music at that.

It definitely gives a different perspective to the music when you see the whole ensemble working away at it.  It is a picture of motion and intensity, giving weight to what sounds light and effortless. It was beautiful to see and to hear.  At this point everyone had been part of a few hours’ worth of music, and they finished strong. (At this point, remember, they had been [erforming for more than an hour.)

As a very special, added bonus, as the musicians took their third and fourth bows, Conductor Lockhard exited the pit and returned with legendary composer John Williams, himself, or someone we took to be John Williams.  I admit I’m not sure what he’s supposed to look like, but this guy matched what I would have expected. Also, everyone clapped even harder when he came out.

This was particularly exciting for Zoe, who has been listening frequently to movie soundtracks, particularly those composed by John Williams, ever since we received a CD set of the Star Wars soundtrack from our friends the Palmers several years ago.  I think she would have preferred to see Maestro Williams over any pop star out there today.

If you’d like a taste of how it looked and sounded, click on this link:     See the big finale.

With a nice glow radiating around us — it might have had something to do with the Force — we trekked back across the lovely field, loaded our stuff into the van, and enjoyed the fruits of our relatively late arrival.  We had parked about 50 feet from the exit and were able to pull out within seconds of starting the van.  What wonderful cars for letting us in!

After that, we found our way to a nearby a motor lodge where we had two rooms reserved.  Road weary and still hearing the strains of the Main Theme in our heads, we were all set to fall asleep — as soon as Zoe took her shower.