Activities at the Summer School
Harvard Summer School offers a rich array of free films, concerts, dances, social gatherings, lectures, and athletic activities. As summer 2010 draws near, an activities calendar will be posted in this section. In addition to campus activities, the Boston area is filled with many opportunities for enjoyment.
Harvard athletics
Participate in an extensive athletics program. Here are just a few of the highlights:
- Intramural soccer, basketball, and volleyball
- A tennis tournament and swim meet
- Athletic facilities, including swimming pools, basketball and volleyball courts, and weight rooms
- Playing fields for soccer, softball, and touch football
- Rowing through the Weld Boathouse on the Charles River
- Group and private lessons in swimming, sailing, rowing, and tennis available for a fee; see Harvard Recreation
In addition, canoe and kayak rentals are available near campus.
Music
Students may participate in a variety of musical opportunities, including the Summer School pops band, chorus, and orchestra.
Harvard Summer Pops Band
The band, led by Harvard University Band Director Thomas G. Everett, is open without audition to all brass, woodwind, and percussion players from both Harvard and the Greater Boston area, regardless of age or experience.
Harvard Summer School Chorus
The chorus, under the direction of Jameson Marvin, Harvard University’s director of choral activities, is open by audition to all Greater Boston community singers and Harvard Summer School students. The chorus performs choral masterworks.
Harvard Summer School Orchestra
The orchestra, directed by Judith Zuckerman, is open by audition to anyone of any age. No Harvard affiliation is required, but participating musicians must be available for the entire Summer School term.
Writing
The Summer School hosts a number of readings from popular and local authors, including Harvard faculty, around Harvard Square. In the past there have been readings by Paul Harding, author of the novel Tinkers; Tom Perrotta, author of the novel Little Children; and Christina Thompson, author of Come on Shore and We Will Kill and Eat You All: A New Zealand Story.
Additionally, Harvard Summer School students can contribute to the Harvard Summer Review, a literary journal published once a year. Read past issues: Summer 2008, Summer 2007, Summer 2006, Summer 2005.
Around Boston
The city of Boston, across the Charles River, has many cultural, historic, and scientific institutions. Dance, music, and theater also flourish. The Boston Pops Orchestra gives free concerts each summer on the Esplanade along the Charles River, and there are a number of parks and trails in the city.
- Museum of Fine Arts
- Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
- Museum of Science
- Boston Public Library
- Institute of Contemporary Art
- Museum of Afro-American History
- New England Aquarium
- Freedom Trail
- Fenway Park
Sponsored trips beyond Boston
The Summer School also sponsors trips to Cape Cod; the mansions of Newport, Rhode Island; the beaches and shopping centers in Maine; and Tanglewood in western Massachusetts—the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Information and schedules for these trips are available at the Activities Fair, held the Sunday of Opening Weekend. You can sign up for these activities at the fair or in the Activities Office throughout the summer.