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The Harvard University campus is located on the Charles River in historic Cambridge, Massachusetts. The area surrounding campus, Harvard Square, is the ultimate college setting, with bookstores and coffeehouses, restaurants and street performers, historic landmarks, and music and clothing stores. Downtown Boston, just four subway stops fr... read more
The Harvard University campus is located on the Charles River in historic Cambridge, Massachusetts. The area surrounding campus, Harvard Square, is the ultimate college setting, with bookstores and coffeehouses, restaurants and street performers, historic landmarks, and music and clothing stores. Downtown Boston, just four subway stops from campus, has many more restaurants, museums, theaters, and dance clubs. Students who wish to venture farther from campus can explore New England's historic villages, beautiful mountains, lakes, and beaches by signing up for day trips scheduled by the Activities Office.
The green lawns and towering trees of Harvard Yard provide the ideal setting for study and reflection. Summer School courses meet in or near historic Harvard Yard, and the University's libraries, museums, and athletic facilities are within easy walking distance of residences and classrooms.
Harvard Summer School offers a rich array of free films, concerts, plays, dances, social gatherings, and lectures, as well as an extensive athletics program. Some activities for this year are described below.
In Boston
The city of Boston, across the Charles River, has many cultural, historic, and scientific institutions including the 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, and Fenway Park. Dance, music, and theater also flourish there. The Boston Pops Orchestra gives free concerts each summer on the Esplanade along the Charles River.
Around Boston
The Summer School also sponsors trips to Cape Cod, Newport (Rhode Island) mansions, Maine beaches and shopping centers, 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 on Sunday, June 24. Students may sign up for these activities at the fair or in the Activities Office weekdays throughout the summer session.
Athletics
Summer School students can participate in an extensive athletics program that includes intramural soccer, basketball, and volleyball, as well as a tennis tournament and swim meet. They also have free use of many University facilities, including swimming pools, basketball and volleyball courts, weight rooms, and playing fields for soccer, softball, and touch football. Students who are interested in sculling and have passed a 100-yard swimming test may use the facilities of Weld Boathouse, located on the Charles River. For a fee, students may arrange group and private lessons in swimming, sailing, rowing, and tennis.
Music and Theater
Students can enjoy a number of concerts and plays throughout the summer, including performances by the Boston Landmarks Orchestra and the Industrial Theatre Shakespeare Troupe. Students may also participate in musical opportunities on campus as described below.
- The Harvard Summer School Chorus, under the direction of Jameson Marvin, director of choral activities at Harvard, is open to all Greater Boston community singers and Harvard Summer School students. The chorus performs choral masterworks.
- The Harvard Summer Pops Band, led by Harvard University Band Director Thomas G. Everett, is open without audition to wind and percussion players from both Harvard and the Greater Boston area.
- The Harvard Summer School Orchestra, under the direction of Judith Zuckerman, is open to musicians from both Harvard and the Greater Boston area. The orchestra is composed of approximately 60 players and performs works from the classical repertoire.
Students can enjoy other concerts and plays throughout the summer, including performances by the Boston Landmarks Orchestra and the Industrial Theatre Shakespeare Troupe. Less
