<p>Tanglewood is not easy to get into for anyone. Having a teacher who is at the conservatory and/or major professional orchestra level is a big advantage though. The reason for that is usually not politics or nepotism; it is because students of the very best teachers play better than most of the competition.</p>
<p>The year my daughter went, there was not a single member of the double bass section that went to either Juilliard Prep or Manhattan Prep. Seven of the ten members of that year’s bass section are now in top conservatories or music schools (including Curtis, Juilliard, Rice, NEC, BU and Oberlin). I can’t quote numbers for other sections, but I do remember from the program book that, while the NYC area was reasonably well represented, the vast majority of BUTI kids were nowhere close enough to commute to the city on the weekend.</p>
<p>I suppose it is possible that there is some politics involved and that a few people get in based on connections and school affiliations. If that is happening, it would make a lot more sense if they came from the Boston area since that is where most of the Tanglewood staff comes from.</p>