With scores of fellows — more than a full orchestra’s worth — arriving each summer, and jockeying with other programs for high school and college students, not to mention the needs of the Boston Symphony, it can be difficult to accommodate all the practice and rehearsal needs.

“We had rehearsals beginning at midnight for high school kids,” Mr. Volpe said. “Which, obviously, high school kids don’t object to, but their parents might.”

It was that space crunch that led to the first discussions about Linde Center, which was completed after the orchestra raised $70 million for construction, fixing up its grounds, and bolstering its endowment. (It is the largest construction project at Tanglewood since the opening of Ozawa Hall in 1994.) In addition to providing much-needed breathing room, officials saw it as a perfect way for Tanglewood to expand into the field of talks and discussions, which has been booming for institutions like the 92nd Street Y in New York and the Aspen Ideas Festival.