Caramoor Center For Music & The Arts Inc

Programs: Musical performances - see schedule oin 2017, caramoor presented a total of 61 stand-alone musical performances and day-long, multi-set festivals to audience members in venues throughout our campus, including the 1,700-seat venetian theater, the 500-seat spanish courtyard, the 180-seat music room of the historic rosen house, the sunken garden, tapestry hedge, picnic lawn, and friends' field. While maintaining our commitment to the core classical repertoire, including symphonic, opera, and chamber music, we also presented a wide array of other genres, including jazz, american songbook, and american roots music, as well as programs designed for families with young children. The 72nd annual summer music season, which ran from june 17 to july 30 and included 30 concerts and multi-set day festivals, was the highlight of our musical offerings. The summer season opened with a celebration of the 20 years of the bel canto at caramoor opera program, conductor and artistic director of the program, will crutchfield, and the orchestra of st. Luke's, in residence at caramoor since 1979. With an ongoing commitment to classical music, we presented a broad range of performances during the 2017 summer music season. Classical guitarist jason vieaux, who began his relationship with performances in caramoor's popular guitar in the garden series in 2011, 2012 and 2014, returned to perform and help shape programming as our 2017 artist-in-residence. Vieaux's performances included two concerti with the orchestra of st. Luke's: vivaldi's concerto for guitar in d major and astor piazzolla's the four seasons of buenos aires, also featuring bandoneonist julien labro; a chamber performance with the escher string quartet; and a "guitar in the garden" recital in the sunken garden. Additional artists included tony award winner sutton foster, the st. Luke's chamber ensemble who appeared with new yorker essayist adam gopnik, pianists daniil trifonov and roman rabinovich, cellist sarah rommel, a former evnin rising star at caramoor appeared with pianist xiaohui yang, and the new music ensembles the westerlies and music, the latter of which appeared with songwriter gabe kahane. Our 2017 bel canto at caramoor program, which included the opening night performance, also featured performances of bellini's il pirata and rossini's petite messe solennelle, a sacred choral work accompanied by two pianos and chamber organ. All three major performances included professional opera singers and emerging singers from the bel canto young artists program. The opening night performance and bellini's il pirata included the orchestra of st. Luke's. The 2017 bel canto young artists also showcased their talents in two vocal recitals, un avvertimento ai gelosi, a one act opera by composer manuel garcia, and the intimate bellini. The jazz festival at caramoor was reimagined in 2015 through a new artistic partnership between caramoor and jazz at lincoln center. In 2017, this collaboration presented an all-day festival with mccoy tyner headlining with special guests helen sung & craig taborn. In addition, there was a performance by butler, bernstein & the hot 9 during the summer season. The seventh annual american roots music festival was an all-day presentation of bluegrass, folk, and country music with artists rhiannon giddens, sarah jarosz, the mammals (featuring mike + ruthy), river whyless, the lonely heartstring band and many more. The day-long event included multiple sets by each artist throughout caramoor's grounds, activities for children, and the social music hour workshop. There were additional performances during the summer season by multi-grammy award winner and singer-songwriter emmylou harris, and grammy nominated americana artist john fullbright. The dancing at dusk series is the cornerstone of our family music programming. In 2017 the series included four events which explored the music and dance traditions of locales including japan, mexico, russia and the western hoedown traditions of the united states. The goal of this series is to introduce children, from toddlers to pre-teens, to a wide range of music genres in a welcoming and accessible manner. We also presented our family-friendly independence day celebration, pops, patriots, and fireworks, featuring a concert with artists westchester symphonic winds and ryan silverman, followed by a fireworks display. Caramoor presents classical chamber music, jazz, american roots and cabaret-as well as talks and lectures in the spring and fall in the intimate 180-seat music room of its historic rosen house. Programs in spring 2017 included trumpet player alphonso horne presents gotham kings featuring riley hulherkar; we also presented edward arron & friends, an outgrowth of the evnin rising stars program; darlingside and lula wiles; the argus quartet, the 2016-2017 ernst stiefel string quartet-in-residence, a performance by violinists pamela frank and christian tetzlaff; and a lecture entitled "the mind and music of beethoven" by dr. Richard kogan. In fall 2017 we presented the wednesday morning concert series; the takcs quartet; banjoist noam pikelny; bria skonberg, in collaboration with jazz at lincoln center; two concerts by the 2017 evnin rising stars; a concert by the verona quartet, caramoor's 2017-2018 ernst stiefel string quartet-in-residence; a performance by british singer-songwriter richard thompson; and a series of holiday tea musicales.

mentoring and arts-in-education - see schedule othe development of emerging artists is central to caramoor's mission and woven into much of our programming. Through our five mentoring programs, we identify, train, and promote the next generation of vocal and instrumental artists. In 2017, nearly 60 young musicians participated. Through these programs, we have worked with some of the finest musicians of the next generation and helped them cross the threshold from their student years into the early stages of their professional careers. For many of these artists, this is the beginning of a longstanding relationship with caramoor, as they return throughout their careers to perform for our audiences. Evnin rising starsfor over two decades there has been an institutional focus on training instrumental artists. Pianist, conductor, and composer andre previn established the mentoring program now known as the evnin rising stars at caramoor in 1992; as his tenure at caramoor concluded, conductor peter oundjian took on artistic leadership of the program. Since 2008 violinist pamela frank has acted as artistic director for the evnin rising stars. Each fall, eight to ten instrumentalists come together with three distinguished artists-past musicians have included atar arad, kim kashkashian, ani kavafian, marcy rosen, ronald thomas, and donald weilerstein, among others-for a week of intensive chamber music rehearsals, coaching, and performances of works from the heart of the chamber music repertoire. At the end of the residency the musicians perform for audiences in the intimate music room of the historic rosen house on caramoor's campus, giving them valuable exposure and performance experience. The evnin rising stars program has identified and brought 123 promising musicians to caramoor to train with 32 artist mentors. As the years have passed, alumni of the program have established themselves as artists in the world of classical music performance. In 2017, seven young rising stars (benjamin baker, violin; eunice kim, violin; in mo yang, violin; sung jin lee, viola; zhanbo zheng, viola; alexander hersh, cello; and coleman itzkoff, cello) partnered with violinist pamela frank, violist atar arad, and cellist gary hoffman in a week-long residency program of coaching and rehearsals. The program culminated in two performances at caramoor. Caramoor frequently features alumni of the rising stars program in other performances throughout the year, such as the edward arron & friends program and daytime concerts in the rosen house. In july of 2017, we featured eleven alumni (as well as two other non-alumni chamber artists) and evnin rising stars artistic director pamela frank in a mainstage, marathon concert in the venetian theater entitled "chamber feast", which honored retiring managing director paul rosenblum. Edward arron & friendsin 1999 the program now known as edward arron & friends grew out of the great success of caramoor's evnin rising stars young artist mentoring program. 123 instrumentalists on the cusp of their professional careers have participated in the evnin rising stars in the last 25 years; edward arron & friends serves as a bridge between that opportunity and caramoor's general music presenting programs. It has thus far enabled 58 young artists to return to caramoor for a residency week during the summer music festival as well as additional performance opportunities throughout the year. The program is led by cellist edward arron, who began his affiliation with caramoor as a rising star, and is now the artistic director of edward arron & friends. Its focus is to foster the intimacy and immediacy of chamber music, cultivate collaborative music-making, and engage audiences in the excitement of musical performance. In 2017, 8 artists (andrew armstrong, piano; jeewon park, piano; jesse mills, violin; laura frautschi, violin; arnaud sussman, violin and viola; max mandel, viola; edward arron, cello; and shawn conley, double bass) participated and there were two performances during the year. Bel canto young artistsin 1998 will crutchfield established the bel canto young artists program. Each year 35 young opera singers have been selected to receive rigorous training in bel canto singing and to fill solo performance slots that arise during the summer season. Six weeks in length, the program includes daily group classes by caramoor staff and guests. Members of the program also understudy the principal roles of each summer's operas, participating in full-scale rehearsals that provide them with the invaluable opportunity to test their skills in a complete part. They also gain performance experience and exposure with audiences in pre-opera recital concerts. In 2017, 33 young opera singers took part in this program, alongside artist-in-residence angela meade. Activities included a six-week residency, two stand-alone chamber recitals, pre-opera recitals, and one opening night main stage concert celebrating the 20th anniversary of the bel canto program, one main-stage opera il pirata, and one main-stage choral work rossini's petite messe. Ernst stiefel string quartet-in-residencein 1999, with generous underwriting support from the ernst c. Stiefel foundation, caramoor established a residency program for young chamber ensembles. In performing at caramoor throughout the year, the quartet gains recognition and performance experience. In turn, the quartet hones their mentoring skills with didactic performances and workshops for approximately 1,000 area schoolchildren who attend as part of the student strings arts-in-education program. The quartet also partners with a young composer on a new commission which is premiered during caramoor's summer season. In spring and summer 2017, the argus quartet concluded its residency with three performances (including the world premiere of a caramoor commission) and 10 days of outreach in local schools. In fall 2017, the verona quartet, the 2017-2018 ernst stiefel string quartet-in-residence, began their residency with 10 days of outreach and a concert. Schwab vocal rising starsthe schwab vocal rising stars, established in 2009 and under the artistic leadership of the new york festival of song's steven blier and michael barrett, is a program for young vocal artists. The initiative focuses on singing outside the realm of opera, including the song recital and vocal chamber music. The week-long residency offers intensive daily coaching, rehearsals, and workshops with mentors and leaders in the field and concludes with performances at caramoor and at merkin concert hall in new york city. In 2017, four young singers (christine taylor price, soprano; hannah dishman, mezzo-soprano; jack swanson, tenor; benjamin dickerson, baritone) and young artist pianist, hojae lee participated in the week-long vocal rising stars program under the guidance of michael barrett and steven blier, and additional artists marco granados, flute and karen ouzounian, cello. The program culminated in two performances; the first at caramoor and the second at merkin concert hall in new york city. Arts-in-educationsince 1974, caramoor has provided students with arts enrichment opportunities that utilize our exceptional facilities, visiting artists, and dedicated staff, while meeting nys education standards. We place an emphasis on reaching out to schools from under-resourced communities, in particular schools in yonkers such as the casimir pulaski school, the kahlil gibran elementary school, and scholastic academy. In 2017 we welcomed 5,451 students to our campus, with nearly half of those students participating through our underserved youth arts initiative. Developed in collaboration with teachers and school administrators, our programs meet new york state standards and complement students' classroom education in the arts, social studies, and career development. They include what's in a house? , the renaissance and the middle ages at caramoor, chinese arts & culture, and student strings.

rosen house, gardens and estate - see schedule othe rosen house is a mediterranean revival villa at the center of the caramoor campus. In recognition of the unsurpassed quality and great quantity of european period rooms incorporated into the fabric of the house, caramoor was recognized as nationally significant on the national register of historic places in 2011, a distinction that it shares with sites such as vizcaya in miami, fl and hearst castle in san simeon, ca. Built in the 1930s, it is an incomparable concert venue, a unique classroom for visiting schoolchildren, and a haven for the creative growth of young musicians. In 2017, 2,097 people also visited the historic house for teas, musicales, and tours. Gardens and estate: the 90-acre caramoor campus, which was listed on the national register of historic places at the state-wide level of significance in 2001 and at the national level of significance in 2011, is comprised of four primary buildings-today known as the rosen house, the administration building, the gifford residence, and the diane moss education center-as well as ancillary buildings and landscape features, gardens, lawns, and woodland areas. A central focus of the campus is the venetian theater, a tented, 1,700-seat venue (built in 1958 and not a contributing structure to caramoor's nrhp listing). 45 acres of the campus is deer-fenced and open to the visiting public, including the sunken garden, established in 1912; a mediterranean revival pavilion; an alley of cedar trees; and a number of gardens designed in the 1930s by landscape architect and katonah resident robert ludlow fowler, jr. The caramoor estate provides an incomparable setting for our cultural programs by serving as a stage for music performances and contextualizing the concerts that occur here; providing a learning laboratory for arts-in-education and emerging artist programs; and providing an idyllic haven for more than 40,000 visitors annually.