CARAMOOR ANNOUNCES NEW CHAIRMAN, JAMES A. ATTWOOD, JR.
Katonah, NY ~ April 19, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Cohn Dutcher Associates
CARAMOOR CENTER FOR MUSIC AND THE ARTS ANNOUNCES NEW CHAIRMAN, JAMES A. ATTWOOD, JR.
KATONAH, NY — April 18, 2011 — Michael Barrett, CEO and General Director of Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, announced today that Judy Evnin has stepped down as Chairman of the Board of Trustees, effective April 16, 2011, to become Caramoor’s Chairman Emerita. Evnin’s successor is James A. Attwood, Jr., a resident of Bedford, NY, and Managing Director at The Carlyle Group.
Michael Barrett says, “I’m very excited to have Jim Attwood’s leadership at Caramoor. I’ve been able to get to know him well over the last several years, and I’m confident that with his guidance we will be very successful. I also want to congratulate Judy Evnin on such a successful tenure. I’m glad that she will stay on as our Chairman Emerita, and that Caramoor will continue to benefit from her energy and generosity.”
Evnin has been a significant influence at Caramoor since her appointment to the Board in 1994, and she has held the post of Chairman for the past eight years. She is also a current Trustee of Carnegie Hall and former Trustee of The Katonah Museum of Art, among other organizations.
“Having served as Chairman for eight years, with the privilege of overseeing Caramoor’s expansion in both programming and popularity, I feel confident in handing this leadership role over to the next generation,” says Mrs. Evnin. “Jim Attwood has already proven his extraordinary influence at Caramoor. He’s the ideal person to meet the organization’s upcoming challenges; his vision, passion and determination will serve as essential tools in ensuring Caramoor’s continued excellence and prominence as a musical beacon of Westchester County and the east coast.”
Attwood, a Caramoor Trustee since 2007, also serves on the Boards of Directors of CoreSite Realty Corporation, Insight Communications, The Nielsen Company and Syniverse Holdings, Inc. He is a member of the Yale University Council, the Harvard Law School Dean’s Advisory Board, and the New York State Board of Trustees of The Nature Conservancy. Before joining Carlyle, where he has directed the firm’s private equity investments in the global telecommunications and media industries since 2000, Mr. Attwood served as Executive Vice President for Strategy, Development and Planning at Verizon Communications, and held the same position at GTE Corporation prior to that. In these roles he was responsible for the supervision of all strategic planning, alliances, ventures, development and M&A activities at each company. Mr. Attwood began his professional career as an investment banker with Goldman, Sachs & Co., where he worked in both New York and Tokyo. He received his BA in Applied Mathematics summa cum laude and MA in Statistics from Yale in 1980. In 1985, he received both his JD and MBA degrees from Harvard. He currently lives in Bedford, NY, with his wife Leslie and daughter Samantha.
“To be asked to lead the Board of Trustees at Caramoor is a great honor, and I am particularly mindful of the stature and insight that Judy Evnin brought to the role,” said Mr. Attwood. “Through her leadership she has made an indelible impression on Caramoor, and she and Michael Barrett have laid the proper foundation for us to take ambitious steps forward. I look forward to working with Michael and his excellent staff on enhancing Caramoor’s role as a treasure of the New York community. I’m especially looking forward to our summer season of great concerts beginning on June 25.”
THE 2011 CARAMOOR INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL
The 2011 Caramoor International Music Festival features over fifty events from June 25 to Aug. 10. It kicks off with a staging of Gilbert & Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore, a cheerful satire on the arrival of modernity, bureaucracy and democratic ideals to the Royal Navy during the Victorian era; followed by a myriad of concerts ranging from a vibrant symphonic program accompanied by fireworks, to intimate classical guitar performances in the Caramoor gardens. Highlights include: Rossini’s Guillaume Tell with Daniel Mobbs, Julianna Di Giacomo and Michael Spyres; the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in concert with renowned soloists Sarah Chang, Jennifer Koh and Alisa Weilerstein;Prizing the Pulitzer, a two-concert series dedicated to the music of American composers nominated for the Pulitzer Prize; a day-long celebration of “American Roots” with bluegrass groups such as the David Grisman FolkJazz Trio, Ollabelle, and The Sweetback Sisters; singer-songwriter Gabriel Kahane revealing his newest workLittle Sleep’s Head Sprouting Hair in the Moonlight; “Songbird of Wassoulou” Oumou Sangare and her band performing music and dance of West Africa; and a weekend-long jazz festival featuring Jason Moran, John Scofield, Christian McBride and Lucky Peterson, among others. Tickets for the 2011 Festival are on sale now, to order call 914-232-1252 or visit www.caramoor.org.
ABOUT CARAMOOR
Caramoor is a performing arts center located on a unique 90-acre setting of Italianate architecture and gardens in Westchester County, NY. It enriches the lives of its audiences through innovative and diverse musical performances of the highest quality. Its mission also includes mentoring young professional musicians through the Evnin Rising Stars, Vocal Rising Stars, Bel Canto Young Artists and Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence programs as well as providing curriculum-based, educational programs centered around music for 5,000+ middle and high school children in local schools. Renowned for its annual summer music festival held from late June to early August, Caramoor is often described as “a Garden of Great Music” where audiences are invited to come early, explore the beautiful grounds, enjoy a pre-concert picnic, and discover beautiful music in the relaxed settings of the Venetian Theater, Spanish Courtyard, Music Room of the Rosen House, and the magnificent gardens.
The historic Rosen House, built in the 1930’s, and its Music Room are “the heart of Caramoor.” Upon its completion in 1939, Caramoor founders Walter and Lucie Rosen began to present private concerts in the Music Room, and today it is used for all ‘Caramoor Indoors’ concerts and arts-in-education programs. Tours of the Rosen House by the general public are currently on hiatus as Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts has embarked on a comprehensive planning project to restructure the programs and usage of the historic Rosen House. It is Caramoor’s intention to complete this process during the next few years.
Caramoor’s gardens are also well worth the visit and include nine unique perennial gardens. Among them are a Sense Circle for the visually handicapped, a Butterfly Garden, Tapestry Hedge, and Iris and Peony Garden, which may be enjoyed on one’s own or seen on a guided tour. With its unique heritage, Caramoor is a place where days and nights are shared and enjoyed by thousands.
CARAMOOR CENTER FOR MUSIC AND THE ARTS IS LOCATED AT
149 GIRDLE RIDGE ROAD, KATONAH, NEW YORK.