Rosen House Tour
2025-04-26 11:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York)
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Rosen House is a work of living history. Discover the home that Caramoor founders Lucie and Walter Rosen built as an ephemeral escape for their family, friends, and colleagues.

Our knowledgeable guides will take you on a captivating journey of the home’s evolution, design, and many rare artworks and artifacts. Tours are approximately 45 minutes.

April 26: 11:00 am, 12:00 pm, 1:00 pm, 2:00 pm

CaramoorRosen House at CaramoorRosen House at CaramoorRosen House at CaramoorThe Music Room of the Rosen House at Caramoor

Upcoming Focus Tour

May 23–August 8, 2025

Caramoor & World War II

In honor of Caramoor’s 80th anniversary season—and the 80th anniversary of the Allied victory—this year’s Rosen House Focus Tour is Caramoor & World War II. The joys and tragedies of the war years deeply impacted both the Rosen family and the Caramoor community. Without the events of 1941–1945, however, Caramoor would not be the special place it is today. We invite you to discover the personal experiences of the Rosen family and their friends, see artworks not usually on view, and hear about the wartime benefit dance under the stars, among many other stories.

Experience the self-guided Focus Tour during Open House hours on select dates or get the full story with a docent-led tour.

“People need music now more than ever. It is inspiration as well as comfort.”—Minerva Dodge to her sister-in-law Lucie Rosen, August 21, 1942

Brentano String Quartet
2025-04-27 15:00 - 17:00
Acclaimed for “wonderful, selfless music-making” (The Times, London), the virtuosic Brentano Quartet graces the stage at Caramoor once again. Revel in the timeless elegance of Haydn and Brahms alongside the debut of a masterpiece by the esteemed Chinese American composer, Lei Liang, in honor of his teacher Chou Wen-chung. Since its inception in 1992, the Brentano String Quartet has performed worldwide and achieved critical acclaim for its passionate, uninhibited interpretations and luxuriously warm sound that promise an afternoon of musical enchantment.

Program

Joseph Haydn: String Quartet in D Major, H. III:42Lei Liang: Madrigal Mongolia, for string quartet (2024) — New York premiere, Co-commissioned by CaramoorJohannes Brahms: String Quartet No. 3 in B-flat Major, Op. 67

About the Music
JOSEPH HAYDNString Quartet in D Major, Op. 33, No. 6

In 1781, Haydn published his opus 33 string quartets, which he advertised as “written in a new and special style.” There has been plenty of debate about what he meant by this: do these quartets really present a departure from his earlier work, and how? Or was it just a sales pitch for this new work, coming after his quite successful and widely circulated opus 20 quartets? Certainly one can perceive new trends in the opus 33: a lightening of tone, an abandoning of the learned fugues that ended several of the opus 20, a replacing of minuet movements with fleeter, cleverer “scherzos.” Witty and innovative as he always was, in the opus 33 he sharpened his attention in this department, finding new comedic timings, sudden stops, reversals of the expected order of events, funny ways of chopping up and jumbling his melodies.

The final quartet in the opus, number six, announces its “chopped-up” nature right from the opening: its main idea consists of a series of little gestures, courtly bows where nobody can decide who will walk into the room first. The first minute or so of the movement has a surprising number of “ending” moments: apparent attempts to come to a conclusion, when the music has only just begun. This is a favorite trick of the composer, imposing roadblocks and spinning his musical carriage down the road in spite of them. Often the snippet of music that attempts to conclude will become the germ of the new idea, to its own surprise. In the second, developmental section of the movement, Haydn does just that, launching the section with a reversal of the gestures from the beginning, so that the final gesture is now answered by the opening one — a reimagining of that conversation. A few bars later, the entire playbook of sonata form is thrown out of the window, as the moment of return happens in the wrong key, with an appearance of enormous confidence. Hurriedly, the correct key turns up in the second phrase and dismisses the impostor, trying to assure all onlookers that things are under control. But clearly the disturbance has created waves, as the music enters into an extended doubtful passages, modulating and exploring various other keys, working out its issues till it finally re-emerges in the home key — almost stumbling across it! — able to confirm matters with authentic conviction this time.

The slow movement follows, a dark and sorrowful aria in D minor redolent perhaps of Gluck, and strikingly like the slow movement of Mozart’s Oboe Quartet, composed in the same year. The movement showcases Haydn’s love of melodic ambiguity: at the opening, and several more times, the first violin holds a long sustained note while the other voices play figures that might be murmuring accompanimental patterns or might be melody. Always this relationship is on a knife-edge — does the first-violin note evolve into the “true” melody of the passage, does it continue to stand by, does it get subsumed into the accompanimental rhythms? All of these things happen at one point or another, the melodic role sliding between voices as the music works its way through a richly chromatic landscape. This protean sliding-around — the refusal to assign fixed roles, melodic or accompanimental, to the four parts — is central to the movement’s beauty, a shared grieving whose source of eloquence remains shifting, unclear.

The third movement, the Scherzo for this quartet, begins elegantly enough, with an idea that leans gracefully on downbeats, and is imitated by all the voices as they enter. However, almost right away everybody gets a case of the hiccups, and the wrong notes start poking out. (Or is Haydn laughing at all of us string players who struggle to control our bowstrokes?) By contrast, the middle Trio section, introduced by the cello, doesn’t wait to become wrongfooted: right from the start the melody places its highest, most dissonant note on the upbeat, which makes it hang in a pleasingly awkward, unbalanced way. Once more, lemmings as ever, the other voices jump in and hop around in this unbalanced dance.

In some ways, the Finale is a departure for Haydn. Normally the master of the fake-out — irregular phrase lengths, sudden pauses, elisions, and order-reversals — here he serves up a movement that is utterly regular, almost to the very end. It is a kind of round dance in a comfortable, even jolly Allegretto tempo, alternating major-key and minor-key sections. In the opening section, the melody features a bouncing downward leap, a kid jumping off a slightly too high ledge for fun. The spiky good cheer of the major sections alternate with a smooth, mournful cast in the minor ones. As the movement progresses, the composer weaves embellishments into each section as it returns, triplets and hocket-like offbeats. We are disarmed by the simplicity of this succession, unceasing until three bars before the end, when — Haydn being Haydn — he drops in just one unexpected silence when the players seem to forget their lines; and then he finishes off the piece in one glad swoop.

– Misha Amory

LEI LIANGMadrigal Mongolia (for string quartet, 2024)

Madrigal Mongolia sprang from a musical and spiritual heritage that has a special place in my heart – the music of Inner Mongolia.

I have loved this music since my childhood. One of my family’s closest friends, the renowned Mongolian scholar Wulalji visited our home in Beijing frequently. With a sip of alcohol, he would start singing, sometimes continuing late into the night. These personal memories date to the years after the Cultural Revolution, when obnoxiously cheerful propaganda music flooded the airwaves. Yet it was these lonely long songs that evoked in me a deep sense of longing and awakening.

The Mongols were the world’s most feared conquerors, yet the music they sing today is not martial in character. Quite the contrary, they sing of a mother’s devotion, friendship, loss of loved ones, and homeland. Their melancholy sentiments are understandable, for the warriors were always far from home. These songs remind us of what it means to be away.

Aren’t we all living far away from “home” today?

Madrigal Mongolia was commissioned by the Brentano Quartet, who worked closely with Professor Chou Wen-chung,who once told me these inspiring words about the cultural heritage of our home: “In calligraphy, every stroke has emotion. Here, lines become waves, and becomes textures.” Madrigal Mongolia was written in memory of him.

Madrigal Mongolia was commissioned by the Spiralis Music Trust in honor of Chou

Wen-chung, ProtoStar Group, Salt Bay Chamberfest with Richard Replin, and Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts.

– Lei Liang

JOHANNES BRAMS: String Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 67

In the summer of 1875, the 42-year-old Brahms was summering in the beautiful German town of Ziegelhausen, and trying to avoid working on his special bugbear, the First Symphony. Instead he wrote quite a lot of other beautiful music, including his Third String Quartet, all of which he dismissed in a letter to a friend as “trifles,” a way to put off the serious work that lay ahead. In the event, he didn’t procrastinate for long, as the symphony was published and premiered the following year; and the Third Quartet, according to Joseph Joachim, was later to become his favorite of the three quartets.

While this quartet may have been a “trifle” to its composer, there is nothing trivial about it – or its predecessors – for string quartets who undertake to play it. It is common knowledge to performers of Brahms’ chamber music that the sextets, and many quintets, that he wrote are kinder to their performers than the string quartets. The sound palette of Brahms’ musical imagination was of a peculiar richness and depth, to the point that five or six performers provided the right natural sonority, but four would find themselves just that much more taxed, their resources that much more stretched. This difference works its way into the skin of the quartets, making them more interestingly effortful and craggy, subtly altering their essence. As one listens to this music, one senses a tension between the large sound-concept and the slightly smaller box that it has been fit into, which places its own stamp on the piece, independent of the musical content itself.

Brahms’ Third Quartet truly sounds like the work of a man on his summer holiday. Especially in its outer movements there is a feeling of the countryside, of sunshine. The first movement has strong ties to the same movement of Mozart’s “Hunt” Quartet. Aside from sharing its key and its meter – fairly superficial traits – the Brahms evokes the atmosphere of the hunt from the very opening, imitating hunting horns perhaps even more faithfully than Mozart’s music. In many of its most important melodies and motifs it specifically recalls similar material from the earlier piece. And, perhaps most importantly, there seems a conscious effort at simplicity of harmony and texture in many sections, from a composer who, like Mozart, was known for music that was often sophisticated, intricate and dark. In the main melody at the opening, Brahms uses the simplest call-and-response, a quiet playful idea that is trumpeted back immediately in forte; this exchange continues, evoking a child’s game of monkey see, monkey do, rare and disarming in its artlessness. Much later we hear the other main idea of the movement, a basic skipping up and down a few steps of a major scale, again an evocation of child’s play, written intentionally to be rhythmically and harmonically as simple as possible. This is not to say that the movement is devoid of darker or more complicated music – there is quite a lot of shadow, as well as plenty of involved counterpoint – but at the movement’s close we are left with a recollection of sunny, carefree laughter, a conscious setting-aside of worry and convolution.

The second movement is one of the most beautiful and extraordinary slow movements Brahms ever wrote, despite a crowded field of contenders. A hushed unison opening branches out into harmony, introducing a tender and reaching aria for the first violin. Again we are struck by the simplicity of the rhythm in this melody (although the harmonic underpinnings are now richer and more chromatic, more typically Brahms); perhaps the singer is young, sweetly naïve, discovering first love. The contrasting middle section presents a fiercer, prouder idea in dotted rhythms, which alternates with a smoother, more mysterious choral response; this world is plural, the many voices in concert rather than the single, private one. From here the first violin embarks on a wandering fantasy of 16ths, meeting a partner (the second violin) with whom he conducts a difficult, searching conversation. Ultimately the music reaches an anguished climax, after which we are eased into a return of the opening song – this time shared between the cello and first violin, an easier, more graceful exchange than the earlier one. An expressive coda returns to the arching gesture which opened the movement, exploring it more fervently, and reaches another passionate climax before closing at last with a prayerful cadence.

The third movement is a different story: troubled, elusive and restless, yet graceful too, evoking an unnameable dance. Now the viola is the hero, singing out boldly while the other instruments, muted, band together in shadowy support. The “Agitato” in the movement’s title is felt rhythmically – in the persistent, obsessive rhythms of the opening idea, in the tendency towards hemiola (grouping beats in two’s against the movement’s triple meter), and in moments that halt and jar ill-fittingly. But there is also a latent agitato feel in the harmony of the music, which wanders, changes key constantly, and shades towards minor even in major-key passages. The first violin often steps forward, a counterpart to the viola, sometimes agreeing with him, sometimes interrogating and confronting him, providing a kind of balance without which the music might tilt dangerously out of control. A shorter middle “Trio” section provides a lighter, more tightly structured contrast: at first the three muted instruments play a fragmented, graceful tune, then the viola enters and sings a mournful melody against its repetition. After the return of the main section, and the climax which it attains a second time, a strangely calm coda follows, bringing a disconsolate almost-peace, an uneasy conclusion to the movement.

With the finale, the mood of the piece returns to the geniality of the opening movement, though not at first matching its energy. Here we have a set of variations, which recalls the finale of Beethoven’s “Harp” Quartet so strongly that it seems like an homage of sorts. As with the Beethoven, the movement is a lighter companion to three more intense preceding movements. Both the Beethoven and the Brahms feature a quite short, slightly irregular theme in two repeated sections, charmingly laconic, playing it close to the vest. The two movements also share many details: a variation where the cello plays repeated triplet notes under legato duple rhythms in the other instruments, an early variation featuring the viola, and a fantasy-like coda. However, the Brahms movement deviates from the script when, after several variations have gone by, the music from the first movement stages a kind of invasion, crashing in and assuming command of the proceedings for awhile. But the variation structure persists, despite the intrusion, and ultimately we perceive that the invading forces are subsumed in the landscape of the music, though they never disappear entirely. Late in the coda, the storyline flags, gently losing momentum and finally coming to a near-halt, before the movement is swept to a close in one joyous flourish.

– Misha Amory

About the Brentano String Quartet
Since its inception in 1992, the Brentano String Quartet has appeared throughout the world to popular and critical acclaim. “Passionate, uninhibited and spellbinding,” raves The London Independent; The New York Times extols its “luxuriously warm sound [and] yearning lyricism”; the Philadelphia Inquirer praises its “seemingly infallible instincts for finding the center of gravity in every phrase and musical gesture”; and The Times (London) opines, “the Brentanos are a magnificent string quartet…This was wonderful, selfless music-making.” The Quartet has performed across five continents in the world’s most prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall in New York; the Library of Congress in Washington; the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam; the Konzerthaus in Vienna; Tokyo’s Suntory hall; and the Sydney Opera House. Festival appearances include Aspen, the Ojai Music Festival, the Edinburgh Festival, the Kuhmo Festival in Finland, and the Seoul Spring Festival of Chamber Music.

The Quartet has launched numerous projects that reimagine the standard concert program. In 2002, they celebrated their 10th anniversary by commissioning 10 composers to write companion pieces for selections from Bach’s Art of Fugue, the result of which was an electrifying and wide-ranging single concert program. Fourteen years later, they revisited Bach’s masterpiece, performing the entire work in an ambitious multimedia project at the 92nd Street Y in New York with dancers, narrated excerpts, and an installation by artist Gabriel Calatrava. Recently, the Quartet presented a second multimedia project at the Y, which juxtaposed the poetry of Wallace Stevens with late Beethoven and music by composer Martin Bresnick. Other projects have included a three-program examination of Late Style, presented at Carnegie Hall; a program surveying the music of lamentation over the last 300 years crowned by Bartók’s Second Quartet; and numerous adaptations of music from Renaissance and early Baroque, including works by Josquin, Gesualdo, Purcell and Monteverdi.

The Quartet has been privileged to collaborate with such artists as soprano Jessye Norman, mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, as well as pianists Jonathan Biss, Richard Goode and Mitsuko Uchida. The Quartet also maintains a strong commitment to new music, and has expanded the quartet canon by commissioning works from some of the most important composers of our time, among them Bruce Adolphe, Matthew Aucoin, Gabriela Frank, Stephen Hartke, Vijay Iyer, Steven Mackey, and Charles Wuorinen. Upcoming commissions and collaborations include a new quartet from Chinese composer Lei Liang; a viola quintet from James MacMillan; and a large-scale dramatic work, “Dido Reimagined,” based on the story of Dido and Aeneas, from composer Melinda Wagner and librettist Stephanie Fleischmann, to be performed with soprano Dawn Upshaw.

Dedicated and highly sought after as educators, the Quartet are currently Artists-in-Residence at the Yale School of Music, where they perform in concert each semester, work closely with students in chamber music contexts, and spearhead the instruction at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival in the summers. The Quartet has given numerous master classes and workshops across the country, and returns annually to the Taos School of Music as visiting faculty. In 2013 and 2017, the Quartet assisted at the Cliburn International Piano Competition, performing quintets with competitors in the final rounds. Before coming to Yale, the Quartet served for fifteen years as Ensemble-in-Residence at Princeton University.

The Quartet has recorded extensively, releasing discs of quartets by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, as well as a recording of the Schubert Cello Quintet with Michael Kannen. The Quartet has also recorded music by several contemporary composers, among them Bruce Adolphe, Chou Wen-chung, Steven Mackey and Charles Wuorinen. The Quartet’s recording of Beethoven’s Quartet, Op. 131 was featured in the film “A Late Quartet,” starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Christopher Walken, released in 2012. In 2017, they recorded a live album with Joyce DiDonato, “Into the Fire—Live from Wigmore Hall,” which included works by Strauss, Debussy, Guillaume Lekeu and Jake Heggie for Warner Classics. Their most recent release features the K. 428 and K. 465 (“Dissonance”) Quartets of Mozart for the Azica label.

Awards and honors include the first Cleveland Quartet Award (1995); the Naumburg Chamber Music Award (1995); inaugural members of Chamber Music Society Two at the CMS of Lincoln Center (1996); and the Royal Philharmonic Award for Most Outstanding Debut (at Wigmore Hall in 1997.)

The Quartet is named for Antonie Brentano, whom many scholars consider to be Beethoven’s “Immortal Beloved”, the intended recipient of his famous love confession.

For more information, please visit their website.

Who are the Brentano String Quartet members?
Mark Steinberg is an active chamber musician and recitalist. He has been heard in chamber music festivals in Holland, Germany, Austria, and France and participated for four summers in the Marlboro Music Festival, with which he has toured extensively. He has also appeared in the El Paso Festival, on the Bargemusic series in New York, at Chamber Music Northwest, with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and in trio and duo concerts with pianist Mitsuko Uchida, with whom he presented the complete Mozart sonata cycle in London’s Wigmore Hall in 2001, with additional recitals in other cities, a project that continues for the next few years. Mr. Steinberg has been soloist with the London Philharmonia, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Kansas City Camerata, the Auckland Philharmonia, and the Philadelphia Concerto Soloists, with conductors such as Kurt Sanderling, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Miguel Harth-Bedoya. Mark Steinberg holds degrees from Indiana University and The Juilliard School and has studied with Louise Behrend, Josef Gingold, and Robert Mann. An advocate of contemporary music, Mr. Steinberg has worked closely with many composers and has performed with 20th century music ensembles including the Guild of Composers, the Da Capo Chamber Players, Speculum Musicae, and Continuum, with which he has recorded and toured extensively in the U.S. and Europe. He has also performed and recorded chamber music on period instruments with the Helicon Ensemble, the Four Nations Ensemble, and the Smithsonian Institute. He has taught at Juilliard’s Pre-College division, at Princeton University, and New York University, and is currently on the violin faculty of the Mannes College of Music.

A native of New York City, violinist Serena Canin is an active chamber musician, teacher and presenter. As a founding member of the Brentano Quartet, she has performed to critical acclaim around the world; she has also been heard at the Marlboro Festival, Chamber Music Quad Cities, Salt Bay Chamberfest, the Festival Internacional de Cartagena, the Continuum Series at Alice Tully Hall, and on tour with Music from Marlboro and the Brandenburg Ensemble.She has worked with young musicians at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Mannes Beethoven Institute, and the Chamber Music Center of New York. Serena is the director of Music Middays, a noontime series promoting young musicians in New York, where she lives with her husband, pianist Thomas Sauer, and their two sons. She holds degrees from Swarthmore College and The Juilliard School, where she studied with Robert Mann.

Since winning the 1991 Naumburg Viola Award, Misha Amory has been active as a soloist and chamber musician. He has performed with orchestras in the United States and Europe, and has been presented in recital at New York’s Tully Hall, Los Angeles’ Ambassador series, Philadelphia’s Mozart on the Square festival, Boston’s Gardner Museum, Houston’s Da Camera series and Washington’s Phillips Collection. He has been invited to perform at the Marlboro Festival, the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, the Vancouver Festival, the Chamber Music Society at Lincoln Center and the Boston Chamber Music Society, and he has released a recording of Hindemith sonatas on the Musical Heritage Society label. Mr. Amory holds degrees from Yale University and the Juilliard School; his principal teachers were Heidi Castleman, Caroline Levine and Samuel Rhodes. Himself a dedicated teacher, Mr. Amory serves on the faculties of the Juilliard School in New York City and the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia.

Nina Lee began learning cello in Chesterfield, MO at the age of ten. Six years later, she left home to study with David Soyer at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, PA. She went on to complete her Bachelors and Masters of Music at The Juilliard School in New York City with Joel Krosnick, attended the Tanglewood Music Festival, and toured with the Marlboro Music Festival where she collaborated with Mitsuko Uchida, Andras Schiff, Felix Galimir and Samuel Rhodes.

In 1999, Lee joined the Brentano Quartet with whom she has been privileged to perform throughout North America, Australia, New Zealand, England, France, Germany, Spain, Japan, the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy. In addition, she has not only recorded the music of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven but has also championed new music represented in her quartet’s commissioned works of Stephen Hartke, Steve Mackey, Vijay Iyer, James MacMillan, Bruce Adolphe, Sofia Gubaidulina, and Shulamit Ran (to name a few).

Among the various projects the Brentano Quartet has undertaken, it was asked to record the soundtrack to the 2012 film, “A Late Quartet” which centered around Beethoven’s Op. 131.The film, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Christopher Walken and Catherine Keener also featured Lee playing herself in a cameo.

As important to her life as a musician, Lee has made a commitment to teaching chamber music. She has been on the faculty at Princeton and Columbia Universities and is currently coaching chamber music at the Yale School of Music where the Brentano Quartet is in residence. She has also participated as a guest faculty member at the St. Lawrence String Quartet Chamber Music Seminar and the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music. She also has made appearances at the Spoleto Festival USA and La Jolla SummerFest.

Lee makes her home in Brooklyn, New York where she lives with her husband and 2 children. When she isn’t playing the cello or teaching, she loves spending time with her family, cooking, entertaining, organizing chamber music salons, and finding new ways to be creative!

Twisted Pine
2025-05-02 19:30 - 21:30
Boston-based Twisted Pine takes traditional American music in exhilarating directions. Praised by NPR for its “upbeat, poppy vibe; energetic, driving rhythms; virtuosic solos; and tight harmonies,” the group released its sophomore album Right Now in 2020, injecting its signature bluegrass sound with jazz, folk, funk, and more. “They were once bluegrass,” wrote The Boston Globe, “but … this Boston band has become something else, a wider version of string band, boundary jumpers akin to outfits like Punch Brothers, Nickel Creek, and Crooked Still.” Don’t miss Twisted Pine’s feel-good grooves, fearless improvisation, and precise arrangements at Caramoor.

“Each member of this band is a runaway freight train of talent on their own, but together the jubilance of sound they unleash on a crowd is something to be marveled.”— Red Line Roots

Learn More About Twisted Pine
On October 18th, Twisted Pine releases its joyous third LP, Love Your Mind, on Signature Sounds Recordings. The title represents the quartet landing on a more expansive sound than ever, after years of touring, serious introspection, bouts of self-doubt, glorious bursts of creativity, and many after-hour festival jam sessions and pickin’ till dawn.Co-produced by the band and longtime collaborator Dan Cardinal at his studio Dimension Sound in Boston, the record is loaded with experimental production, fearless songwriting featuring input from each member, finely crafted collaborative arrangements, playing that’s virtuosic and visceral. It’s a reflection of what the band listens to. It’s buoyant pop and delicate folk, raging old-time energy, and old-school R&B grooves.On vinyl and on stage, the sound of Twisted Pine is unmistakable, exuberant, daring.What started as a (semi-)traditional bluegrass band in the trenches of the storied folk, bluegrass, and Americana scene in Boston a decade ago has bloomed into an ensemble of players who shapeshift across genres. Even the expansive “progressive bluegrass” label doesn’t come close to capturing their musical scope.Chris Sartori’s upright bass anchors everything with an undeniable, articulate groove. Dan Bui’s mandolin is thick, crisp, and propulsive. Kathleen Parks’ fiddle and Anh Phung’s flute are in constant play, often augmented with effects pedals for layered musical textures, psychedelic sounds, and wild solo trading, somewhere in the territory between bluegrass and jazz. Out in front of the ensemble, Parks’ lead vocals are an instrument unto herself: equal parts mystery, power, haunt, and a search for the edges. And she’s surrounded by the voices of her bandmates, who bring on whatever harmonies, unities, whistles, and howls the night requires.In a world that needs TLC more than ever, Twisted Pine offers a night of exultant travels across genres, across time, to mountains, cities, roadhouses, and back porches where songs bring tenderness, love, and relief. This album and this tour bring the sound of a band that invites you to Love Your Mind.

Terra String Quartet
2025-05-04 15:00 - 17:00
The Terra String Quartet continues its residency with an exquisite program including madrigals by the late Renaissance Italian composer Maddalena Casulana, the first female composer to have her music published. Terra also pairs two monumental string quartets that draw from Renaissance influences and are characterized by their innovative structures, emotional depth, and the exploration of new musical ideas within the traditional quartet form.Free Tickets for Ages 18 and Under.

Artists

Terra String QuartetHarriet Langley, violinAmelia Dietrich, violinChih-Ta Chen, violaAudrey Chen, cello

Program

Maddalena Casulana: MadrigalsBenjamin Britten: String Quartet No. 3, Op. 94Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet No. 15 in A Minor, Op. 132

About the Music
MADDALENA CASULANA Madrigals

The term “madrigal” in 16th century Italy loosely referred to musical settings of various types of poetic texts. The fact that this genre was rising in popularity while music publishing was exploding as an industry in the Republic of Venice created a perfect storm that shaped musical taste well beyond the Veneto region. Philippe Verdelot and Jacques Arcadelt were two composers who relocated from France to work in the Florentine courts. Their works piqued the interest of Venetian music publishers and it is through wide dissemination of their works that they influenced composers in regions far beyond where they were based. Commercial demand for madrigal collections grew strong starting in the 1540s, and rival publishers Antonio Gardano and Girolamo Scotto curated collections drawing on a wide swath of composers from Venice and beyond to catalyze consumer interest.

Maddalena Casulana (c.1544-c.1590) was widely respected as a composer, singer, lutenist, and teacher in Vincenza (which during her lifetime was part of the Republic of Venice). The constant search for new material by publishers led to the inclusion of Casulana’s work in a collection of madrigals edited by Giuglio Bonagiunta and published by Scotto in 1566, achieving the historical milestone of being the first woman to publish her own works. Her music became so popular that she published an entire volume of her works two years later. The collection was dedicated to Isabella de’ Medici of Florence, an independent spirit who was herself an accomplished musician as well as an important patron of the arts. Here we find an important example of a call for equity that is not brought to our attention in many traditional examinations of music history:

I know truly most excellent Lady, that these first fruits of mine, flawed as they are, cannot produce the effect that I desire, which would be in addition to providing some evidence of my devotion to Your Excellency, also to show the world the futile error of men who believe themselves patrons of the high gifts of intellect, which according to them cannot also be held in the same way by women. Because of all this, I did not wish to fail to publish them, hoping that in Your Excellency’s bright name they would achieve such light as might kindle some other, higher talent to succeed more clearly in that which except for the spirit, I have not been able to show. Venice, April 10, 1568. from Your Excellency’s most humble servant, Maddalena Casulana

BENJAMIN BRITTEN String Quartet No. 3, Op. 94

In 1975 the health of Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) took a turn for the worse and he had a sense that he was nearing the end. He contracted infective carditis in February 1968 after a trip to Venice, which eventually led to heart valve replacement surgery in 1973. Although the surgery was initially successful Britten suffered a slight stroke which affected his right hand and left him feeling weak and unable to compose. Exploring revisions of his works helped bring creative inspiration in his prolonged recovery period. The cellist Mstislav Rostropovich came to visit Britten in January 1974 to workshop the Cello Suite No. 3, Op. 87. The work had been completed in 1971 but Rostropovich had become persona non grata in the Soviet Union when he housed the dissident writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn from 1970-1974 and could not travel during this period. Britten made revisions to the work and the premiere was given later that year. Britten was also convinced to revisit and revise for publication his String Quartet in D major that he wrote in 1931 (not to be confused with his Op. 25 work in the same key). Many works written in his youth for string quartet remained unpublished at the time.

It had been 30 years since Britten wrote his String Quartet No. 2 in C major, Op. 36 in 1945. During that time many speculated when he would return to a genre that he held close to his heart but his prolific output, much of it written with his partner Peter Pears as well as other individual muses like Rostropovich in mind, delayed him from composing a successor to the Op. 36 work. It is possible that knowledge that his declining health left him with limited time and the catalyst of revising his 1931 quartet finally led him to compose the String Quartet No. 3.

Britten’s operas serve as pillars of his compositional output and provide valuable reference points to works that are found in their orbit from a chronological standpoint. Just as the composition of Peter Grimes directly preceded (and influenced) his String Quartet No. 2, his opera Death in Venice, composed in 1971-1973 before his surgery, has a direct relationship with the String Quartet No. 3. Death in Veniceis based on the novella by Thomas Mann depicting the internal struggles of Gustav von Aschenbach, an aging artist living in Munich who is suffering from a creative block and has a vision that traveling to Venice may provide him much-needed inspiration. There he encounters Tadzio who he believes can serve as his muse, but his inability to directly interact with Tadzio provides a dramatic tension that provides an apt representation of the beautiful being both very close yet painfully out of reach. Aschenbach succumbs to the cholera outbreak sweeping the island and the opera ends with him watching Tadzio slip away distantly into the water as he takes his last breaths.

The String Quartet No. 3 was written in October-November 1975. The last movement was sketched out while Britten was in Venice, making explicit reference to Death in Venice via its title La Serenissima (a commonly used nickname for the city) as well as through musical quotes from the opera, further strengthening the parallels between Britten and Aschenbach. According to composer Colin Matthews, who worked with Britten on the scores of Death in Venice and the String Quartet No. 3, the passacaglia theme in this movement is based on bells Britten heard from his balcony on that visit.

The quartet was dedicated to the music critic Hans Keller, a close friend of Britten’s and to whom he had promised that he would write another string quartet. In his writings on string quartets, Keller often critiqued the use of textures in string quartets that used three voices or less. Britten biographer Michael Oliver notes that the choice to construct the first movement of the third quartet around all possible duo combinations in the ensemble and then center the central third movement based on a soaring solo in the first violin shows that Britten was playfully provoking Keller’s sensibilities in this work. There are five movements in total, comprising an arch form very similar to the Beethoven Op. 132 string quartet also on this program. Britten worked with the Amadeus Quartet in November of 1976 to prepare the premiere of the work. Unfortunately, Britten died on December 4, 1976, two weeks before the premiere.

Peter Evans, in a review of the piece, noted the relationship between the quartet and Death in Venice, writing: “whether we hear this music as new light on Aschenbach’s [the main character of Death in Venice] fate or, still more poignantly, as comment on the composer’s own, we shall find a rare aptness in the powerful upsurge of the creative imagination which shaped the quartet’s closing passionate sigh.” When listening to the String Quartet No. 3 after the opera one does get a sense that Britten presented the conflict between the rational Apollonian and earthy Dionysian qualities quite differently in the two pieces. In the opera the tug between the two was relentless and ended in tragedy, whereas in the arch form of the quartet both sides are able to express themselves and a more peaceful balance is found at the end of the work.

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. 15 in A Minor, Op. 132

Prince Nikolai Galitzin was one of a network of patrons that generously supported Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827). In 1822 Galitzin commissioned Beethoven to write three string quartets, hoping to end a 12-year drought in his quartet output. As the composer was busy completing the Missa Solemnis and Symphony No. 9 he was unable to fulfill the commission until 1824-5; the String Quartet in A minor, Op. 132 is the second of the set of three quartets (the others being Op. 127 and Op. 130). Beethoven dealt with his own anxieties as a young composer studying with Franz Joseph Haydn, considered by many to be the composer that established the string quartet as a genre. With the publication of his Op. 18 string quartets in 1801 Beethoven definitively set out to take the genre in new directions. The experiments he undertakes in these late-period Galitzin quartets take the genre to a new dimension entirely, pushing well past the boundaries of sonata form and other parameters that had up until this time defined what listeners expected upon hearing a string quartet.

One of the distinctive features of Op. 132 is the fact that Beethoven decided to add an additional movement to the four that had become standard practice. In some ways this is a return to the movement scheme Haydn used in his early quartets – a first movement in sonata allegro form, a dance/scherzo movement, a central slow movement, another dance/scherzo movement, and another fast movement to take us to the other end of the arch form. After the wildly experimental first movement Beethoven chooses to make the second movement more in the style of a minuet, swinging the pendulum in the direction of tradition.

The focus of this string quartet is in the middle slow movement, creating an arch form centered around the Heiliger Dankgesang eines Genesenen an die Gottheit, in der lydischen Tonart (“Hymn of Thanksgiving of a convalescent to the Deity, in the Lydian mode”). The composer had fallen seriously ill in 1824, and was told by a physician that in order to recover he was to have “No wine, no coffee, no spices of any kind…” In the movement the listener definitely hears both spiritual and earthly music when Beethoven shifts between modal and tonal sound worlds, thanking God both for his return to health which in turn allows him to enjoy wine and spicy food! The Heiliger Dankgesang is one example of Beethoven’s ability to look backwards and forwards, drawing inspiration from the past to create music that pushes the boundaries of what is possible in a tonal system.

The fourth movement starts with a march, which would fit in the category of “dance movement”. Instead of a trio, however, Beethoven decides to throw in a recitative, a decision which calls to mind the famous recitative that opens the last movement of his Symphony No. 9, composed shortly before this quartet. This leads us to a finale that heavily features the cello, Prince Galitzin’s instrument of choice.

— Daniel Doña

Daniel Doña is a violist on the faculty at the Boston University College of Fine Arts School of Music. He is a member of the Arneis String Quartet.

About The Artists

Terra String Quartet

Prizewinners at the 2023 Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition and 2023 Osaka International Chamber Music Competition, the Terra String Quartet is a vibrant young international ensemble based in New York City. They are composed of graduates of The Juilliard School, The New England Conservatory, Harvard University, and the Curtis Institute of Music. Praised for their “remarkable maturity and musicality” and “superb ensemble playing” (Hyde Park Herald, Chicago), these four musicians hail from across the globe and, through their unique individuality as artists, are committed to infusing the string quartet with equal parts passion, spontaneity, and humor.

TSQ has performed at numerous festivals and venues across the world, with recent concerts at Guarneri Hall, Chamber Music Raleigh, Randolph College, Music for a Great Space, and the Emilia-Romagna Festival in Italy. They have appeared in concert with the Cremona Quartet and have collaborated with pianist Diane Walsh at the Chesapeake Chamber Music Festival and violinist Ray Chen at Rockport Chamber Festival. As the ‘23-24 Project Music Heals Us Arts Leadership Ensemble, TSQ is deeply invested in education and community work, and they were also chosen as the inaugural Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival’s Professional Fellowship Quartet at East Carolina University. Their mentors and coaches include Ara Gregorian, Mark Steinberg, Marcy Rosen, Nina Lee, Hye-Jin Kim, Daniel Avshalomov, Natasha Brofsky, Catherine Cho, and Calvin Wiersma.

TSQ is the recipient of the Silver medal at the 2023 Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition, Bronze medal at the 2023 Osaka International Chamber Music Competition, and the Grand Prize and Gold Medal at the 2022 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. They were also awarded the Christine and David Anderson Career Development Prize at the 2022 Banff International String Quartet Competition. In their spare time, they enjoy playing Mahjong together.

Harriet Langley, violin

Korean-Australian violinist Harriet Langley received her education from New England Conservatory, Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth, and The Juilliard School. An accomplished soloist, she has performed with ensembles including the London Chamber Orchestra, the Verbier Festival Orchestra, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia, the Reno Philharmonic, the Gyeonggi Philharmonic of Korea, and the Orchestre National de Belgique. Harriet has also performed at the Seiji Ozawa Academy, Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, YellowBarn, and the International Musicians Seminar at Prussia Cove. Other than music, Harriet enjoys reading, going to museums, and she has a passion for perfumes and teas.

Amelia Dietrich, violin
Violinist Amelia Dietrich earned her Bachelor of Music from The Colburn Conservatory in Los Angeles under the teaching of Robert Lipsett, and her Master’s degree from The Juilliard School studying with Ida Kavafian. She grew up studying in North Carolina with her long-time mentor, Ara Gregorian. Amelia has concertized in chamber series across the US, Europe, and Australia, including Alice Tully Hall’s Wednesdays at One, National Sawdust, The Guggenheim, the Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival, the ClasClas Chamber Festival in Spain, and the Moritzburg Festival in Germany. Beyond her performance career, Amelia has a passion for pedagogy and mentoring young musicians. She is a mentor and chamber music coach with the New York Youth Symphony, maintains a private teaching studio in New York City, and teaches at Suzuki on the Island- a school in Manhasset, NY. She enjoys running, is an avid cook, and has a passion for fashion and interior design.

Chih-Ta Chen, viola
Violist Chih-Ta Chen, from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, is the winner of the 2022 Chimei Arts Award and the 2018 Borromeo String Quartet Guest Artist Award. His passion lies in chamber music, and he has been featured at Music@Menlo, Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, Taos School of Music, Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival, and the Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival. Currently, Chen holds the Jean J. Sterne and Edwin B. Garrigues Fellowship as a student at the Curtis Institute of Music, studying under Roberto Diaz, Hsin-Yun Huang, Ed Gazouleas and Misha Amory. Previously, he attended the New England Conservatory and Tainan National University of the Arts and studied with Mai Motobuchi, Yong-Zhan Chen, and I-Chen Wang. In his free time, he loves playing badminton and spending time with his two-year-old gray cat, Cheetah.

Audrey Chen, cello
Washington state native and cellist Audrey Chen has concertized with the Seattle Symphony and the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra and has been featured as a guest with the Jupiter Chamber Players, Parker Quartet, Argus Quartet, and Borromeo Quartet. An avid chamber musician, she has performed at festivals across the country, including Yellowbarn, Olympic Music Festival, Music@Menlo, Ravinia Steans Music Institute, Four Seasons Chamber Music, Perlman Music Program, and Tanglewood Music Center. A graduate of the Harvard/NEC dual degree program, Audrey received her B.A. from Harvard University and an M.M. from the New England Conservatory, where her teachers included Laurence Lesser and Lluis Claret. Currently, she is a doctoral candidate at the CUNY Graduate Center under Marcy Rosen, and she also teaches chamber music at CUNY Hunter College. Audrey was named a 2022 recipient of the prestigious Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans. Outside of music, she enjoys watching films, cooking/baking, and making greeting cards.

Nicole Zuraitis
2025-05-09 19:30 - 21:30
Get ready to groove and swing with the sensational Nicole Zuraitis! This jazz singer-songwriter, vocalist, and pianist is guaranteed to dazzle audiences with her incredible talent and infectious energy. As the Gold medalist of the 2021 American Traditions Vocal Competition, Zuraitis is a vocal chameleon who effortlessly captivates with her dynamic performances. Her latest album, How Love Begins, won the 2024 Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Don’t miss your chance to experience the magic of Nicole Zuraitis live, where every note is infused with passion, soul, and pure joy!

Learn More About Nicole Zuraitis
Nicole Zuraitis is a GRAMMY winning and 2X GRAMMY-nominated jazz singer-songwriter, pianist and arranger, New York-based bandleader and winner of the prestigious 2021 American Traditions Vocal Competition Gold Medal. With a “heart as big as her remarkable voice,” (Jazz Police), Nicole has positioned herself as one of the top artists and “prolific songwriters” (Broadway World) to watch in jazz and beyond.

As a recording artist, Nicole has released five albums as leader, and her sixth album, How Love Begins, co-produced with eight-time GRAMMY-winner Christian McBride, won BEST JAZZ VOCAL ALBUM at the 2024 GRAMMY® awards and features all original music.

Besides leading her quartet, Nicole is the premier vocalist for the Birdland Big Band and frequently headlines iconic NYC jazz clubs like Dizzy’s Club at Lincoln Center, Birdland, the Blue Note, the Carlyle, 54 Below and the late, great 55 Bar. She has appeared as a featured soloist with the Savannah Philharmonic, Asheville Symphony and Macon Pops and has supported iconic singers like Melanie, Morgan James, Darren Criss and Livingston Taylor on piano and vocals.

Nicole’s arrangement of Dolly Parton’s Jolene, co-written with renowned drummer and bandleader Dan Pugach, was nominated for a 2019 GRAMMY®, spring boarding her career and making her a household name in the modern-day jazz landscape. In 2020, she was named in the top 40 under 40 for 2020 in Connecticut Magazine, and her weekly live stream during the Covid-19 crisis, “Virtual Piano Lounge,” was featured in Forbes Magazine.

Nicole has collaborated with an extensive list of luminaries, including Christian McBride, David Cook, Gilad Hekselman, Veronica Swift, Benny Benack, Stephen Feifke, Cyrille Aimee, Antonio Sanchez, Dave Stryker, Omar Hakim, Rachel Z, Helen Sung, and Bernard Purdie. She is a proud educator and a current vocal faculty member at NYU, SUNY Purchase and the Litchfield Jazz Camp. In 2024, Post University awarded Nicole an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters.

An ardent activist with a decade-long track record of giving back, her album release coincided with a self-produced music festival and day of activism for Save the Sound.

This concert was made possible, in part, thanks to the generous support of The Peckham Family Foundation.

Rosen House Tour
2025-05-10 14:00
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Rosen House is a work of living history. Discover the home that Caramoor founders Lucie and Walter Rosen built as an ephemeral escape for their family, friends, and colleagues.

Our knowledgeable guides will take you on a captivating journey of the home’s evolution, design, and many rare artworks and artifacts. Tours are approximately 45 minutes.

May 10: 2:00 pm

CaramoorRosen House at CaramoorRosen House at CaramoorRosen House at CaramoorThe Music Room of the Rosen House at Caramoor

Upcoming Focus Tour

May 23–August 8, 2025

Caramoor & World War II

In honor of Caramoor’s 80th anniversary season—and the 80th anniversary of the Allied victory—this year’s Rosen House Focus Tour is Caramoor & World War II. The joys and tragedies of the war years deeply impacted both the Rosen family and the Caramoor community. Without the events of 1941–1945, however, Caramoor would not be the special place it is today. We invite you to discover the personal experiences of the Rosen family and their friends, see artworks not usually on view, and hear about the wartime benefit dance under the stars, among many other stories.

Experience the self-guided Focus Tour during Open House hours on select dates or get the full story with a docent-led tour.

“People need music now more than ever. It is inspiration as well as comfort.”—Minerva Dodge to her sister-in-law Lucie Rosen, August 21, 1942

Afternoon Tea
2025-05-23 13:00 - 17:00, 2025-05-30 13:00 - 17:00, 2025-06-06 13:00 - 17:00, 2025-06-13 13:00 - 17:00
Afternoon Tea was one of the English traditions Lucie Rosen, founder of Caramoor, enjoyed during her time living in England in the early 1910s. She kept up the practice of inviting friends and guests to tea for many years, using the time for conversation and for planning concerts and other social events.

Tea is served in the Music Room, a unique opportunity for you to relax with friends and family in a breathtaking historic setting, featuring a large portrait of Lucie herself. The service includes a variety of tea sandwiches, scones with créme fraiche and preserves, delicious desserts, and a selection of fragrant teas. Please scroll down to see the menus we offer!

Self-Guided Rosen House Tours (included with ticket) / Following the tea, you will also have a chance to visit select rooms of the Rosen House starting at 2:00pm, until 3:30pm. The rooms showcase fine examples of decorative arts from Europe and China including jade, porcelain, and textiles that the Rosens admired and collected.

Docent-Guided Rosen House Tours (additional fees may apply) / Preceding the tea, docent-led tours are available by appointment only; they tend to fill up quickly, so be sure to book in advance by calling the Box Office at 914.232.1252. Advance Registration Required. Docent-led tours are free for Members and Children 18 & Under.

Menu

Adult Menu

Upon Arrival

Cranberry-Orange Scone with Crème Fraiche and Jam

Tea Sandwiches

Curried Chicken Salad and Arugula on a Mini Brioche Bun

Roasted Tomato, Ricotta, and Avocado on Crostini Toast

Smoked Salmon, Chive Cream Cheese, and Capers on Rye Bread

Cucumber and Mint Cream Cheese on Black Bread

Turkey Salad with Apples and Cranberries in a Phyllo Cup

Teas

Ceylon Waltz Black Tea

Earl Grey Moonlight Sonata Black Tea

Raspberry-Pomegranate Iced Tea

Desserts

An Assortment of Seasonal Desserts

Children’s Menu (suitable for ages 4–12)

Upon Arrival

Cranberry-Orange Scone with Crème Fraiche and Jam

Tea Sandwiches

Roast Beef and Cheddar on Wheat

Ham and Swiss on Rye

Turkey and American Cheese on Rye

Mozzarella and Tomato on Mini Brioche Buns

Peanut Butter and Jelly on White Bread

Teas

Ceylon Waltz Black Tea

Earl Grey Moonlight Sonata Black Tea

Raspberry-Pomegranate Iced Tea

Desserts

An Assortment of Seasonal Desserts

Dietary Restrictions: With advance notice at the time of booking, we are able to accommodate the following dietary restrictions: vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free. Please let us know if you have any severe allergies and we will do our best to accommodate. Please note, all foods are prepared off-site therefore we cannot provide day-of requests.

Vegetarian Menu

Upon Arrival

Cranberry-Orange Scone with Crème Fraiche and Jam

Tea Sandwiches

Roasted Tomato, Avocado, and Ricotta on Crostini Toasts

Cucumber and Mint Cream Cheese on Black Bread

Fresh Mozzarella, Pesto, and Arugula on Whole Grain Bread

Hummus and Roasted Veggies on Rye Bread

Curried Vegetarian “Chicken” Salad and Arugula on Mini Brioche Bun

Teas

Ceylon Waltz Black Tea

Earl Grey Moonlight Sonata Black Tea

Raspberry-Pomegranate Iced Tea

Desserts

An Assortment of Seasonal Desserts

Vegan Menu

Upon Arrival

Vegan Scone with Jam

Tea Sandwiches

Cucumber and Mint Vegan Cream Cheese on Black Bread

Hummus and Roasted Veggies on Rye Bread

Avocado, Roasted Tomato, and “Ricotta” on Crostini Toast

Vegan “Chicken Salad” and Arugula on Whole Wheat Bread

Vegan Mozzarella, Tomato, and Arugula with Balsamic Vinaigrette on Crostini Toast

*uses nut-based cheese substitutes

Teas

Ceylon Waltz Black Tea

Earl Grey Moonlight Sonata Black Tea

Raspberry-Pomegranate Iced Tea

Desserts

Dark Chocolate Dipped Strawberry

An Assortment of Vegan Dessert Bites

Gluten-Free Menu

Upon Arrival

Gluten Free Scone with Crème Fraiche and Jam

Tea Sandwiches

Roasted Tomato, Avocado, and Ricotta on Gluten Free Bread

Cucumber and Mint Cream Cheese on Gluten Free Bread

Curried Chicken Salad and Arugula on Gluten Free Bread

Smoked Salmon, Chive Cream Cheese, and Capers on Gluten Free Bread

Turkey Salad with Apples and Cranberries on Gluten Free Bread

Teas

Ceylon Waltz Black Tea

Earl Grey Moonlight Sonata Black Tea

Raspberry-Pomegranate Iced Tea

Desserts

An Assortment of Gluten Free Desserts

Dairy-Free Menu

Upon Arrival

Dairy-Free Scone with Jam

Tea Sandwiches

Curried Chicken Salad and Arugula on Dairy Free Bread

Avocado, Roasted Tomato, and “Ricotta” on Dairy Free Bread

Smoked Salmon, Vegan Cream Cheese, Capers, Dairy Free Bread

Cucumber and Mint Vegan Cream Cheese on Dairy Free Bread

Turkey Salad with Apples and Cranberries on Dairy Free Bread

*Uses Nut-Based Cheeses

Teas

Ceylon Waltz Black Tea

Earl Grey Moonlight Sonata Black Tea

Raspberry-Pomegranate Iced Tea

Desserts

An Assortment of Dairy Free Desserts

Health & SafetyWe’re committed to maintaining the health and safety of our audience, artists, and staff, while ensuring that every visit to Caramoor is comfortable and enjoyable. Click below for up-to-date health and safety policies as well as information on how we’re playing our part.

Learn more

Welcome Summer! Open House & Grounds
2025-06-01 12:00 - 16:00
Kick off Caramoor’s 80th Summer Season with us! Share a birthday toast in honor of Caramoor’s founders, the Rosen Family, and 80 years of artists, patrons, visitors, staff, and volunteers. Come enjoy our open grounds and discover our new Sonic Innovations piece, Five Essays on Caramoor, a captivating sound walk by Lisa Coons (please bring your own headphones to access the sound walk!), stop by the Herb Society’s annual plant sale, and step inside the Rosen House to sample this year’s Focus Tour. Members of the Westchester Division of NYC Urban Sketchers will be on site to capture the beauty of Caramoor and will have supplies on hand for anyone who wishes to create their own drawings!

12:00pm – House and Grounds open for exploring12:00pm – Herb Society Plant Sale begins2:00pm – Anniversary toast on Friends Field / Lisa Coons introduces Five Essays on Caramoor4:00pm – Caramoor closes for the dayConcessions and restrooms open and available throughout the afternoon

QUESTIONS? VISIT THE CARAMOOR FAQ PAGE

Celebrating Juneteenth: The Legendary Ingramettes
2025-06-15 16:00 - 18:00
Caramoor presents an uplifting Juneteenth celebration — honoring African American freedom, heritage, and resilience — with the electrifying sounds of The Legendary Ingramettes, one of gospel music’s most revered groups. This event is FREE.2:00pm / Activities begin.4:00pm / The performance begins.

About The Legendary Ingramettes
Six decades of music, 65 years of song, generations tied together through the force of will of a matriarchy of powerful women. This is the story of African American gospel quintet The Legendary Ingramettes, founded by Maggie Ingram (who passed away in 2015) as a way to keep her family together through hardship, and taken up by her daughter Almeta Ingram-Miller as a way to continue Maggie’s legacy. Inspired by the black gospel male quartets of the 1940s and 50s, The Legendary Ingramettes bring roof-raising harmonies and explosively powerful vocals, all driven by the voices of women. Based for many years out of Richmond, Virginia, they were led by the indomitable will of the woman they all called “Mama,” but now that Mama is gone, ‘Take A Look In The Book’ is the group’s first efforts with Almeta at the head. The album showcases Almeta’s bold new vision and towering vocal abilities, drawing songs from new Appalachian sources like Ola Belle Reed and Bill Withers, and reworking family favorites, some of which date back to old spirituals. Produced by state folklorist Jon Lohman as part of the Virginia Folklife Program at Virginia Humanities, ‘Take A Look in the Book’ was recorded over just three days in Richmond, with most songs being cut in one take to keep the power of the group’s incendiary live performances. A live show from The Legendary Ingramettes is a house-rocking affair, with audiences literally getting whipped to a gospel fervor, and the recording seeks to capture the electrifying nature of the group’s performances.

Know Before You Go

The Venue: Friends FieldA large open lawn adjacent to Concessions and restrooms, Friends Field is used for many programs throughout the summer. Food and drinks are allowed (and encouraged!) – just remember to throw out or recycle before you leave. Note that there is no built-in seating on Friends Field, so please bring your own chairs and/or blankets.

Summer Season Shuttle / Take the FREE shuttle from Metro North’s Katonah train station to and from Caramoor! The shuttle runs before and after every summer afternoon and evening concert. There is no RSVP to get on the shuttle, it will be there when you arrive (in the parking lot side of the station). If it’s not there, it’s just making the loop and should be back within 5–10 minutes. The shuttle will start running at 1:30pm, and 1 hour after the concert ends.

Rain or Shine / All events at Caramoor take place rain or shine. In the event of bad weather, this Friends Field concert will move under the fully covered Venetian Theater tent. This is a large tent with open sides and seating already provided. You will no longer need to bring your own seating to this concert in this scenario.

Make the Most of Your Time at Caramoor

Explore the Rosen House / Select rooms of the Rosen House are free to explore during our Open House hours. No RSVP is required; feel free to attend and discover more about Caramoor’s history and founders.

have questions? visit the q&a page

Caramoor is proud to be a grantee of ArtsWestchester with funding made possible by Westchester County government with the support of County Executive Ken Jenkins.

All concerts made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Opening Night & Summer Gala: Orchestra of St. Luke's - Beethoven's Symphony No. 9
2025-06-21 19:00 - 22:00
Caramoor’s 80th Season begins with a performance of Beethoven’s enduring, iconic Symphony No. 9, led by the enthralling Venezualan conductor Rafael Payare in his Caramoor debut. Four rising star soloists join a stellar hand-picked chorus; its awe-inspiring final movement “Ode to Joy” is an enduring testament to the power of unity and the human spirit.

Artists

Orchestra of St. Luke’s Rafael Payare, conductor Gabriella Reyes, sopranoTamara Mumford, mezzo-sopranoViktor Antipenko, tenorJoseph Parrish, bass-baritone

Caramoor Festival ChorusMalcolm J. Merriweather, directorMichele Kennedy, associate conductor

Program

BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125

Summer Gala

Caramoor’s annual gala is a celebration of the arts and a vital source of support for our not-for-profit organization. When you attend Caramoor’s Summer Gala, you will have access to pre-concert cocktails beginning at 5:00pm, premium concert seating to hear Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, and a three-course dinner and fine wines after the show.

The Gala will honor our longtime champions of Caramoor, Judy and Tony Evnin. For nearly half of Caramoor’s history, the Evnins have been integral to its success. From her role as chairwoman of the Board, Judy has shaped this organization into a haven of the arts and she remains an engaged board chairman emerita still today. We are thrilled to recognize the Evnins on this special evening.

Individual ticket and table options are available. A portion of each ticket is tax deductible.

For tickets or additional details, please email events@caramoor.org or call the Special Events team at 914.232.1492.

“He lit a fire under the orchestra with his weaving, swaying, extremely physical manner of conducting … one can’t deny that the results were very exciting.” – San Francisco Classical Voice

About the Music
Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony extends beyond the realm of the concert hall and permeates Western culture on multiple levels, including socio-political and commercial arenas. The music of the Ninth, particularly the “Ode to Joy” melody of the final movement, is so familiar to us that it has lost its unique character and taken on the quality of folk music; that is, it has shed its “composed” identity as a melody written by Ludwig van Beethoven and simply exists within the communal ear of our collective consciousness.

While some classical works are inextricably linked to the time in which they were written, Beethoven’s profound musical statements about freedom, equality, and humanity resonate just as powerfully today as they did at the Ninth’s premiere. This was evident to the entire world when Leonard Bernstein conducted an international assembly of instrumentalists and singers in a historic performance of Beethoven’s Ninth at East Berlin’s Schauspielhaus (now Konzerthaus) on December 22, 1989, three days after the fall of the Berlin Wall. To emphasize the historic event, Bernstein substituted the word “freedom” for “joy” in the famous lyrics by the poet Friedrich Schiller in the final movement. The performance was broadcast worldwide, attracting more than 200 million viewers.

By 1822, Beethoven was completely deaf and emotionally isolated. Five years earlier, at the age of 47, he had written in his journal, “Before my departure for the Elysian fields I must leave behind me what the Eternal Spirit has infused into my soul and bids me complete.” Alone and embittered, Beethoven focused almost exclusively on his musical legacy.

The lofty salute to the human spirit expressed in Schiller’s poem An die Freude (To Joy) had resonated with Beethoven for many years; in 1790 he set a few lines in a cantata written to commemorate the death of Emperor Leopold II; he also included portions of Schiller’s poem in his opera Fidelio. “The search for a way to express joy,” as Beethoven described it, was the subject of his final symphony. To that end, Beethoven edited and arranged Schiller’s lines to suit his musical and dramatic needs, using a melody from the Choral Fantasy he had written 20 years earlier.

The symphony opens with the strings sounding a series of hollow open chords, neither major nor minor, which are harmonically ambiguous – what key is this? The fifths build into a massive statement featuring a weighty dotted rhythmic theme. The intensity of this movement foreshadows the finale.

As was his wont, Beethoven broke with symphonic convention by writing a second-movement scherzo. The music explodes with dramatic string octaves and pounding timpani. The main theme, a contrapuntal fugue, gives way to a demure wind melody. Underneath its playful simplicity, the barely contained agitation of the scherzo pulses in the strings, like a racehorse pawing at the starting gate.

In a symphony synonymous with innovation, Beethoven’s most significant departure from convention is the inclusion, for the first time in any symphony, of a chorus and vocal soloists in what had been an exclusively instrumental genre. The cellos and basses play an instrumental recitative, later sung by the baritone, which is followed by the unaccompanied “Joy” melody. Beethoven then presents several instrumental variations, including a triumphal brass fanfare. The baritone soloist introduces Schiller’s poem with words of Beethoven’s: “O friends, not these tones; instead, let us strike up more pleasing and joyful ones.” The chorus repeats the last four lines of each stanza as a refrain, followed by the vocal quartet. A famous interlude, the Turkish March, follows (this music was considered “Turkish” because of the inclusion of the triangle, cymbals and bass drum, exotic additions to the orchestra of Beethoven’s time). After several variations, the chorus returns with a monumental concluding double fugue.

© Elizabeth Schwartz. All rights reserved.

The above notes are reprinted with permission from Oregon Symphony.

Elizabeth Schwartz is a musician and music historian based in Portland, OR. She has been a program annotator for more than 25 years, and provides notes to musicians, ensembles, and music festivals around the world. Schwartz has also contributed to NPR’s “Performance Today,” (now heard on American Public Media).

classicalmusicprogramnotes.com

NOTE: These program notes are published by Caramoor for its patrons and other interested readers. Any other use is forbidden without specific permission from the author, who may be contacted at classicalmusicprogramnotes.com.

About the Artists

Orchestra of St. Luke’s
Orchestra of St. Luke’s (OSL) performs and produces in a variety of formats throughout New York City, including orchestral and chamber music series on each of Carnegie Hall’s iconic stages, programs focused on contemporary composers presented throughout the five boroughs, collaborations with Paul Taylor Dance Company at Lincoln Center, a composition institute, and much more. Many of OSL’s performances are presented for free through its education and community engagement programs, reaching over 12,000 students and families annually with accessible, interactive student concerts, a thriving youth orchestra, and mentorship programs for emerging players. OSL built and operates The DiMenna Center in midtown Manhattan — the city’s only rehearsal, recording, and performance space built specially for classical music — where it hosts thousands of musicians and audience members year-round.

For more information, please visit their website.

Rafael Payare, conductor
Rafael Payare’s innate musicianship, technical brilliance and charismatic energy on the podium has elevated him as one of the most sought-after conductors. The 2024-25 season marks Rafael Payare’s third season as Music Director of Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and his fifth as Music Director of California’s San Diego Symphony.

The Principal Conductor and Music Director of the Ulster Orchestra from 2014 – 2019, he now holds the title of Conductor Laureate in recognition of his vast artistic contribution to the Orchestra and City of Belfast.

With his gift for communication and irresistibly joyous spirit, Payare works with the world’s leading orchestras including the Wiener Philharmoniker, Chicago Symphony, Munchner Philharmoniker, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Berlin Staatskapelle, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, London Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and the Cleveland Orchestra. Soloists with whom he has enjoyed collaborations include Daniil Trifonov, Frank Peter Zimmerman, Hilary Hahn, Alisa Weilerstein, Piotr Anderszewski, Emmanuel Ax, and Yefim Bronfman, among many others. Highlights of the current season include a major European tour with the Orchestre symphonique de Montreal and return visits to the Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, and Royal Opera House, Covent Garden to conduct Turandot.

As an opera conductor, Payare has conducted titles at Glyndebourne Festival, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Staatsoper Berlin, Royal Stockholm Opera, and Royal Danish Opera. In 2012, he was invited by his mentor, the late Lorin Maazel, to conduct at his Castleton Festival in Virginia, where he was appointed Principal Conductor in 2015.

An inspiration to young musicians, Payare has forged a close relationship with the Royal College of Music in London. He has also led projects with the Chicago Civic Orchestra, Orchestra of the Americas, and the Filarmonica Joven de Colombia.

Born in 1980 and a graduate of the celebrated El Sistema in Venezuela, Payare began his formal conducting studies in 2004 with José Antonio Abreu. He has conducted all the major El Sistema orchestras including the Simón Bolívar Orchestra. In May 2012, Payare was awarded first prize at the Malko International Conducting Competition.

Gabriella Reyes, soprano
With a voice described as “radiant” by The New York Times and chosen as one of the Sphinx Organization’s 2025 Medal of Excellence honorees, Nicaraguan American soprano Gabriella Reyes is one of the most exciting and dynamic artists in music today. A former member of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera, Reyes returns to the Met in the 2024-25 season to perform the roles of Margarita Xirgu in a new production of Osvaldo Golijov’s first opera Ainadamar, and both Mimì and Musetta in Franco Zeffirelli’s classic production of La bohème. She returns to the Lyric Opera of Chicago for Musetta and will perform Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Nashville Symphony. This season, Reyes also makes her eagerly awaited recital debut at Carnegie Hall with pianist Andrés Sarre for the series Nuestros sonidos: Celebrating Latin Culture in the US.

The 2023-24 season saw Reyes return to the Metropolitan Opera to perform the roles of Rosalba in a new production of Daniel Catán’s Florencia en el Amazonas and Liù in Turandot. She also made her role debut as Nedda in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City and revisited the role of Mimì in La bohème with the Atlanta Opera. Concert highlights included Musetta in La bohème with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Bravo Vail Festival; the world premiere of The Joyful Mysteries with the Houston Chamber Choir & Orchestra; and a return to the role of Marzelline in Fidelio with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel, both in LA; and on tour in Europe with stops including at the Liceu in Barcelona, the Philharmonie de Paris, and the Barbican in London.

Named a 2019 Lincoln Center Emerging Artist by the Metropolitan Opera, Reyes was also a recipient of a Sara Tucker Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation in 2018, and was also a grand finalist in the 2017 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She is a graduate of the Boston Conservatory.

Tamara Mumford, mezzo-soprano
American mezzo-soprano Tamara Mumford has gained a reputation as an exciting and in-demand singer appearing with many of the finest orchestras and opera house in the US and Europe. This season she returns to The Metropolitan Opera for Die Zauberflöte and the new production of Salome, the Dallas Symphony for continued performances of Erda in The Ring Cycle, and to the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She also makes appearances with the Houston Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic and the Rhode Island Philharmonic.

A graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, Mumford has appeared in over 200 performances with the company including productions of Kaija Saariaho’s L’Amour de loin, Anna Bolena, Rigoletto, Cavalleria Rusticana, Nixon in China, and both Die Zauberflöte, and The Magic Flute. Other recent opera engagements have included the premiere of The Thirteenth Child at the Santa Fe Opera, Tancredi with Teatro Nuovo, Henze’s Phaedra, The Rape of Lucretia, and the world premiere of Daniel Schnyder’s Yardbird at Opera Philadelphia; and L’incoronazione di Poppea at the Glyndebourne Opera Festival and the BBC Proms.

Also an active concert performer and recitalist, Mumford appeared with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra in multiple US and European tours. Other concert engagements have included appearances with the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Berlin Philharmonic, Netherland Radio Philharmonic, and at the Hollywood Bowl and the Ravinia and Tanglewood festivals. Her recordings include Handel’s Messiah with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (Momon Tabernacle Choir), Beethoven’s Cantata on the Death of Emperor Joseph II with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony (Avie), and both Mahler Symphony No 8 and John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic (Deutsche Grammophon).

Viktor Antipenko, tenor
Praised for his effortless, expansive sound, and excellent technique, Russian-American tenor Viktor Antipenko has become a singer to watch in the dramatic repertoire. In the 2024-25 season, he makes his role and house debut singing Canio in I Pagliacci at Staatsoper Hannover before returning to Theater Dortmund to revive his portrayal of Siegmund in Die Walküre. Last season, he made debuts at the Sydney Opera House singing Luigi in Il Tabarro with Opera Australia; Pacific Opera Victoria performing Siegmund in Die Walküre; and Atlanta Opera, where he reprised his signature role of Siegmund. He also returned to the New National Theatre Tokyo of Japan to perform Lensky in Eugene Onegin. Antipenko was added to the roster of Lyric Opera of Chicago, where he covered the role of Radames in Aida. In concert, he joined conductor Franz Krager for performances of Rachmaninoff’s The Bells with Moores School Symphony Orchestra, and he made his San Diego Symphony debut performing Siegmund in an Act 1 concert of Die Walküre with Music Director Rafael Payare.

In previous seasons, Antipenko made house debuts at Scottish Opera for performances as Luigi in Il Tabarro; and Lyric Opera of Kansas City debut as Don José in Carmen. Antipenko returned to Staatstheater Kassel for Hermann in Pique Dame and Israeli Opera for his role debut as Manrico in Il Trovatore. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Pinkerton in the famous Anthony Minghella production of Madama Butterfly. Antipenko also made his role and house debut performing Radamès in Aida at the Israeli Opera and debuted at Arizona Opera as Don José in Carmen. Additional highlights include singing Prince Guidon in Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Golden Cockerel at Dallas Opera; the title role in Samson et Dalila at Tiroler Landestheater in Innsbruck; Florestan in Beethoven’s Fidelio with Theater Chemnitz; Gabriele Adorno in Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra with Tiroler Landestheater; Siegmund in Wagner’s Die Walküre for Theater Chemnitz; and Don José in Carmen for a semi-staged concert version at Lotte Concert Hall in South Korea.

Antipenko has sung many additional roles at the Bolshoi Theatre, Ópera de Oviedo, Opéra de Rouen, Theatro Municipal de São Paulo, Opéra de Lyon, Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, and Hawaii Opera Theater. Antipenko has worked with esteemed conductors Mikhail Pletnev, Vladimir Jurowski, Yuri Bashmet, John Neschling, Yuri Temirkanov, as well as with stage directors Peter Konwitschny and Tomer Zvulun.

Joseph Parrish, bass-baritone
Joseph Parrish was born in Baltimore and has already performed at renowned concert halls such as Alice Tully Hall and Carnegie Hall in New York and the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. This season, Parrish can be seen at the Rose Theatre in Jazz at Lincoln Center for Davenport Richards/Cote’s New York Premiere of Blind Injustice and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine for Bach’s St. Matthew Passion.

Highlights of the 2023-24 season included concerts at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, the Usedom Music Festival, and Carnegie Hall Citywide Concerts. In June 2024 Parrish made his debut as Masetto (Don Giovanni) with the Cincinnati Opera and in July, he made his debut as Potapitsch (The Gambler) with the Salzburg Festival.

Parrish graduated with an Artist Diploma in Opera Studies from The Juilliard School, where he was a Gluck Community Service Fellow, Music Advancement Program Fellow, and Morse Teaching Artist. He is an advocate for diversity in the field of classical music, being a member of the inaugural cohort of Shared Voices, an initiative with the Denyce Graves Foundation, charged with promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion within the field of classical music. He also partners with Voices for Bolivia, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of impoverished elderly in Bolivia.

Know Before You Go

Summer Season Shuttle / Take the FREE shuttle from Metro North’s Katonah train station to and from Caramoor! The shuttle runs before and after every summer afternoon and evening concert. There is no RSVP to get on the shuttle, it will be there when you arrive (in the parking lot side of the station). If it’s not there, it’s just making the loop and should be back within 5–10 minutes. The shuttle will start running 2.5 hours before the concert, and 30 minutes after the concert ends.

Rain or Shine / All events at Caramoor take place rain or shine. However, this performance is under our fully covered Venetian Theater tent.

have questions? visit the q&a page

Caramoor is proud to be a grantee of ArtsWestchester with funding made possible by Westchester County government with the support of County Executive Ken Jenkins.

All concerts made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Terra String Quartet
2025-06-22 16:00 - 18:00
Join the Terra String Quartet, Caramoor’s 2024-25 Ernst String Quartet-in-Residence, for an afternoon of chamber music that spans centuries and styles. As part of our mission to nurture and present the next generation of artists, this concert caps off the Terra String Quartet’s yearlong residency of community engagement and concerts.

This event is free for 18 & under. Please note: this event uses the standard Music Room chairs, but all seats will be placed on a flat floor with no risers.

Artists

Terra String QuartetHarriet Langley, violinAmelia Dietrich, violinChih-Ta Chen, violaAudrey Chen, cello

Program

Joseph Haydn: String Quartet in D Major, Op, 71, No 2, Hob III: 70Juri Seo: String Quartet No. 2 “Overgrown Paths“ (World premiere, commissioned by Caramoor)Henry Purcell: Chacony in G Minor, Z. 730 Benjamin Britten: String Quartet No. 2 in C Major, Op. 36

“…remarkable maturity and musicality” and “…superb ensemble playing” (Hyde Park Herald, Chicago).

About the Music
Variations on a Variation Form from the Terra String Quartet

When talking with the members of the Terra String Quartet, the complete awe that Benjamin Britten’s Second String Quartet — and especially its famous third movement, “Chacony” — inspires is palpable. “It takes the audience on an absolute journey that runs the gamut of human emotion,” violinist Harriet Langley said of the final movement. Cellist Audrey Chen elaborated, “There is something so surreal about having gone through that journey all together, and by the end, you feel like you’re transformed in some way.” She also noted, “We’ve had people in tears at the end.” Such enthusiasm becomes contagious and intriguing because you know that the Terra Quartet wants to be the most supportive guide through the work. Their commitment to this journey is the heart of the entire concert. Taking Britten’s Second String Quartet as the starting point, the group selected the other music to delineate the work’s genealogy. The ensemble provides direct lines of influence from Purcell’s Chacony in G Minor (which inspired the third movement) to Juri Seo’s newly commissioned String Quartet No. 2, “Overgrown Paths,” (which is a response to Britten’s string quartet). Finally, the group included Haydn’s String Quartet in D Major, Op. 71, No. 2, to illustrate the less direct lines of influence because as violinist Amelia Deitrich rightly notes, “Anything string-quartet related leads us back to Haydn.” Just as the Terra String Quartet found artistic inspiration in Britten, so too did Britten find the same by looking to the music of the past, specifically Henry Purcell, the most famous native-born English composer of the Baroque era. As he was developing his own voice, Britten had to navigate two poles of 20th-century music. On the one hand were the conservative pastoralists, represented by none other than the most renowned English composer of the day, Ralph Vaughn Williams, whose lush Romanticism, tonal harmony, and folk-song inspiration often depicted the English landscape. On the other hand were the avant-garde modernists, exemplified by Igor Stravinsky’s icy, objective Neoclassicism and Arnold Schoenberg’s radically dissonant 12- tone technique. Like the modernists, Britten believed he needed to strike out on his own distinct path, specifically coming out from under the shadow of Vaughn Williams. Yet like the conservatives, he firmly believed his music should be moving and approachable for real audiences. Enter Henry Purcell.The English Baroque master offered Britten more than mere inspiration; he provided Britten encouragement and even proof that the English school of music could reach the highest caliber. In the 1930s, Britten began arranging Purcell’s songs in his own “realizations” (harmony in the Baroque era was often left up to the performers to fill in and thus “realize”). Britten’s realizations of Purcell were more than an academic exercise. They were an artistic challenge for him to find his own voice. Soon, Britten moved on to arranging Purcell’s instrumental works and using them as inspirations for new compositions, including The Holy Sonnets of John Donne (which features a ground bass in the last song), and The Young People’s Guide to the Orchestra (subtitled “Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell”).Britten’s arrangement for string quartet of Purcell’s Chacony in G Minor on this afternoon’s program is another example. The Chacony, or “Chaconne” in Italian, was one of the standard Baroque variation forms in which a repeating bassline provides the foundational harmony that holds together a series of variations. For Purcell, it provided the opportunity to compose for instrumental ensembles, while the steady harmonic progression illustrated (then cutting-edge) tonal harmony.Britten, however, took the four-voiced texture of Purcell’s Chacony and applied it to the string quartet. Compared to Purcell, Britten’s arrangement moves at a slow tempo, and his phrasing is predominantly smooth legato, which starkly differs from the clipped staccato of Baroque performance practice. Overall, both Purcell’s work and Britten’s arrangement convey a stately and refined mood appropriate for a formal occasion, but whereas Purcell’s work is regal, Britten’s is reverent, almost holy.The leap from Purcell’s Chacony to Britten’s Second String Quartet could never have happened without the intervention of Franz Josef Haydn, who almost single handedly reared the string quartet into the beloved genre it is today. Haydn completed 68 in his lifetime, and changed his approach to satisfy his changing audiences. As the old court system of princes and dukes as patrons slowly gave way to market-based economies with middle-class audiences who identified as “the public,” Haydn developed his own “public” style. Perfected in the “London” Symphonies as well as his six string quartets of Op. 71 and Op. 74, his public style included simplified textures, extroverted and memorable melodies, and enough surprises and wit to charm a mass audience.

Haydn’s String Quartet in D Major exemplifies his public style. The first movement features a slow introduction (which Beethoven, his student, would imitate, as would Britten much later) before proceeding to an extroverted and exuberant sonata allegro movement. In the Adagio, the first violin imitates an operatic aria with a delicate melody that the composer elaborates in an improvisational style. With the Minuet and Trio, Haydn offers a casual dance movement with a deceptive transition back to the Minuet after the Trio. The final Allegretto consists of a simplified sonata structure in ABA form followed by a lengthy — and exciting — coda, marked Allegro. Brief in scale and mercurial in nature, the movement is just chaotic enough to hold the audience in rapt attention.

Many of Haydn’s mainstay string quartet conventions permeate Britten’s Second String Quartet, even shaping the final movement that directly draws on Purcell. In the first movement, Allegro calmo senza rigore, Britten reached “the greatest advance I have yet made,” he said, experimenting with timbres and textures, while maintaining the outline of sonata form. Rather than acting as a mere introduction as it would for Haydn, the slow opening becomes one of three themes, which are superimposed in the compressed recapitulation. The Vivace then picks up the frenzied folk momentum from the middle of the first movement and develops the idea more fully to a fevered pitch only to interrupt the flow with a slow, eerie chromatic theme.

Then begins the magisterial Chacony. In 21 variations, Britten proceeds on path that is simultaneously predetermined and random, that combines deep Romantic emotions with objective rationalist procedure, and that makes direct reference to its source of inspiration while also barely resembling it in spirit or letter. What holds the 17-minute movement together are the dotted rhythms and upward leaping motive directly lifted from Purcell, while the ground bass harmony maintains the forward momentum more subliminally. Britten, however, breaks up the stream of variations with three solo cadenzas — for cello, viola, and finally violin — that abstract Purcell’s melodies from time and space.

If Purcell and Haydn represent Britten’s lineage, then Juri Seo may represent his musical progeny. A professor of composition at Princeton, Seo reflects much of Britten’s spirit in her own music. She brings the radical trends of the 20th-century modernists (including timbral effects and experimental structures) into dialogue with classical tonality and forms. Along with music history, the natural world also inspires the Korean American composer, as she understands nature as “infinitely fine,” noting that no matter how small in detail the natural world remains perfectly, intricately formed.

Commissioned by Caramoor with guidance from the Terra String Quartet to respond to Britten’s music, Seo’s String Quartet No. 2, “Overgrown Paths,” brings together her historicism, experimentalism, and naturalism. The work features enharmonic harmonies that create unique timbres in the 20th-century vein while nodding to the historical past with her own slant on a chacony. In her note for her work, she writes:

Despite its cyclic harmonic motion and somewhat closed phrase structure, a successful chacony carries a sense of relentless forward momentum, like the cycles of the seasons or the passage of time. Along the way, it reveals an infinite path from one place to another. Following Britten’s lead in deconstructing the form, I treat the chacony not as a fixed template but as a guideline — perhaps a spiritual root. The main theme of my first movement, also named Chacony, is a chromatically descending line, albeit with an unusual harmonization. This theme is embedded at various depths within the music, constantly rising to and receding from the surface. Smaller harmonic loops alight at various moments, forming chacony within chacony.

Paired with the substantial chacony is the second movement, titled Aria, like an epilogue … in which Seo “was thinking of something ephemeral, minute, and precious — like a little wildflower.”

By the end of the concert, the Terra String Quartet shares three composers’ variations on a classic variation form: Purcell’s stately pomp, Britten’s reverent homage, and Seo’s philosophical rumination. Along the way, the ensemble demonstrates that Britten’s music remains, as Amelia said, “as relevant today as it was in his time.” Moreover, their example may encourage us all to enjoy discovering connections between past and future as we each seek our own path here and now.

—Eric Lubarsky

Eric Lubarsky works at Carnegie Hall as a managing editor, where he oversees publishing projects for the Hall’s educational and social impact programs and creates program books for main stage presentations and free concerts around New York City. He holds a PhD in musicology from the Eastman School of Music, and his research focused on performance revivals, concert life, and the 20th-century early music movement.

Terra String Quartet

Recent prizewinners at the 2025 Bordeaux and Wigmore Hall International Quartet Competitions, the Terra String Quartet is a vibrant young international ensemble based in New York City. They are composed of graduates of The Juilliard School, The New England Conservatory, Harvard University, and the Curtis Institute of Music. Known for their sincere storytelling, commitment to artistic excellence, and versatile approach to repertoire, TSQ strives to foster conversation and genuine human connection through their performances and pedagogy.

TSQ is the 2024-25 fellowship Ensemble-in-Residence at the Yale School of Music, where they coach undergraduate chamber group ensembles, as well the 2024–25 Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts. They have performed at numerous festivals and venues across the world, with recent concerts at Capital Region Classical, Rockport Music, Guarneri Hall, Chamber Music Raleigh, Randolph College, and the Emilia-Romagna Festival in Italy. TSQ is invested in education and community work, having been the ‘23-24 Project Music Heals Us Arts Leadership Ensemble, and they were also chosen as the inaugural Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival’s Professional Fellowship Quartet at East Carolina University. Their mentors and coaches include the members of the Brentano Quartet, Ara Gregorian, Hye-Jin Kim, and Marcy Rosen.

TSQ has won top prizes at the 2025 Bordeaux Quartet Competition, the 2025 Wigmore Hall Quartet Competition, the 2023 Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition, the 2023 Osaka International Chamber Music Competition, and the 2022 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. They were also awarded the Christine and David Anderson Career Development Prize at the 2022 Banff International String Quartet Competition. In their spare time, they enjoy playing Mahjong and poker together.

Harriet Langley, violin
Korean-Australian violinist Harriet Langley received her education from New England Conservatory, Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth, and The Juilliard School. An accomplished soloist, she has performed with ensembles including the London Chamber Orchestra, the Verbier Festival Orchestra, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia, the Reno Philharmonic, the Gyeonggi Philharmonic of Korea, and the Orchestre National de Belgique. Harriet has also performed at the Seiji Ozawa Academy, Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, YellowBarn, and the International Musicians Seminar at Prussia Cove. Other than music, Harriet enjoys reading, going to museums, and she has a passion for perfumes and teas.

Amelia Dietrich, violin
Violinist Amelia Dietrich earned her Bachelor of Music from The Colburn Conservatory in Los Angeles under the teaching of Robert Lipsett, and her Master’s degree from The Juilliard School studying with Ida Kavafian. She grew up studying in North Carolina with her long-time mentor, Ara Gregorian. Amelia has concertized in chamber series across the US, Europe, and Australia, including Alice Tully Hall’s Wednesdays at One, National Sawdust, The Guggenheim, the Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival, the ClasClas Chamber Festival in Spain, and the Moritzburg Festival in Germany. Beyond her performance career, Amelia has a passion for pedagogy and mentoring young musicians. She is a mentor and chamber music coach with the New York Youth Symphony, maintains a private teaching studio in New York City, and teaches at Suzuki on the Island- a school in Manhasset, NY. She enjoys running, is an avid cook, and has a passion for fashion and interior design.

Chih-Ta Chen, viola
Violist Chih-Ta Chen, from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, is the winner of the 2022 Chimei Arts Award and the 2018 Borromeo String Quartet Guest Artist Award. His passion lies in chamber music, and he has been featured at Music@Menlo, Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, Taos School of Music, Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival, and the Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival. Currently, Chen holds the Jean J. Sterne and Edwin B. Garrigues Fellowship as a student at the Curtis Institute of Music, studying under Roberto Diaz, Hsin-Yun Huang, Ed Gazouleas and Misha Amory. Previously, he attended the New England Conservatory and Tainan National University of the Arts and studied with Mai Motobuchi, Yong-Zhan Chen, and I-Chen Wang. In his free time, he loves playing badminton and spending time with his two-year-old gray cat, Cheetah.

Audrey Chen, cello
Washington state native and cellist Audrey Chen has concertized with the Seattle Symphony and the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra and has been featured as a guest with the Jupiter Chamber Players, Parker Quartet, Argus Quartet, and Borromeo Quartet. An avid chamber musician, she has performed at festivals across the country, including Yellowbarn, Olympic Music Festival, Music@Menlo, Ravinia Steans Music Institute, Four Seasons Chamber Music, Perlman Music Program, and Tanglewood Music Center. A graduate of the Harvard/NEC dual degree program, Audrey received her B.A. from Harvard University and an M.M. from the New England Conservatory, where her teachers included Laurence Lesser and Lluis Claret. Currently, she is a doctoral candidate at the CUNY Graduate Center under Marcy Rosen, and she also teaches chamber music at CUNY Hunter College. Audrey was named a 2022 recipient of the prestigious Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans. Outside of music, she enjoys watching films, cooking/baking, and making greeting cards.

Know Before You Go

Summer Season Shuttle / Take the FREE shuttle from Metro North’s Katonah train station to and from Caramoor! The shuttle runs before and after every summer afternoon and evening concert. There is no RSVP to get on the shuttle, it will be there when you arrive (in the parking lot side of the station). If it’s not there, it’s just making the loop and should be back within 5–10 minutes. The shuttle will start running 2.5 hours before the concert, and 30 minutes after the concert ends.

Rain or Shine / All events at Caramoor take place rain or shine. However, this performance is indoors.

Make the Most of Your Time at Caramoor

Explore the Rosen House / Select rooms of the Rosen House are free to explore during our Open House hours. No RSVP is required; feel free to attend and discover more about Caramoor’s history and founders.

have questions? visit the q&a page

Seth Rudetsky's Broadway Pride!
2025-06-26 19:00 - 20:30
SiriusXM radio host Seth Rudetsky will take you on a journey featuring the greatest gay artists who helped create Broadway. You’ll enjoy an evening of fantastic Broadway songs, sung by Broadway stars Lauren Patten (Jagged Little Pill, Fun Home), Zachary Noah Piser (Redwood, Dear Evan Hansen) and Gay Willis (Phantom of the Opera, Showboat) with Seth at the piano, and get all the inside scoop on how gay people were intrinsically involved in so many Broadway classics. Shows, songs, and stars from the Golden Age to today!

ArtistsSeth Rudetsky, piano and hostLauren PattenGay WillisZachary Noah Piser

Meet the Artists

Seth Rudetsky
Seth Rudetsky is an American musician, actor, writer, and radio host. He is currently the host of Seth’s Big Fat Broadway and Seth Speaks on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio’s On Broadway. The show focuses on Rudetsky’s knowledge of Broadway theatre history and trivia.

Rudetsky was born in Jamaica, Queens, New York, and began his musical training at a young age. He graduated from Oberlin Conservatory with a degree in Piano Performance. After graduating, he moved to New York City to pursue a career in music.

Rudetsky has worked as a pianist and musical director for a number of Broadway shows, including Ragtime, Les Misérables, and The Phantom of the Opera. He has also performed in a number of shows, including Forbidden Broadway and Disaster!.

In addition to his work on stage, Rudetsky is also a popular radio host. He has been hosting Seth’s Big Fat Broadway on Sirius/XM since 2009. The show features Rudetsky interviewing Broadway stars and sharing his insights on Broadway history and trivia.

Rudetsky is also a prolific writer. He has written a number of books, including Seth’s Broadway Diary: How I Went from Broadway Obsessed to Broadway Blessed and Broadway Nights: Backstage Secrets, Opening Nights, and Lessons Learned Along the Way.

Lauren Patten
Lauren Patten is an acclaimed actor and singer known for her powerhouse performances on stage and screen. She was the breakout star of Jagged Little Pill, the acclaimed Broadway show with music by Alanis Morissette. Her rendition of “You Oughta Know” earned her a mid-show standing ovation, and she won Tony, Grammy, and Drama Desk Awards for her performance. She made her Broadway debut in the Tony-winning musical Fun Home, and most recently starred off-Broadway in the original rock musical The Lonely Few (MCC, Lortel nomination). Other theatre credits include the off-Broadway productions of The Wolves (Drama Desk and Obie Awards) and Days of Rage, as well as the original Deaf West production of Spring Awakening in Los Angeles. She will appear in The Counterfeit Opera, a new musical adaptation of The Beggar’s Opera that opens Little Island’s summer season. On television, Lauren is known for her work as Rachel Witten on Blue Bloods (CBS). She starred in the Hulu murder mystery Death and Other Details, and is also featured on Succession (HBO) and The Good Fight (Paramount+).

As a musician, Lauren has performed at a variety of iconic New York venues, including Sony Hall, Tavern on the Green, Mercury Lounge, and Rockwood Music Hall. She has also held concerts at A.C.T. of CT in Ridgefield and the Gogue Performing Arts Center at Auburn University. Her EP covers, featuring innovative arrangements of rock, soul, and pop classics, is available on all streaming platforms. She was featured on Rolling Stone’s website for her cover of Ariana Grande’s “God is a Woman.” @pattenlauren

Gay Willis
Award-winning soprano Gay Willis is best known for her starring roles as Magnolia in Hal Prince’s Showboat and Christine Daae in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera. Gay won critical acclaim in The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber World Tour with Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman. Her moving performances of Pie Jesu (Requiem) received rave reviews. She went on to star as Christine Daae opposite Colm Wilkinson in Phantom of the Opera.

Gay received the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Actress for her portal of Magnolia Ravenal in Hal Prince’s Tony Award winning revival of Showboat on Broadway, Chicago, and on tour completing over 1000 performances. She got to share the stage with legends Cloris Leachman, Anita Gilette, Elaine Stritch, Dorothy Loudon, Marilyn McCoo, Dick and Joyce Van Patten, Pat Harrington, John McMartin, and Dean Jones. Willis’ Magnolia ages from bubbly ingenue to knowing matron and mother with great finesse and a strong emotional edge”. Variety. Other roles include Rapunzel in Into the Woods 1st National Tour w/ Cleo Laine, Mabel in Pirates of Penzance (Carbonell Best Actress Award), Maria West Side Story, Bloomer Girl at City Center, 4 sold out concerts at Carnegie Hall with the PBS special From Galway to Broadway ,SO MANY benefit concerts with Seth Rudetsky!, Funny Girl, Nothing Like a Dame (raves from Liz Smith NY Post), Stars in the House, Concert for America with Barry Manilow, Westbury Music Fair… and most recently Madame (Evil Step Mother) in Cinderella at Theatre By the Sea!

Zachary Noah Piser
Zachary Noah Piser (he/him) is a Hapa, Jewish actor based in New York City. A 2025 Drama Desk nominee, Zach just finished his run as Spencer in Redwood on Broadway, starring opposite Idina Menzel. Previously, he’s been seen on Broadway in Dear Evan Hansen (Evan), KPOP (Brad, OBC), and Wicked (Boq). Off-Broadway: See What I Wanna See (OOTB Theatrics), Sweeney Todd (Barrow Street Theatre, West End transfer). Film/TV: In Your Dreams (Netflix), Host of PBS’s “Camp TV” series (2x Kidscreen Award nominated), in addition to voicing feature films including Mean Girls and Snow White. Zach is a Bay Area native, and a Northwestern grad. @zach_piser

Know Before You Go

Summer Season Shuttle / Take the FREE shuttle from Metro North’s Katonah train station to and from Caramoor! The shuttle runs before and after every summer afternoon and evening concert. No need to RSVP to get on the shuttle, it will be there when you arrive (in the parking lot side of the station). And if it’s not there, that means that it just left and will be back in 5-10 minutes!

Rain or Shine / All events at Caramoor take place rain or shine. If there is dangerous weather, we will move all concerts under our Venetian Theater tent.

Make the Most of Your Time at Caramoor

Explore the Rosen House / Select rooms of the Rosen House are free to explore during our Open House hours. No RSVP is required; feel free to attend and discover more about Caramoor’s history and founders.

Have questions? visit the q&A Page

Caramoor is proud to be a grantee of ArtsWestchester with funding made possible by Westchester County government with the support of County Executive Ken Jenkins.

All concerts made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Afternoon Tea
2025-06-27 13:00 - 17:00, 2025-06-29 13:00 - 17:00, 2025-07-06 13:00 - 17:00
Afternoon Tea was one of the English traditions Lucie Rosen, founder of Caramoor, enjoyed during her time living in England in the early 1910s. She kept up the practice of inviting friends and guests to tea for many years, using the time for conversation and for planning concerts and other social events.

Tea is served in the Music Room, a unique opportunity for you to relax with friends and family in a breathtaking historic setting, featuring a large portrait of Lucie herself. The service includes a variety of tea sandwiches, scones with créme fraiche and preserves, delicious desserts, and a selection of fragrant teas. Please scroll down to see the menus we offer!

Harney & Sons has generously donated the tea for our Afternoon Tea program.

Rosen House Tours

Self-Guided Rosen House Tours (included with ticket) / Following the tea, you will also have a chance to visit select rooms of the Rosen House starting at 2:00pm, until 3:30pm. The rooms showcase fine examples of decorative arts from Europe and China including jade, porcelain, and textiles that the Rosens admired and collected.

Docent-Guided Rosen House Tours (additional fees may apply) / Preceding the tea, docent-led tours are available by appointment only; they tend to fill up quickly, so be sure to book in advance by calling the Box Office at 914.232.1252. Advance Registration Required. Docent-led tours are free for Members and Children 18 & Under.

Menu

Adult Menu

Upon Arrival

Cranberry-Orange Scone with Crème Fraiche and Jam

Tea Sandwiches

Curried Chicken Salad and Arugula on a Mini Brioche Bun

Roasted Tomato, Ricotta, and Avocado on Crostini Toast

Smoked Salmon, Chive Cream Cheese, and Capers on Rye Bread

Cucumber and Mint Cream Cheese on Black Bread

Turkey Salad with Apples and Cranberries in a Phyllo Cup

Teas

Ceylon Waltz Black Tea

Earl Grey Moonlight Sonata Black Tea

Raspberry-Pomegranate Iced Tea

Desserts

An Assortment of Seasonal Desserts

Children’s Menu (suitable for ages 4–12)

Upon Arrival

Cranberry-Orange Scone with Crème Fraiche and Jam

Tea Sandwiches

Roast Beef and Cheddar on Wheat

Ham and Swiss on Rye

Turkey and American Cheese on Rye

Mozzarella and Tomato on Mini Brioche Buns

Peanut Butter and Jelly on White Bread

Teas

Ceylon Waltz Black Tea

Earl Grey Moonlight Sonata Black Tea

Raspberry-Pomegranate Iced Tea

Desserts

An Assortment of Seasonal Desserts

Dietary Restrictions: With advance notice at the time of booking, we are able to accommodate the following dietary restrictions: vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free. Please let us know if you have any severe allergies and we will do our best to accommodate. Please note, all foods are prepared off-site therefore we cannot provide day-of requests.

Vegetarian Menu

Upon Arrival

Cranberry-Orange Scone with Crème Fraiche and Jam

Tea Sandwiches

Roasted Tomato, Avocado, and Ricotta on Crostini Toasts

Cucumber and Mint Cream Cheese on Black Bread

Fresh Mozzarella, Pesto, and Arugula on Whole Grain Bread

Hummus and Roasted Veggies on Rye Bread

Curried Vegetarian “Chicken” Salad and Arugula on Mini Brioche Bun

Teas

Ceylon Waltz Black Tea

Earl Grey Moonlight Sonata Black Tea

Raspberry-Pomegranate Iced Tea

Desserts

An Assortment of Seasonal Desserts

Vegan Menu

Upon Arrival

Vegan Scone with Jam

Tea Sandwiches

Cucumber and Mint Vegan Cream Cheese on Black Bread

Hummus and Roasted Veggies on Rye Bread

Avocado, Roasted Tomato, and “Ricotta” on Crostini Toast

Vegan “Chicken Salad” and Arugula on Whole Wheat Bread

Vegan Mozzarella, Tomato, and Arugula with Balsamic Vinaigrette on Crostini Toast

*uses nut-based cheese substitutes

Teas

Ceylon Waltz Black Tea

Earl Grey Moonlight Sonata Black Tea

Raspberry-Pomegranate Iced Tea

Desserts

Dark Chocolate Dipped Strawberry

An Assortment of Vegan Dessert Bites

Gluten-Free Menu

Upon Arrival

Gluten Free Scone with Crème Fraiche and Jam

Tea Sandwiches

Roasted Tomato, Avocado, and Ricotta on Gluten Free Bread

Cucumber and Mint Cream Cheese on Gluten Free Bread

Curried Chicken Salad and Arugula on Gluten Free Bread

Smoked Salmon, Chive Cream Cheese, and Capers on Gluten Free Bread

Turkey Salad with Apples and Cranberries on Gluten Free Bread

Teas

Ceylon Waltz Black Tea

Earl Grey Moonlight Sonata Black Tea

Raspberry-Pomegranate Iced Tea

Desserts

An Assortment of Gluten Free Desserts

Dairy-Free Menu

Upon Arrival

Dairy-Free Scone with Jam

Tea Sandwiches

Curried Chicken Salad and Arugula on Dairy Free Bread

Avocado, Roasted Tomato, and “Ricotta” on Dairy Free Bread

Smoked Salmon, Vegan Cream Cheese, Capers, Dairy Free Bread

Cucumber and Mint Vegan Cream Cheese on Dairy Free Bread

Turkey Salad with Apples and Cranberries on Dairy Free Bread

*Uses Nut-Based Cheeses

Teas

Ceylon Waltz Black Tea

Earl Grey Moonlight Sonata Black Tea

Raspberry-Pomegranate Iced Tea

Desserts

An Assortment of Dairy Free Desserts

Daniil Trifonov, piano
2025-06-27 19:30 - 22:30
Caramoor is delighted to welcome back the extraordinary Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov. A Grammy and Gramophone Artist of the Year award recipient, Trifonov has mesmerized audiences around the globe with his unparalleled technique and evocative artistry, captured in an acclaimed discography of nine-plus acclaimed albums.

Program

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Piano Sonata in C-sharp Minor, Op. 80 Frédéric Chopin: Waltz in E Major, Op. Posth. Waltz in F Minor, Op. 70, No. 2 Waltz in A-flat Major, Op. 64, No. 3 Waltz in D-flat Major, Op. 64, No. 1 Waltz in A Minor, Op. 34, No. 2 Waltz in E Minor, Op. Posth. Samuel Barber: Piano Sonata in E-flat Minor, Op. 26 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty Suite, Op. 66a

“…without question the most astounding pianist of our age.” – The Times (London)

Learn More About Daniil Trifonov
Grammy Award-winning pianist Daniil Trifonov is a solo artist, champion of the concerto repertoire, chamber and vocal collaborator, and composer. Combining consummate technique with rare sensitivity and depth, his performances are a perpetual source of wonder to audiences and critics alike. He won the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Solo Album of 2018 with Transcendental, the Liszt collection that marked his third title as an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist.

In 2024-25, Trifonov undertakes season-long artistic residencies with both the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Czech Philharmonic. A highlight of his Chicago residency is Brahms’s Second Piano Concerto with incoming music director Klaus Mäkelä, and his Czech tenure features Dvořák’s Concerto with Semyon Bychkov at season-opening concerts in Prague, Toronto, and at New York’s Carnegie Hall. Trifonov also opens the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra’s season with Mozart’s 25th Piano Concerto under Andris Nelsons; performs Prokofiev’s Second with the San Francisco Symphony and Esa-Pekka Salonen; reprises Dvořák’s concerto for a European tour with Jakub Hrůša and the Bamberg Symphony; plays Ravel’s G-major Concerto with Hamburg’s NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and Alan Gilbert; and joins Rafael Payare and the Montreal Symphony for concertos by Schumann and Beethoven on a major eight-city European tour. In recital, Trifonov appears twice more at Carnegie Hall as part of two U.S. tours, with a solo program and with violinist Leonidas Kavakos. Due for release in fall 2024, My American Story, the pianist’s new Deutsche Grammophon double album, pairs solo pieces with concertos by Gershwin and Mason Bates.

Trifonov’s existing Deutsche Grammophon discography includes the Grammy-nominated live recording of his Carnegie recital debut; Chopin Evocations; Silver Age, for which he received Opus Klassik’s Instrumentalist of the Year/Piano award; the best-selling, Grammy-nominated double album Bach: The Art of Life; and three volumes of Rachmaninov works with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin, of which two received Grammy nominations and the third won BBC Music’s 2019 Concerto Recording of the Year. Named Gramophone’s 2016 Artist of the Year and Musical America’s 2019 Artist of the Year, Trifonov was made a “Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” by the French government in 2021.

During the 2010-11 season, Trifonov won medals at three of the music world’s most prestigious competitions: Third Prize in Warsaw’s Chopin Competition, First Prize in Tel Aviv’s Rubinstein Competition, and both First Prize and Grand Prix in Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Competition. He studied with Sergei Babayan at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

For more information about Daniil Trifonov, please visit his website.

Premium Lounge

Our Premium Lounge allows you to relax or connect with friends in our historic Pavilion Tent. Sip a complimentary drink or enjoy delicious small bites prepared by our local partners.

The Premium Lounge opens two hours prior to the scheduled performance. Access is available to patrons who purchase tickets in the top price level for this performance. Additional details will be sent by email in advance of the performance.

Seating Options

Garden Listening / For those who prefer a more casual concert environment, Garden Listening tickets are $20, and are free for Members and children under 18 years old. Enjoy a picnic, admire a starry sky, or relax with the family. Please Note! This ticket option has no view of the stage or access to the theater. The concert will be broadcast onto Friends Field with audio only. We ask that you bring your own seating for Garden Listening. If you like this seating option, check out all of the summer concerts that have Garden Listening.

Know Before You Go

Summer Season Shuttle / Take the FREE shuttle from Metro North’s Katonah train station to and from Caramoor! The shuttle runs before and after every summer afternoon and evening concert. There is no RSVP to get on the shuttle, it will be there when you arrive (in the parking lot side of the station). If it’s not there, it’s just making the loop and should be back within 5–10 minutes. The shuttle will start running 2.5 hours before the concert, and 30 minutes after the concert ends.

Rain or Shine / All events at Caramoor take place rain or shine. However, this performance is under our fully covered Venetian Theater tent.

have questions? visit the q&a page

Caramoor is proud to be a grantee of ArtsWestchester with funding made possible by Westchester County government with the support of County Executive Ken Jenkins.

All concerts made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

American Roots Music Festival
2025-06-28 12:30 - 19:00
Caramoor’s annual American Roots Music Festival fills our stunning grounds with the sounds of blues, Americana, folk, bluegrass, and more! Wander from stage to stage and discover your next favorite artist as an incredible lineup of bands brings the music to life in our picturesque venues. The day closes with an exciting set by high-energy New Orleans ensemble The Rumble, featuring a blend of traditional Mardi Gras Indian music with the irresistible groove of a funky brass band led by the magnetic Chief Joseph Boudreaux Jr.

Grounds open at 12:00pm, music starts at 12:30pm. Please note: This year’s American Roots Music Festival headliner will perform on Friends Field to conclude the Festival. There is no separately-ticketed performance in the Venetian Theater to follow The Rumble’s closing set.

We suggest bringing your own seating, as all sets on Friends Field and in the Sunken Garden do not have seating. All sets in the Spanish Courtyard and Venetian Theater have seating provided. All performances are general admission.

Artists

The Rumble ft. Chief Joseph Boudreaux Jr.Oh He DeadAmanda Anne Platt & The HoneycuttersRebecca Haviland and Whiskey HeartThe Barefoot MovementChrista Joy and the Honeybees

Schedule

12:30 – Rebecca Haviland and Whiskey Heart (Friends Field)1:30 – Amanda Platt & the Honeycutters (Venetian Theater)1:30 – Oh He Dead (Spanish Courtyard) 2:30 – The Barefoot Movement (Friends Field)2:30 – Rebecca Haviland and Whiskey Heart (Sunken Garden)3:30 – Oh He Dead (Venetian Theater)3:30 – Amanda Platt & the Honeycutters (Spanish Courtyard)4:30 – Christa Joy and the Honeybees (Friends Field)4:30 – The Barefoot Movement (Sunken Garden) 6:00 – The Rumble Ft. Chief Joseph Boudreaux Jr. (Friends Field)

Know Before You Go

Summer Season Shuttle / Take the FREE shuttle from Metro North’s Katonah train station to and from Caramoor! The shuttle runs before and after every summer afternoon and evening concert. There is no RSVP to get on the shuttle, it will be there when you arrive (in the parking lot side of the station). If it’s not there, it’s just making the loop and should be back within 5–10 minutes. The shuttle will run from 11:00am–7:30pm. It will then pause during the evening concert and will resume running at the end of the concert until 30 minutes thereafter.

Rain or Shine / All events at Caramoor take place rain or shine. If there is dangerous weather, we will move all concerts under our Venetian Theater tent and/or in the Music Room of the Rosen House.

Make the Most of Your Time at Caramoor

Explore the Rosen House from 12:30pm–6:30pm / Select rooms of the Rosen House are free to explore during our Open House hours. No RSVP is required; feel free to attend and discover more about Caramoor’s history and founders.

QUESTIONS? VISIT THE CARAMOOR FAQ PAGE

Learn More About the Artists

The Rumble
On Mardi Gras morning, your eyes may feast on the intricate and elaborate beadwork of the Indians as they dance down the street, but the first thing you’ll hear when they make their way toward you is the back line, known as “the rumble”. Featuring seven GRAMMY-nominated musicians, The Rumble is more than just a band—it’s an opportunity to be immersed in a wholly unique facet of New Orleans culture. Composed of Second Chief Joseph Boudreaux Jr. of the Golden Eagles, trumpeter Aurélien Barnes, trombonist José Maize Jr., bassist TJ Norris, guitarist Ari Teitel, keyboardist Andriu Yanovski, and drummer Trenton O’Neal, the group fuses iconic New Orleans funk in the vein of The Meters and The Neville Brothers—but updated, modern and vibrant befitting the next generation—with electrifying brass and the singular visual splendor of the Black Masking carnival tradition.

The Rumble’s debut album, “Live at the Maple Leaf” , received a GRAMMY nomination for Best Regional Roots Album 2024. Their live show is a symphony of rich color and propulsive sound, with each member sharing vocal duties and engaging the audience in the classic Mardi Gras Indian-style call-and-response chanting. The group pays homage to trailblazers like Wild Magnolias and Golden Eagles, both of which featured the vocal stylings of Boudreaux’s father, Monk Boudreaux. The Rumble continues the fight to preserve the legacies and traditions of the community for the next generation while bringing new layers of depth to their live performance. The Rumble provides audiences with not only a top-tier musical event, but a chance to participate in a culture that, while deeply rooted in centuries-old tradition, is thriving and evolving through the active work of this next generation of bold and passionate culture-bearers.

Oh He Dead
Oh He Dead is a study in contradictions. The D.C. band sounds as smooth and lux as leather, but there’s also a levity there, like a feather in flight. They’re not afraid to crack each other up with a crude joke or an impression — and their shows are basically one big hug. Dark and light, pain and joy, the band is best summed up by the origin of their name, which was coined by frontwoman CJ Johnson. When asked what happened to a cheating boy who was shot by his lover in a song of hers, she responded bluntly: “Oh, he dead.” And that’s how a legend is born.

Those contrasts and contradictions are ever more evident on their third studio album, Ugly, out August 23 on Wally Baba Records. A suite of songs that encompasses everything from death to new love, the album acts as a kind of foil to their 2023 release, Pretty. A poppy, polished affair, Pretty is the flipside of Ugly, which Johnson describes as “your insides — whatever you write in your journal at 4:00 a.m. Homemade, raw, acoustic, sexy and messy.”

The origins of Oh He Dead run deep — and they’re forged from Newbegin and Johnson’s years-long relationship, which started when the former taught Johnson in high school history and musical theater. “Whether as Rizzo in Grease or Maureen in Rent, she was just a forcefield. By the time she graduated I’m pretty sure the whole school knew she was going to be a rock star of sorts,” Newbegin says. The band rounded out over the ensuing years, adding Alex Salser (guitar), Adam Ashforth (drums), Piano Whitman (keys), John Daise (bass), and Colin Sidley (bass).

Mixed and mastered by Jimmy Mansfield, the record was a true labor of love, with late nights in the barn spent tweaking and twisting the songs to the band’s will. “Ugly is not meant to be just sad. All the songs are about the beauty of the darkness that leads to more light,” Johnson says. Yin and yang, birth and death, beauty and ugliness, Oh He Dead straddles worlds — all while keeping your feet moving until gravity wins out. Here’s the next chapter of an epic tale.

Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters
The music of Asheville, North Carolina based outfit Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters is nuanced, bringing insight and wit to the stories Platt tells through songwriting. Lyrically driven, the band’s country roots music often inspires introspection, whether it be about life on the road, heartache or hope.

There is an empathetic and charming wit ingrained in Platt’s songwriting. She has a knack for accessing a deep well of emotion and applying it to her story-telling, whether she is writing from her own experiences or immersing herself into the melody of emotions in another person’s life.

Performing along with Platt, The Honeycutters are Matt Smith (pedal steel and electric guitars), Rick Cooper (bass/vocals), Evan Martin (drums/vocals), and Kevin Williams (keys/vocals).

Rebecca Haviland and Whiskey Heart
For over two decades, Rebecca Haviland has been captivating audiences with her powerful vocals and introspective songwriting. As the powerhouse frontwoman of Whiskey Heart, alongside renowned musicians like Chris Anderson (Martin Sexton), Kenny Shaw (Dispatch), Todd Caldwell (Crosby, Stills & Nash) and Nicky Barbato, Haviland effortlessly fuses Roots Rock, Soul, and Americana.

A native New Yorker, Haviland’s musical roots run deep, sparked by her grandparents, who were professional musicians in Westchester’s vibrant supper club scene in the 1950’s. “Their house was a musical sanctuary,” she recalls, where impromptu family jam sessions lit the spark of her musical passion.

After high school, Haviland pursued music studies and interned at Acme Studios in Mamaroneck, New York. There, studio owner Peter Denenberg (Deep Purple, The Spin Doctors) discovered her talent and offered her the chance to record an EP. “That single experience changed the course of my life,” says Haviland. Her debut gig at The Bitter End in New York City—a venue where Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan also began—marked the start of her enduring career.

Whiskey Heart’s 2013 debut album garnered awards in the International Songwriting Competition and Unsigned Only Competition. In 2018, they released Bright City Lights, produced by Don DiLego (Jesse Malin, Hollis Brown), which Paste Magazine praised as “hauntingly beautiful.” The album’s singles, including “Bright City Lights” and “You and I,” received significant attention, with the latter’s video earning an International Songwriting Competition nomination.

In 2019, Haviland and Whiskey Heart recorded two live albums at the iconic Sun Studio in Memphis, featuring original songs and covers like John Prine’s “Angel From Montgomery.” Their 2022 holiday album, A Holiday to Remember, released on Five and Dime Records, showcased both classic and original holiday tunes.

But Haviland’s impact extends beyond the stage; for over a decade, she has nurtured the next generation of musicians as a professor at Purchase College’s Music Conservatory, where she shares her industry insights and inspires students to push their creative boundaries.

Currently, Haviland and Whiskey Heart are finalizing their new album with producer Paul Loren. Set for a 2025 release, the album will include ten original tracks, with the first single “Monday Night” dropping on September 13th, 2024. The EP Late Nights is scheduled for November 15th, 2024. Drawing inspiration from icons like Aretha Franklin and Linda Ronstadt and current artists like Brandi Carlile and Jason Isbell, Haviland continues to create music that resonates deeply with audiences. “I love that I get to keep doing this,” she says. “I can’t wait to hit the road and bring this new music to life in 2025.”

The Barefoot Movement
Since 2011, progressive acoustic band The Barefoot Movement has been recording and touring internationally, winning the 2014 IBMA momentum award, and releasing three studio albums as well as a live album, a holiday album, two EP’s, and a covers collection. They’ve been a tight knit group of four, with a loyal fan base in the bluegrass world. But when the pandemic brought their momentum to a halt, the four-piece ensemble began to fragment, with bandmates moving in different directions during the forced hiatus.

The Barefoot Movement co-founders and married couple Noah Wall and Tommy Norris found themselves facing a decision in regard to the band; to call it quits, or to bring it through a renaissance and find a new way forward. “Tommy and I started this band with a vision to be the ‘Fleetwood Mac’ of bluegrass”, explains Wall “in the sense that it would be a true four-piece band with multiple lead singers…I never talked publicly about Tommy and I being a couple, because I wanted to give every member we recruited their own identity within our band, and it wasn’t just about Tommy and I, that wasn’t important.”

But the change turned into a new beginning for Wall and Norris, who are taking the opportunity to step out as the band’s front people, and further explore the possibilities of what The Barefoot Movement could be. “It feels like the end of that Fleetwood Mac dream, but it has also challenged Tommy and me to get comfortable with sharing ourselves, and all of the different influences that we share both within and outside of Bluegrass. Historically, the songs we’ve recorded were primarily mine and Tommy’s, but co-arranged by whatever members we had at the time, so that had a big influence on which songs we chose to work up. But now that it’s back to just the two of us, I think we are finally ready to tell our story.”

Norris and Wall met in high school in Granville County, North Carolina, where Wall was involved in theater and also played the fiddle. Norris had a rock band, and asked Wall to sing with them. “I said no”, she laughs, “I was just too busy at the time!”. But when Norris later brought a guitar to English class and performed as part of a school project, Wall was immediately taken by his abilities. “I wrote him a seven-page letter begging him to play music with me”, she says. Thus, the original barefoot movement was born.

Years and many life experiences later, the couple has found themselves right back at their beginnings; exploring the music they can make together as a duo, and with a hired band behind them. The result is the triumphant “Let It Out”, a collection of original songs penned and performed by Wall and Norris, joined by many friends and guests, including former bandmates Katie Blomarz (bass), Alex Conerly (guitar), and current touring guitarist Ben Howington.

Christa Joy and the Honeybees
Christa Joy is the band leader of the Western Mass based, “Christa Joy and the Honeybees.” Americana with a classic country flair, the group includes Lisa Marie Ellingsen (lead guitar), Tim Bowles (pedal steel), Jason Smith (drums) and Tom LeBeau (bass). The songwriter’s fourth full length collection was released in August 2024 at CitySpace in Easthampton, MA. The self-titled project, Christa Joy and the Honeybees, paints a versatile picture of the group’s talents—ranging from kitschy humorous gems like “God Gave Me Two Babies” and “Omens,” to emotional ballads like “Time and Luck” and the sparser indie flavor of “Again and Again.” Also included on the project, Producer Grant Wicks arranged a countrified cover of Pixies “Here Comes Your Man,” a shout out to local hero Black Francis. Christa Joy is expected to release a solo EP of songs written during the early months of the pandemic in early 2025.

Joy is known for her strong sense of melody, resonant storytelling, and charming sincerity. She has played at many notable New England venues, including the Parlor Room, the Iron Horse and Club Passim. She has opened for some of her heroines, including Lucy Wainwright Roche, Meg Hutchinson, The Sweetback Sisters, Loudon Wainwright III, and Antje Duvekot. Perhaps more importantly, she is a Mom of three and a Forest Kindergarten Teacher in Western Massachusetts. You can follow her more closely on Substack and IG as Momsongwriter.

Originally from rural Massachusetts, Christa grew up in a teacher preacher truck-driving kind of family. Joy spent the earliest years of her songwriting telling stories of her rural upbringing, the illness and death of her mother, and the brokenhearted years that followed this loss. Impermanence, separation, and the fragility of human life were themes that figured prominently in her early collections of songs, Ready or Not (2012) and Daughter of Your Lost Art (2014). Then she became a Mom in 2015. That new little being demanded her presence and Joy turned her attention back toward this most precious world. She saw it all again for the first time and experienced it all through the soft constant awareness of her first child. In becoming a parent, Joy rediscovered her own inner magic. She began to lighten up, to laugh again, and took notes for the whole ride. These are the moments that brought together her third collection of songs, Get On, Heart! (2019) This album was highlighted by No Depression’s “Crowdfunding Campaigns of the Week,” and later released to a sold out Parlor Room in Northampton, MA. Most notably played on Signature Sounds Jim Olsen’s “The Back Porch” radio show, Jim Neill’s Jukebox, Texas Highway Radio Show, Blue Moon Kentucky, Keepin’ It True Country, Nine Volt Heart, Vizaural Music, Country Routes News, and others.

Caramoor is proud to be a grantee of ArtsWestchester with funding made possible by Westchester County government with the support of County Executive Ken Jenkins.

All concerts made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Thank you to our media partner for lending their support for this event.

Telemann's Pimpinone & Ino
2025-06-29 16:00 - 19:00
The Boston Early Music Festival revives their acclaimed pairing of Telemann works in this fully staged production. Inspired by the Italian comic intermezzi, Pimpinone approaches social class and seduction with stylish slapstick and evocative humanity as the narcissistic Pimpinone is stung by the beauty and barbs of his charming chambermaid, Vespetta. The cantata Ino is a true hidden gem with a thrilling story drawn from Ovid’s Metamorphoses.

Boston Early Music FestivalPaul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs, Musical Directors Gilbert Blin & Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière, Stage Directors Amanda Forsythe, Ino Danielle Reutter-Harrah, Vespetta Christian Immler, Pimpinone

Program

Georg Philipp Telemann: Cantata for Soprano and Orchestra (“Ino”) Pimpinone

3:00pm / Pre-concert conversation with Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs, BEMF Musical Co-Directors

“No other organization on the East Coast performs Baroque music with the mastery and elegance of this distinguished series.” – The New Yorker

About the Music

Synopsis
Pimpinone I

Vespetta, a clever, diligent but poor woman, is seeking a position as chambermaid. She honestly admits that she is in fact looking for a dowry from her future employer, so she can get married as a way out of her poverty. She spots a wealthy, potentially suitable master: Pimpinone. Entranced by her rare combination of charm and modesty, the bachelor tries to find out if Vespetta is available to take care of his household. Vespetta uses this conversation to make it clear that, as her previous master was a brute, she now longs to work for a polite, wise, well-mannered, handsome, and gentle man, like… Pimpinone. This compliment causes the bachelor’s head to spin, and although aware that she is trying to manipulate him, he is already smitten. Vespetta succeeds, by flattery and promises of exemplary behavior, in obtaining the position. Pimpinone rejoices in his apparent good fortune. But Vespetta, feigning humility and respect, mocks him behind his back as they enter Pimpinone’s house.

Ino I

Queen Ino is fleeing her husband, King Athamas, who has been driven insane by the vengeful Saturnia, also called Juno, the queen of the gods. (The goddess was furious that Ino had reared Bacchus, the child of Juno’s husband Jupiter and Ino’s sister Semele.) Athamas has already killed his and Ino’s first-born son; she desperately tries to save Melicertes, their other son, carrying him over a rocky and inhospitable seacoast and expressing outrage at the injustice of Saturnia’s wrath. Ino presses on, trying to find a refuge, but she knows that Athamas is in close pursuit. To escape him, Ino leaps from a cliff into the sea with her son in her arms. Although the waves gently welcome Ino, she realizes that she has lost Melicertes during her fall. Devastated, she implores the gods of the sea to return her son to her. To her astonishment and gratitude, Melicertes appears atop the waves, lifted up by the tritons and nereids.

Pimpinone II

Vespetta, now in Pimpinone’s service, has established herself as an excellent and irreplaceable housekeeper. She begins the next steps in her marriage plan. Claiming that her sense of frugality is hurt by his unwise spending, she threatens to leave Pimpinone’s employ. Penitent, Pimpinone gives her the keys to the house’s safe and to pacify her, the rich bachelor presents her with valuable jewels as a token of his love. Vespetta still claims that she must leave because neighbors are chattering about the nature of their relationship. To stop the gossip, Pimpinone offers to marry her under the condition that Vespetta would stay away from the opera, masquerades, and gambling…in short, that she should refrain from high living. Vespetta readily agrees to stay home, but points out that without a dowry, her status will still be that of a chambermaid. Pimpinone, eager to keep such a domestic pearl, offers an incredibly high dowry, but he requires that she should not leave the house and should not accept any visitors after the wedding celebration. Vespetta accepts these conditions and Pimpinone is in bliss contemplating their wedded future. With her dowry in hand, Vespetta marries Pimpinone.

Ino II

Ino and Melicertes are reunited. The gods of the sea accept both mother and son in their midst, elevating them to immortals. Their apotheosis as the goddess Leucothea and the god Palaemon are celebrated by trumpeting tritons and dancing nereids. Ino sees Neptune, monarch of the watery realms, appearing in his triumphant chariot, and she vows to thank him perpetually by her eternal presence as white foam on the waves.

Pimpinone III

Having become the mistress of the house, Vespetta has no intention of keeping her promises and frequently goes out. She is now preparing to attend a masked ball at her godmother’s house. This concerns Pimpinone, and he worries that the ladies there will make fun of him. When he reminds her of her vows of obedience, Vespetta laughs at her husband and claims her freedom as a married woman. Moreover, when Pimpinone also recalls her promise not to leave the house, she points out that she was then a maid, but now she is his wife. She tells of her desire to be just like all the other fashionable ladies by speaking French, dancing, dressing up in expensive clothes, and gambling. Overwhelmed, Pimpinone threatens her with physical punishment, but Vespetta promises to respond in kind. They insult each other and hurl promises of mayhem. Vespetta cows Pimpinone and reminds him that if they separated, he would have to give her control over her substantial dowry. Pimpinone, having fallen in love with his little wasp, ultimately agrees that going forward he will remain silent.

—Gilbert Blin

A Note on Ino by Steven Stubbs: Marriage for Comic Effect

About the Artists

Boston Early Music Festival
The Boston Early Music Festival (BEMF) is universally recognized as a leader in the field of early music. Since its founding in 1980 by leading practitioners of historical performance in the United States and abroad, BEMF has promoted early music through a variety of diverse programs and activities, including an annual concert series that brings early music’s brightest stars to the Boston and New York concert stages, and the biennial weeklong Festival and Exhibition, recognized as “the world’s leading festival of early music” (The Times, London). Through its programs BEMF has earned its place as North America’s premier presenting organization for music of the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque periods and has secured Boston’s reputation as “America’s early music capital” (The Boston Globe).

For more information about Boston Early Music Festival, please visit their website.

Paul O’Dette, musical director
Paul O’Dette has been described as “the clearest case of genius ever to touch his instrument” (Toronto Globe and Mail). He appears regularly at major festivals the world over performing lute recitals and in chamber music programs with leading early music colleagues. Mr. O’Dette has made more than 150 recordings, winning two Grammy Awards and receiving eight Grammy nominations and numerous international record awards. The Complete Lute Music of John Dowland (a 5-CD set for harmonia mundi usa) was awarded the prestigious Diapason d’Or de l’Année, and was named “Best Solo Lute Recording of Dowland” by BBC Radio 3. The Bachelar’s Delight: Lute Music of Daniel Bacheler was nominated for a Grammy as Best Solo Instrumental Recording in 2006. While best known for his recitals and recordings of virtuoso solo lute music, Paul O’Dette is also active as a conductor of Baroque opera. Together with Stephen Stubbs he won a Grammy as conductor in 2015 for Best Opera Recording, as well as an Echo Klassik Award, for their recording of Charpentier’s La Descente d’Orphée aux Enfers with the Boston Early Music Festival Chamber Ensemble. Their CDs of Conradi’s Ariadne, Lully’s Thésée, and Lully’s Psyché, with the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra on the CPO label, were nominated for Grammys in 2005, 2007, and 2008; their 2015 BEMF CD of Steffani’s Niobe, Regina di Tebe on the Erato/Warner Classics label was also nominated for a Grammy, and received both an Echo Klassik and the coveted Jahrespreis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik. Their recording of Charpentier’s Les Arts Florissants was nominated for a Grammy in 2019. In addition to his activities as a performer, Paul O’Dette is an avid researcher, having worked extensively on the performance of seventeenth-century Italian and English solo song, continuo practices, and lute repertoire. He has published numerous articles on issues of historical performance practice, and co-authored the John Dowland entry in the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Paul O’Dette is Professor of Lute and Director of Early Music at the Eastman School of Music and Artistic Co-Director of the Boston Early Music Festival.

Stephen Stubbs, musical director
Stephen Stubbs, who won the Grammy Award as conductor for Best Opera Recording in 2015, spent a thirty-year career in Europe. He returned to his native Seattle in 2006 as one of the world’s most respected lutenists, conductors, and Baroque opera specialists. He now lives with his family in Agua Dulce, California. In 2007, Stephen established his new production company, Pacific MusicWorks (PMW), based in Seattle, reflecting his lifelong interest in both early music and contemporary performance. The company’s inaugural presentation was a production of South African artist William Kentridge’s acclaimed multimedia staging of Claudio Monteverdi’s opera The Return of Ulysses in a co-production with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. PMW’s performances of the Monteverdi Vespers were described in the press as “utterly thrilling” and “of a quality you are unlikely to encounter anywhere else in the world.” PMW is now a touring ensemble. Stephen Stubbs is also the Boston Early Music Festival’s Artistic CoDirector along with his long-time colleague Paul O’Dette. Stephen and Paul are also the musical directors of all BEMF operas, recordings of which were nominated for six Grammy awards, including one Grammy win in 2015. Also in 2015, BEMF recordings won two Echo Klassik awards and the Diapason d’Or de l’Année. In 2017, they received the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik. In addition to his ongoing commitments to PMW and BEMF, other recent appearances have included Handel’s Giulio Cesare and Gluck’s Orfeo in Bilbao, Mozart’s Magic Flute and Così fan tutte for the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival, Handel’s Agrippina and Semele for Opera Omaha, Cavalli’s Calisto and Rameau’s Hippolyte et Aricie for Juilliard, Mozart’s Il re pastore for the Merola program, and seven productions for Opera UCLA including Cavalli’s Giasone, Monteverdi’s Poppea, and Handel’s Amadigi. In recent years he has conducted Handel’s Messiah with the Seattle, Edmonton, Birmingham, Houston, and Nova Scotia Symphony orchestras. His extensive discography as conductor and solo lutenist includes well over 100 CDs, many of which have received international acclaim and awards.

Gilbert Blin, stage director
Gilbert Blin graduated from the Paris Sorbonne with a Master’s degree focusing on Rameau’s operas, an interest that he has broadened to encompass French opera and its relation to Baroque theater, his fields of research as historian, stage director, and set and costume designer. He was awarded a Doctorate from Leiden University for a thesis dedicated to his approach to Historically Informed Staging. His début productions include Massenet’s Werther and Delibes’s Lakmé for Paris Opéra-Comique, and Meyerbeer’s Robert le Diable for Prague State Opera. Since his production of Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice for the Drottningholm Theatre in Sweden in 1998, Dr. Blin has established himself as a sought-after opera director for the early repertoire: he directed Vivaldi’s Orlando furioso for the Prague State Opera, designed and staged Vivaldi’s Rosmira fedele, Handel’s Teseo and Alessandro Scarlatti’s Il Tigrane for Opéra de Nice, and directed Lully’s Thésée and Lully’s Psyché for the Boston Early Music Festival. As Stage Director in Residence at BEMF beginning in 2008, Gilbert Blin staged a trilogy of English operas: Blow’s Venus and Adonis, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, and Handel’s Acis and Galatea. In 2011, after the staging of Steffani’s Niobe, Regina di Tebe, he presented Charpentier’s La Descente d’Orphée aux Enfers and La Couronne de Fleurs. In 2013, with his production of Handel’s Almira, Gilbert Blin was appointed Opera Director of the Boston Early Music Festival. Following his acclaimed staging and set designs of Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea for the 2009 Boston Festival, Dr. Blin staged Monteverdi’s Orfeo for the BEMF Chamber Opera Series in 2012 and the composer’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria in 2015. Other productions for BEMF include Campra’s Le Carnaval de Venise, Steffani’s Orlando generoso, and Francesca Caccini’s Alcina. In 2016, Gilbert Blin created Versailles: Portrait of a Royal Domain, and in 2022, he staged Lully’s Idylle sur la Paix and Charpentier’s La Fête de Rueil. His recent productions include Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda for Bratislava, Desmarest’s Circé and Lampe’s The Dragon of Wantley for Boston, and Rameau’s Dardanus for Stockholm.

Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière, stage director
Director, choreographer, and dancer Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière founded Les Jardins Chorégraphiques in Montreal in 2007. A multidisciplinary artist trained in dance, music, and commedia dell’arte, she is recognized for the originality of her work. She has directed and choreographed over forty operas, both in Canada and internationally. She regularly collaborates with the Festival Montréal Baroque and the Vancouver Early Music Festival, while also leading stage projects at the Festival Prangins Baroque in Switzerland. Since 2007, she has worked as a dancer, choreographer, and co-director alongside Gilbert Blin at the Boston Early Music Festival and at the Nice opera. In 2019, she won an Opus Award for her direction of Blow’s Venus and Adonis and was nominated in 2023 for her creation De la Pavane au Swing with Les Boréades de Montréal. A dynamic educator, she currently leads the opera workshops at Cégep de SaintLaurent and the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal.

Amanda Forsythe, Ino
Soprano Amanda Forsythe sang Eurydice on Boston Early Music Festival’s 2015 Grammy-winning recording of Charpentier’s La Descente d’Orphée aux Enfers, and earned widespread acclaim for her albums of Handel arias with Apollo’s Fire on the Avie label and Gluck’s Orfeo with Philippe Jaroussky on the Erato label. With BEMF, she has performed operas by Campra, Steffani, Pergolesi, Handel, Charpentier, Desmarest, and Monteverdi, many of which are available on recording. Other opera engagements have included roles for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Rossini Opera Festival, Pesaro; and the major houses of Geneva, Munich, Seattle, Rome, Berlin, and Philadelphia. In recent seasons, Amanda Forsythe’s major concert engagements have included performances with the Boston Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Hong Kong Philharmonic, The New York Philharmonic, the Houston Symphony, the Orchestra Sinfonica Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the Moscow Philharmonic, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano, The Academy of Ancient Music, The St. Louis Symphony, Music of the Baroque, and the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra.

Danielle Reutter-Harrah, Vespetta
Danielle Reutter-Harrah has performed with Boston Early Music Festival, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Opera, California Bach Society, Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado, and Early Music Vancouver, among others. Her favorite past performances include Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria (Melanto) and Orfeo (La Musica/Messaggiera), Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas (Dido/Belinda), Bach’s Magnificat (soprano/alto soloist) and St. Matthew Passion (alto soloist), and Handel’s Messiah (soprano/alto soloist). Danielle performs frequently with local Seattle ensembles including Pacific MusicWorks, Whidbey Island Music Festival, and the Byrd Ensemble. Danielle received her BM from the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music and her MM from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and teaches voice and piano privately. She lives in Seattle with her family.

Christian Immler, Pimpinone
Christian Immler studied with Rudolf Piernay and won the International Boulanger Competition in Paris. His operatic experience ranges from Monteverdi’s Seneca, Mozart’s Commendatore and Speaker, Beethoven’s Rocco, and Wagner’s Fasolt to Strauss’s Musiklehrer. In concert, he has performed Mahler’s Eighth Symphony with the Minnesota Philharmonic, Kindertotenlieder with the Hungarian National Philharmonic, Mendelsohn’s Elijah with the OAE, Zemlinsky’s Lyrische Symphonie with Orchestre National de France, and Glanert’s Prager Sinfonie with the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. He has worked with such conductors as Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Herbert Blomstedt, René Jacobs, Semyon Bychkov, Marc Minkowski, Masaaki Suzuki, Raphaël Pichon, Daniel Harding, Kent Nagano, Leonardo García Alarcón, Laurence Equilbey, James Conlon, Philippe Herreweghe, and William Christie. A keen recitalist, he has been invited by the Wigmore Hall, the Frick Collection, and the Paris Philharmonie with pianists such as Helmut Deutsch. His more than sixty recordings have been awarded prizes such as a Grammy nomination. Christian holds a doctorate in musicology, loves teaching, and is much in demand for worldwide masterclasses.

Seating Options

Garden Listening / For those who prefer a more casual concert environment, Garden Listening tickets are $20, and are free for Members and children under 18 years old. Enjoy a picnic, admire a starry sky, or relax with the family. Please Note! This ticket option has no view of the stage or access to the theater. The concert will be broadcast onto Friends Field with audio only. We ask that you bring your own seating for Garden Listening. If you like this seating option, check out all of the summer concerts that have Garden Listening.

Know Before You Go

Summer Season Shuttle / Take the FREE shuttle from Metro North’s Katonah train station to and from Caramoor! The shuttle runs before and after every summer afternoon and evening concert. There is no RSVP to get on the shuttle, it will be there when you arrive (in the parking lot side of the station). If it’s not there, it’s just making the loop and should be back within 5–10 minutes. The shuttle will start running 2.5 hours before the concert, and 30 minutes after the concert ends.

Rain or Shine / All events at Caramoor take place rain or shine. However, this performance is under our fully covered Venetian Theater tent.

have questions? visit the q&a page

Caramoor is proud to be a grantee of ArtsWestchester with funding made possible by Westchester County government with the support of County Executive Ken Jenkins.

All concerts made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Beer & Cheese Tasting Workshop
2025-07-03 17:00 - 19:00, 2025-07-10 17:00 - 19:00
Enhance your concert experience with a flavorful prelude! Join us for a Beer & Cheese Tasting Workshop, where you’ll mix and mingle with fellow audience members while discovering the perfect pairings of locally crafted brews and artisanal cheeses.

We’ve partnered with Pleasantville, New York’s favorites – Soul Brewing Company and Second Mouse Cheese Shop – to bring you an informative and delicious tasting event. Come sip, savor, and enjoy before the show!

Meet Our Local Partners

Soul Brewing Company

Second Mouse Cheese Shop

Know Before You Go

Summer Season Shuttle / Take the FREE shuttle from Metro North’s Katonah train station to and from Caramoor! The shuttle runs before and after every summer afternoon and evening concert. There is no RSVP to get on the shuttle, it will be there when you arrive (in the parking lot side of the station). If it’s not there, it’s just making the loop and should be back within 5–10 minutes. The shuttle will start running 2.5 hours before the concert, and 30 minutes after the concert ends.

Rain or Shine / All events at Caramoor take place rain or shine. If there is inclement weather, this tasting will be moved indoors.

Make the Most of Your Time at Caramoor

Explore the Rosen House / Select rooms of the Rosen House are free to explore during our Open House hours. No RSVP is required; feel free to attend and discover more about Caramoor’s history and founders.

have questions? visit the q&a page

Caramoor is proud to be a grantee of ArtsWestchester with funding made possible by Westchester County government with the support of County Executive Ken Jenkins.

All concerts made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Endea Owens and The Cookout
2025-07-03 19:00 - 21:00
Due to forecasted thunderstorms at show time, tonight’s concert by Endea Owens and the Cookout will be moved under the tent to the Venetian Theater, with general admission seating. Known as one of jazz’s most vibrant emerging artists, Grammy and Emmy-award winning Endea Owens is a Detroit-raised recording artist, bassist, and composer. She has performed with Wynton Marsalis, Jennifer Holliday, Diana Ross, Solange, Jazzmeia Horn, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Steve Turre, and was a member of Jon Batiste’s house band, Stay Human, as well as on his Grammy-winning album We Are. Leading her dynamic ensemble The Cookout, Owens delivers joyful, soul-stirring jazz that blends infectious rhythms with a powerful message of community and activism.

Caramoor is grateful to the team at Jazz at Lincoln Center for their curatorial inspiration and collaboration.

About Endea Owens and The Cookout
Known as one of Jazz’s most vibrant emerging artists, Endea Owens is a Detroit-raised recording artist, bassist, and composer. She has been mentored by jazz icons the likes of Marcus Belgrave, Rodney Whitaker, and Ron Carter. She has toured and performed with Wynton Marsalis, Jennifer Holliday, Diana Ross, Rhonda Ross, Solange, Jon Batiste, Jazzmeia Horn, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Steve Turre, to name a few.

In 2018, Owens graduated from The Juilliard School and joined the Late Show with Stephen Colbert as a member of the house band, Stay Human. Since then, she has won an Emmy, Grammy Award, and a George Foster Peabody Award. Owens’ work has appeared on Jon Batiste’s Grammy Award-winning album We Are, Oscar-nominated film Judas and the Black Messiah, and H.E.R’s widely acclaimed Super Bowl LV performance.

Owens has a true passion for philanthropy and teaching. She has taught students across the United States, South America, and Europe. In 2020, she founded the Community Cookout, a non-profit organization birthed out of the Covid-19 pandemic that provides meals and music to underserved neighborhoods in New York City. To date, her organization has helped feed close to 3,000 New Yorkers and has hosted over a dozen free music concerts.

In 2022, Owens composed an original piece about the life of Ida B. Wells entitled “Ida’s Crusade” for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and was also performed by the NYO Carnegie Hall Orchestra. She has written for brands such as Pyer Moss and Glossier. She premiered a newly commissioned work with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and served as the 2023 MAC Music Innovator with the organization. In addition, Owens is the curator for the National Arts Club and also a fellow for “Jazz is Now!” with the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. Her debut album Feel Good Music was released in 2023.

To learn more about Endea Owens and the Cookout, visit their website.

Featured Add-on: Beer & Cheese Tasting Workshop

Enhance your concert experience with a flavorful prelude! Join us for a Beer & Cheese Tasting Workshop at 5:00 PM, where you’ll mix and mingle with fellow audience members while discovering the perfect pairings of locally crafted brews and artisanal cheeses.

We’ve partnered with Pleasantville, New York’s favorites – Soul Brewing Company and Second Mouse Cheese Shop – to bring you an informative and delicious tasting event. Come sip, savor, and enjoy before the show!

Beer & Cheese tasting tickets

Know Before You Go

Summer Season Shuttle / Take the FREE shuttle from Metro North’s Katonah train station to and from Caramoor! The shuttle runs before and after every summer afternoon and evening concert. There is no RSVP to get on the shuttle, it will be there when you arrive (in the parking lot side of the station). If it’s not there, it’s just making the loop and should be back within 5–10 minutes. The shuttle will start running 2.5 hours before the concert, and 30 minutes after the concert ends.

Rain or Shine / All events at Caramoor take place rain or shine. In the case of inclement weather, this concert will move to our fully covered Venetian Theater tent. This is a large tent with open sides and seating already provided. You will no longer need to bring your own seating to the concert in this scenario.

Make the Most of Your Time at Caramoor

Explore the Rosen House / Select rooms of the Rosen House are free to explore during our Open House hours. No RSVP is required; feel free to attend and discover more about Caramoor’s history and founders.

have questions? visit the q&a page

Pops, Patriots, & Fireworks
2025-07-04 20:00 - 22:00
The Westchester Symphonic Winds, joined by soulful soprano Carami Hilaire, perform a selection of patriotic works that pay tribute to America’s independence including rousing renditions of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture and Stars and Stripes Forever. This evening concludes with a spectacular fireworks display over the Caramoor grounds.

In case of inclement weather, the concert will be held as planned on Friday, July 4 and the fireworks will take place at 9:00pm on Saturday, July 5.

Artists

Westchester Symphonic WindsCurt Ebersole, conductor/music directorCarami Hilaire, soprano

A Note from the Music Director
Did you enjoy this program? Please complete our audience survey by scanning this QR code and selecting Audience Survey. Thank you!

It’s our eleventh performance at Caramoor, and our nation’s two hundred forty-ninth birthday! We are so excited to return to this stage, playing inspiring music we are eager to share with you. We hope you’ll enjoy this program by and for American patriots, and that you’ll return next July 4 for the Semiquincentennial celebration!

We are opening the program this afternoon again with a new prelude to The Star-Spangled Banner. This arrangement of Simple Gifts, by Noah Taylor, staff arranger of the West Point Band, reminds us of a simpler time in our history, and we hope this setting establishes the patriotic tone of the performance. Please stand when you hear the traditional snare drum roll, and join us by singing along with our national anthem.

Although John Philip Sousa is remembered primarily for his marches, he wrote considerable music of other types, including several operettas. One of these, titled The Free Lance, concerned a goatherd who left his goats, hired himself out as a (free lance) mercenary leader of two rival armies, maneuvered his troops so that neither side could win, and declared himself emperor of both countries. Whether Sousa needed another new march for his band in 1906 (he wrote no other marches that year), or whether he realized the limited future of his operetta, is not known, but he did piece several of the operetta tunes together in composing The Free Lance March. – Program note from Band Music Notes

While the names Kander and Ebb might not be as immediately recognizable as Rodgers and Hammerstein, their iconic melodies from Cabaret and New York, New York resonate deeply. Their masterful songs from the long-running Chicago and frequently revived Cabaret have cemented their place in popular culture, even if their names haven’t always followed. Their paths to Broadway began separately in the late 1950s and early 1960s before a mutual publisher introduced them in 1962. Their first collaborations, “My Coloring Book” and “I Don’t Care Much,” were hits for Barbra Streisand. This success propelled them to Broadway with Flora the Red Menace (1965), which, despite a short run, marked the beginning of their fruitful, decades-long partnership.

They tailored Cabaret (1966) with Liza Minnelli in mind, though her iconic portrayal of Sally Bowles came in the acclaimed 1972 film. Both the stage and film versions achieved significant acclaim. Minnelli also briefly appeared in the original Chicago (1975), which has become their most financially successful work, with its ongoing revival since 1996 surpassing 11,000 performances and later winning a Best Picture Oscar. Kander and Ebb were masters of the show tune, capturing a more cynical Broadway sound. Their strength lay in theatrical irony, blending Kander’s musical sentimentality with Ebb’s sharp wit. They skillfully used familiar musical styles to create dramatic tension, as seen in the seemingly joyous title song of Cabaret and the vaudeville numbers in Chicago sung by criminals. Yet, they also penned the glorious anthem “New York, New York,” famously sung by Minnelli, solidifying their legacy with a tribute to the city that mirrored their Broadway triumph. – Program note by Barton Green

The Cowboys is a typical example of John Williams’s capacity to enrich a film story with an almost narrative musical score. Through music, we are transported to the Old West and experience the joys and hardships of cowboy life. Taken from the 1972 motion picture, The Cowboys, starring John Wayne and Roscoe Lee Browne, the music complements the story of a 60-year-old Montana cattleman who enlists (and ultimately mentors) ten schoolboys as cowboys after the regular ranch hands have left with Gold Rush fever. The 400-mile cattle drive provides the boys with a different and harsher schooling as they learn the rigors of the job and have to deal with rustlers. The music conveys the high spirit of wild horses and their taming. Jollity around the campfire is contrasted against the loneliness of the open range. The plains have a beauty, though, which is reflected in the song of a lark. The hard work of the cattle drive, including the fording of the wide, muddy river and dealing with many fears and threats, succeeds in maturing the boys into men. – Program note by California Polytechnic State University/San Luis Obispo Wind Ensemble

One of Sousa’s favorite sayings was “A horse, a dog, a gun, a girl, and music on the side. That is my idea of heaven.” Of the four first-named subjects, the fairer sex was by far the winner when all the titles of Sousa’s compositions are examined. In this instance, the subject was a pretty girl who worked at the annual Boston Food Fair. Even though the March King never met the girl, her memory inspired the title, The Fairest of the Fair, when he was preparing a new march for the food fair in 1908. – Program note from Band Music Notes

I was inspired to invite Mimi Hilaire to solo with WSW after hearing her live album, Mimi & the Podd Brothers: Live in Brooklyn, which was a gift from our friend, arranger, and WSW accordion soloist, Matt Podd. Ms. Hilaire’s range of expression and vocal tone defy description. It is hard to believe that music from the American musical, Damn Yankees, and the quintessential opera, Carmen, could be combined in one musical selection, but Matt Podd, who wrote the original arrangement, does so in a transformational manner, and Ms. Hilaire brings exciting exuberance to the combination. Her ability to turn the corner and sing Glitter and Be Gay is a testament to her vocal flexibility. I am confident that you will remember these selections long after you leave Caramoor tonight!

Although its origins have nothing to do with the birth of America, Overture “1812” has become synonymous with the battle for which it was named, in which Russia defended itself against the Napoleonic armies of France. Connect battles to cannons, cannons to fireworks, and fireworks to Fourth of July – and thus, a musical tradition was born. Arthur Fiedler initiated the tradition with the Boston Pops on the Esplanade in 1974, complete with cannons, church bells, and fireworks. We hope you enjoy our special take on this battle hymn of freedom, complete with hand bell choirs, which imitate the victorious pealing of church bells.

We are closing our program today with our traditional Fourth of July encore, The Stars and Stripes Forever, by John Philip Sousa. Since an act of Congress in 1987, it is the official National March of the United States of America. What better way is there to end our Fourth of July celebration?

I wish to thank Gillian Fox, Kathy Schuman, Tim Coffey, and Henry Valoris at Caramoor; Barton Green, Mimi Hilaire, all of the handbell ringers, as well as the WSW Board of Trustees and all the members of the Westchester Symphonic Winds for their artistry and support for our performance this evening!

Curt Ebersole, conductor/music directorWestchester Symphonic Winds

About the Artists

Carami Hilaire, soprano
Carami Hilaire is a soulful soprano from Brooklyn, New York who is a graduate of the Professional Studies program at Mannes. Carami has also received awards from both the Wagner Society of New York and the Premiere Opera competition. She has sung with the Internationale Opernwerkstatt based in Switzerland. She has performed the role of Tosca with both Regina Opera and New Jersey Verismo Opera to rave reviews as well as the roles of Aida in Aida and Musetta in La Boheme. In fall 2020 she sung the role of Alice in Alice in the Pandemic with White Snake Opera projects. In 2022, she sang the soprano solo in Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem, with Pioneer Valley Symphony Orchestra. In May she also performed the role of Circe in “Survivors Odyssey” which was presented live at Opera America’s Opera Conference. In the fall she returned to her collaboration with White Snake Opera Projects to sing the role of Tiamat inCosmic Cowboy which generated rave reviews.

“Indeed, the universe creator and savior Tia, as dramatically sung by Carami Hilaire, unleashed from the magic fires of chaos a Brunhilde for our times…[she] sang with brilliant force and conviction almost continuously.” —Lee Eiseman, The Boston Musical Intelligencer

In 2023, Hilaire joined White Snake Projects again to sing the role of Mara the Demon Queen as well as Utah Festival Opera to sing the lead role of Aida.

“Her low notes are rich and her high notes soar…Hilaire is especially effective at expressing heartache”—Keola Kinghorn, Front Row Reviewers

She performs “My Wings Burned off” at the Opera America conference in June in collaboration with Synchrony.

Curt Ebersole, conductor/music director
Curt Ebersole has served as the Conductor and Music Director (John P. Paynter Memorial Chair) of the Westchester Symphonic Winds since 2008, fostering its exponential growth over the past 17 years. He retired from Northern Valley Regional High School (Old Tappan, NJ) in 2013 after serving as Director of Instrumental Music for 31 years. His ensembles were honored with consistent critical accolades, and his instrumental Prism Concerts became a local rite of spring. He now serves on the faculty at The Masters School, in Dobbs Ferry, NY (Jane Rechtman Faculty Chair), where he teaches String Ensemble, Chamber Music, and Public Speaking. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education and a Master’s degree in Conducting from Northwestern University, and a Master’s degree in clarinet performance from SUNY Purchase, where he studied with Ben Armato.

Maestro Ebersole has served as a guest conductor and clinician for numerous county, regional, all-state, and adult community ensembles around the world, including performances at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Symphony Space, with the U.S. Army Field Band, along with performances in Las Vegas, South Korea, and Australia. He is the founding coordinator of the Music Educators of Bergen County Wind Conducting Symposium. He has served as a clinician at the Midwest Clinic, Temple University, Florida Music Educators Association, and presented his TED Talk, “Framing Failure,” at TEDxOneonta in 2017. His performance achievements include solo and ensemble performances as both a clarinetist and basset hornist, including a recent recording with the West Point Band.

To learn more about Curt Ebersole, please visit jce.ebernet.biz.

Westchester Symphonic Winds
Westchester Symphonic Winds — an adult, community-based, 60-piece wind and percussion ensemble — celebrates its 37th season in 2024 – 25. The ensemble strives to promote music in our area, instill pride in our nation and heritage, provide opportunities for personal expression and growth within its membership, and nurture the love of music by offering an exceptional musical experience for people of all ages.

The ensemble was founded by Rachel Eckhaus, Robert LaPorta, and the group’s first conductor, James D. Wayne, who conducted the band from 1988 – 2004. Dr. Luis Fernando Jimenez was conductor from 2005 – 08. Curt Ebersole was invited to conduct the 20th Anniversary Gala Concert in 2008, and was subsequently invited to stay on permanently as Conductor and Music Director. Since 2008, guest conductors and clinicians have included Dr. Mallory Thompson, Dr. John Lynch, Dr. Tom McCauley, Dr. Shelley Axelson, Dr. Travis Cross, Joseph Greco, among many others.

Over the years, the ensemble has given benefit concerts for many groups, including the Food Bank for Westchester, Student Assistance Services, Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation, Irvington Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Rotary Club of Briarcliff Manor, Family Services of Westchester, Yonkers Arts Education, and others.

The ensemble made its Carnegie Hall debut in 2023, its Lincoln Center Avery Fisher Hall debut in 2010, its national debut at the 2012 Association of Concert Bands National Convention, and this event marks its eleventh performance at Caramoor. The organization is an Ensemble-in-Residence at the historic Tarrytown Music Hall in Tarrytown, New York, and rehearses there on Monday evenings from September through June.

To learn more about the Westchester Symphonic Winds, please visit their website.

read the nytimes article about Westchester symphonic winds

Know Before You Go

Summer Season Shuttle / Take the FREE shuttle from Metro North’s Katonah train station to and from Caramoor! The shuttle runs before and after every summer afternoon and evening concert. There is no RSVP to get on the shuttle, it will be there when you arrive (in the parking lot side of the station). If it’s not there, it’s just making the loop and should be back within 5–10 minutes.The shuttle will start running 2.5 hours before the concert, and 1 hour after the concert ends.

Make the Most of Your Time at Caramoor

Explore the Rosen House from 6:00pm–7:30pm / Select rooms of the Rosen House are free to explore during our Open House hours. No RSVP is required; feel free to attend and discover more about Caramoor’s history and founders.

have questions? visit the q&a page

Caramoor is proud to be a grantee of ArtsWestchester with funding made possible by Westchester County government with the support of County Executive Ken Jenkins.

All concerts made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Tallā Rouge
2025-07-05 11:00 - 12:30
Caramoor’s popular Music & Meditation in the Garden series returns, amidst the serene beauty of the Sunken Garden, with a performance by the dynamic viola duo Tallā Rouge. Known for boldly reimagining the classical music landscape, Tallā Rouge blends genres effortlessly, weaving Jazz, Folk, Pop, Middle Eastern, and Western Classical influences into a tapestry of sound.

Aria Cheregosha, viola Lauren Spaulding, violaJennifer Llewellyn, meditation coach

“Five Stars: Cutting-edge music for two violas that really speaks to the listener.”– Fanfare Magazine

About Tallā Rouge
Tallā Rouge, lauded by Chamber Music America as the “little viola duo that could,” boldly reimagines the landscape of classical music by embracing a fusion of genres that live at the palpable crossroads of Jazz, Folk, Pop, Middle-Eastern, and Western Classical influences. The name Tallā Rouge, meaning ‘the Red-Gold’ in both Farsi and French, pays homage to the rich Persian and Cajun heritages of American violists Aria Cheregosha and Lauren Spaulding. Cultivated under the mentorship of Roger Tapping at The Juilliard School, this groundbreaking duo holds the prestigious distinction of being the inaugural ensemble in residence at the esteemed Dumbarton Oaks, a renowned research institute affiliated with Harvard University. Aria and Lauren’s intrinsic need to capture the spirit of music is fueled by a mutual love for outreach, accessibility, and authenticity, values that set the tone for the duo’s refreshingly intimate stage presence. Sharing the belief that “good music is good music”, Tallā Rouge presents the works of living composers alongside the reimagined classical favorites of Beethoven, Brahms, and Mozart, inviting an open dialogue through their unbound programming that encourages a redefinition of classical music in our evolving and interconnected world. Recognized internationally for their emotional performances, Tallā Rouge received first-prize at the Frances Walton Competition, was awarded as a top-prize winner for the International Anton Rubinstein Chamber Music Competition, was invited to showcase in the 2023 Chamber Music America Conference, and was awarded NOLA ChamberFest’s “Emerging Ensemble” of the year for the 2022—2023 season. Tallā Rouge made their Carnegie Hall debut with Tigran Mansurian’s powerful Lachrymae in June of 2023, and holds the prestigious distinction of being the inaugural ensemble in residence at the esteemed Dumbarton Oaks, a renowned research institute affiliated with Harvard University. Drawn to folk, West-Asian, gender marginalized, and LGBTQ+ influenced composers, Tallā Rouge has commissioned over 30 new or transcribed works for viola duo from acclaimed composers such as Leilehua Lanzilotti, Kebra-Seyoun Charles, Meredith Monk, Andrew Yee, Caroline Shaw, Jessie Montgomery, Gemma Peacocke, Kian Ravaei, and many more. In a continued effort to champion new compositions for viola duo, Tallā Rouge runs an international viola duo composition competition, aiming to lead a renaissance in viola duo composition.

You can catch Tallā Rouge on NPR Live Sessions by Clicking Here!

Know Before You Go

Please bring your own seating for this performance in the Sunken Garden.

Rain or Shine / All events at Caramoor take place rain or shine. In the event of bad weather, this concert will move into the Music Room of the Rosen House. You will no longer need to bring your own seating to the concert in this scenario.

Make the Most of Your Time at Caramoor

Explore the Rosen House / Select rooms of the Rosen House are free to explore during our Open House hours. No RSVP is required; feel free to attend and discover more about Caramoor’s history and founders.

have questions? visit the q&a page

Caramoor is proud to be a grantee of ArtsWestchester with funding made possible by Westchester County government with the support of County Executive Ken Jenkins.

All concerts made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

La Excelencia
2025-07-05 19:30 - 21:30
Spend your Saturday night on Friends Field dancing to the electrifying rhythms of La Excelencia, New York City’s award-winning salsa dura band! Inspired by the sounds of the ’70s and the sociopolitical landscape of today, the 11-piece band seamlessly blends traditional salsa with a modern edge, delivering a high-energy, irresistibly danceable experience.

La Excelencia emphasizes hard-driving brass and percussion, just like a Fania Records band from salsa’s heyday in the 1970s. — Larry Rohter, New York Times

About La Excelencia
La Excelencia is an award-winning salsa band from New York City, known for merging the fiery rhythms of 70s salsa with a bold, contemporary edge that reflects today’s sociopolitical climate. Their music ignites both social consciousness and dance floors, offering a powerful, unapologetic soundtrack. “It takes just a note or two to hear that La Excelencia is different. This is raw salsa dura, with the percussion cranked up, sharp breaks, and vocals that are loud, even distorted. It’s the sound of a tough, working band—one that used to be a staple in New York and is now a rare find,” says Peter Watrous of The New York Times.

Formed in 2005 by composer and producer Julian Silva, La Excelencia honed their sound in NYC’s local venues before breaking into the international salsa scene with their 2006 debut album, Salsa Con Conciencia. “We set out to create songs that spoke to us personally, not realizing how widely they’d resonate,” recalls Silva. The success of their debut led to international tours and a series of impactful albums: Mi Tumbao Social (2009), Ecos Del Barrio (2012), and Machete(2020). Their music has been featured in films, TV shows, and compilation albums, and their electrifying live performances have attracted mainstream audiences well beyond the salsa community. “It felt like a rock show, not a salsa performance,” says longtime fan Anthony Guerrero.

Under the leadership and direction of Silva, La Excelencia continues to push boundaries, channeling their distinctive sound and energy while inspiring the next generation of salseros.

To learn more about La Excelencia, visit their website.

Know Before You Go

Summer Season Shuttle / Take the FREE shuttle from Metro North’s Katonah train station to and from Caramoor! The shuttle runs before and after every summer afternoon and evening concert. There is no RSVP to get on the shuttle, it will be there when you arrive (in the parking lot side of the station). If it’s not there, it’s just making the loop and should be back within 5–10 minutes. The shuttle will start running 2.5 hours before the concert, and 30 minutes after the concert ends.

Rain or Shine / All events at Caramoor take place rain or shine. In the case of inclement weather, this concert will move to our fully covered Venetian Theater tent. This is a large tent with open sides and seating already provided. You will no longer need to bring your own seating to the concert in this scenario.

have questions? visit the q&a page

Escher String Quartet & Alessio Bax, piano
2025-07-06 16:00 - 19:00
Caramoor is delighted to welcome back the internationally celebrated Escher String Quartet for a captivating program celebrating America’s rich musical heritage. A former BBC New Generation Artist and recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant, and the Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence at Caramoor in 2007-08, the Escher has earned global acclaim for its profound musical insight and rare tonal beauty. Joining them for Dvořák’s piano quintet masterpiece is renowned pianist Alessio Bax, revered worldwide for his poetic artistry and technical brilliance.

Artists

Adam Barnett-Hart, violinBrendan Speltz, violinPierre Lapointe, violaBryan Lee*, celloAlessio Bax, piano

*Please note that violinist Bryan Lee will be performing in place of Brendan Speltz, who is recovering from a recent injury.

Program

Samuel Barber: String Quartet in B Minor, Op. 11 Florence Price: Quartet No. 2 in A Minor Antonín Dvořák: Piano Quintet in A Major, Op. 81

“… eloquent, full-blooded playing. The four players offer a beautiful blend of individuality and accord …” – BBC Music Magazine

About the Music
SAMUEL BARBERString Quartet in B Minor, Op. 11

Few pieces of classical music become familiar in the popular consciousness far beyond their time of composition—in fact, we may be able to point to just two: Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” from his Symphony No. 9, and Barber’s Adagio for Strings. We turn to the former in times of triumph and celebration, and to the latter in times of grief or reflection. The Adagio has been played for the funerals of U.S. Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy, scientist Albert Einstein, actress Grace Kelly, and at remembrances for the victims of the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers in New York City. Unexpectedly, it has also found popularity in the club scene as a sample used by DJs Paul Oakenfold in 1996 and Tiësto in 2005.

What makes this music resonate so intensely with us? Esteemed violinist and pedagogue, Ida Kavafian, who teaches at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia where Barber studied, has observed the Adagio is “all about tension.” Others have described it as a meditation. In fact, Barber was probably inspired by a section in Book III of the poet Virgil’s work Georgics that describes the powerful formation of a wave building from the depths of the ocean to its crash upon the shore. This music is the sound of the sublime, which communicates something of the mysterious, often unknowable, grandeur of life and the swells of experience we ride.

This emotion is most intimately communicated in the original version of the Adagio, as the slow movement of his String Quartet, Op. 11. The quartet was written in 1935, the year that Barber was awarded the American Academy’s Prix de Rome, which allowed him to spend two years working in Europe with a stipend and expenses paid. In the opening movement the mood is somewhat austere, which seems slightly at odds with the skipping, swaying, rhythmic patterns that glimpse at a lighter temperament. As it fades away almost imperceptibly, we hear the sole sound of the first violin introducing the famous theme of the Adagio. The final movement grows from a tentative start and becomes suddenly recognizable to our ears as an abbreviated remake of the opening movement, thereby bringing the entire work full circle.

Three years later, Barber’s string orchestra arrangement of the Adagio movement was performed on an NBC radio broadcast conducted by Arturo Toscanini. It launched Barber into global fame.

FLORENCE PRICEQuartet No. 2 in A Minor

On a midsummer evening in 1933, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra premiered Florence Price’s Symphony No. 1, making her the first African American to have a work performed by a major American orchestra. The concert, attended by George Gershwin, was the culmination of an incredible run for Price who took home multiple prizes in the 1932 Wannamaker competition.

Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Price was taught and encouraged by her mother before advancing to New England Conservatory, where she studied organ and piano, as well as composition with renowned American composer George Whitefield Chadwick, who was then serving as Director of the school. After graduation she taught, eventually advancing to head of the music department at Clark College in Atlanta. Later, Price and her husband settled back in Little Rock, but the prospect of better opportunities, and escaping the regional racial violence, prompted them North to Chicago. There, Price continued refining her talent at Chicago American Conservatory, and the Chicago Musical College (now Roosevelt University), and became part of a vibrant circle of African American artists in the city’s South Side.

Astonishingly prolific, Price composed around 250-300 works (the bulk of which remains unpublished) for nearly every type of ensemble, including numerous choral, solo, piano, organ, chamber, and orchestral. Most of these were discovered only recently, when in 2009 a couple unknowingly purchased Price’s summer home, finding 19 boxes in the attic containing her manuscripts. Based on that, Price is believed to have written four string quartets, though the number could change if other collections are found.

Price’s String Quartet No. 2 was written in 1935 (the same year as Samuel Barber’s String Quartet, Op. 11) and was first published in 2019. A hallmark of Price’s sound is her unique blend of influences. We hear this in the A Minor string quartet with the slightly bluesy melody of the opening movement that floats amidst the romantic evocation of longing. The second movement pivots between shades of melancholy and gleaming beauty. In the third, Price includes the Juba, a dance that emerged as enslaved people of African descent expressed their cultural heritage even when deprived of drums. Comprised of a rhythmically complex style of percussive dance that utilized stomping, hand clapping, and body patting, it is often considered the precursor to tap dance. The final movement braids together carefree and earnest emotions that converge to end the work with a dramatic flourish.

ANTONÍN DVOŘÁKQuintet in A Major for Piano, Two Violins, Viola, and Cello, B. 155, Op. 81

For years Antonín Dvořák worked as professional musician in Prague, playing viola in the orchestra of the Provisional Theatre, which opened in 1862 as a home for Czech arts in the Austro-Hungarian empire. There, Dvořák was exposed to a wide range of repertoire and occasional guest conductors, like the famed opera composer, Richard Wagner. Composing was something Dvořák did on the side until 1871 when he decided to leave performing to focus on writing. While cultivating his individual voice, Dvořák developed a style that fused traditional concert music with Slavic folk idioms. It captured attention. Among those who noticed was the composer, Johannes Brahms. He was introduced to Dvořák’s compositions while evaluating entries for the Austrian State Scholarship—a prize Dvořák applied for annually. Brahms urged his publisher to take Dvořák as a client, adding emphatically, “In any case, he is a very talented man. Moreover, he is poor!”

Brahms’ support and mentorship completely changed the course of Dvořák career—much like Brahms’ trajectory was changed by Robert Schumann’s endorsement decades earlier. These three composers were also connected by their choices to write monumental works for piano quintet, a genre that was mostly overlooked in favor of quartets or trios.

Schumann’s piano quintet was the first Romantic era piano quintet, notable for the richness of conversation between the parts, responding and reacting to each other rather than simply trading solos over a supporting accompaniment. Twenty-two years later, Brahms followed with his piano quintet, a work with the scope and drama of a symphony, stuffed into the constraints of the chamber form. Dvořák wrote his eight years later in 1872, but this first piano quintet was shelved in dissatisfaction. His successful second attempt came over a decade later, in 1887, and was published as Op. 81. The expansive work opens quietly with a gently rocking duo between the piano and cello in an exchange that sounds more like the middle of an ongoing discussion rather than a beginning. Suddenly, the rest of the ensemble abruptly enters, nearly catching the listener off-guard as the music is propelled by a brilliant, shimmering urgency. The second movement is built around a traditional Slavic musical form called a dumka, which is pensive and shadowed. The upbeat Scherzo is styled as a rapid Bohemian dance called the furiant that alters the melancholic mood, and the remarkable conclusion juxtaposes drama with levity, punctuated by a quiet chorale.

— Kathryn Bacasmot

Kathryn Bacasmot is an independent writer about music.

About Escher String Quartet
Escher String Quartet has received acclaim for its profound musical insight and rare tonal beauty. A former BBC New Generation Artist and recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant, the quartet has performed at the BBC Proms at Cadogan Hall and is a regular guest at Wigmore Hall. In its hometown of New York, the ensemble serves as season artists of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

Highlights of the 2024-2025 season find Escher String Quartet performing in many of the great venues and organizations in the United States, including Alice Tully Hall, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Shriver Hall Concert Series, Chamber Music Pittsburgh, University Musical Society at University of Michigan, Spivey Hall, and Chamber Music Houston, among others. In addition to their North American engagements, the quartet returns once again to Wigmore Hall for a BBC live broadcast recital as well as other engagements in Germany and continental Europe.

Escher String Quartet has made a distinctive impression throughout Europe, with recent debuts including the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Berlin Konzerthaus, London’s Kings Place, and Auditorium du Louvre. The group has appeared at festivals such as the Heidelberg Spring Festival, Budapest’s Franz Liszt Academy, the Risør Chamber Music Festival in Norway, and more. Alongside its growing European profile, the Escher quartet continues to flourish in its home country, performing at the Aspen Music Festival, Bravo! Vail, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Bowdoin Music Festival, Toronto Summer Music, and Ravinia.

Escher String Quartet achieved critical success last season in their performances of the entire cycle of string quartets by Bela Bartok in single concert format, both at Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. Recently, the Escher quartet has had successful releases of multiple albums, including string quartets by Pierre Jalbert and the Escher’s studio recording of the complete Janacek quartets and Pavel Haas quartet no. 2 with multi-award-winning percussionist Colin Currie (BIS Label). Recordings of the complete Mendelssohn quartets and beloved romantic quartets of Dvorak, Borodi,n and Tchaikovsky were released on the BIS label in 2015-18 and received with the highest critical acclaim.

In 2019, DANCE, an album of quintets with Grammy award winning guitarist Jason Vieaux, was enthusiastically received, and in 2021, the Escher’s recording of the complete quartets of Charles Ives and Samuel Barber was met with equal excitement. The quartet has also recorded the complete Zemlinsky String Quartets in two volumes, released on the Naxos label in 2013 and 2014.

Escher String Quartet takes its name from the Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher, inspired by Escher’s method of interplay between individual components working together to form a whole.

For more information about Escher String Quartet, please visit their website.

About Alessio Bax, pianist
Combining exceptional lyricism and insight with consummate technique, Alessio Bax is without a doubt “among the most remarkable young pianists now before the public” (Gramophone). He catapulted to prominence with First Prize wins at both the 2000 Leeds International Piano Competition and the 1997 Hamamatsu International Piano Competition and is now a familiar face on five continents as a recitalist, chamber musician, and concerto soloist. He has appeared with over 150 orchestras, including the New York, London, Royal, and St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestras, the Boston, Baltimore, Dallas, Cincinnati, Seattle, Sydney, and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestras, and the Tokyo and NHK Symphony in Japan, collaborating with such eminent conductors as Marin Alsop, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sir Andrew Davis, Hannu Lintu, Fabio Luisi, Sir Simon Rattle, Ruth Reinhardt, Yuri Temirkanov, and Jaap van Zweden.

As a renowned chamber musician, he recently collaborated with Lisa Batiashvili, Joshua Bell, Ian Bostridge, Lucille Chung, James Ehnes, Vilde Frang, Steven Isserlis, Daishin Kashimoto, François Leleux, Sergei Nakariakov, Emmanuel Pahud, Lawrence Power, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Paul Watkins, and Tabea Zimmermann, among many others.

Since 2017, he has been the Artistic Director of the Incontri in Terra di Siena Festival, a summer music festival in the Val d’Orcia region of Tuscany. He appears regularly in festivals such as Seattle, Bravo Vail, Salon-de-Provence, Le Pont in Japan, Great Lakes, Verbier, Ravinia, Music@Menlo, Aspen and Tanglewood.

In 2009, he was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant, and four years later he received both the Andrew Wolf Chamber Music Award and the Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists.

Bax’s most recent album releases are Forgotten Dances and Debussy & Ravel for Two with Lucille Chung. His celebrated Signum Classics discography also includes Italian Inspirations; Beethoven’s Hammerklavier and Moonlight Sonatas (a Gramophone Editor’s Choice); Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto; Bax & Chung, a duo disc with Lucille Chung; Alessio Bax plays Mozart, recorded with London’s Southbank Sinfonia; Alessio Bax: Scriabin & Mussorgsky (named “Recording of the Month … and quite possibly … of the year” by MusicWeb International); Alessio Bax plays Brahms (a Gramophone Critics’ Choice); Bach Transcribed; and Rachmaninov: Preludes & Melodies (an American Record Guide Critics’ Choice). Recorded for Warner Classics, his Baroque Reflections album was also a Gramophone Editor’s Choice. He performed Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata for Daniel Barenboim in the PBS-TV documentary Barenboim on Beethoven: Masterclass, available on DVD from EMI.

At the age of 14, Bax graduated with top honors from the conservatory of Bari, his hometown in Italy, and after further studies in Europe, he moved to the United States in 1994. He has been on the piano faculty of Boston’s New England Conservatory since the fall of 2019 and serves as co-artistic director of the Joaquín Achúcarro Foundation for emerging pianists.

Bax lives in New York City with pianist Lucille Chung and their daughter, Mila.

For more information about Alessio Bax, please visit his website.

Seating Options

Garden Listening / For those who prefer a more casual concert environment, Garden Listening tickets are $20, and are free for Members and children under 18 years old. Enjoy a picnic, admire a starry sky, or relax with the family. Please Note! This ticket option has no view of the stage or access to the theater. The concert will be broadcast onto Friends Field with audio only. We ask that you bring your own seating for Garden Listening. If you like this seating option, check out all of the summer concerts that have Garden Listening.

Know Before You Go

Summer Season Shuttle / Take the FREE shuttle from Metro North’s Katonah train station to and from Caramoor! The shuttle runs before and after every summer afternoon and evening concert. There is no RSVP to get on the shuttle, it will be there when you arrive (in the parking lot side of the station). If it’s not there, it’s just making the loop and should be back within 5–10 minutes. The shuttle will start running 2.5 hours before the concert, and 30 minutes after the concert ends.

Rain or Shine / All events at Caramoor take place rain or shine. However, this performance is under our fully covered Venetian Theater tent.

have questions? visit the q&a page

Caramoor is proud to be a grantee of ArtsWestchester with funding made possible by Westchester County government with the support of County Executive Ken Jenkins.

All concerts made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

A Legacy of Art Collecting – The Rosen Family, the Art Market, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art
2025-07-10 17:30 - 18:30
This lecture from Dr. Christine Brennan will explore the art collecting activities of the Rosen family, situating them within the broader context of New York’s art scene. It examines their relationships with prominent art dealers and compares their acquisitions with those of contemporaneous collectors, offering insights into tastes and trends that shaped private collections of the period. Particular attention is given to the Rosen family’s connections to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, including their respective activities during World War II.

Learn More About Dr. Christine Brennan
Dr. Brennan serves as Provenance Researcher and Collections Manager for the Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters. A specialist in the history of collecting Brennan’s expertise focuses on the market for medieval art in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Europe and America. She has contributed to exhibitions at The Met and the Bard Graduate Center including Making The Met, 1870–2020 (2020–2021) and Salvaging the Past: Georges Hoentschel and French Decorative Arts from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (2013), respectively. She earned her PhD from the Bard Graduate Center with a dissertation titled, The Brummer Gallery and the Market for Medieval Art in Paris and New York, 1906-1949, and an MA in history and a certificate in Museum Studies from New York University.

Stay for a 7:00pm performance by Caroline Shaw & So Percussion featuring Ringdown. Click here for tickets and info.WHO TURNS OUT THE LIGHT is a very special evening-length staged performance of some of the most dynamic, ecstatic, and just plain gorgeous music being made anywhere by anyone. Built around the current tour of their “hypnotically beautiful” (BBC Radio 3) new album Rectangles and Circumstance, this performance will be augmented by songs from their previous collaborative work Let the Soil Play its Simple Part, as well as an interlude from Caroline’s cinematic pop duo Ringdown. Recent compositions by Sō members round out this band-generated theatrical experience. Click here to learn more.

have questions? visit the q&a page

Caramoor is proud to be a grantee of ArtsWestchester with funding made possible by Westchester County government with the support of County Executive George Latimer.

All concerts made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Caroline Shaw & Sō Percussion featuring Ringdown
2025-07-10 19:00 - 20:30
WHO TURNS OUT THE LIGHT is a very special evening-length staged performance of some of the most dynamic, ecstatic, and just plain gorgeous music being made anywhere by anyone. Built around the current tour of their “hypnotically beautiful” (BBC Radio 3) new album Rectangles and Circumstance, this performance will be augmented by songs from their previous collaborative work Let the Soil Play its Simple Part, as well as an interlude from Caroline’s cinematic pop duo Ringdown. Recent compositions by Sō members round out this band-generated theatrical experience. Includes songs from Rectangles and Circumstance (2024) and Let the Soil Play its Simple Part (2021)by Caroline Shaw and Sō PercussionStaging and Design by Mark DeChiazza

Join us at 5:30pm for a free lecture in the Music Room at the Rosen House by Dr. Christine Brennan, Provenance Researcher and Collections Manager for the Department of Medieval Art at The Cloisters. Dr. Brennan will be sharing the connections between the Rosen family’s art collecting and that of other New York families, many of whom helped to build the Metropolitan Museum of Art. RSVP here to confirm your spot.

Learn More About the Artists

Caroline Shaw
Caroline Shaw is a musician who moves among roles, genres, and mediums, trying to imagine a world of sound that has never been heard before but has always existed. She works often in collaboration with others, as producer, composer, violinist, and vocalist. Shaw is the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize in Music, an honorary doctorate from Yale, four Grammys, and a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship. She has written and produced for iconic artists and ensembles across the musical spectrum, including Rosalía, Renée Fleming, Yo-Yo Ma, Tiler Peck, Nas, Kanye West, the LA Phil, the NY Phil, and others. Recent tv/film/stage scoring projects include “Leonardo Da Vinci” (Ken Burns/PBS), “Julie Keeps Quiet (Leonardo Van Dijl), “Fleishman is in Trouble” (FX/Hulu), “The Sky Is Everywhere” (Josephine Decker/A24), vocal work with Rosalía (MOTOMAMI), “The Crucible” (Lyndsey Turner/National Theatre), “Partita” (Justin Peck/NYC Ballet), “Moby Dick” (Wu Tsang), and “LIFE” (Gandini Juggling/Merce Cunningham Trust). Current touring projects include shows with Sō Percussion, Ringdown, Attacca Quartet, Roomful of Teeth, Graveyards & Gardens, Gabriel Kahane, and Kamus Quartet. Her favorite color is yellow, and her favorite smell is rosemary.

Sō Percussion
For 25 years, Grammy-winning percussion quartet Sō Percussion has redefined chamber music for the 21st century through an “exhilarating blend of precision and anarchy, rigor and bedlam” (The New Yorker). They are celebrated by audiences and presenters for a dazzling range of work: for live performances in which “telepathic powers of communication” (The New York Times) bring to life the vibrant percussion repertoire; for an extravagant array of collaborations in classical music, pop, indie rock, contemporary dance, and theater; and for their work in education and community, creating opportunities and platforms for music and artists that explore the immense possibility of art in our time. Their commitment to the creation and amplification of new work, and their extraordinary powers of perception and communication have made them a trusted partner for composers, allowing the writing of music that expands the style and capacity of brilliant voices of our time. Sō’s collaborative composition partners include David Lang, Julia Wolfe, Nathalie Joachim, Dan Trueman, Kendall K. Williams, Angélica Negrón, Shodekeh Talifero, claire rousay, Leilehua Lanzilotti, Bora Yoon, Olivier Tarpaga, Bobby Previte, Matmos, and many others.

Sō Percussion’s 2024-2025 season is supported in part by awards from:

The National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov

The New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature;

The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council

The Aaron Copland Fund for Music

The Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University

The Amphion Foundation

The Brookby Foundation

The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation

The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation

The Howard Gilman Foundation

The Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation

Sō Percussion uses:Pearl/Adams InstrumentsVic Firth Drumsticks and MalletsZildjian CymbalsBlackswamp AccessoriesRemo DrumheadsEstey OrgansKyle Dunleavy Steel Pans MalletMan Steel Drum Mallets

Sō Percussion would like to thank these companies for their generous support and donations.

Ringdown
Ringdown – featuring composer-musicians Caroline Shaw and Danni Lee Parpan – is an “ecstatically blissful” (Night After Night) and “irresistible” (Feast of Music) cinematic electro-pop duo creating music that floats up from the dusty record bin between Brahms and Brandi Carlile, and centers around joy, human connection, and trying to inspire people to feel more love (and maybe even reach out to a crush).The duo was drawn to each other through mutual admiration of each other’s work; Shaw has won a Pulitzer Prize and several Grammy Awards for her boundary-breaking compositions and contributed music to films including Beyoncé’s Homecoming and the upcoming Ken Burns documentary Leonardo da Vinci, and Parpan is a dynamic vocalist and folk-pop singer-songwriter who writes emotionally stirring lyrics and relishes in challenging how instruments are “supposed” to be played. Together as Ringdown, they forge a new realm thatunlocks ways to write, sing, and perform that they can only access with each other, encouraging each to loosen their grip on the music they have created before and fully revel in the intricate pop music they have both always loved. Their songs are built on late nights of countless back-and-forths on tables covered in instruments and wires, sonically merging Shaw’s pull toward the abstract with Parpan’s directness, perhaps with a playlist of Sylvan Esso, Glasser, Robyn, James Blake, and The Blow in the background. The result is music that invites deep listening but also welcomes you to sing along, and – they hope – helps people feel everything they have been too afraid to feel.As for the band’s name: A ringdown is the theorized sound two black holes make in the final microseconds when they merge, a sub-bass whoosh and glide that suggest the world’s biggest synthesizer, sighing in contentment. This might also describe how Ringdown’s music sounds. Or at least how it feels to the band.Ringdown is working on a debut album for Nonesuch Records and has performed across the U.S. and abroad at Big Ears, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Public Records, SXSW, Thuringia Bach Festival, and more. The duo, who are partners on and off the stage, split their time between Portland, OR and New York, NY. Learn more at ringdownmusic.com and follow them on what they are proud to share is “their friend Virginia’s favorite Instagram account” at@ringdownmusic.

Featured Add-on: Beer & Cheese Tasting Workshop

Enhance your concert experience with a flavorful prelude! Join us for a Beer & Cheese Tasting Workshop at 5:00 PM, where you’ll mix and mingle with fellow audience members while discovering the perfect pairings of locally crafted brews and artisanal cheeses.

We’ve partnered with Pleasantville, New York’s favorites – Soul Brewing Company and Second Mouse Cheese Shop – to bring you an informative and delicious tasting event. Come sip, savor, and enjoy before the show!

Beer & Cheese tasting Tickets

Seating Options

Garden Listening / For those who prefer a more casual concert environment, Garden Listening tickets are $20, and are free for Members and children under 18 years old. Enjoy a picnic, admire a starry sky, or relax with the family. Please Note! This ticket option has no view of the stage or access to the theater. The concert will be broadcast onto Friends Field with audio only. We ask that you bring your own seating for Garden Listening. If you like this seating option, check out all of the summer concerts that have Garden Listening.

Know Before You Go

Summer Season Shuttle / Take the FREE shuttle from Metro North’s Katonah train station to and from Caramoor! The shuttle runs before and after every summer afternoon and evening concert. There is no RSVP to get on the shuttle, it will be there when you arrive (in the parking lot side of the station). If it’s not there, it’s just making the loop and should be back within 5–10 minutes.The shuttle will start running 2.5 hours before the concert, and 1 hour after the concert ends.

Rain or Shine / All events at Caramoor take place rain or shine. However, this performance is under our fully covered Venetian Theater tent.

Make the Most of Your Time at Caramoor

Explore the Rosen House / Select rooms of the Rosen House are free to explore during our Open House hours. No RSVP is required; feel free to attend and discover more about Caramoor’s history and founders.

have questions? visit the q&a page

Caramoor is proud to be a grantee of ArtsWestchester with funding made possible by Westchester County government with the support of County Executive Ken Jenkins.

All concerts made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
