Caramoor 20/2.0: “Listening to Tom-Tom” explores the 1932 opera by Shirley Graham Du Bois, the composer, playwright and activist who in later life married W.E.B. Du Bois. Soprano Candice Hoyes, baritone Markel Reed and pianist Kyle Walker perform excerpts from the opera, while Harvard lecturer Lucy Caplan and Caroline Jackson Smith, Professor of Theater and Africana Studies at Oberlin College, consider its complex representations of race, gender and history in a supplementary panel discussion.

Livestream from the Music Room

Livestreams & Broadcasts from the Music Room (July2-Aug 6)

Their professionally produced new video streams, (July 2- Aug 6)  will feature such world-class artists as Inon Barnatan, Conor Hanick, Sandbox Percussion, the Calidore String Quartet and Musicians from The Knights. The video stream season repertoire will range from Mozart and Tchaikovsky to excerpts from Shirley Graham Du Bois’s opera Tom-Tom, a children’s program, and the world premieres of new works by Christopher Cerrone and Anna Clyne. Each streamed performance will be accompanied by additional content including talks with the artists and closer looks at Caramoor’s Rosen house and grounds.  Later in the summer, Caramoor plans to host four live, public, open-air concerts on Friends Field. Suitable for small, well-spaced audiences, these will feature multiple genres: American Roots, mariachi, jazz and swing. (Saturdays, July 18–Aug 8, with rain dates on the following Sundays).

Live public concerts on the Friends Field (planned for July 18–Aug 8)

The public shows are scheduled to kick off on July 18 with 4X Grammy Award-winner, MacArthur Genius Grant recipient and virtuoso mandolinist Chris Thile. Thile is a virtuoso mandolinist, singer-songwriter and member of the American roots groups Nickel Creek and Punch Brothers. He hosts the popular radio variety show Live from Here. Rachael & Vilray, a duo pairing Lake Street Dive singer-songwriter Rachael Price with composer, singer and guitarist Vilray perform jazz from the 30s and 40s on July 25. Then vocalist Charles Turner & Uptown Swing, from Jazz at Lincoln Center’s late-night dance sessions, puts a contemporary spin on the Harlem Sound – swing, bebop and the blues – on August 1. Finally, all-female group Flor de Toloaches offers a unique and powerful take on traditional mariachi music . “They don’t just sing; they could blast through mountains with their wails and gritos (shouts), and melt glaciers with the warmth of their gorgeous harmonies.” – NPR

Outdoor Spaces

In addition, Caramoor hopes to open its outdoor spaces to the public, beginning in mid-July. Visitors will be able to enjoy its landscaped Italianate and woodland gardens, interacting with nature, architecture and history on socially distant picnics and walks, as well as exploring the superlative site-specific sound art installations of Sonic Innovations (Thurs through Sun, from July 16). See and hear more from Caramoor CEO Jeffrey Hayden here.