Lucinda Williams, Wynton Marsalis, Hélène Grimaud headline Caramoor Summer Festival

Lucinda Williams, Wynton Marsalis, Hélène Grimaud headline Caramoor Summer Festival: Presenting the best in classical, jazz and American roots music, the Caramoor Summer Festival offers 31 concerts from June 20 to August 2. Headlining this year’s festival are Alt-country superstar Lucinda Williams, the inimitable Wynton Marsalis with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and classical piano soloist Hélène Grimaud. Set on the 90 acre country estate of William T. and Lucie Bigelow Rosen in Katonah, the Caramoor Summer Festival is one of the prettiest and most Sauvignon Blanc friendly outdoor music venues in the country. See you there.

Classical Music at the Venetian Theatre

Opening Night – 70^th Anniversary Celebration: Peter Oundjian conducts the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in a new commission from American composer Christopher Theofanidis, Making Up for Lost Time, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op.125. The Collegiate Chorale joins them for the final movement of Beethoven’s symphony along with soloists Jennifer Check, soprano; Jennifer Feinstein, mezzo-soprano; Noah Baetge, tenor; and Jeffrey Beruan, bass. The performance will be broadcast live by WQXR at 105.9 fm. Sat, 6/20: 8:30pm. (Caramoor, Venetian Theatre, 149 Girdle Ridge Rd., Katonah; www.caramoor.com) 

Jasper Quartet: The Jasper String Quartet, Caramoor’s 2009-2011 Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence, perform Beethoven’s Quartet Op. 18 No. 2, Debussy’s String Quartet, and the world premiere of Aaron Jay Kernis’s String Quartet No. 3. Kernis is the winner of the 2002 Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition and one of the youngest composers to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize. Jasper has performed string quartets from some of today’s best up-and-coming composers, including Andrew Norman, Nicholas Omiccioli, Conrad Tao, and Annie Gosfield. Sun, 6/28: 4:30pm. (Caramoor, Venetian Theatre, 149 Girdle Ridge Rd., Katonah; www.caramoor.com) 

Pops, Patriots and Fireworks for the Fourth of July: You can picnic before the show, leave your soccer chairs and coolers on the lawn during the concert and they’ll be waiting for you after the show when the fireworks begin. No hassle parking and a spacious lawn with lots of elbow room. Plus the Westchester Symphonic Winds, and Broadway’s Ryan Silverman perform “The Star Spangled Banner”, John Phillip Sousa’s “The Stars And Stripes Forever”, highlights, from Anything Goes, Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture and more. Sat, 7/4: 8pm.  (Caramoor, Venetian Theatre, 149 Girdle Ridge Rd., Katonah; www.caramoor.com) 

Ariel Quartet and Dover Quartet: The Ariel and Dover Quartets, two award winning alumni of Caramoor’s Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence program, perform two octets and two individual quartets: Schubert’s Quartettsatz, Shostakovich’s Two Pieces for String Octet, Op. 11, Schumann’s String Quartet No. 1 in A minor, Op. 41, No. 1, 
and Mendelssohn’s Octet in E-flat major, Op. 20. Sun, 7/5: 4:30pm. (Caramoor, Venetian Theatre, 149 Girdle Ridge Rd., Katonah; www.caramoor.com)

Out of Thin Air – Music from Copland House with Carolina Eyck, Theremin:  Music from Copland House with thereminist Carolina Eyck performs works by Copland, Martinu, Rózsa, and Shostakovich. Caramoor’s founder, Lucie Bigelow Rosen, was a student and patron of Leon Theremin and performed throughout Europe and in concert halls in New York City and throughout the Northeast. Sun, 7/12: 4:30pm. (Caramoor, Venetian Theatre, 149 Girdle Ridge Rd., Katonah; www.caramoor.com) 

Jennifer Koh, Orchestra of St. Luke’s/Nicholas McGegan: Hailed by the London Independent as “one of the finest … conductors of his generation”, Nicholas McGegan leads the Orchestra of St. Luke’s for a performance of three unforgettable masterpieces, joined by high-octane violinist Jennifer Koh: Mozart’s No. 25 in G minor, K. 183
; Schubert’s Symphony No. 8 in B minor “Unfinished Symphony”, and Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61. Sun, 7/19: 4:30pm. (Caramoor, Venetian Theatre, 149 Girdle Ridge Rd., Katonah; www.caramoor.com)

Eroica Trio: The Grammy nominated Eroica Trio performs a signature program for Caramoor audiences that offers a wide repertoire from the great masterpieces of the Western World to custom pieces arranged for and by Eroica. The program features pieces from Bach, Suk, Schoenfeld and Brahms. “The Trio plays with technical flair, raw driven energy and high spirits.” – The Wall Street Journal.  7/26: 4:30pm.  (Caramoor, Venetian Theatre, 149 Girdle Ridge Rd., Katonah; www.caramoor.com) 

Hélène Grimaud: Riding the wave of her wildly innovative tears become… streams become… at the Park Avenue Armory and subsequent world tour, Caramoor’s 2015 Artist-in-Residence Hélène Grimaud brings a program of piano pieces on the theme of water. Featuring Berio’s Wasserklavier, Takemitsu’s Rain Tree Sketch II, Faure’s Barcarolle No. 5, Op. 66 and works by Ravel, Liszt, Albéniz, Janáçek, Debussy and Brahms. Fri, 7/31: 8pm. (Caramoor, Venetian Theatre, 149 Girdle Ridge Rd., Katonah; www.caramoor.com) 

Festival Finale: Orchestra of St. Luke’s/Pablo Heras-Casado with Hélène Grimaud: Pablo Heras-Casado conducts the Orchestra of St. Luke’s with piano soloist Hélène Grimaud in a performance of Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Tchaikovsky’s “Winter Dreams”. Sun, 8/2: 4:30pm. (Caramoor, Venetian Theatre, 149 Girdle Ridge Rd., Katonah; www.caramoor.com)

American Roots

Caramoor@KMA – Spuyten Duyvil: The amped-up, six-piece band Spuyten Duyvil offers an Americana mash of Olde Time, Blues, Bluegrass, and Folk Rock. Their new CD, The Social Music Hour, features traditional string band and blues harp songs like “Who’s Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Feet”, “O Babe It Ain’t No Lie”, and “Fishin’ Blues”. See them for just $15 in KMA’s Sculpture Garden. Wed, 6/24: 6:30pm. (Katonah Museum of Art, 134 Jay St, Rt. 22, Katonah; www.caramoor.com) 

Lucinda Williams by Michael Wilson

American Roots Music Festival with Lucinda Williams: Parker Milsap opens the evening concert for Festival headliner, alt-country superstar Lucinda Williams. During the day eight bands perform in the Caramoor gardens and grounds. Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams, from Phil Lesh and Friends and the Midnight Ramble Band, headline the afternoon fest that includes the folkie Kristin Andreassen Band, jazzy blues from Jessy Carolina & The Hot Mess, the folk-rock band Mason Porter, pure bluegrass from Cole Quest and the City Pickers, the alt-Americana powerhouse Spuyten Duyvil, Matt Turk and the Walkabout Clearwater Chorus. Sat, 6/27: 12pm. (Caramoor, Venetian Theatre, 149 Girdle Ridge Rd., Katonah; www.caramoor.com)  

Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O’Donovan – “I’m With Her Tour”: Three mainstays of the acoustic, folk and roots music world play each other’s songs, covers and traditional music. Sara Watkins, a singer-songwriter and fiddler, was a founding member of the progressive bluegrass group Nickel Creek and has toured with The Decemberists. Sarah Jarosz is a multi-Grammy nominated singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Austin, TX. Aoife O’Donovan was the lead singer/songwriter of the progressive string band Crooked Still and has collaborated with Alison Krauss and Dave Douglas. Fri, 7/10: 8pm. (Caramoor, Spanish Courtyard, 149 Girdle Ridge Rd., Katonah; www.caramoor.com) 

Suzanne Vega: A product of the Greenwich Village folk scene of the ’80s, Vega’s knack for crafting a catchy riff have earned her a spot in the folk-pop canon with songs such as “Tom’s Diner” and “Luka”. Artwork for her most recent album, Tales from the Realm of the Queen of Pentacles, features architectural elements from Caramoor. Just saying. Caramoor’s Spanish Courtyard is the perfect intimate/al fresco venue to hear this neo-folk icon. Sat, 8/1: 8pm.(Caramoor, Spanish Courtyard, 149 Girdle Ridge Rd., Katonah; www.caramoor.com)

Jazz

PROJECT Trio: This red-hot chamber/jazz fusion ensemble of flute, cello and bass blends their classical training with a variety of musical inspirations from classical and jazz to rock. Hear them perform Guns & Roses, “Sweet Child of Mine” here. Their program for Caramoor features: Rossini’s William Tell, Charles Mingus’s Fables of Faubus, 
Bach & Jethro Tull’s Bouree, Beethoven’s 5th Symphony Jam
, and Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf – now set in Brooklyn!)
 Thurs, 7/2: 7pm. (Caramoor, Spanish Courtyard, 149 Girdle Ridge Rd., Katonah; www.caramoor.com)

Caramoor@KMA – The Swingaroos: NYC’s underground jazz sextet, The Swingaroos serves up a suitcase full of original songs and Hit Parade covers from the ’20s to the 2010s. Fronted by award-winning vocalist, Kimberly Hawkey, and pianist/arranger, Assaf Gleizner, the ‘Roos continue the tradition of the swing-era Territory Bands. See them in KMA’s Sculpture Garden for just $15. Wed, 7/15: 6:30pm. (Katonah Museum of Art, 134 Jay St, Rt. 22, Katonah; www.caramoor.com)

Jazz at Lincoln Center Festival with Wynton Marsalis and Cécile McLorin Salvant: “You really couldn’t come up with a prettier setting for a jazz festival …” – Jazz Times.  This year’s Caramoor Jazz Festival is curated by Jazz at Lincoln Center and headlined by the celebrated Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis and Cécile McLorin Salvant. The lineup for the afternoon performances offers established jazz legends, future phenoms, big bands, and solo pianists including: Cécile McLorin Salvant, the Orrin Evans Quartet
, Joey Alexander Trio, Sammy Miller and the Congregation, Bryan Carter Quintet Plays Ray Charles
, Jazz for Young People on Tour: “Let Freedom Swing” with the Jerome Jennings Quintet
, Jazz at Lincoln Center Youth Orchestra featuring Joey Alexander
 and The Amigos with Alphonso Horne, Ben Flocks, Jon Lampley and David Linard. Sat, 7/18: 12pm. (Caramoor, Venetian Theatre, 149 Girdle Ridge Rd., Katonah; www.caramoor.com)  

Jon Batiste and Stay Human: Jon Batiste (voice and piano) infuses his own brand of contemporary jazz with soul, blues, hip-hop, and a touch of New Orleans-style groove. A descendent of New Orleans’ music royalty, Batiste is a Movado Future Legend award winner and recipient of Best New Artist at the Montreaux Jazz Festival. He has collaborated extensively with the likes of Wynton Marsalis, Prince, Lauryn Hill, Spike Lee, Jimmy Buffet, Lenny Kravitz, and others. Fri, 7/24: 8pm. (Caramoor, Sunken Garden, 149 Girdle Ridge Rd., Katonah; www.caramoor.com)

Chamber Music in the Spanish Courtyard

Edward Arron & Friends: Alumni of Caramoor’s Rising Stars mentoring program join cellist and Artistic Director Edward Arron for an evening of chamber music in the open-air Spanish Courtyard. Arron is recognized worldwide for his elegant musicianship. The evening’s program includes: Hummel’s Piano Quintet in E-flat major, Op. 87; Strauss’s Metamorphosen (version for String Septet) and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 55 ‘Eroica,’ arranged for Piano Quartet by Ferdinand Ries. Fri, 6/26: 8pm. (Caramoor, Spanish Courtyard, 149 Girdle Ridge Rd., Katonah; www.caramoor.com)  

Alexi Kenney, violin, Renana Gutman, piano: An alumni of Caramoor’s Evnin Rising Stars mentoring program for classical string musicians, violinist Alexi Kenney, scored a win at the 2013 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition at the age of 19. Renana Gutman, a prizewinner at the Los Angeles Liszt Competition and the International Keyboard Festival in New York has performed with the Jerusalem Symphony and the Belgian “I Fiamminghi”. The program includes: Westhoff’s Suite No. 2 in A major for solo violin; Bach’s Sonata for violin and keyboard No. 3 in E major, BWV 1016; 
Poulenc’s “C” (transcribed for violin and piano by Alexi Kenney)
and Enescu’s Sonata No. 3, Op. 25. Thurs, 7/9: 7pm. (Caramoor, Spanish Courtyard, 149 Girdle Ridge Rd., Katonah; www.caramoor.com)

Calidore String Quartet: Described as “a miracle of unified thought…” by La Presse, the Calidore String Quartet has established an international reputation for its captivating performances. Debuted in such prestigious festivals as Verbier, Ravinia, and NYC’s Schneider Concert Series, and featured as “Young Artist-in-Residence” on American Public Media’s national radio program Performance Today, the Calidore marks their fourth concert appearance as Caramoor’s 2014-15 Ernst Stiefel String Quarter-in-Residence with a program of Mozart, Schubert and a world premiere of a work by Patrick Harlin. Fri, 7/17: 8pm. (Caramoor, Spanish Courtyard, 149 Girdle Ridge Rd., Katonah; www.caramoor.com)

Gabriel Kahane & Rob Moose: The Ambassador and more: Fresh off a triumphant run at BAM’s Harvey Theater in the New York premiere of his acclaimed staged song cycle The Ambassador, Gabriel Kahane (piano, guitars, banjo and vocals), with his longtime collaborator Rob Moose (violin and guitars), offers an evening of his original chamber music tinged with forward-looking folk concepts. Plus works by Franz Schubert, Benjamin Britten, Jerome Kern, and John Adams. Thurs, 7/30: 7:00pm.  (Caramoor, Spanish Courtyard, 149 Girdle Ridge Rd., Katonah; www.caramoor.com)

Classical Guitar in the Sunken Garden

Ana Vidovic – Guitar in the Garden: Classical guitarist Ana Vidovic returns to Caramoor’s Sunken Garden for a solo performance of works by Bach, Torroba, Takemitsu, and others. Including Sor’s Introduction and Variations on a Theme by Mozart, Op. 9, and Bach’s Prelude, Fugue and Allegro, BWV 998 (arr. for guitar by Frank Koonce). “Vidovic’s playing is nuanced and intensely personal.” –The Washington Post. Sun, 6/21: 4:30pm.(Caramoor, Sunken Garden, 149 Girdle Ridge Rd., Katonah; www.caramoor.com)

Lukasz Kuropaczewski – Guitar in the Garden: Łukasz Kuropaczewski performs favorites of the Classical Guitar repertoire, including a transcription of Bach’s first cello suite and two Spanish gems rooted in the flamenco and parlour music traditions. He will also pay homage to his Polish heritage with pieces by Polish composers, Alexandre Tansman, Kryzysztof Penderecki, and Kryzysztof Meyer. Thurs, 7/23: 7pm. (Caramoor, Sunken Garden, 149 Girdle Ridge Rd., Katonah; www.caramoor.com) 

Opera

Anonymous in Love – Bel Canto Young Artists: Singers from Caramoor’s Bel Canto mentoring program perform playful and romantic songs from the early years of bel canto’s golden age. Graduates of Caramoor’s Bel Canto mentoring program have gone from Caramoor to the world stage. Thurs, 6/25: 7pm. (Caramoor, Spanish Courtyard, 149 Girdle Ridge Rd., Katonah; www.caramoor.com)

Donizetti: La Favorite: Under the direction of Will Crutchfield, Caramoor’s Director of Opera, La Favorite continues Caramoor’s track record of reviving the Parisian grand operas of the Italian masters. La Favorite was the second of the four works Donizetti completed for the Paris Opera, and was such a success that it was given there every single season from 1840 to 1894, with occasional revivals up to 1918. Sat, 7/11: 8pm. (Caramoor, Venetian Theatre, 149 Girdle Ridge Rd., Katonah; www.caramoor.com) 

The Amazing Scarlattis  – Bel Canto Young Artists: Singers from Caramoor’s Bel Canto mentoring program perform the works of Alessandro and Domenico Scarlatti, father and son, who produced an endless stream of masterpieces and formed important links between the early Baroque Italian vocal styles and the classical school. Many graduates of Caramoor’s Bel Canto mentoring program have gone on to perform on the world stage. Thurs, 7/16: 7pm. (Caramoor, Spanish Courtyard, 149 Girdle Ridge Rd., Katonah; www.caramoor.com)

Poulenc: Dialogues des Carmélites: With Dialogues of the Carmelites, Caramoor branches out from its core repertory of “bel canto” opera to present a 20th-century masterpiece. More than any other opera written after World War Two, Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites has attracted the great singing actresses of the standard repertory including Leontyne Price and Joan Sutherland. Here Caramoor welcomes the radiant Hei-Kyung Hong as the New Prioress, Jennifer Larmore (who triumphed at Caramoor in 2013 in Don Carlos) as Mère Marie, and – in a rare and much-anticipated New York appearance – Deborah Polaski, Bayreuth’s leading Brünnhilde in two historic “Ring” cycles, as the Old Prioress. Sat, 7/25: 8pm. (Caramoor, Venetian Theatre, 149 Girdle Ridge Rd., Katonah; www.caramoor.com)

Dancing At Dusk

Israeli Folk Dancing with Danny Pollock and Tavche Gravche: Get out on the spacious lawn of Caramoor’s Friends Field and experience the world of Israeli dance in all its multiethnic glory! Participants will learn circle, partner, and line dances, representing different ethnic aspects of Israeli folk dance, including dances in the Chassidic (Eastern European) tradition, in the Yemenite and Turkish styles, and dances that exemplify the exuberance of the Hora, the core style of Israeli dancing. Wed, 7/1: 5pm. (Caramoor, 149 Girdle Ridge Rd., Katonah; www.caramoor.com)

Italian Folk Dancing with Alessandra Belloni and I Giullari di Piazza: Featuring dances performed by the women of Southern Italy, the authentic tarantella used to cure the mythical bite of the tarantula, and love songs, lullabies, processional chants and ritual drumming in honor of the Black Madonna, Tammorriata. The music comes from Naples, Calabria, Sicily and Puglia, and has a very unique world-music sound. With the amazing stilt dancer Mark Mindek, who plays a variety of masked characters while dancing wildly on stilts.Wed, 7/8: 5pm. (Caramoor, 149 Girdle Ridge Rd., Katonah; www.caramoor.com)  

Middle Eastern Belly Dancing: New York City-based Carmine and Friends play songs from Turkey, Egypt and more! Dance to the gorgeous melodies played on the oud, a Middle Eastern lute, violin and doumbek and riq, Middle Eastern percussion instruments. This show features the belly dance artistry of Kaeshi Chai. Wed, 7/22: 5pm. (Caramoor, 149 Girdle Ridge Rd., Katonah; www.caramoor.com)

Greek Dancing with Ethos and Kostas Psarros: Dance to rebetiko, the Greek blues and other genres of Greek music hailing from the islands to the mountains. Learn the variety of Greek musical structure using straight and odd meters, and try moving to them. Dance instructor Maria Sopasis will show you how. With Vicky Palma, vocals
, Kostas Psarros, bouzouki, Glafkos Kontemeniotis, keyboards
, and Richard Kouzami, percussion. Wed, 7/29: 5pm. (Caramoor, 149 Girdle Ridge Rd., Katonah; www.caramoor.com)

In the Garden of Sonic Delights

Last season’s al fresco art exhibition “In the Garden of Sonic Delights,” returns. The exhibition features eight site-specific, locally inspired sound art installations across Caramoor’s 90-acre campus. This exhibition of sound art negotiates the intricate interface between nature, acoustics, history, and architecture. The soundscape will be open to visitors all summer long.

More stuff to do for townies and culture-vultures.

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