For Immediate Release
Contact: Cohn Dutcher Associates
 Lois Cohn, 917.339.7187, lcohn@cohndutcher.com
Dan Dutcher, 917.339.7157, ddutcher@cohndutcher.com
Christina Jensen, 917.339.7188, cjensen@cohndutcher.com

CARAMOOR INTERNATIONAL
 MUSIC FESTIVAL 

PRESENTS
TONY TRISCHKA'S
DOUBLE BANJO BLUEGRASS SPECTACULAR

SUNDAY, JUNE 24, 4:30 PM

Katonah, New York - Fiddles, banjos, bass and guitar will fill the air at the Caramoor International Music Festival on Sunday, June 24 at 4:30 p.m. with Tony Trischka's Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular.  Joined by a luminous roster of fellow five-stringers, banjo innovator Tony Trischka debuts at Caramoor in a program that is deeply rooted in traditional bluegrass, but pushes the limits of both the genre and his instrument.

"Bluegrass, like jazz, is a unique musical genre that America can claim as its own.  Today its appeal is global." says Michael Barrett, Caramoor's Chief Executive and General Director.  "Tony Trischka's approach is rooted in classic bluegrass, but he finds extraordinary ways of expanding its musical language and traditions."

Tony Trischka's Caramoor concert, in which he'll be joined by fellow banjo-player Dr. Greg Liszt, fiddler Mike Barnett, guitarist Michael Daves and bassist Skip Ward, coincides with the recent release of his critically-acclaimed double banjo album on Rounder Records. 

Tickets are $45, $35, $25 and $15 for seating in the Venetian Theater.  Al Fresco tickets are available at $9 each for this concert and present an ideal opportunity for families to enjoy the performance from Caramoor's magnificent picnic grounds.

ARTISTS

Tony Trischka is perhaps the most influential banjo player in the roots music world. He is considered one of the planet's master banjo players and educators.  Besides bluegrass, he?s made his mark on world music and jazz too.  For more than 35 years, his stylings have inspired a whole generation of bluegrass and acoustic musicians.  Having shared the stage and studio with David Grisman, Bela Fleck, Earl Scruggs, Ralph Stanley, Jorma Kaukonen, and Peter Rowan, amongst others, he has also created an acclaimed series of instructional materials.

Trischka's touring band brings Dr. Greg Liszt  back to Caramoor following his astounding performance here last year.  He very recently completed his Ph.D. in Biology at M.I.T. where he researched the molecular and cellular basis of aging.  Liszt recently completed a 28-city tour of Europe and the US with Bruce Springsteen as an integral member of Springsteen's critically-acclaimed Seeger Sessions Band.

Also on hand will be Michael Daves on vocals and guitar.  While he can play just about anything with strings and has had his hands in styles from jazz to noise rock, Daves is becoming known as one of the Northeast's premier bluegrass vocalists and guitarists.  In addition to playing with Trischka, Daves is currently gigging with mandolin phenomenon Chris Thile of Nickel Creek.

Skip Ward will lay down the stand-up bass lines that anchor the band.  Ward has studied with Jaco Pastorius and tours with Phoebe Snow.  He can stretch in any musical direction - primarily bluegrass oriented with a few side-trips to other acoustic ports.

Mike Barnett,  a 17-year-old native of Nashville, Tennessee, is a real child prodigy. He is the youngest instructor ever to teach at the Fiddle School at Vanderbilt University (at age 15), and he put out his own CD, Lost Indian, in 2004.  In 2005, Barnett placed 9th in the Grand Master Fiddler Championship in Nashville. He's been described as "one of the hottest, fastest rising musicians in bluegrass music."

About Caramoor

Caramoor is the legacy of Walter and Lucie Rosen, who built the great house and filled it with their treasures.  Walter Rosen was the master planner for the Caramoor estate, bringing to reality his dream of creating a place to entertain friends from around the world.  Their musical evenings were the seeds of the International Music Festival today. Realizing the pleasure their friends took in the beauty of Caramoor - the house with its art collection; the gardens; and the musical programs on summer evenings - the Rosens established a Foundation to open Caramoor to the public in perpetuity.

Lucie Rosen survived her husband by seventeen years. During those years, she expanded the Music Festival: the Spanish Courtyard was used as a setting for musical events, as it is today. Under her direction, the great stage of the Venetian Theater was built.

Caramoor is a Garden of Great Music. "We invite people to come early, explore our beautiful grounds, take a tour of the House Museum, visit our gift shop, enjoy a pre-concert picnic and discover beautiful music in a relaxed setting," advises Paul Rosenblum, Caramoor's Managing Director. With its unique heritage, Caramoor remains a place where magical summer days and nights are shared and enjoyed by thousands. "Caramoor is the loveliest Festival of them all." - The New York Times

Art and Gardens
Concerts take place in two outdoor theaters - the large, acoustically superb Venetian Theater, and the more intimate, romantic Spanish Courtyard.  Caramoor is more than just music - there is beauty at every turn.  The House Museum, the former summer home of Caramoor?s founders, Lucie and Walter Rosen, contains a vast collection of Renaissance, 18th-century and Eastern art objects - furniture, tapestries, sculpture, paintings, textiles, porcelain and jade. There are entire rooms that were imported from European palaces and villas.  In fact, Caramoor is one of just five mansions in the country that incorporate entire rooms into its collection, twenty of which are open to the public.  On Thursdays and Fridays, Afternoon Tea is served in the Summer Dining Room, overlooking the charming Spanish Courtyard.

Caramoor's gardens are also well worth the visit. Nine unique perennial gardens - including a Sense Circle for the visually handicapped, a Butterfly Garden, a Medieval Mount and two gardens whose special characteristics are enjoyed primarily at night - may be seen on a guided tour or on one?s own.

House Museum
Guided tours of the House Museum are provided from Wednesday through Sunday, 1-4 p.m., with the last tour at 3 p.m. On Saturdays during the Festival, tours are given from 1-5 p.m., with the last tour at 4 p.m. Tickets are $10 (children 16 and under free).

Getting to Caramoor

Caramoor is easy to get to by car, mass transportation or the Caramoor Caravan.

From Manhattan, take the Caramoor Caravan and ride comfortably in a luxurious, air-conditioned coach.  Round trip service is $22 and is available for all Saturday and Sunday performances during the Festival, as well as the July 20 performance of Il Trovatore and the August 3 performance featuring pianist Mitsuko Uchida.  The Caravan departs from the Port Authority Bus Terminal and Upper West Side and East Side locations. Call the Box Office (914-232-1252) for further information and reservations.

By train, take the Harlem Division of the Metro-North Railroad to Katonah, New York. Taxi service from the station to Caramoor (5 minutes away) is available.

By car from the West Side of Manhattan and New Jersey, take the Saw Mill River Parkway north to Katonah.  Exit at Route 35/Cross River.  Turn right, and at the first traffic light make a right turn onto Route 22 south. Travel 1.9 miles to the junction of Girdle Ridge Road. Follow the signs to Caramoor.  (For detailed directions call 914.232.5035 and press 2, or online at caramoor.org).

Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts is located at 149 Girdle Ridge Road, Katonah, New York.

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Tony Trishka's Double Banjo
Bluegrass Spectacular

June 24                      Tony Trishka, banjo
Sunday, 4:30 pm        Dr. Greg Liszt, banjo
Venetian Theater       Mike Barnett, fiddle & vocals
$45, $35                     Michael Daves, guitar & vocals
$25, $15                     Skip Ward, bass
Al fresco:
$9
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TICKETS
Tickets may be ordered by calling the Box Office at 914-232-1252 or online at caramoor.org.

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Press Tickets:
Katie Barna
917.339.7189
kbarna@cohndutcher.com