For Immediate Release
Contact: Cohn Dutcher Associates
 Lois Cohn, 917.339.7187, lcohn@cohndutcher.com
Dan Dutcher, 917.339.7157, ddutcher@cohndutcher.com
Laura Malick, 917.339.7183, lmalick@cohndutcher.com
David Mayhew, 203.533.5621, david@davidmayhew.net

CARAMOOR INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL

presents
Peter Serkin, piano
and the Caramoor debut of
Andreas Delfs, conductor
leading the Orchestra of St. Luke's

Saturday, June 28 at 8:00pm

Katonah, New York - Peter Serkin, a vital force in American musical culture, returns to the Caramoor International Music Festival on Saturday, June 28 at 8:00pm in a program of works for piano and orchestra by Bach and Mozart.  Andreas Delfs, making his Caramoor debut, leads the Orchestra of St. Luke's in Caramoor's Venetian Theater.  Of his recent conducting with the Milwaukee symphony, the Milwaukee Business Journal said, "[Delfs] brought innovative programming and artistic excellence to the symphony."

The program features Johann Christian Bach's Symphony in B-flat Major, Johann Sebastian Bach's Keyboard Concerto No. 1, D minor, BWV 1052, and Mozart's Concert Rondo for Piano and Orchestra, D Major, K. 382 and Symphony No. 40, G minor, K. 550.

Peter Serkin, piano
"Mr. Serkin played as if channeling the music from another realm," wrote Anthony Tommasini in The New York Times of a performance by this internationally-renowned pianist earlier this spring.  Since his 1959 New York City debut, Mr. Serkin has successfully conveyed the essence of five centuries of repertoire, and his performances with symphony orchestras, recital appearances, chamber music collaborations and recordings are respected worldwide.  In addition to Caramoor, highlights of Peter Serkin's recent and upcoming concert appearances include performances with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia and Minnesota orchestras, and the Boston, San Francisco, Detroit, St. Louis, Toronto and Atlanta symphonies; recitals at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Orchestra Hall in Chicago and New York's 92nd Street Y; and summer festival appearances at Ravinia, Aspen, Ojai, Tanglewood, Blossom, Saratoga and at the Mann Center with the Philadelphia Orchestra. 

Andreas Delfs, conductor
Andreas Delfs, making his Caramoor debut, will complete his twelve year tenure as Music Director of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra during the 2008-09 season and is beginning his appointment as Principal Conductor of the Honolulu Symphony this year.  In the past, he has held chief artistic posts with several distinguished institutions both in North America and Europe including Music Director for the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and General Music Director of Hannover, Germany, conducting that city's symphony orchestra and opera company.  Prior to his time in Hannover, Mr. Delfs was Music Director of the Bern Opera in Switzerland, Resident Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony during Lorin Maazel's tenure as Music Director, and Music Director of the celebrated Orchestre Suisse des Jeunes.

Orchestra of St. Luke's
The Orchestra of St. Luke's is America's foremost and most versatile chamber orchestra. Formed at the Caramoor International Music Festival in the summer of 1979, the Orchestra evolved from the St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble (1974), with Ensemble members forming the Orchestra's artistic core as principal players. The Ensemble and the Orchestra still co-exist today, and the collaborative chamber aesthetic that is the St. Luke's hallmark has resulted in consistent critical acclaim, both for mastery of a diverse repertoire spanning the Baroque to the contemporary, and for vibrant music-making of the highest order.

In addition to serving each summer as the Orchestra-in-Residence at the Caramoor Festival, the Orchestra of St. Luke's participates in such Carnegie Hall events as a four-concert series in the Isaac Stern Auditorium, the Choral Workshop and Carnegie Family Concerts, as well as in numerous artistic collaborations with other New York City cultural organizations.

Tickets

Tickets are $15.00, $27.50, $40.00, $52.50 and $65.00 and may be ordered by calling the Caramoor Box Office at 914.232.1252 or online at www.caramoor.org.

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

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 today's International Music Festival.  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, and, 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, including furniture, tapestries, sculpture, paintings, textiles, porcelain, and jade in twenty rooms that are open to the public.  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.  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 and include nine unique perennial gardens.  Among them are a Sense Circle for the visually handicapped, a Butterfly Garden, Tapestry Hedge, and an Iris and Peony Garden, which may be enjoyed on one's own or seen on a guided tour.

Enjoy a Picnic at Caramoor
Extend your Caramoor experience by arriving for concerts early and enjoying a picnic amidst the beautiful gardens.  Bring your own picnic or pre-order from Great Performances® by calling 212.337.6055.

House Museum
Guided tours of the House Museum are provided from Wednesday through Sunday, 1:00pm-4:00pm with the last tour at 3:00pm.  On Saturdays, during the Festival, tours are given from 1:00pm-5:00pm, with the last tour at 4:00pm.  Tickets are $10.00 (children 16 and under free).

GETTING TO CARAMOOR

Caramoor is easy to get to by car and mass transportation. 

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 www.caramoor.org).  Parking at Caramoor is free.

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

______________________________________________________________________

PETER SERKIN, ANDREAS DELFS,
AND THE ORCHESTRA OF ST. LUKE'S

Saturday, June 28            Peter Serkin, piano
Saturday, 8:00 p.m.          Orchestra of St. Luke's
Venetian Theater             Andreas Delfs, conductor
$65.00, $52.50
$40.00, $27.50                J.C. Bach Symphony in B-flat Major
$15.00                             J.S. Bach Keyboard Concerto No. 1, D minor, BWV 1052
                                        Mozart  Concert Rondo for Piano and Orchestra, D Major, K. 382
                                        Mozart  Symphony No. 40, G minor, K. 550
______________________________________________________________________

TICKETS

Tickets may be ordered by calling the Box Office at 914.232.1252 or online at www.caramoor.org. 

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

ALL PROGRAMS AND ARTISTS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

# # #

Press Tickets:
Laura Malick
917.339.7183
lmalick@cohndutcher.com

CREDITS

Performances are made possible, in part, by Westchester Arts Council, with funds from Westchester County Government.
Performances are made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.