Ode to Joy Features the Orchestra of St. Luke's led by Peter Oundjian
and Soloists Janice Chandler-Eteme, Mary Phillips, Simon O'Neill,
Philip Cutlip with The Collegiate Chorale

Opening Night Includes Gala Benefit Celebration

Katonah, New York - Ode to Joy, a joyous musical celebration featuring Beethoven's immortal Ninth Symphony opens Caramoor's 60th annual summer festival on June 25th at 7 p.m. in the Venetian Theater. Artistic Advisor and Principal Conductor Peter Oundjian leads the all-Beethoven program featuring the Orchestra of St. Luke's and The Collegiate Chorale, with Janice Chandler-Eteme, soprano; Mary Phillips, mezzo-soprano; Simon O'Neill, tenor; and Philip Cutlip, bass-baritone. The program opens with the Overture to Fidelio and is followed by Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in its first Caramoor performance. 

Michael Barrett, Chief Executive and General Director of Caramoor said, "Caramoor's 60th anniversary is a good time for us to pay tribute to our founders, Walter and Lucie Rosen, and their incredibly generous and forward-thinking act of creating the Caramoor Festival. Occurring near the end of World War II, the gift of Caramoor to the public reflects the Rosen's unshakable belief in the power and future of music, and their confidence in the ennobling aspects of the human spirit. I think they would be very happy to see Caramoor continuing to flourish. As the Rosens were visionary in creating Caramoor, they were also advanced in their broad artistic and musical tastes. We will honor this legacy during the 2005 season, and in the years to come."

Ode to Joy launches the festival's summer concert season, which runs through August 13th and includes programs ranging from Extreme Chamber Music to The Three Legacies of Johann Sebastian Bach. Tickets to the June 25th opening concert are $75, $60, $45, and $35. Reservations can be made by calling the Box Office at 914-232-1252 or online at www.caramoor.org.

The opening night gala, The Caramoor Imperial Ball, begins with cocktails at 5:30 p.m. Following the concert, guests will attend a black-tie dinner and dance at 9 p.m. on the Caramoor grounds. All proceeds from gala ticket sales will benefit the Caramoor International Music Festival. Gala co-chairs are Diane Moss and Zita Rosenthal. Opening night is sponsored, in part, by The Citigroup Private Bank.

Peter Oundjian Artistic Advisor and Principal Conductor
Peter Oundjian brings to Caramoor impeccable musical credentials and the wisdom and energy of a visionary. He has firmly established himself as one of the premier artists of our time as a conductor, soloist, and chamber musician. His probing musicality, spirit of collaboration, and engaging personality have earned him appointments as the principal guest conductor of the Colorado Symphony, and most recently, as music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, a post he began in the 2004-05 season. As Artistic Advisor and Principal Conductor of Caramoor's International Music Festival, Mr. Oundjian is part of a team that makes decisions that shape the young artists programs, long-range plans, and the development of new programs. Mr. Oundjian's association with Caramoor began in 1981 when he performed at the International Music Festival as a member of the Tokyo String Quartet. In the summer of 1995, he made his conducting debut with the Orchestra of St. Luke's at Caramoor's 50th Anniversary Gala Celebration, a performance so enthusiastically received he was immediately engaged to conduct two concerts at the 1996 Festival.

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. The Collegiate Chorale The Collegiate Chorale, led by Music Director Robert Bass, has been a prominent force in the musical life of New York City for more than 60 years. Founded in 1941 by Robert Shaw, the Chorale has established a national reputation through its commitment not only to the traditional choral repertoire but also to American music, rarely heard operas-in-concert, and to new works - many of them commissions or premieres - by such leading composers as Barber, Bolcom, Britten, Copland, Dvorak, and Sessions. Three summers ago, the Chorale embarked on its first European tour, performing in Prague and Vienna. This summer the Chorale returns to Europe at the invitation of the Verbier Festival and conductor James Levine to perform in the Verdi Requiem.

Janice Chandler-Eteme
Janice Chandler-Eteme, soprano, has performed with the Cleveland, Minnesota, and Philadelphia Orchestras, Los Angeles and Saint Paul chamber orchestras; Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, NHK, Montreal, Vancouver, Colorado, New Jersey and Utah symphonies; and the Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Rochester Philharmonics. The conductors with whom she has collaborated include Marin Alsop, Christoph von Dohnányi, Charles Dutoit, Jeffrey Kahane, Jahja Ling, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Robert Spano, Yuri Temirkanov and Hugh Wolff. Highlights of recent seasons include debuts with the Dallas and Pittsburgh symphonies. Ms. Chandler-Eteme also traveled to Kiev to perform Mozart's Requiem with the Russian National Orchestra under Vladimir Spivakov.

Mary Phillips
Mary Phillips, mezzo-soprano, had her international opera debut in Tenerife (Canary Islands) in concert performances of Die Walküre (Rossweise) with Simon Estes, and she has since repeated the role at the Dallas Opera and in her Seattle Opera debut. This past season, she joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera where she was responsible for Rossweise. She will also perform the role on the Metropolitan Opera's tour to Japan. She debuted at Tulsa Opera as the Third Lady in Die Zauberflöte, conducted by Carol Crawford. She also appeared in a concert-version of Strauss' Die Liebe der Danae with the American Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leon Botstein, at Avery Fisher Hall. Equally comfortable in the Italian repertoire, Miss Phillips looks forward to her Metropolitan Opera debut as Preziosilla in Verdi's La forza del Destino.

Simon O'Neill
Simon O'Neill, tenor, joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera during the 2004-2005 season and marked his Salzburg Festival debut in Die Zauberflöte with Riccardo Muti. He performed Chairman Mao in Nixon in China with the Minnesota Opera, Rodolfo in La Boheme with Opera Grand Rapids, Canio in Pagliacci in concert with the Auckland Philharmonia, and recorded the role of Lancelot in Chausson's Le Roi Arthus with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Mr. O'Neill also marked his Carnegie Hall debut under the auspices of the Marilyn Horne Foundation in Zankel Hall. Mr. O'Neill has appeared in concert with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, San Francisco Opera Orchestra, American Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra and Netherlands Radio Symphony. He made his Avery Fisher Hall debut as the tenor soloist in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Europae Symphonicum.

Philip Cutlip
Philip Cutlip, baritone, debuted with the San Francisco Opera and had return engagements at the Gran Teatre Del Liceu in Barcelona, Dallas Opera, and Seattle Opera last season. His repertoire extends from Bach and Handel to Bernstein and Stravinsky. He has appeared with many of the leading orchestras in the United States. He has also appeared as a soloist with the Atlanta Symphony, the Handel & Haydn Society, Houston Symphony, National Symphony, New World Symphony, the Orchestra of St. Luke's, and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, among others.

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. "We invite people to come early, explore our beautiful grounds, take a tour of the House Museum, visit our gift shops, 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 a Garden of Great Music. "Caramoor is the loveliest Festival of them all." - The New York Times.

Getting to Caramoor
Caramoor is easy to get to by car or mass transportation. From Manhattan, take the Caramoor Caravan and ride comfortably in a luxurious, a air-conditioned coach. Round trip service is $21 and is available for all Saturday and some Sunday performances during the Festival. 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: (West Side Manhattan, 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 junction of Girdle Ridge Road. Follow the signs to Caramoor. Detailed directions: 914-232-5035, press 2, or online at www.caramoor.org.

Opening Night of the 60th Anniversary Summer Season

Ode To Joy

  June 25th Opening Night:

Ode to Joy Saturday, 7:00 pm
Orchestra of St. Luke's Venetian Theater Peter Oundjian, conductor

Tickets: $75, $60

Janice Chandler-Eteme, soprano $45, $35 Mary Phillips, mezzo-soprano Simon O'Neill, tenor Philip Cutlip, baritone The Collegiate Chorale, Robert Bass, Music Director

Beethoven           Overture to Fidelio, Op. 72b

Beethoven           Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125

Benefit tickets, including cocktail reception, priority concert seating and the dinner dance are available at $450, $600, $1,250, $2,500. To order gala tickets only, e-mail melissa@caramoor.org or call 914.232.1492.