For Immediate Release

Contact: Cohn Dutcher Associates

Lois Cohn, 917-339-7187, lcohn@cohndutcher.com

 Dan Dutcher, 917-339-7157, ddutcher@cohndutcher.com

2006 Caramoor International Music Festival
Schedule of Events

June 24                         Gala Opening Night

Saturday, 8:30 pm          Orchestra of St. Luke's

Venetian Theater             Peter Oundjian, Conductor
 Joshua Bell, violin 
                                   

       Musto                    Overture to Pope Joan (1998)

       Beethoven               Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93

       Mendelssohn           Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, in E minor, Op. 64

Caramoor welcomes back the Festival audience with an invitation to enjoy the

magnificent setting that makes concerts here such a special experience. Joshua Bell,

immensely popular internationally, and acclaimed for the intensity of his musical

communication, combines with Caramoor's charismatic Principal Conductor, Peter

Oundjian and its resident Orchestra of St. Luke's, in a performance of Mendelssohn's

masterpiece, the violin concerto against which all others must be compared.

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June 25                          P.D.Q. Bach: His Life, Legacy and Leftovers

Sunday, 4:30 pm             Professor Peter Schickele, enabler

Venetian Theater             Michèle Eaton, soprano

                                     David Düsing, tenor

      P.D.Q. Bach             Three Teeny Preludes

                                      Selections from The Art of the Ground Round

                                                Swing Sweet, Low Chariot

                                                Twelve Quite Heavenly Songs

      Peter Schickele           Three Canons

                                                Hedi Mckinley (b. 1935)

                                                The Brothers Joad

                                                D'Indy's Turkey

      Peter Schickele           Three Songs

                                                Dear, If You Change (anonymous lyrics)

                                                Blue Window

                                                If You Will Try It

      P.D.Q. Bach              Rounds

                                                The Mule

                                                P.D.Q. 3-Step Crab Dinner

                                                O Serpent

      Peter Schickele           Two for the Road

                                                Cyndi

                                                Songs From Shakespeare

                                                           Macbeth's Soliloquy

                                                           Hamlet's Soliloquy

                                                           The Three Witches from "Macbeth"

                                                           Juliet's Soliloquy

                                                           Funeral Oration from "Julius Caesar" 

Despite all attempts by the Department of Homeland Security to prevent this,

Professor Peter Shickele will bring musical mayhem back to Caramoor's Venetian

Theater to destroy yet another beautiful summer Sunday afternoon. Lowlights will

include P.D.Q. Bach's Selections from The Art of the Ground Round, Swing Sweet, Low

Chariot, and P.D.Q. 3-Step Crab Dinner as well as the Professor's own D'Indy's Turkey

and Songs from Shakespeare.

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June 28                         Performer's Showcase

Wednesday, 11:00 am     The Bear Cats Dixieland Jazz Band

Music Room                

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June 29                         Introductions

Thursday, 7:30 pm         Karen Gomyo, violin

Spanish Courtyard          Dina Vainshtein, piano

       Mozart                   Sonata for Violin and Piano in F Major, K. 376

       Franck                    Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major

       Pärt                        Fratres

       Piazzolla                 Selections from Tango Etudes for Solo Violin

       Ravel                      Tzigane

Since winning the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in 1997 at age

fifteen, Karen Gomyo has fulfilled her exceptional early promise and currently

enjoys an international career. "...a mature artist of rich lyricism and compelling

authority." - The Houston Chronicle

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June 30                         English Garden, Earthly Delights

Friday, 8:00 pm             New York Festival of Song

Spanish Courtyard         

                                    Amy Burton, soprano

                                    Hal Cazalet, tenor

                                    Andrew Garland, baritone

                                    Steven Blier, piano

NYFOS wanders the primrose path of the English garden and roves its countryside

in the company of British composers - from Vaughn Williams and Elgar to Britten

and Coward - who found inspiration in nature (including human nature) and the

special beauty of their native land.

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July 1                            The American Song Book: Bernstein on Broadway

Saturday, 8:00 pm         

Venetian Theater            Orchestra of St. Luke's

                                    Michael Barrett, conductor

                                    Judy Kaye

                                    Lisa Vroman

                                    Andrew Drost

                                    James Martin

                                    Jamie Berstein, narrator

The 4th of July weekend begins with a Bernstein bang as his protege, Caramoor's

Michael Barrett, leads the Orchestra of St. Luke's and a cast of Broadway stars

through Bernstein's most beloved songs and dance music from West Side Story,

Candide, On the Town, and Wonderful Town. Jamie Bernstein narrates the even with

personal stories and letters surrounding the opening of West Side Story.

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July 2                      From Green Grass to Bluegrass

Sunday, 4:30 pm      America Grows its Own Music

Venetian Theater      Paul Woodiel, host and fiddle

                              Chris Layer, flutes and pipes

                               Jake Armerding, fiddle, guitar and vocals

                              Taylor Armerding, mandolin and vocals

                              Greg Liszt, banjo

                              Jim Whitney, bass

An informal afternoon concert completes a weekend of American music. Nimble

Irish Jigs and reels will blend with the relentless drive of their hoedown descendants

for a cross-cultural musical party for the whole family, celebrating the old and the

new - Green, Blue - and New Grass too.

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July 5                            Performer's Showcase

Wednesday, 11:00 am     Jonathan Chu, violin

Music Room                 

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July 6                            The Jupiter String Quartet

Thursday, 7:30 pm         Ernst Stiefel String Quartet in Residence

Spanish Courtyard         

       Mozart                   Quartet in B-flat Major, K. 589

       J. Musto                  String Quartet (World Premiere)

                                     Volume VII of Caramoor's commissioning project,

                                     A String Quartet Library for the 21st Century

       Dvorak                   Quartet in G Major, Op. 106

Described as "one of the strongest young string quartets in the country," (The

New York Sun) the Jupiter String Quartet has captured three of the top prizes

for string quartets.

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July 7                             Adam Neiman, piano

Friday, 8:00 pm             

Spanish Courtyard         

       Beethoven                Sonata in C Major, Op. 2, No. 3

       Brahms                    Two Rhapsodies, Op. 79

       Rachmaninoff           Etude-Tableau in D minor, Op. 39, No. 8

                                      Etude-Tableau in C minor, Op. 39, No. 1

       Chopin                    Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58

"What makes Adam Neiman a genuine rarity is that he plays with imagination and

authority, not just an extra helping of technique. He was clearly born to be a pianist,

and is carrying out a destiny written in his genes." - Chicago Tribune

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July 8                            Pre-Opera Event

Spanish Courtyard

       3:30 p.m.  "Saksperre, Bayron, Bulwer Litton or Valter Scott"

       4:30 p.m.  The Lesson Scene

       5:30 p.m.  Dinner break

       7:00 p.m.  Pre-Opera Lecture

                       Steven Blier, artistic director of New York Festival of Song, introduces I Puritani

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July 8                          I Puritani

Saturday, 8:00 pm        A Bel Canto at Caramoor  presentation

Venetian Theater          I Puritani by Vincenzo Bellini

                                  Orchestra of St. Luke's; Will Crutchfield, conductor

                                  Elvira - Sumi Jo, soprano

                                  Arturo - Barry Banks, tenor

                                  Riccardo - Weston Hurt, baritone

                                  Giorgio - Daniel Mobbs, bass-baritone

Bellini's last and musically richest opera is a feast of glorious singing written for the

four greatest stars of the bel canto era. Just months before his untimely death, Bellini

sent Parisian audiences into raptures with the endless tender melodies and buoyant

virtuosity of I Puritani di Scozia, where love triumphs over politics and madness.

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July 9                          H2O x 2: A Baroque Bonus

Sunday, 4:30 pm          The Aulos Ensemble and Baroque Orchestra

Venetian Theater                                   

       Telemann             Overture-Suite in C Major (Wassermusik)

       Handel                 Water Music (complete)

The famed Aulos Ensemble, America's oldest period instrument ensemble, joined by

some of America's finest players of the early music movement, will bring this spectacular

masterpiece, Handel's complete Water Music, to Caramoor. As a bonus, we offer "the

other water music," Telemann's captivating orchestral suite, on the first half of the

program.

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July 12                         Performer's Showcase

Wednesday, 11:00 am    Tao Ni, cello

Music Room

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July 13                          Manhattan Brass 

Thursday, 7:30 pm         Extreme Chamber Music I

Spanish Courtyard

                                   Wayne DuMaine, Louis Hanzlik, trumpets

                                   Ann Ellsworth, horn

                                   Mike Seltzer, Dave Taylor, trombones

Manhattan Brass is known for its innovative programming and wildly virtuosic

performance. Comfortable in every genre from Gesualdo to jazz, in this concert,

Manhattan Brass is following the Festival's Nature and Music theme with a program

including alphorn solos, an arrangement of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, and a work

entitled The Unbroken Circle of the Moon's Bright Halo.

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July 14                         Opus One

Friday, 8:00 pm            

Spanish Courtyard        Anne-Marie McDermott, piano

                                   Ida Kavafian, violin

                                   Steven Tenenbom, viola

                                   Peter Wiley, cello

       Mozart                 Quartet in E-flat Major for Piano and Strings K. 493

       Tsontakis              Piano Quartet No. 3

       Dvořák                Quartet in E-flat Major for Piano and Strings, Op. 87

"...combined the technical mastery of a solo recital with the exuberance of a jam

session." - Pittsburgh Post Gazette

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July 15                         Piano Premiere

Saturday, 8:00 pm         

Venetian Theater           Orchestra of St. Lukes, Michael Barrett, conductor

                                   John Musto, piano

       Beethoven             Leonore Overture No. 3, Op. 72b

       Musto                   Piano Concerto (World Premiere)

       Schumann              Symphony No. 1 in B-flat Major, Op. 38 (Spring)

Composer-in-Residence John Musto completes what no performing composer

has done since the time of Beethoven: the premiere and performance of two

piano concertos in a single season. Mr. Musto's keyboard artistry and compositional

prowess come together in this performance. Caramoor continues its celebration

of its gardens with Schumann's energetic Spring Symphony. Beethoven's thrilling

call to liberty, the Leonore Overture No. 3, starts the program.

"I've heard Mr. Musto in convert, and I don't know of any full-time composer

today who plays the piano with greater panache...Like Bernstein, Mr. Musto is

not afraid to entertain." - Charles Michener, The New York Observer

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July 16                         Mozart Bel Canto

Sunday, 4:30                 A Bel Canto at Caramoor presentation

Venetian Theater           Orchestra of St. Luke's, Will Crutchfield, conductor

                                   Sumi Jo, soprano

                                   Maria Zifchak, mezzo-soprano

                                   Steven Tharp, tenor

                                   Daniel Mobbs, bass-baritone

       Mozart                   Exsultate, Jubilate

                                     Conert arias

                                     Arias and ensembles from Cosi fan tutte,

                                     Don Giovanni, Le Nozze di Figaro, Idomeneo and others

A festive mix of well-known favorites and intriguing rarities to celebrate Mozart's

lifelong love affair with Italian bel canto on the 250th anniversary of his birth. Program

includes "Exsultate, jubilate" with its famous final "alleluia," operatic evergreens like

Leporello's "Catalogue aria" and the "Farewell trio" from the Cosi fan tutte, and lesser-

known masterworks from Mozart's long list of Italian operas and concert arias.

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July 19                         Performer's Showcase

Wednesday, 11:00 am    Lisa Shihoten, violin

Music Room                

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July 20                         Christopher Taylor, Piano

Thursday, 7:30 pm        Extreme Chamber Music II

Spanish Courtyard         

       Messiaen                Vingt regards sur l'enfant-Jésus

Messiaen's epic piano cycle, with its symbolic themes of all-embracing love, the Virgin,

the Cross and God, draws enormously on reserves of stamina, strength and dexterity.

"Those who know Christopher Taylor tend to speak of him in the hushed, reverent

tones typically reserved for natural wonders, if not the otherworldly. Critics praise his

virtuosity and his cerebral interpretations, tempered by an aching tenderness." - The New

York Times

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July 21                          David Krakauer's Klezmer Madness!

Friday, 8:00 pm             Extreme Chamber Music III

Spanish Courtyard         

Krakauer and Klezmer Madness! are joined by Jewish hip-hop beat architect Socalled, as

DJ, accordion player, rapper and singer, for a cross-generational Jewish dance music.

"...music of uncontrollable joy fused with irrevocable pathos and nobody plays it better

or with more soul than Krakauer and his band Klezmer Madness!" Duane Harper Grant,

Sequenza/21

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July 22                          Pre-Opera Event

Spanish Courtyard