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, 917.339.7118, cjensen@cohndutcher.com

CARAMOOR CENTER FOR MUSIC AND THE ARTS
RECEIVES MAJOR GRANT FROM
NEW YORK STATE MUSIC FUND

$500,000 grant to support Latin American music
initiative -  Sonidos Latinos - in 2007 and 2008

Paquito D'Rivera to be named composer in residence

Katonah, New York - December 19, 2006 - The New York State Music Fund announced today that the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts has been awarded a $500,000 grant to support a major two year Latin American music initiative, Sonidos Latinos, beginning in 2007.

This is the highest amount awarded by the New York State Music Fund in the second cycle of grant making and Caramoor is one of only two organizations to receive funding at this level.  An Advisory Panel comprised of recognized leaders from a cross-section of the music world evaluated and recommended applications based on criteria focusing on artistic merit and community impact, and recommended 218 of 402 applications the Fund received for Cycle 2 of its grant making.

"We are honored our project has been selected for support," said Michael Barrett, Chief Executive and General Director of Caramoor.  "This two-year Latin American music initiative not only speaks to the intent of the New York State Music Fund but is central to Caramoor's goal of supporting the creation of new compositions by living composers and reaching out to audiences who have little access to live music performance.  Sonidos Latinos will be centered on composers of our time born in Cuba, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela and throughout Latin America and will focus on the creation of new contributions to the genre."

Sonidos Latinos (Latin Sounds) will encompass Latin American artists creating new work at Caramoor and performing for audiences here and at partner venues in Westchester County.  The project will include new commissioned works; concerts during the 2007 and 2008 summertime Caramoor International Music Festival, including family concerts; free family-friendly outreach concerts at partnering venues in 2008; radio broadcasts of performances recorded live at Caramoor and in-depth interviews in partnership with WNYC radio; and the appointment of National Medal of the Arts recipient Paquito D'Rivera as 2007-2008 Caramoor Composer-in-Residence.

"Engaging the now-legendary Paquito D'Rivera as Composer-in-Residence provides a new dimension to our established Composer-in-Residence program and to Latin American music at Caramoor," said Michael Barrett.  "Latin American music occupied an important place in our programming over the past three years.  D'Rivera's appointment and the overall initiative will enhance access to this music for our audiences both at Caramoor and at other venues, and build future audiences as new works are developed and introduced to the repertoire."

According to Judy Evnin, Chairman of the Caramoor Board of Trustees, "This grant is confirmation of the fine artistic achievements of Caramoor, the professional quality of our staff and the diverse musical tastes of our loyal audience.  Through Caramoor's commissions, Sonidos Latinos will provide the opportunity for the creation of important new work and will enhance Caramoor's contribution to the Latin American Music genre.  Engaging underserved and underrepresented audiences in our region will be a vital component to this initiative and provide a vehicle to reach out to music lovers throughout our region."

"This funding provides resources to allow Caramoor to fulfill important aspects of our mission and enhances recognition in the philanthropic arena of Caramoor's significance as a cultural anchor to Westchester and the State," commented Elisabeth Saxe, Caramoor's Director of Development.

Additional aspects of Sonidos Latinos and specific performances for 2007 will be announced in March when the 2007 Caramoor International Music Festival performance schedule is introduced.

About Paquito D'Rivera, 2007-2008 Composer-in-Residence

Paquito D'Rivera, who last appeared at Caramoor during the 2005 Caramoor International Music Festival, was a child prodigy on the clarinet and the saxophone and performed with the Cuban National Symphony Orchestra at a very early age.  He founded the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna and Irakere, whose explosive mixture of jazz, rock, classical, and traditional Cuban music was a groundbreaking addition to the Cuban musical milieu.  D'Rivera's discography includes over 30 solo albums in Jazz, Bebop and Latin music.  His contributions to classical music include solo performances with the National Symphony Orchestra, and with Brooklyn Philharmonic, the London Royal Symphony, and the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition to his career as an instrumentalist, D'Rivera has rapidly gained a reputation as an accomplished composer. His works often reveal his versatility and widespread influences, which span everything from Afro-Cuban and dance hall, to influences encountered in his many travels, and those from his classical origins.  In 2005 the multi-Grammy Award winner was the recipient of the National Medal of the Arts, the highest award given to artists and arts patrons by the United States government.

About the New York State Music Fund

The New York State Music Fund was created when the New York State Attorney General's Office resolved investigations against major record companies that had violated state and federal laws prohibiting "pay for play," also called "payola."  The settlement agreement stipulated that funds paid by music businesses would support music education and appreciation for the benefit of New York State residents.  Cycle 2 grants, ranging from $10,000 to $500,000, were awarded to 218 grantees representing every region of New York State..

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 Center for Music and the Arts 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 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 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, fabrics, porcelain and jade. There are entire rooms that were imported from European palaces and villas, twenty of which are open to the public.  On Thursdays and Fridays, Afternoon Tea is served in the Summer Dining Room, overlooking the 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 whose special characteristics are enjoyed primarily at night - may be seen on a guided tour or on one's own.

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Caramoor is located at 149 Girdle Ridge Road in Katonah, New York. 

For further information about Caramoor's program and performances call the Caramoor Box Office at 914.232.1252 or on the web at www.caramoor.org.