Caramoor’s longstanding commitment to a variety of programming that encompasses an expansive range of genres and outstanding artists continues indoors all year round in the intimate setting of the Rosen House Music Room. Highlights of the Fall ’24 – Spring ‘25 season include the return of renowned Canadian pianist Marc-André Hamelin (Oct 6); period instrument ensembles Le Consort (Oct 20) and Twelfth Night (April 6), the Brentano String Quartet, including the New York premiere of a Caramoor co-commission by Lei Liang (April 27); Trio Mediæval joined by Catalina Vicens (Dec 8); jazz from Abdullah Ibrahim (Nov 8) and Nicole Zuraitis (May 9); American Roots from Amythyst Kiah (Oct 18) and Twisted Pine (May 2); cabaret with Julie Benko; and a special benefit concert featuring folk supergroup Bonny Light Horseman (Dec 7). The fall and spring season is rounded out with two performances by the Terra String Quartet, Caramoor’s 2024–25 Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence (Nov 17 & May4); young artists from Caramoor’s Evnin Rising Stars (Nov 2 & 3) and Schwab Vocal Rising Stars (March 16)programs; and more.
Designed by Caramoor’s founders, Walter T. and Lucie Bigelow Rosen, as a charmingly intimate space for chamber music concerts, the historic Rosen House Music Room, with its authentic Renaissance furniture, paintings dating from the 16th century, and terra cotta reliefs, provides an ideal venue for Caramoor’s fall and spring performers – many of them unlikely to be heard this season elsewhere in the New York area.
Recitals and Chamber Music
To open the Rosen House Music Room season, Caramoor welcomes back renowned Canadian pianist Marc-André Hamelin, known worldwide for his unrivaled blend of consummate musicianship and brilliant technique in the great works of the established repertoire, as well as for his intrepid exploration of the rarities of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. The New York Times calls him “a performer of near-superhuman technical prowess.” An exclusive recording artist for Hyperion, Hamelin’s discography comprises more than 70 albums, including some of his own compositions. His Caramoor program combines Haydn and Beethoven sonatas with works of Rachmaninoff and the Russian’s younger contemporary Nikolai Medtner (Oct 6).
“One of the major players in the French baroque scene” (Diapason), Le Consort – violinists Théotime Langlois de Swarte and Sophie de Bardonnèche;cellistHanna Salzenstein; and harpsichordist Justin Taylor – won the First Prize and the Public Prize at the 2017 Val de Loire International Competition, chaired by William Christie. They explore the subtleties of the English Baroque as influenced by Italian masterworks in the program “From Naples to London.” Gramophone said of the group: “It’s all so fresh. Historically informed performance worn so naturally, and works known so intimately, that these musical stories could have come from Le Consort’s own pens and souls.” Specializing in the Trio Sonata genre, Le Consort performs works by Purcell and John Eccles alongside those by their Italian contemporaries Vivaldi, Corelli, and Veracini, as well as Nicola Matteis, a Neapolitan violinist and composer active in London, and J.S. Bach (Oct 20).
Grammy-nominated vocal group Trio Mediæval – Linn Andrea Fuglseth, Anna Maria Friman, and Jorunn Lovise Husan –brings its “Yule” program to the Rosen House Music Room, comprising traditional Scandinavian folk songs and hymns, English medieval carols, and contemporary music written for the group, all infused with their signature blend of chant, folksong, and improvisation. Widely sought-after historical keyboardist Catalina Vicens accompanies them on the hand-blown organetto (Dec 8).
Based in New York City, Twelfth Night is an ensemble of historical performance specialists led by David Belkovski and Rachell Ellen Wong, formed with the firm belief that art is best explored as a meeting place of the past, present, and future. Inspired by Shakespeare’s play of the same name, the ensemble strives to invoke a spirit of boundless revelry, celebration, and community in their programming. Harpsichordist Belkovski and violinist Wong are joined at Caramoor by violinist Carmen Lavada Johnson-Pájaro, violist Andrew Gonzalez, cellist Coleman Itzkoff, theorbist and guitarist Joshua Stauffer, soprano Nola Richardson, and mezzo-soprano Xenia Puskarz Thomas for “Trouble in Paradise,” a Baroque program featuring Handel’s early pastoral cantata Aminta e Fillide (April 6).
Acclaimed for “wonderful, selfless music-making” (The Times), the virtuosic Brentano String Quartet returns to Caramoor for a program featuring the New York premiere of a Caramoor co-commissioned new work by Chinese composer Lei Liang, in honor of his teacher Chou Wen-chung. Quartets by Haydn and Brahms round out the program (April 27).
Jazz
Formerly and affectionately known as Dollar Brand, Abdullah Ibrahim is coming up on his 90th birthday. He was born in Cape Town in 1934 and has carved out a legacy as one of Africa’s and the world’s most illustrious jazz icons. With music that seamlessly blends jazz improvisation with traditional African rhythms, Ibrahim has used his music as a powerful tool for social justice and unity, inspiring countless souls along the way. He will appear in the Music Room with his trio (Nov 8). Presented in collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Winner of the 2024 Grammy Award for “Best Vocal Jazz Album” for her latest release, How Love Begins, co-produced with Christian McBride, Nicole Zuraitis also won the Gold Medal at the prestigious 2021 American Traditions Vocal Competition. All About Jazz calls her a “supreme talent … first-rate songwriter, powerhouse vocalist and grade A pianist,” and besides leading her own quartet, she is the premier vocalist for the Birdland Big Band (May 9). Presented in collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center.
American Roots
Tennessee-raised singer, songwriter, and musician Amythyst Kiah brings her “masterful blend of lonesome folk and neo-blues” (Rolling Stone) to the Music Room along with her band. Kiah’s evocative storytelling, coupled with her soulful voice and consummate guitar and banjo skills, has earned her recognition as one of the most compelling voices in contemporary roots music (Oct 18). Presented in collaboration with City Winery.
Led by the dynamic husband-and-wife team of Doni Zasloff and Eric Lindberg, Nefesh Mountain’s fusion of Jewish music with the rich tapestry of bluegrass and Americana creates an enchanting and uplifting sound. This December, they bring “A Hanukkah Celebration” to the Music Room (Dec 12).
Boston-based Twisted Pine is known for taking traditional American music in exhilarating directions. Praised by NPR for its “upbeat, poppy vibe; energetic, driving rhythms; virtuosic solos; and tight harmonies,” the group released its sophomore album, Right Now,in 2020, injecting its signature bluegrass sound with jazz, folk, funk, and more. “They were once bluegrass,” writes the Boston Globe, “but … this Boston band has become something else, a wider version of string band, boundary jumpers akin to outfits like Punch Brothers, Nickel Creek, and Crooked Still” (May 2). Presented in collaboration with City Winery.
Benefit Concert
Pitchfork raves about folk supergroup Bonny Light Horseman: “Their voices fit together so perfectly it’s possible at last to believe in such a star-crossed fantasy.” Paste Magazine calls the group’s new album, Keep Me on Your Mind/See You Free, “timeless and majestic, but never too heavy.” Comprising acclaimed musicians Anaïs Mitchell, Eric D. Johnson, and Josh Kaufman, Bonny Light Horseman weaves together elements of Americana, indie rock, and Celtic influences, creating a mesmerizing blend of old and new with complex harmonies, rich instrumentation, and evocative storytelling. They appear in a special benefit concert to support Caramoor’s programming (Dec 7).
American Songbook
Julie Benko – who before she took over the role herself was hailed as the 2022 New York Times Breakout Star for Theater for her standby role as Fanny Brice in Broadway’s Funny Girl – joins forces with jazz pianist (and her husband) Jason Yeager for an evening of cabaret and more in the Music Room. Their recent duo album, Hand in Hand, released in August 2022 on Club44 Records, features the pair’s unique and intimate arrangements of songs from Broadway musicals, the Great American Songbook, and Yeager’s original compositions (Oct 25).
Community
People of Earth, an electrifying ensemble of global musicians, takes the stage for a free event on Friends Field in September to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month. From the pulsating rhythms of Cuba to the soulful melodies of Brazil, their music transcends borders, unites cultures, and spreads joy. Family-friendly activities such as arts and crafts complete the afternoon (Sep 29).
Mentoring
Young artists from Caramoor’s Evnin Rising Stars mentoring program perform in a pair of afternoon concerts for which the program’s Artistic Director, cellist Marcy Rosen, is joined by distinguished artist-mentors violinist Soovin Kim and violist Daniel Phillips. These concerts are the capstone of a week-long residency at Caramoor in which the young musicians participate in workshops, reading sessions, and ensemble rehearsals, culminating in live performances with their mentors. Since 1992, this program has identified some of the finest musicians of the next generation and helped them cross the threshold from their student years into the early stages of a professional career. The programs feature a Brahms Piano Quintet and Sextet respectively, the first alongside chamber works by Beethoven and Bartók and the second juxtaposed with Mozart and Penderecki (Nov 2 & 3).
A prizewinner at the 2023 Melbourne and Osaka International Chamber Music Competitions, the Terra String Quartet is a vibrant young ensemble committed to infusing the string quartet with equal parts passion, vitality, and humor. During its year-long Caramoor residency as the Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence, the group spotlights Benjamin Britten’s string quartets, which hold a special place in the chamber music repertoire for their innovation, expression, and enduring legacy. On the November program, Britten’s First Quartet is paired with Mozart’s D minor Piano Quartet and Mendelssohn’s String Quartet in F minor. In May, Britten’s Third Quartet is heard on a program with Beethoven’s Quartet No. 15 in A minor and madrigals by Maddalena Casulana, the first female composer to have her music published (Nov 17 & May 4).
Caramoor’s SchwabVocal Rising Stars – led by Artistic Director Steven Blier, assisted by Bénédicte Jourdois – present “Beginner’s Luck: The Artist’s Journey.” A wide-ranging playlist from German lieder to Bob Dylan explores the chaotic decade between adolescence and adulthood, filled with seemingly endless possibility and endless peril. This follows a week-long residency that includes daily coaching, rehearsals, and workshops (March 16).