Spring 2021
March 21 / Dashon Burton, bass-baritone, David Fung, piano
April 1 / Schwab Vocal Rising Stars
April 9 / Son Little
April 11 / Thalea String Quartet
April 25 / Ruckus with Emi Ferguson, baroque flute
May 2 / Callisto Quartet
May 8 / Catherine Russell
May 23 / Junction Trio
Choose your own ticket price: $15, $30, $45 or view all eight spring concerts for $80. Concerts are available to view on-demand in the following 48 hours after the concert has streamed.
Caramoor Members receive free access to livestreams for our spring season. You can become a Member at any time for $100/year.
Sunday, March 21 at 3:00pm
Dashon Burton, bass-baritone & David Fung, piano
An original member of the innovative Grammy-winning vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth, bass-baritone Dashon Burton is known for his “nobility and rich tone” (The New York Times). Showcasing his versatility, Burton’s recital with pianist David Fung combines Schumann’s complete Dichterliebe with works by John Dowland, Charles Brown, Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, Ernest Charles, and William Bolcom, and a set of spirituals.
Following the concert, there will be a Q&A with Dashon Burton and David Fung, with an opportunity for the audience at home to ask questions; moderated by Caramoor’s Artistic Director, Kathy Schuman.
Program
Dowland / In this Trembling Shadow
Schumann / Dichterliebe, Op. 48
Brown / Song Without Words
Price / Night
Bonds / Three Dream Portraits
Spiritual / Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child
Burleigh / I've Been In The Storm
Spiritual / Crucifixion
Spiritual / My Lord, What a Mornin'
William Bolcom / Blue
Charles / When I have sung my songs
Thursday, April 1 at 7:00pm
Schwab Vocal Rising Stars
Steven Blier, Artistic Director
With music by Claude Debussy, Francis Poulenc, Jacques Brel, Serge Gainsbourg, Mahler, Joseph Canteloube, Michel Legrand, and many others, this “Tour de France” program will feature four young singers and a pianist selected by Artistic Director Steven Blier for a weeklong residency at Caramoor. Assisted by Bénédicte Jourdois, and developed in collaboration with NYFOS, the week will include daily coaching, rehearsals and workshops, and culminate in this Music Room livestreamed performance exploring the wealth and breadth of French song repertoire.
Rising Stars
Nicoletta Berry, soprano
Erin Wagner, mezzo-soprano
Aaron Crouch, tenor
Samuel Kidd, baritone
Gracie Francis, piano
Friday, April 9 at 8:00pm
Son Little
Presented in Collaboration with City Winery
Rhythm and blues musician Son Little first came to international prominence with his self-titled debut, released in 2015. From then on, he released a second album, and earned a Grammy Award for his work in producing Mavis Staples’ See That My Grave is Kept Clean. Equal parts vintage and modern, Son Little’s newest work, aloha, blends classic soul, old-school R&B, and adventurous indie sensibilities into a timeless swirl fueled by gritty instrumental virtuosity and raw, raspy vocals.
Sunday, April 11 at 3:00pm
Thalea String Quartet
Formed in 2014 at the Zephyr International Chamber Music Festival in Courmayeur, Italy, the Thalea String Quartet has been praised for their “vibrant performance” and “sincere expressivity” (SF Classical Voice). Alumni of Caramoor’s Ernst Steifel Quartet-in-Residence 2019-20 season, the Thalea Quartet returns to present a uniquely diverse program featuring works by four composers of today, including a Caramoor-commissioned world premiere.
Preceding the concert, on March 28, Paola Prestini joins renowned London-based author Sonu Shamdasani (who edited the first publication of Carl Jung's major work: Liber Novus, The Red Book) to discuss the inspirations behind her new quartet.
Following the concert, there will be a Q&A with the Thalea String Quartet and composer Paola Prestini, with an opportunity for the audience at home to ask questions ; moderated by Caramoor’s Artistic Director, Kathy Schuman.
Program
Jessie Montgomery / Source Code
Daniel Bernard Roumain / "I made up my mind not to move." From String Quartet No. 5 ("Parks")
Tanya Tagaq / Sivunittinni (arr. Jacob Garchik)
Paola Prestini / The Red Book (World Premiere, Commissioned by Caramoor)
Sunday, April 25 at 3:00pm
Ruckus with Emi Ferguson, baroque flute
Flutist Emi Ferguson (“wonderful,” The New York Times; “irresistibly vital,” Portland Press Herald) is joined by the continuo band Ruckus in a wild technicolor romp through some of Bach’s most playful and transcendent works reimagined and realized for 21st century fans of 18th century performance practice. Having earned widespread critical acclaim for its fresh, visceral approach to early music, Ruckus’ core members form the baroque equivalent of a rhythm section: guitars, keyboards, cello, bassoon, and bass. The ensemble aims to fuse the early-music movement’s questing, creative spirit with the grit, groove and jangle of American roots music, creating a unique sound of "rough-edged intensity" (The New Yorker).
Following the concert, there will be a Q&A with members of Ruckus and Emi Ferguson, with an opportunity for the audience at home to ask questions; moderated by Caramoor’s Artistic Director, Kathy Schuman
RUCKUS
Clay Zeller Townson, baroque bassoon
Coleman Itzkoff, baroque cello
Doug Balliett, baroque bass
Paul Holmes Morton, theorbo, baroque guitar, banjo
Adam Cockerham, theorbo, baroque guitar
Elliot Figg, harpsichord, organ
Sunday, May 2 at 3:00pm
Callisto Quartet
2020-21 Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence
Praised for their “intensity and bravado” and the “cohesion and intonation one might expect from an ensemble twice their age” (Third Coast Review), the Callisto Quartet was formed in 2016 at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and has since garnered top prizes in the 2018 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and the 2019 Banff International String Quartet Competition, as well as several others.
For their second performance as Caramoor’s 2020–21 Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence, the Callisto completes its season-long survey of Bartók’s string quartets with the composer’s second, third, and fifth quartets.
Preceding the concert, on April 18, the Quartet hosts the second of two virtual conversations on the Bartók Quartets with special guest Ara Guzelimian, Artistic Director of the Ojai Music Festival and former Dean and Provost of The Juilliard School.
Following the concert, there will be a Q&A with the Callisto Quartet, with an opportunity for the audience at home to ask questions; moderated by Caramoor’s Artistic Director, Kathy Schuman.
Program
Bartók / String Quartet No. 2
Bartók / String Quartet No. 3
Bartók / String Quartet No. 5
Saturday, May 8 at 8:00pm
Catherine Russell
Presented in Collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center
Catherine Russell dazzles her audiences with familiar favorites and forgotten gems alike. Russell excelled as a backup singer and multi-instrumentalist with David Bowie, Steely Dan, Cyndi Lauper, and Paul Simon, before launching a remarkable solo career, featuring Grammy award-winning and chart-topping recordings. In 2019 she released her seventh album, Alone Together, which was then Grammy-nominated for Best Jazz Vocal Album.
Sunday, May 23 at 3:00pm
Junction Trio
Stefan Jackiw, violin
Jay Campbell, cello
Conrad Tao, piano
Three renowned visionary artists of the next generation combine talents in this eclectic new piano trio, Junction. Violinist Stefan Jackiw (Evnin Rising Star, 2007), recognized for musicianship that combines poetry and purity with an impeccable technique, returns with pianist Conrad Tao and cellist Jay Campbell of the trail-blazing JACK Quartet. Tao, who appears worldwide as a pianist and composer, has been dubbed a musician of “probing intellect and open-hearted vision” by The New York Times. Approaching both old and new works with the same curiosity and emotional commitment, Campbell has been called “electrifying” by The New York Times. Join these soloists-turned-trio for two classic yet contrasting chamber music masterpieces.
Following the concert, there will be a Q&A with Junction Trio, with an opportunity for the audience at home to ask questions; moderated by Caramoor’s Artistic Director, Kathy Schuman.
Program
Shostakovich / Piano Trio No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 67
Beethoven / Piano Trio in B-flat Major, Op. 97, "Archduke"
Caramoor Conversations
Caramoor Conversations is a free video series in which we dive deeper into the pieces being performed in an upcoming concert. These in-depth discussions with the artists are a way for the audience to have a better understanding, and hopefully, a greater connection to the composers and their work. After their initial broadcast, the Conversations will be available throughout the current season. You can tune in at any time!
Sunday, March 28 at 3:00pm
Caramoor Conversations: The Red Book
with Paola Prestini and Sonu Shamdasani
Composer Paola Prestini joins renowned London-based author Sonu Shamdasani (who edited the first publication of Carl Jung's major work: Liber Novus, The Red Book) to discuss the inspirations behind her new quartet based on The Red Book, and the relationships between the iconography, visuals, and writings to the music. The Red Book was at the center of Jung's self-experimentation, and although its title had been well known for years, it was not until 2009 that its contents were revealed to the public and practicing psychotherapists. Prestini’s The Red Book (commissioned by Caramoor) will receive its livestreamed world premiere on Sunday, April 11, 2021 by the Thalea String Quartet.
Sunday, April 18 at 3:00pm
Caramoor Conversations: The Bartók String Quartets (Part Two)
with Ara Guzelimian and the Callisto Quartet
Bartók’s six string quartets are one of the peaks of the whole chamber music literature. Watch this talk by Ara Guzelimian (Artistic Director of Ojai Music Festival and former Dean and Provost of The Juilliard School) and the Callisto Quartet, our 2020-21 Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence, as they continue to explore the trajectory of the whole cycle of six quartets as well as taking a closer look at the three quartets to be played on Sunday, May 2, 2021 in their final installment of the complete cycle. You may also watch Part One of their Conversation, available now on our Vimeo page.
Can’t wait until the season starts?
Upcoming Benefit Events
Saturday, May 15 at 6:00pm
An Evening of Wine 2021
A Benefit for Caramoor
Don’t stress, do your best, and forget the rest at Caramoor for an evening of food, wine, and music; this year we take you on tour through the 1960s and 1970s, with rare bottles and blossoms blooming. We’re ringing that blue bell with music from Stella Blue’s Band and food by Blue Hill at Stone Barns. Tune into the mellow vibe and bring out your inner flower child.
This intimate evening is an annual celebration supporting Caramoor’s dedication to the arts. It offers fabulous food, each year prepared by a different guest chef, paired with rare wines from the area’s best private cellars.
The evening also includes a Silent Auction of rare vintages and unique bottles.
Benefit Co-chairs: James A. Attwood, Jr. & Peter Kend
For more information and to make a reservation, please contact our Special Events office: events@caramoor.org / 914.232.1492.
Benefit tickets are $2,500; all but $250 per ticket is tax-deductible, as provided by law.
Save the Date!
Cabaret in the Music Room moves to October 23, 2021
This beloved annual fundraiser will take place next fall, with the hopes that we may be able to gather a live audience in the Music Room. Regardless of format, know that the performance will be full of great songs from the American Songbook that you know and love.
Your generosity helps to keep the music playing at Caramoor!
Become a Member and support Music Performance, Education, and Mentoring at Caramoor.
In return for making a charitable contribution, Membership level donors ($100 and above) receive a collection of “thank you” perks—including complimentary access to all spring livestreams. Support our music community and elevate your Caramoor experience all year long.
Summer 2021 Season | June 19 – August 8
Summer 2021 Announced on April 13
Members’ Summer Pre-Sale begins April 19
General Public Sale on April 26