Orchestra of St. Luke's to Return to Caramoor for 2017 Summer Residency

The Orchestra of St. Luke's, one of America's most versatile and distinguished orchestras, returns to its summer home at Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts to perform six varied programs ranging from opera to tango.

The Orchestra opens Caramoor's season on June 17 with a gala celebrating twenty years of Bel Canto at Caramoor and a night of Italian opera led by Will Crutchfield, featuring Artist-in-Residence soprano Angela Meade, tenor Santiago Ballerini and bass Harold Wilson.

The following day, St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble unites with long-established New Yorker staff writer and essayist Adam Gopnik for an innovative program of Schubert's Octet interspersed with original narratives.

Other highlights of the Orchestra's residency include Bernard Labadie'sCaramoor and Orchestra of St. Luke's debut with an all-Mozart program; Bellini's Il pirata starring Metropolitan Opera soprano Angela Meade; Vivaldi and Piazzolla works with Artist-in-Residence guitarist Jason Vieaux; and a thrilling finale featuring pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudetplaying Liszt's second piano concerto led by Principal Conductor, Pablo Heras-Casado.

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June 17 - July 30, 2017:

SUMMER RESIDENCY AT CARAMOOR, Venetian Theater

Opening Night Concert: Celebrating 20 years of Bel Canto at Caramoor with A Night of Italian Opera

In celebration of Bel Canto's 20th and final season at Caramoor, the Orchestra joins Bel Canto Young Artists, soprano Angela Meade and tenor Santiago Ballerini under the direction of Will Crutchfield in a program of Italian overtures, arias, duets, and choral numbers.

Sat. June 17, 2017 at 8:30 pm

Will Crutchfield, Conductor

Angela Meade, Soprano

Santiago Ballerini, Tenor

Harold Wilson, Bass

Bel Canto Young Artists

Rossini: Rondo finale from Overture to Guillaume Tell
Verdi: "Va, pensiero, sull'ali dorate" from Nabucco
Verdi: "Ah, dagli scanni eterei" from Aroldo
Bellini: "A te, o cara" from I puritani
Thomas: "Enfant cheri" from Le Caïd
Mozart: "Der Hölle Rache" from Die Zauberflöte
Bellini: "Bagnato il sen di lagrime" from Il pirata
Verdi: "Qui Radamès verrà...O patria mia" from Aida
Donizetti: "Chi mi frena in tal momento" from Lucia di Lammermoor
Mascagni: Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana
Donizetti: "Pour mon âme quel destin" from La fille du régiment
Rossini: Final hymn from Guillaume Tell

Schubert and Gopnik: A Musical Dialogue

Between movements of Schubert's Octet, New Yorker's famed writer and essayist Adam Gopnik reads his original narrative about the intersection of music and life, which was commissioned by Orchestra of St. Luke's.

Sun. June 18, 2017 at 4 pm

Adam Gopnik, Reader

St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble

Schubert: Octet with Readings by Adam Gopnik

All-Mozart Program

As one of the world's leading Baroque and Classical-period conductors, Principal Conductor Designate Bernard Labadie fittingly leads his first public performance with the Orchestra in an all-Mozart program including three early Mozart symphonies and the flute and harp concerto featuring the Orchestra's principal flutist Elizabeth Mann, and the principal harp of the MET Orchestra, Emmanuel Ceysson.

Sun. July 2, 2017 at 4 pm

Bernard Labadie, Conductor

Elizabeth Mann, Flute

Emmanuel Ceysson, Harp

Mozart: Symphony No. 17 in G Major

Mozart: Concerto for Flute and Harp in C Major

Mozart: Overture to La Finta Giardiniera

Mozart Symphony No. 29 in A Major

Bellini's Il pirata

Soprano Angela Meade stars in the semi-staged performance of Il pirata (The Pirate) by Vincenzo Bellini alongside tenor Santiago Ballerini and bass Harold Wilson. Often considered the first truly Romantic Italian opera, Il pirata features a shipwreck and a love triangle with the local duke that turns violent.

Sat. July 8, 2017 at 7:30 pm

Will Crutchfield, Conductor

Angela Meade, Soprano (Imogene)

Santiago Ballerini, Tenor (Gualtiero)

Harold Wilson, Bass (Ernesto; debut)

Bel Canto Young Artists

Bellini: Il pirata

Vivaldi and Piazzolla

Guitarist Jason Vieaux leads the Orchestra in Vivaldi's Guitar Concerto in D Major and teams up with bandoneon player Julien Labro in Labro's orchestral arrangement of Piazzolla's set of four tangos, Quatro Estaciones Porteñas (The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires). Vivaldi's The Four Seasons then provides the perfect juxtaposition to Piazzolla's musical interpretation of the seasons, and features St. Luke's concertmaster Krista Bennion Feeney.

Sun. July 16, 2017 at 4 pm

Jason Vieaux, Guitar

Julien Labro, Bandoneon

Krista Bennion Feeney, Violin

Vivaldi: Guitar Concerto in D Major, RV 93

Piazzolla (arr. Julien Labro): Quatro Estaciones Porteñas

Vivaldi: The Four Seasons

Liszt and Schumann

Orchestra of St. Luke's Principal Conductor Pablo Heras-Casado brings the season to a triumphant close with Liszt's Les Préludes in addition to his second piano concerto played by world-renowned pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and Schumann's second symphony.

Sun. July 30, 2017 at 4 pm

Pablo Heras-Casado, Principal Conductor

Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Piano

Liszt: Les Préludes

Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 2

Schumann: Symphony No. 2

Tickets, from $25, may be purchased by calling the Caramoor box office at 914.232.1252, in person at the Caramoor box office, or by visiting the website at www.caramoor.org.

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Now in its 42nd season, Orchestra of St. Luke's grew out of a versatile chamber ensemble that began performing concerts at New York's Church of St. Luke in the Fields in Greenwich Village in 1974. Today, OSL performs approximately 80 concerts each year, including its Carnegie Hall Orchestra Series, Chamber Music Series at The Morgan Library & Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Caramoor Summer Season. A champion of new music, OSL has commissioned more than 50 new works, and given more than 175 world, U.S., and New York City premieres, including the New York premiere of John Adams's Nixon in China and the world premieres of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Requiem, Steve Reich's Duet, and William Bolcom's The Hawthorne Tree. The Orchestra has appeared on more than 100 recordings, including four Grammy Award-winners and seven releases on its own label. OSL owns and operates The DiMenna Center for Classical Music, which provides rehearsal, recording, and performance space for more than 30,000 musicians annually, hosts free concerts and events for more than 10,000 New York City students and families, and provides after-school instrumental instruction for the 125+ members of the Youth Orchestra of St. Luke's. For more information, visit OSLmusic.org.

Caramoor is a performing arts center located on a unique 90-acre setting of Italianate architecture and gardens in Westchester County, NY. It enriches the lives of its audiences through innovative and diverse musical performances of the highest quality. Its mission includes mentoring young professional musicians and providing educational programs for young children centered around music. Audiences are invited to come early to explore the beautiful grounds, and tour the historic Rosen House. On special Sundays, visitors can enjoy a delicious Afternoon Tea or unwind with a pre-concert picnic, and discover beautiful music in the relaxed settings of the Venetian Theater, Spanish Courtyard, and the magnificent gardens. Summer concerts take place in two outdoor theaters: the acoustically superb Venetian Theater, which seats approximately 1,500, and the more intimate, romantic Spanish Courtyard, which seats around 470. In the fall and winter, concerts are presented in the magnificent Music Room in the Rosen House. Caramoor's gardens, also used for concerts and the sound exhibition Sonic Innovations, are well worth the visit and include nine unique perennial gardens. Among them are a Sense Circle for the visually impaired, the Sunken Garden, a Butterfly Garden, the Tapestry Hedge, and the Iris and Peony Garden.

Getting to Caramoor

Getting to Caramoor is simple by car, train or public transportation. All parking is free and close to the performance areas. Handicapped parking is also free and readily available.

By car from New York City, take the Henry Hudson Parkway north to the Saw Mill River Parkway north to I-684 north to Exit 6. Go east on Route 35 to the traffic light (0.3 miles). Turn right onto Route 22 south, and travel 1.9 miles to the junction of Girdle Ridge Road where there is a green Caramoor sign. At the junction, veer left and make a quick right onto Girdle Ridge Road. Continue on Girdle Ridge Road 0.5 miles to the Caramoor gates on the right. Approximate drive time is one hour.

By train from Grand Central Station, take the Harlem Division Line of the Metro-North Railroad heading to Southeast, and exit at Katonah. Caramoor is a 3.5-mile drive from the Katonah station, where taxi service is always available and free shuttle service is available for select performances. For current information, check the Metro-North schedule.

For the performances of Il pirata, Caramoor offers ticketed, round-trip transportation from NYC on the Caramoor Coach, a luxury air-conditioned coach traveling from Grand Central/Lexington Ave to Caramoor's front door and back. To learn more, contact the Box Office.