Caramoor to Offer Six Classes with Juilliard Extension

Caramoor, a vibrant cultural destination nestled on 81 acres of historic gardens and woodlands in Katonah, NY, has announced further expansion of its public programming through a new collaboration with Juilliard Extension, Juilliard's flagship continuing education program.

Caramoor and Juilliard Extension will offer a series of six classes between October 22, 2026 and April 7, 2027, giving audiences the opportunity to dive deeper into the themes presented on stage throughout Caramoor's Rosen House Concert Series and Summer Season. Classes can be taken individually or as an entire course.

Participants will learn from acclaimed professors and lecturers and engage in thoughtful discussion with fellow music lovers. Topics include Beethoven to Bartók: The Expanding World of Chamber Music; The String Quartet Across Three Centuries; Music, Faith, and Power in the Baroque World; and more.

Caramoor, once the estate of music and art lovers Walter and Lucie Rosen, is one of the region's most distinctive destinations for live performance, cultural engagement, and exploration. Caramoor's Rosen House Concert Series runs from October through May, held in the exquisite Music Room of the historic home – a Mediterranean-style villa from 1939 filled with treasures from around the world. Audiences enjoy performances by some of today's most in-demand artists in the same living room salon setting where the Rosens once entertained their many friends.

“…Caramoor has been dedicated to the proposition that cultural, mental and spiritual recreation…are necessary to the pursuit of happiness to all human beings. It…is my hope and intent that Caramoor shall be an artistic, music and educational center with lasting benefits to Bedford, the State and the Nation…” – Lucie Bigelow Rosen

“We are committed to expanding how guests experience Caramoor beyond our concert offerings, with a deeper focus on lifelong learning,” said Gillian Fox, President and CEO of Caramoor. “We are thrilled to collaborate with Juilliard Extension to offer world-class continuing education directly to our community, welcoming everyone regardless of their prior musical background.”

“Juilliard Extension believes that engagement with the arts should continue across a lifetime,” said John-Morgan Bush, Dean of Juilliard Extension. “This collaboration with Caramoor brings together two institutions with a shared commitment to curiosity, music, and education. These classes invite audiences to go deeper into the music they hear on stage and build a richer connection to the works, artists, and ideas behind each performance.”

The Juilliard Extension program classes will take place in Caramoor's Rosen House Music Room, and will include:

From Beethoven to Bartók: The Expanding World of Chamber Music

Thursday, October 22, 2026 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm

Across more than a century, chamber music transformed from an elegant form of domestic entertainment into one of the most powerful vehicles for personal expression in Western art. This lecture follows that evolution through the works of Beethoven, Brahms, and Bartók, three composers who reimagined what could be said through a small ensemble of instruments. Beginning with Beethoven's bold reworking of Classical forms, moving through the warmth and grandeur of Brahms's late Romantic voice, and culminating in the haunting introspection of Bartók's final string quartet, participants will explore how chamber music became a laboratory for innovation and artistic risk. Along the way, we will examine the changing social and cultural worlds that shaped these works and consider why the string quartet remains one of music's most enduring genres.

This class, taught by Juilliard faculty member Sam Nester, is a great primer for the Evnin Rising Stars performance on November 1, 2026.

Sacred Songs, Folk Roots: The Making of the Christmas Carol

Thursday, November 19, 2026 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm

Long before becoming synonymous with Christmas, carols originated in medieval Europe as lively folk dances structured around alternating stanzas and refrains. Over centuries, this versatile genre moved from communal revelry into sacred traditions, giving rise to some of the world's most cherished anthems. This lecture explores that rich evolution through the surprising backstories of several iconic carols, including “Veni Emmanuel,” which originated as a funeral chant; “O Tannenbaum,” a tribute to nature that doubled as a Civil War anthem; and “Stille Nacht,” written in a quiet Austrian village before famously echoing across a World War I battlefield. Together, these vignettes reveal how local folk customs and monastic devotion intersected to forge a global holiday tradition.

This class, taught by Juilliard Extension Music Theory and Analysis Chair Patrick Kreeger, is a great primer for the Christmas With Cantus performance on December 6, 2026.  

Night, Memory, and Imagination: The Romantic Piano Tradition

Thursday, January 14, 2027 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

The piano became the defining instrument of the nineteenth century because it could capture both the grandest emotions and the most intimate reflections. Centered on the music of Chopin and the composers who inspired and followed him, this lecture explores the poetic traditions of the nocturne, ballade, and mazurka. Participants will discover how John Field established the nocturne as a musical genre, how Chopin transformed it into a vehicle for profound artistic expression, and how later composers such as Samuel Barber, Karol Szymanowski, and Thomas Adès engaged with this legacy. Through these works, we will consider how composers use music to evoke memory, storytelling, longing, and imagination, creating some of the most personal and enduring works in the piano repertoire.

This class, taught by Juilliard Extension instructor, Juilliard Creative Enterprise Fellow, and pianist Derek Wang, is a great primer for Inon Barnatan's performance on April 25, 2027.

Mendelssohn's Grand Tour: Travel, Discovery, and the Sound of Europe

Wednesday, February 24, 2027 from 3:00 to 5:00 pm

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Grand Tour became a defining educational experience for Europe's young artists, writers, and aristocrats. Travel offered an opportunity to encounter great works of art, ancient ruins, dramatic landscapes, and vibrant musical traditions. The journey shaped taste, inspired creativity, and influenced a generation of cultural leaders. Felix Mendelssohn embraced this tradition with enthusiasm. His travels through Scotland, Italy, and across Europe inspired some of his finest orchestral works, including the Hebrides Overture, the Scottish Symphony, and the Italian Symphony. This lecture explores the places, people, and experiences that found their way into these beloved compositions through musical excerpts, letters, paintings, and historical context.

This class, taught by a Juilliard Extension instructor, is a great primer for an upcoming Summer Season concert featuring Orchestra of St Luke's.

The String Quartet Across Three Centuries

Wednesday, March 24, 2027 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm

Few musical genres have proven as adaptable, resilient, and expressive as the string quartet. Spanning works by Haydn, Mendelssohn, Dvořák, and contemporary composer Reena Esmail, this lecture traces the remarkable journey of the quartet from its eighteenth-century origins to the present day. Participants will explore how successive generations of composers expanded the possibilities of the genre while maintaining a dialogue with tradition. Particular attention will be given to questions of cultural exchange, national identity, and musical inheritance, revealing how the string quartet continues to serve as a meeting place for history, innovation, and artistic imagination.

This class, taught by Juilliard Extension instructor and cellist Mitchell Lyon, is a great primer for the Viano Quartet performance on April 4, 2027.

Music, Faith, and Power in the Baroque World

Wednesday, April 7, 2027 from 6:00 to 8:00pm

The courts, churches, and noble households of seventeenth-century Europe were vibrant centers of artistic experimentation, where music served as both spiritual expression and political spectacle. Drawing on the repertoire performed by ACRONYM and countertenor Reginald Mobley, this lecture introduces participants to the rich musical world of the early Baroque. Through works by Monteverdi, Leonarda, Sances, Bertali, and others, we will examine how composers navigated the intersections of devotion, drama, and authority during a period of profound cultural transformation. Participants will also explore the rise of the countertenor voice, the emergence of new expressive styles, and the enduring influence of this remarkable era on Western musical culture.

This class, taught by Juilliard Extension's Chair of Music History Jonathan Yaeger, is a great primer for the ACRONYM and Reginald Mobley performance on April 11, 2027.

2026-27 Rosen House Concert Series Performances

• Friday, October 2, 2026 at 7:30pm: Nobuntu
• Friday, October 16, 2026 at 7:30pm: Bandits on the Run
• Sunday, October 18, 2026 at 3:00pm: Countertenor Iestyn Davies and Harpist Oliver Wass
• Sunday, October 25, 2026 at 3:00pm: Pianist Jonathan Biss
• Saturday, October 31 and Sunday, November 1, 2026 at 3:00pm: Evnin Rising Stars
• Friday, November 6, 2026 at 7:30pm: Pianist Aaron Diehl
• Sunday, November 15, 2026 at 3:00pm: Renaissance Quartet
• Sunday, December 6, 2026 at 2:00pm and 4:00pm: Christmas with Cantus
• Sunday, March 7, 2027 at 3:00pm: Schwab Vocal Rising Stars
• Sunday, April 4, 2027 at 3:00pm: Viano Quartet
• Friday, April 9, 2027 at 7:30pm: The Summer Camargo Quintet
• Sunday, April 11, 2027 at 3:00pm: ACRONYM and Countertenor Reginald Mobley
• Saturday April 17, 2027 at 7:30pm and Sunday, April 18, 2027 at 3:00pm: The Other Mozart with Creator &
• Actress Sylvia Milo
• Sunday, April 25, 2027 at 3:00pm: Pianist Inon Barnatan
• Sunday, May 2, 2027 at 3:00pm: Renaissance Quartet
• Friday, May 7, 2027 at 7:30pm: Sister Sadie
• Friday, May 14, 2027 at 7:30pm: Cabaret in the Music Room with Vocalist Mandy Gonzalez

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