Caramoor's Opening Night Gala

PRLog (Press Release) - May 20, 2011 - KATONAH, NY — On Saturday, June 25, 2011, Caramoor celebrates the Opening Night of its 66th International Music Festival with a festive nautical-themed gala evening. The event begins at 6:00pm with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, followed by a 7:00pm seated dinner provided by Great Performances. At 8:30pm, Caramoor kicks off the summer music festival in the Venetian Theater with HMS Pinafore, one of the most beloved and delightful of the Gilbert & Sullivan operettas. The performance features the Orchestra of St. Luke’s under the baton of Caramoor’s Director of Opera Will Crutchfield, and stars soprano Georgia Jarman, tenor Robert McPherson, baritone Jorell Williams, mezzo-soprano Vanessa Cariddi, and baritones Scott Bearden and Jason Plourde. After the performance, Gala attendees are invited to the After Dark party, where they can join the Pinafore cast for dessert and dancing with Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks.

Gala co-chairs are Mary Ann and Robert Hawley, of Bedford Hills, NY, and Susan and Richard O’Leary of Greenwich, CT.

TICKETS
Tickets to the Gala evening are $2,500, $1,250, and $600 and include pre-concert cocktails, dinner, priority seating at the Opening Night concert, and an invitation to the After Dark party.  After Dark-only tickets, which only include the concert and post-concert reception, are $250. Suggested attire for the event is “nautical chic”. For Gala information and reservations please contact events@caramoor.org, or call the Special Events office at 914.232.1492.

Tickets for the concert only are available through Caramoor’s Box Office at 914.232.1252 or online at www.caramoor.org.

ABOUT CARAMOOR
Caramoor is the legacy of Walter and Lucie Rosen, who built their summer home – now known as the historic Rosen House at Caramoor – 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 today’s Caramoor International Music Festival.  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 – in 1946 the Rosens established a public charity to open Caramoor to the community.  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, and, under her direction, the great stage of the Venetian Theater was built.

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 also includes mentoring young professional musicians and providing educational programs for young children centered around music.  It is often described as “a Garden of Great Music”, where audiences are invited to come early, explore the beautiful grounds, enjoy a pre-concert picnic, and discover beautiful music in the relaxed settings of the Venetian Theater, Spanish Courtyard, Music Room of the Rosen House, and the magnificent gardens.

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

Concert Venues and Gardens
Concerts take place in two outdoor theaters: the 1714-seat, acoustically superb Venetian Theater and the more intimate, romantic Spanish Courtyard.  Caramoor’s gardens are also well worth the visit and include nine unique perennial gardens.  Among them are a Sense Circle for the visually handicapped, a Butterfly Garden, Tapestry Hedge, and Iris and Peony Garden, which may be enjoyed on one’s own or seen on a guided tour.

GETTING TO CARAMOOR
By car from the West Side of Manhattan and New Jersey, take the Saw Mill River Parkway north to Katonah. Exit at Route 35/Cross River.  Turn right and, at the first traffic light, make a right turn onto Route 22 south. Travel 1.9 miles to the junction of Girdle Ridge Road.  Follow the signs to Caramoor. (For detailed directions call 914.232.5035 and press 2, or online at www.caramoor.org).  Parking at Caramoor is free.

By train, take the Harlem Division of the Metro-North Railroad to Katonah, New York.  Taxi service from the station to Caramoor (5 minutes away) is available.

PRESS TICKETS
For press tickets, artist bios and/or images, please contact Whitney Holden: 917.339.7188, wholden@cohndutcher.com

CARAMOOR INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL OPENING NIGHT GALA
SATURDAY, JUNE 25, 2011

HMS Pinafore
GEORGIA JARMAN, ROBERT MCPHERSON, JORELL WILLIAMS, VANESSA CARIDDI
AND SCOTT BEARDEN, WITH THE ORCHESTRA OF ST. LUKE’S LED BY WILL CRUTCHFIELD

6:00PM – COCKTAILS & HORS D’OEUVRES
7:00PM – DINNER
8:30PM – HMS PINAFORE IN THE VENETIAN THEATER
10:30PM – AFTER DARK POST-CONCERT DESSERT, & DANCING RECEPTION WITH THE PINAFORE CAST FEATURING VINCE GIORDANO AND THE NIGHTHAWKS
FOR MORE INFORMATION EMAIL EVENTS@CARAMOOR.ORG OR CALL 914-232-1492
ATTIRE: NAUTICAL CHIC

Performances are made possible, in part,
by ArtsWestchester with funds from Westchester County Government.
Performances are made possible with public funds from
the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.
The 2011 International Music Festival is supported in part
by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

CARAMOOR CENTER FOR MUSIC AND THE ARTS IS LOCATED
AT 149 GIRDLE RIDGE RD, KATONAH, NY

ALL PROGRAMS AND ARTISTS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

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With its outstanding summer music festival & indoors concerts, arts-in-education programming and beautiful grounds, Caramoor is a cornerstone of the cultural life of Westchester County, NY.