Caramoor Gala Evening Celebrating Michael Barrett

May 14, 2012 - PRLog -- Press Contact: Lois Cohn Associates
Lois Cohn, 917.339.7187, lcohn@lcohnpr.com
Brittnee Walker, 917.339.7183, bwalker@lcohnpr.com

CARAMOOR INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL OPENS THE 67th SUMMER SEASON WITH A GALA EVENING CELEBRATING MICHAEL BARRETT

PROGRAM FEATURES MENDELSSOHN'S A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM AND VIOLIN CONCERTO IN E MINOR, OP. 64

WITH VIOLINIST GIL SHAHAM, THE ORCHESTRA OF ST. LUKE'S LED BY ROBETO ABBADO, AND BROADWAY STAR BEBE NEUWIRTH

SATURDAY, JUNE 23 at 6:00 PM

KATONAH, NY – On Saturday, June 23, Caramoor celebrates the Opening Night of its 67th annual Summer Music Festival and toasts Michael Barrett, Chief Executive and General Director, for a decade of exemplary leadership with a festive 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 in the Venetian Theater, violinist Gil Shaham opens the program with Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64. The Orchestra of St. Luke’s, conducted by Roberto Abbado, will continue the evening with selections from Mendelssohn’s masterful incidental music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Tony and Emmy-Award winner Bebe Neuwirth will read excerpts of Shakespeare’s play to contextualize the symphonic piece.

This year’s Gala festivities will also include After Dark, which is a post-performance party where guests will be able to join Ms. Neuwirth and Mr. Shaham for dessert, specialty cocktails and dancing.    

TICKETS
Tickets to the Gala evening start at $600; tables of ten are also available. After Dark tickets for concert and post-performance reception only are $250. 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.

PRESS TICKETS
For press tickets, artist bios and/or images, please contact Brittnee Walker: 917.339.7183, bwalker@lcohnpr.com.

PROGRAM
SATURDAY, JUNE 23 IN THE VENETIAN THEATER
OPENING NIGHT GALA
Tickets starting at $600
6:00 PM - Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres
7:00 PM – Seated dinner
8:30 PM - Opening Night Concert: Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Gil Shaham, violin
Orchestra of St. Luke’s
Robert Abbado, conductor

Post-performance reception After Dark to follow the Opening Night Concert.

ABOUT MICHAEL BARRETT
This summer, Michael Barrett will begin his tenth and final season as Chief Executive and General Director of Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, where he has programmed and conducted world premieres, American premieres, and Caramoor commissions. Mr. Barrett assumed this position in 2003, built on an established reputation of more than twenty-five years of programming and performing experience in the arts. His responsibilities at Caramoor include the administration and year-round programming of the Caramoor International Music Festival, featuring acclaimed programs known for breaking down barriers between musical genres, reflecting today’s musical currents, and attracting internationally renowned performers. Mr. Barrett remains active with both NYFOS and the Moab Music Festival as Associate Artistic Director and Music Director respectively.

In 1988, he co-founded, with Steven Blier, the New York Festival of Song (NYFOS), which presents thematic song recitals in New York City and beyond.  In 1992, he co-founded the Moab Music Festival (MMF) with his wife, violist Leslie Tomkins. He is also an Artistic Advisor for the Estate of Leonard Bernstein, and from 1994-1997, he was the Director of the Tisch Center for the Arts at the 92nd Street Y in New York.

A protégé of Leonard Bernstein, Mr. Barrett began his long association with the renowned conductor and composer as a student in 1982 and continued to serve as an assistant conductor to the Maestro from 1985 to 1990. Mr. Barrett’s guest conducting engagements include: Orchestra of St. Luke's, New York Philharmonic, London Symphony, Israel Philharmonic and the Orchestre National de France among others. He also has served variously as conductor, producer, and music director of numerous special projects, including Later the Same Evening by John Musto and Mark Campbell, the world premiere of Volpone by Musto/Campbell at Wolf Trap; Hopper's Wife by Stewart Wallace and Michael Korie at the Long Beach Opera, and most recently Lucrezia and Bastianello – a double bill of one-act comic operas by William Bolcom and John Musto.

Dedicated to bringing music to children and their families, Mr. Barrett is active in the creation of new educational programs. With Jamie Bernstein, he has created over eight narrated young people’s programs for orchestra, ranging from American composers (Copland and Bernstein) to Latin music, and the European classics. These programs have been performed throughout the United States, Asia, Europe, and Cuba.  

Mr. Barrett was born in Guam and raised in California. He attended the University of California at Berkeley and received his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He did post-graduate work at the Hartt School of Music.  He lives in New York with his wife and daughter Emma.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS
GIL SHAHAM, VIOLINIST
Gil Shaham, one of the foremost violinists of our time and Avery Fisher Award-winner, is sought throughout the world, appearing with the Chicago Symphony, Orchestre de Paris, San Francisco Symphony, New York Philharmonic, and the Philadelphia Orchestra just last season. In September 2010, he was a special guest artist for the Chamber Music Society’s season-opening concert at Lincoln Center and also appeared on PBS with Yo-Yo Ma, Emmanuel Ax, Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic for Carnegie Hall’s 120th anniversary concert, performing Beethoven’s Triple Concerto. Shaham has recorded more than two dozen concerto and solo CDs that have appeared on record charts in the US and abroad and just released a new recording with his sister, pianist Orli Shaham, titled Hebrew Melodies, on his own label, Canary Classics.

BEBE NEUWIRTH, NARRATOR
Over the course of her distinguished career, Bebe Neuwirth has achieved extraordinary success in theatre, television and film. In 1980, she made her Broadway debut in A Chorus Line. She then appeared in Little Me, Dancin’, and Sweet Charity, for which she won her first Tony Award, followed by Damn Yankees and Fosse. Ms. Neuwirth won her second Tony, for her portrayal of Velma Kelly in Chicago and most recently starred as Morticia in the Broadway musical The Addams Family. Her work in film and television earned her two Emmys for the role of Lilith Sternin Crane on Cheers, and an Emmy nomination for her work on Frasier and for her portrayal of Dorothy Parker in the TV movie Dash and Lilly. She has appeared in numerous films, including Say Anything, Green Card, Bugsy, Jumanji, Summer of Sam, Liberty Heights, Celebrity, and Tadpole. Her first solo album called, “Bebe Neuwirth PORCELAIN” has just been released.

ABOUT CARAMOOR
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 on 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.

CLICK THE FOLLOWING LINK FOR A FULL FESTIVAL CHRONOLOGY:
http://www.caramoor.org/pdf/Festival_Listings.pdf