Caramoor’s 2025 summer season marks the cultural destination’s 80th season. The grounds and crew are gearing up for a summer full of stand out acts including operas, Oscar-winning artists, violinists, talented pianists, and more.
For 80 years, Caramoor has been a haven for musical and artistic discovery with world-renowned artists taking its stage. On its 80-plus acres of estate lie Italianate architecture, including the historic Rosen House, and gardens where music-goers can experience some of the most exquisite performances in the county.
In addition to enriching the lives of its audiences through innovative and diverse musical performances, Caramoor mentors young professional musicians and provides music-centered educational programs for young children.
Before we dive into which artists are performing during this momentous season, let’s dig into the history of Caramoor and the family responsible for opening its idyllic grounds to guests from Westchester and beyond.
Caramoor’s History
Caramoor came to be when a banker and eclectic collector, Walter Tower Rosen, married an independent woman, Lucie Bigelow Rosen, and the duo founded Katonah’s unique haven for culture, artists, and the arts. The Rosen family estate was founded with the help of their passion for the arts, which still lingers on the grounds to this day.
Walter was born in 1875 in Berlin, where he was expected to pursue the family banking business. His parents, Max Tower Rosen and Flora Thalmann Rosen, moved the whole family to New York City. On the East Coast, Walter attended Harvard at just 16 years old and graduated in three years. While he stayed passionate about the arts, attending a few cultural institutions, his career as a lawyer and banker flourished.
Lucie Bigelow Rosen was born in New York to a socially prominent family in 1890. From the jump she was enthralled with fashion, dance, visual arts, and music. Lucie played and advocated for the thermin – the world’s first electronic instrument – and was one of the first to do so. She even toured Europe and America advocating for electronic music, a move that was way ahead of her time.
The two met in July 1914 and, six weeks later, tied the knot. The couple had two children, Walter Bigelow Rosen and Anne Stern, the latter who served on the Board of Trustees at Caramoor for many years.
Today, Caramoor flourishes as a hub for arts and culture in Westchester County. This summer, the lineup looks to be one for the books.
View this post on Instagram
2025 Concerts at Caramoor
Orchestra of St. Luke’s led by Rafael Payare, Anna Rakitina, and Teddy Abrams; The Knights With Chris Thile
The summer season kicks off with a gala concert of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 featuring the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and the Caramoor debut of conductor Rafael Payare. He is the music director of both San Diego Symphony and the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal. Conductor Anna Rakitina will also be making her Caramoor debut with the orchestra and violinist Stella Chen in Beethoven’s Violin Concerto.
The annual summer gala is a celebration of the arts as well as a vital source of support for the nonprofit organization. Those who attend the gala will have access to pre-concert cocktails at 5 p.m., premium concert seating to hear Beethoven’s Symphony No.9, and a three-course dinner and fine wines after the show.
For the 80th anniversary, the venue encourages guests to share an anniversary message with Caramoor in the commemorative journal.
Date: June 21, 7 p.m.
Pricing: $81-$203
View this post on Instagram
Telemann’s Pimpinone/Ino and Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea
The Boston Early Music Festival revived this fully staged production of Telemann’s Pimpinone. The Italian comic intermezzi explores social class and seduction with stylish, evocative touches. The show’s musical directors are Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs and the stage directors are Gilbert Blin and Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière. This summer, the show will be presented by Cappella Mediterranea, a European Baroque ensemble founded and led by Argentinian harpsichordist and conductor Leonardo García Alarcón.
Date: June 29, 4 p.m.
Pricing: $79-$119
Pops, Patriots, and Fireworks
Enjoy the sounds of the Westchester Symphonic Wings, joined by soulful soprano Mimi Hilaire, as they perform a selection of patriotic works. They’ll pay tribute to America’s independence with renditions of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture and “Stars and Stripes Forever.” It’s only right that the evening concludes with a fireworks display over the Caramoor grounds.
Date: July 4, 8 p.m.
Pricing: $59-$149
View this post on Instagram
Chanticleer
The Grammy-winning vocal ensemble Chanticleer is globally known as “an orchestra of voices.” This program centers around a new arrangement of Majel Connery’s The Rivers Are Our Brothers, which also will include music by Heinrich Isaac, Joni Mitchell, Max Reger, Stephen Sondheim, Kurt Weill, and Ayanna Woods.
Date: July 18, 7:30 p.m.
Pricing: $43-$83
Jazz Festival with Arturo O’Farrill
This year’s annual jazz festival is headlined by Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra. For the past decade, the festival as been presented in collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center. O’Farrill was born in Mexico and raised in New York and is a multi-Grammy-winning artist. In 2007, O’Farrill founded the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance as a nonprofit organization dedicated to the performance, education, and preservation of Afro Latin music.
Date: July 26, 12:30 p.m.
Pricing: Free
Bang on a Can Festival Ensemble plays Terry Riley’s in C
This free outdoor performance features members of the Band on a Can All-Stars and fellows from their Summer Music Festival at MASS MoCA. This concert will also act as a celebration of composer Terry Riley’s 90th birthday. The landmark piece, written in 1964, introduced a new musical style now known as Minimalism to the mainstream audience.
Date: July 27, 4 p.m.
Pricing: Free
Concerts on the Lawn
The most casual events at Caramoor are the Concerts on the Lawn, which are BYOS (bring-your-own-seats) and held on Friends Field. Opening the lawn series is a free Juneteenth event featuring African American gospel quintet The Legendary Ingramettes. Additional concerts throughout the season include Emmy Award-winning Endea Owens and her band The Cookout, award-winning band La Excelencia, and more. At these concerts, picnics and dancing are not only acceptable, but they’re encouraged.
View this post on Instagram
For the full list of concerts, visit Caramoor’s website.
Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts
149 Girdle Ridge Rd, Katonah; 913.232.1252
Related: 6 Romantic Places to Propose Around Westchester County
