After a successful first QuaranTalk, we’re excited to bring you another Happy Hour Music QuaranTalk, our free live virtual interactive event! Our special guests this Thursday are Canada Lake’s award-winning musicians and SAUNDERFEST co-founders Richard, Geoff and Rob Saunders!

Thursday, April 30, 2020 – LIVE at 5:15 pm EST

Special Guests:
Richard Saunders, vocal (CLMF ’16-’20)
Geoff Saunders, bass (CLMF ’16-’20)
Rob Saunders, mandolin(CLMF ’16-’20)

Moderated by Kyle Price, Artistic & Executive Director of Caroga Arts

Please RSVP on Eventbrite to receive an invitation link via email.

Happy Hour Music QuaranTalk offers a fun opportunity to get to know our CLMF Artists and learn more about music and performance. Talks may include discussions on the life of an artist, musical works, music history, and more. Join us for an interactive musical talk and enjoy from your home with a glass of wine or your favorite drink!

QuaranTalks are open to the public and welcome all ages.

Donations to our virtual tip jar will be appreciated to support our special guests and Caroga Arts.

Richard Saunders

Vocalist Richard Saunders is a member of new duo band Refs whose music can be heard on Apple’s new iPhone 11 Pro ad. As a founding member of the vocal pop trio Thirdstory, Richard has toured as an opener for Tori Kelly‘s Unbreakable Tour in 2016 and as a member of Chance The Rapper‘s band on his Be Encouraged Tour in 2017. Richard regularly performs with Chance The Rapper, most recently at this year’s All-Star Game Halftime Show.

Geoff Saunders

Grammy-Award winning bassist Geoffrey Saunders is a versatile performer and composer who is experienced in a wide range of styles and genres. While studying at Frost School of Music, Geoff was a fellow at the Henry Mancini Institute where he worked closely and performed with such notable artists as Mark O’Connor, Chick Corea, Bobby McFerrin, Gloria Estefan, Steve Miller, Larry Rosen, Phil Ramone, Dave Grusin, Terence Blanchard, and James Newton Howard. Geoff currently lives in Nashville and tours with notable artists like Sierra Hull and The Hit Points.

Rob Saunders

Rob has been playing folk and country music for over 15 years all across the eastern seaboard. A multi-instrumentalist, he and his ever growing family of like-minded classic music lovers perform tunes spanning the extensive American Songbook, from old-timey to modern country. Growing up in a family of highly skilled musicians and educators, he developed his passion for music performance within American Vernacular and classical music and his interest in discovering musical development. Robert wishes to share his love for American music through teaching for understanding and lifelong participation.

Listen to The Loon Call – April 27th, 2020

Welcome back to another episode of The Loon Call! In prep for this Thursday’s QuaranTalk, Kyle shares recordings from Caroga Lake Music Festival featuring the three Saunders brothers.

Lakeside Classics

We are excited to present to you a series of recorded CLMF performances from our archives! Stay tuned for more in the coming weeks, and enjoy our new selections below.

YOU’RE INVITED!

Introducing our first virtual interactive live event, Happy Hour Music QuaranTalk! Our first QuaranTalk special guests are CLMF Artists and Seattle Symphony musicians Andy Liang and Nathan Chan. We look forward to seeing you “on the web!”

Thursday, April 23, 2020 – LIVE at 5:15 pm EST

Special Guests:

Andy Liang, violin (CLMF ’13-’20), Seattle Symphony

Nathan Chan, cello (CLMF ’17-’19), Seattle Symphony

Moderated by Kyle Price, Artistic & Executive Director of Caroga Arts

Please RSVP on Eventbrite to receive an invitation link via email.

Happy Hour Music QuaranTalk offers a fun opportunity to get to know our CLMF Artists and learn more about music and performance. Talks may include discussions on the life of an artist, musical works, music history, and more. Join us for an interactive musical talk and enjoy from your home with a glass of wine or your favorite drink!

QuaranTalks are open to the public and welcome all ages.

Donations to our virtual tip jar will be appreciated to support our special guests and Caroga Arts.

April 23 QuaranTalk Special Guests:

After making his solo debut with the Oregon Symphony at the age of 11, violinist Andy Liang went on to perform in Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, and Jordan Hall by the age of 15. Andy has been a CLMF Artist since 2013 and a Seattle Symphony violinist since 2017. Andy is also a member of the KASA Quartet and ALKALI. Andy completed his Bachelor and Master of Music at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music with Cho-Liang Lin and his Artist Diploma at the University of Texas at Austin with the Miró Quartet.

Cellist Nathan Chan made his musical debut at age three conducting the San Jose Chamber Orchestra. He has performed as a soloist with the San Francisco Symphony, The Royal Philharmonic, and the Albany Symphony, among others. Nathan was a chosen artist for Fondation Louis Vuitton’s Classe d’Excellence du Violoncelle with renowned cellist Gautier Capuçon. Nathan earned his Bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and has a growing internet presence with over 7 million views. Nathan studied with Richard Aaron at The Juilliard School, where he earned his Masters of Music. He is currently Assistant Principal cellist of the Seattle Symphony.

Listen to Caroga Arts’ new weekly podcast “The Loon Call”

On today’s episode, Kyle offers a preview of this Thursday’s Happy Hour Music QuaranTalk featuring performances by Andy and Nathan at Caroga Lake Music Festival.

Lakeside Classics

We are excited to present to you a series of recorded CLMF performances from our archives! Stay tuned for more in the coming weeks, and enjoy our first selections below.

On behalf of Uri and Hagit Vardi and the entire YBIYS team, our thoughts are with you, your family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors dealing with the impacts of COVID-19. We hope this message finds you and your loved ones in a safe place.

So much has happened in our world since our last email update to you. As you can imagine, Uri, Hagit and the YBIYS team have been discussing the situation we are all in on a regular basis. While we were optimistic about our summer together, we have made the difficult decision to postpone this summer’s Institute. We are committed to ensuring the health and safety of our participants, faculty, staff, and the community as a whole, and unfortunately this is our only responsible course of action.

The coronavirus pandemic has brought a harsh reality. We have seen our loved ones in New York become victims of the virus, many dedicated workers losing income, and vital cultural institutions closing its doors and canceling events. But it gives us hope that there are people and organizations taking responsible actions to help “flatten the curve” – and by postponing our Institute, we hope we are contributing to this worldwide effort in a small way.

With that said, our tentative YBIYS Institute dates for next year are June 17 – 27, 2021 and it will be held in Caroga Lake, NY. We are planning to keep the same program structure for next summer’s Institute.

We hope that everyone stays safe and healthy as we collectively navigate through these difficult times. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you and stay well.

Sincerely,
Uri, Hagit, and the YBIYS team

Dear friends of Caroga Arts,

Our thoughts are with you, your family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors dealing with the impacts of COVID-19. We hope this message finds you and your loved ones in a safe place.

Since the beginning of this month so much has happened in our world. As new developments related to COVID-19 continue to evolve almost daily, I want to let you know that we are planning for our summer season with our usual excitement and optimism. Of course this is coupled with concerns about the spread of the coronavirus and the impact it may have on our programs this summer. While plans for Caroga Lake Music Festival remain on track starting July 13, we will continue to closely monitor the situation on a daily basis. We are committed to taking reasonable and responsible measures to ensure the health and safety of our artists, staff, and the community as a whole.

During these unprecedented times, your support and enthusiasm for our mission to Reignite the Caroga Experience is appreciated more than ever to continue to serve our community. By making a contribution to Caroga Arts, you will continue to ensure that our music provides a source of healing and comfort when we are reunited once again in our beloved community. If you are able, please consider:

• Making a tax-deductible donation of any amount. Your charitable gift of any amount, one time or monthly, will be greatly appreciated to support our program offerings for the community.
• Donating to “Sponsor a Concert” with a gift of $500. Your generous contribution will help maintain accessibility to the arts in our community.
• Donating to “Adopt-an Artist” with a gift of $1,000. Your charitable gift will help bring world-class musicians to Caroga Lake (plus receive two concert passes to any ticketed performance presented by Caroga Arts).

Thank you for your continuing support as we collectively navigate through these difficult times brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. We hope that everyone stays safe and healthy, and we look forward to a music-filled summer in Caroga Lake. In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. You can reach us at 518-832-2041 or by email at info@carogaarts.org. 

Thank you and stay well.

Sincerely,
Kyle Barrett Price
Executive & Artistic Director

Welcome, Torrance Fish!

Caroga Arts welcomes Torrance Fish, newest member of the team serving as General Manager.

Torrance is a Fulton County native growing up 10 minutes from Sherman’s and greatly enjoyed the park in his youth. Torrance is a regionally exhibiting artist, educator, and has held various artistic non-profit positions for the past two decades. His work has been shown throughout the northeast and he has won several awards for his sculpture. Torrance has also been commissioned for numerous projects including the University Torch for the University at Albany and Nightfire for Albany’s 60th Tulip Festival. He proudly won the first place award for his parade float Somethin’ Fishy at the 2018 Northville Doin’s.

Since 2010, Torrance has been an arts instructor at Fulton Montgomery Community College having taught a variety of visual arts courses and was nominated for the 2013-2014 Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Adjunct Teaching. He has worked at the Tang Museum at Skidmore College for fifteen years in roles of Senior Preparator, Head of Installations, and Building Manager. He has also managed The Hub maker space at Skidmore, worked at Func Art Design, The Fields Sculpture Park at Art Omi, been on the Albany Center Gallery Exhibition Committee, chair for the Saratoga County artist grant panel, a juror for local art shows and Curator for the exhibition, Powers of Ten at the Perrella Gallery.

Torrance began his college education at Fulton Montgomery Community College, earning an A.A. in Visual Fine Arts, transferred to SUNY Potsdam to complete his B.A. in Studio Art and completed his studies at The University at Albany with an M.A. and M.F.A in sculpture.

Caroga Arts is pleased to welcome Torrance to the team!

Staying Home?
Enjoy Virtual Performances by CLMF Artists!

Amid the coronavirus outbreak, many of us our left to stay inside as events are cancelled across the country. Here are some of our favorite videos featuring or created by CLMF Artists you can enjoy from your home!

PRESS RELEASE

Major Donation to Breathe New Life into Historic Sherman’s Amusement Park in Caroga Lake, NY

Caroga Lake, NY (January 7, 2020) – Caroga Arts Collective (Caroga Arts), is pleased to announce that local resident George Abdella has donated the former Sherman’s Amusement Park lakefront property to the organization. Caroga Arts, one of the fastest growing non-profit community organizations in the Southern Adirondacks and the Mohawk Valley region, has been bringing world-class artists and educators to Caroga Lake since 2012 and presents the annual Caroga Lake Music Festival, MyHil Film Series, and InterArts Residencies among other arts initiatives.

Regarding the donation, Abdella stated at a Caroga town forum that, “Caroga Arts will attract the most talented musicians and artists of all kinds. It will be a wonderful thing and will make the town a better place.”

Sherman’s Amusement Park, once a major attraction of the Southern Adirondacks, has been closed for many, many years. In recent years, Caroga Arts has taken initiative to put Sherman’s back on the map by presenting accessible community events including the Sherman’s Revival Series, SaundersFest, Caroga Tree Lighting, and the Red, White, Blues & Bluegrass Festival. This donation will bring a new level of energy and focus that will help restore this iconic property to its previous glory.

Caroga Arts Artistic and Executive Director Kyle Barrett Price said, “We are filled with gratitude for the exciting opportunity this generous donation presents, both for the organization and for the community as a whole. The historic lakefront Sherman’s is being placed in the care of Caroga Arts with the goal of turning it into a world-class arts and community center. We are excited for the future of Caroga Arts, Sherman’s, Caroga Lake, and the Southern Adirondacks. Together, we can fulfill our mission to reignite the Caroga experience through the arts.”

Since 2012, Caroga Arts has presented over 175 free events with more than 550 world-class artists, 15 educational programs, and attracted over 15,000 audience members to its events and programs. These talented artists have included winners of GRAMMY awards, NBC’s the Voice, America’s Got Talent, and various international competitions.

Caroga Arts Board Chair Rick Ruby noted that, “Caroga Arts, which recently received the Fulton Montgomery Regional Chamber of Commerce Barbara V. Spraker Tourism Partner Award, and the Fulton County Center for Regional Growth Start-Up Business of the Year Award, is now poised to present amazing music and art in an unparalleled lakeside setting in the Southern Adirondacks.”

Caroga Arts is a registered 501(c)(3) organization sponsored in part by the New York State Council on the Arts. Learn more at www.carogaarts.org.

What a year it’s been for the Caroga Arts Collective! In November, Caroga Arts received word that Sherman’s Amusement Park is being gifted to us by local donor George Abdella. The beautiful and historic Sherman’s is being placed in our care to steward it for generations to come. We are so excited for our future, the future of Sherman’s, and the future of Caroga Lake!

To recap the 2018-19 season, Caroga Arts hit a record-breaking number of events throughout the year. Caroga Arts successfully presented its first year-round program with the Winter, Spring, and Summer Residency, which included school outreaches, community classes, and engaging showcases.

The 8th Annual Caroga Lake Music Festival presented 30 performances featuring more than 120 world-class artists and bringing over 6,000 audience members to Caroga Lake and beyond. This past season’s CLMF brought new artistic facets to the festival including America’s Got Talent magician Steven Brundage at Sherman’s and a collaborative ballet and orchestra performance featuring Caroga Arts Ensemble and Utica Dance.

Jazz prodigy Matthew Whitaker returned for our 4th Annual Gala, and we celebrated July 4th at our first Red, White, Blues & Bluegrass festival with music, art, festivities and fireworks.

For the second year in a row, Caroga Arts attracted nationwide talent to Caroga Lake for the National Summer Cello Institute and invited award-winning film directors and producers to speak at the 2nd Annual MyHil Film Series.

As we look forward to our 2020 season, we are filled with gratitude to you as one of our patrons and ask you again to consider being a part of the exciting growth of the Caroga Arts Collective. This year we are implementing our new Adopt-an-Artist program. Each summer we have more than 75 Resident Artists. You may adopt one of these artists and you will get to know them up close and personally. Donors who adopt an artist will receive two passes to a ticketed concert (presented by Caroga Arts) of their choice and an invitation to an exclusive artist/sponsor only event.

Whether you joined us for a special evening with Terre Blair Hamlisch at the Caroga Chapel, discovered something new with the “Cello Goblin” at The Arts Hub or danced in the rain to Indie pop band Air Traffic Controller, we hope you will come back next season and join our growing community for fun and fellowship.

In addition to all of our performances and outreaches, Caroga Arts invites you to support us at the 5th Annual Gala on July 25, 2020 and Caroga Arts Golf Outing on August 9, 2020. Stay tuned and sign up for our free newsletter, follow us on Facebook or check our website carogaarts.org to keep up with our latest developments.

Sincerely,

Kyle Barrett Price
Artistic & Executive Director

Santa surprised everyone by arriving on a horse-drawn wagon, and then handed out candy canes to the children. There was holiday music performed by the Caroga Arts musicians inside the Carousel, carol singing by the bonfire, a variety of warm beverages and cookies, and lots of holiday spirit!

The music never stops!

CLMF WinterFest: December 16 – 20, 2019

World-class musicians from the Caroga Lake Music Festival return to Caroga next month to celebrate the holiday season. Join us for this very special week of musical festivities!

Enjoy a night of jazz with Richard & Geoff Saunders at Nick Stoner Inn!

Make it an extra special night out with our Concert + Dinner Package! For $40 enjoy a delicious meal at the Nick Stoner Inn restaurant before the show. Online reservations required. Learn more

Wheelerville School Side-by-Side Concert

Wednesday, December 18, 2019 at 6:30pm 
Wheelerville School, Caroga Lake
Free Admission

CLMF Musicians will join the Wheelerville School Band for a side-by-side performance at the end of their holiday concert.

Featuring Caroga Arts Ensemble and mezzo-soprano Jazimina MacNeil, the Holiday Classics program will include selections from Handel’s Messiah and Holiday favorites!

Celebrate the Holidays with music form Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker and more with the Caroga Arts Ensemble at The Glove Theatre!

Celebrate the holiday season at the Caroga Holiday Tree Lighting!

Saturday, November 30
Sherman’s Amusement Park
4:00 – 6:00pm

4:00pm Enjoy Hot Chocolate, Eggnog, and Cookies
4:30pm Carol Singing by Bonfire
5:00pm Tree Lighting Ceremony
5:15pm Holiday Sing-A-Long with CLMF Musicians

Bring your friends and family to Sherman’s for an evening of hot beverages, delicious snacks, carol singing, and tree lighting festivities! There will be a bonfire to keep us warm.

This event is free and open to all

GivingTuesday is a global generosity movement unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world. This year’s GivingTuesday is December 3, 2019.

We encourage you to celebrate generosity on this global day of giving and support Caroga Arts by donating on our Facebook, website or by check.

Additionally, Facebook will match up to $7 million in donations made on Facebook to US nonprofits on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 8am EST on December 3, 2019.

Join the movement! Save the date!

Through our community, Caroga Lake Music Festival grows, and local partners benefit

Heartfelt thanks to our volunteers, local businesses, and community

We look back with warmhearted gratitude at the 8th Annual Caroga Lake Music Festival. Our homegrown festival has become one of the fastest growing in the northeast. We were thrilled to feature a wide variety of unique performances with top artists in a welcoming environment. We also expanded learning opportunities in our educational work with students in schools and camps. We aspire to make our  concerts accessible and enjoyable for all children, families, and the community!

As your community organization, Caroga Arts aims to help revitalize local business, culture, and life. Since 2014, we have worked hard toward developing a valuable shared community arts and education campus for our town. In 2017 we launched the groundbreaking Sherman’s Revival Series. These special events open to the community laid out a path for bringing Sherman’s back to life in the heart of our larger Town Center area. We gladly paid the Town for the use of the grounds. Our local volunteers also gave time to tend the gardens, add blooming flowers, mow the lawns, do some painting, and address other fix-up jobs. To our joy, others who used the property also started to leave the site better than they found it. We celebrate this summer’s growth with hugely successful performances, learning, recreation, and memory making. We remain deeply grateful to work with you to reignite Sherman’s as a great family destination!

We thank the entire community. We also give special thanks to those who actively participated in our year-round programs. Thousands of people came out to join the fun. More than a hundred performers shared their talents. More than twenty different regional venues opened their doors for events. Hundreds of people took part in our annual fund campaign. Many also donated housing, meals, goods, and services. We welcomed back and added to our advertising partnerships. We worked with numerous for-profit businesses and non-profit community organizations. We partnered with others to help them raise money and/or carry out their programs—including the Town of Caroga Summer Youth Program, Caroga Lake Volunteer Fire Company, Wheelerville School, Caroga Lake Volleyball Club, Micropolis Cooperative Inc, Mohawk Harvest Cooperative Market, Paul Nigra Center for Creative Arts, Stump City Brewery, Caroga Historical Museum, Gloversville Library, The Glove Theatre, Saratoga Performing Arts Center Classical Kids Program among many others. In our ongoing circle of giving and growth, we look forward to more participation and more partnerships in the future.

While we now host year-round events, we especially enjoy all the music under the summer skies at the Caroga Lake Music Festival. The Caroga Arts family sincerely thanks you for joining us to be part of this inspiring community experience!

Thank you to our volunteers!

Caroga Arts is grateful for the support from our volunteers who join forces to help make Caroga Lake Music Festival a great success. Thank you!

Caroga Arts Ensemble in the News

On August 24, Caroga Arts Ensemble was invited back to the historic Maverick Concerts in Woodstock, NY to perform Mahler, arr. Schoenberg: The Song of the Earth with conductor Alexander Platt and singers from The Metropolitan Opera, Elizabeth Bishop and Barry Banks.

TWO EVENTS THIS WEEK!

It’s Opening Week in Caroga Lake and we’re thrilled to begin the summer season with two special events! Renowned cellist Mike Block from Silk Road Ensemble returns this Tuesday. On Saturday, MyHil Film Series presents a film screening of “Strangers on the Earth” and talk with Film Director Tristan Cook, plus a special performance by National Summer Cello Institute fellows.

Tuesday, June 4 at 7pm
Pine Lake Lodge
Purchase Tickets
More details

Saturday, June 8 at 7pm
Caroga Chapel
Free! Donations appreciated
More details

Buy a Season Pass for access to all Caroga Arts events!

$80 for admission to all Caroga Arts presented concerts! (Up to $115 value)

Season Posters Now Available!

We heard your voices! And we are happy to share that the 2019 CLMF Season poster, designed by local artist Linda Hinkle, are available for purchase!

Remembering Richard Clark Veghte

We are deeply saddened by the loss of our friend Richard Veghte, a life-long aficionado of opera and classical music. Richard was active in supporting the mission of Caroga Arts and with his brother, Bruce Veghte, donated the MyHil Property to Caroga Arts in 2016. We celebrate Richard’s spirit and continue to commemorate his impact through our music making this summer and beyond.

National Summer Cello Institute returns to Caroga

On May 30, the National Summer Cello Institute and Feldenkrais for Musicians return to Caroga, bringing some of the top cellists from across the country and abroad. The Cello Institute will feature renowned cellists Uri Vardi (Professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison), Timothy Eddy (Professor at Juilliard School), Daniel Grosgurin (Switzerland), and Mike Block.

Don’t miss our Opening Night!

Returning to Caroga Lake for the third year in a row, cellist Mike Block from Silk Road Ensemble is a pioneering cello player, singer, composer, and educator, hailed by Yo-Yo Ma as the “ideal musician of the 21st century.”

The Sale of Sherman’s to Caroga Arts

Town of Caroga Attorney Gregory Dunn discussed the legal and financial reasoning behind the board’s support of selling the town owned Sherman’s property to the Caroga Arts Collective at the Town Meeting on May 22.

The Leader-Herald published a two-part article detailing the conversations from the meeting. Learn more in the articles below!

2019 CLMF Tickets On Sale!

Get ready for another season of music under the summer skies! We have some very special guest artists coming to Caroga that you won’t want to miss!

Sunday, August 11 at 6pm, Pine Lake Pavilion
$20 online/$25 at door/$10 children 7-12 years (6 & under free)
Purchase Tickets

The price of a movie ticket!

Tickets are only $12 online/$15 at door for all shows listed below
$5 for children 7-12 years (6 & under free)

Tuesday, June 4 at 7pm
Pine Lake Lodge
Purchase Tickets

Returning to Caroga Lake for the third year in a row, cellist Mike Block from Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble is a pioneering cello player, singer, composer, and educator.

Wednesday, July 17 at 8pm
The Outdoorsman
Purchase Tickets

The renowned jazz pianist and Taylor Swift’s Music Director David Cook is returning to Caroga Lake once again, after a sold out show in 2017, with his trio for this season’s opening Encore! Jazz Sessions.

Wednesday, July 17 at 8pm
The Outdoorsman
Purchase Tickets

Rushad Eggleston aka the “Cello Goblin” is one of the most impressive alternative cello players, a kazoo player, a wild jazz vocalist, and an inventor of his own language both verbally and musically. 

Wednesday, July 31 at 8pm
The Outdoorsman
Purchase Tickets

Based in Madison, WI, Mr. Chair is a true “multi-genre” musical. Known for blending musical genres, they play rock, jazz, modern classical, and contemporary improv-based styles through original compositions.

Saturday, August 3 at 7pm
Sherman’s Amusement Park
Purchase Tickets

America’s Got Talent finalistand Saratoga Springs native Steven Brundage shocked judges including Simon Cowell with his remarkable Rubik’s Cube magic. 

Wednesday, August 14 at 8pm
The Outdoorsman
Purchase Tickets

In the words of music icon Quincy Jones, “This girl is IT!” Jazz bassist and vocalist Katie Thiroux brings her multi-talent with her trio to the season’s final Encore! Jazz Sessions.

JUST ADDED!

MyHil Film Series: “Strangers On The Earth”
Film Screening and Q&A with Director Tristan Cook
Saturday, June 8, 2019 at 7:00PM
Caroga Chapel
Free, donations appreciated
Special performance by National Summer Cello Institute fellows!

CLMF Artist News

On May 19, CLMF Artist and clarinetist Graeme Steele Johnson (CLMF ’16-’19) appeared as a speaker at TEDx Oaklawn with musicians from the Caroga Arts Ensemble which included violinists Nathan Olson (co-concertmaster, Dallas Symphony) and Christabel Lin (Austin Opera), violist Lydia Umlauf (Dallas Symphony), and cellist Kyle Price (CLMF Artistic & Executive Director). Graeme’s topic was “Music about Nothing: Seinfield and the Classical Style.”

Join us at the lake for an exciting summer season of music, magic, dance and more! While most concerts presented by Caroga Arts Collective are free with donations appreciated, we have some special shows you won’t want to miss! Become a Season Pass holder and get ready for an unforgettable summer.

$80 for admission to all Caroga Arts presented concerts!
$40 Season Passes for children ages 7-12; children 6 and under are free

Single Ticket sales begin on May 16 at www.carogaarts.org

Most Concerts & Events are free with donations greatly appreciated.

SPAC Educational Outreach in Photos

Last week musicians from the Caroga Arts Ensemble presented a week-long education residency for Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) through its Classical Kids program. Thank you SPAC for hosting us!

Additionally, the musicians visited Wheelerville School in Caroga Lake to work with students from the Band and give a special school performance. The musicians visited seven schools in total!

8th Annual Caroga Lake Music Festival

40 Community Events & Concerts
100+ World-Class Artists

The 8th Annual Caroga Lake Music Festival will bring new artistic facets to the festival including America’s Got Talent magician Steven Brundage, a Saratoga Springs native, at Sherman’s Amusement Park in Caroga Lake and a musical dance collaboration with Caroga Arts Ensemble and Utica Dance at The Glove Theatre in Gloversville.

For the first time in 2019, Caroga Lake Music Festival is excited to present the Red, White, Blues & Bluegrass on July 5th in celebration of the country’s Independence at Sherman’s. This free community event will feature Grammy-Award winners Kate Lee & Forest O’Connor, Dealt the Blues, Insolent Willies and Durey Creek Bluegrass Band.

Caroga Arts Ensemble will team up with NBC’s The Voice winner Sawyer Fredericks at Pine Lake Pavilion, as well as Flame the Band from The Lexington Center at Sherman’s. Back by popular demand, jazz piano prodigy Matthew Whitaker and Caroga Arts Ensemble will perform together at the 4th Annual Caroga Arts Collective Gala at Sherman’s on July 27.

The popular Encore! Jazz Sessions will see Taylor Swift’s Music Director and jazz pianist David Cook, the unique “cello goblin” Rushad Eggleston, jazz vocalist-bassist Katie Thiroux praised by Quincy Jones, gypsy jazz Jason Anick Trio, the modern classical band Mr.Chair, and cellist from Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble Mike Block. Other featured artist include Billboard Hot 100’s Air Traffic Controller at The Barge at Canada Lake and a lineup to be announced later for CLMF’s Americana Music Festival, SAUNDERSFEST.

Over 70 CLMF Resident Artists, which include some of the world’s top artists from across the country, will gather in Caroga Lake for a five week residency to collaborate and engage in the communities across the northeast. The Caroga Chapel Series, a free CLMF Resident Artist concert series, will be held every Friday at 7pm between July 15 – August 18. This season’s program will include Barber Knoxville Summer 1915, Saint-Saëns Carnival of the Animals, Bernstein Serenade, John Williams Schindler’s List, Shostakovich Piano Concerto, and works by major composers spanning from six continents for various sized ensembles.

Concerts coming to you…
Caroga / Gloversville / Johnstown / Little Falls / Cobleskill / Mayfield / Canajoharie / Cooperstown / Ghent / Woodstock / Highland Park

Today in Caroga:

Resident Artists visit Wheelerville School

Spring Resident Artists will visit Wheelerville School in Caroga Lake, NY on May 7 to do a workshop with students from Wheelerville School Band. To conclude the educational outreach, musicians from the Caroga Arts Ensemble will perform a mini concert from 1:00-1:30pm which is open to the public!

Caroga Arts Ensemble Educational Outreach

This week, musicians from the Caroga Arts Ensemble will also be in residence at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) to present a week of educational outreaches and performances in the Saratoga Springs area through SPAC’s Classical Kids program. Come hear these musicians at our last Dine, Listen & Learn event on Thursday, May 9, 5:30pm at Pleasant Lake Inn!

Introducing the 2019 CLMF Season Poster

We are excited to release our first ever Caroga Lake Music Festival season poster designed by local artist Linda Hinkle!

Linda Hinkle is one of the founding members of the Micropolis Gallery at the Mohawk Harvest Cooperative Market in Gloversville, NY, and is very involved in promoting and supporting Fulton County’s local art scene. She is also coordinator of Sacandaga Valley Arts Network‘s Artists’ Gallery at the County Visitor Center in Vails Mills, NY. Linda earned a BFA in Design from the University of Michigan and has worked for over 45 years as a freelance designer. We are grateful to Linda for creating this beautiful design that will be featured throughout the 2019 CLMF Season.

Last Chance to Advertise!

Advertise your business, share a personal message
Reach over 5,000 new customers!

Reserve your Ad Space by Friday, May 10

Recipient of the 2019 Fulton-Montgomery Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Barbara V. Spraker Tourism Partner Award, Caroga Lake Music Festival attracts numerous locals and visitors every year and followers continue to grow. CLMF Program Books are distributed at every CLMF event throughout the five-week music festival season, which makes it a great opportunity for businesses to advertise and supporters to share a personal message!

NEW! In 2019, Program Books will double in size to a 8.5″ x 11″ finish.

Spring is coming!

After a successful Winter Residency, Caroga Arts Collective is excited to introduce another group of dedicated artists from various creative backgrounds to embark on personal, collaborative and community projects while in residence in Caroga Lake, NY.

Community Classes & Showcases

Join us for lunch at Nick Stoner Inn as our Spring Resident Artists present an engaging performance and presentation on creative projects they have been working on during the Spring Residency. Plus an exclusive look at our upcoming 2019 season as Artistic & Executive Director Kyle Price presents the exciting lineup of events coming to Caroga Lake this summer!

Join us for dinner at Vrooman’s Hotel and sing along to your favorite show tunes and film music from the greatest classics to Pixar movies with musicians from the Caroga Arts Ensemble.
Purchase Tickets

To close out the Spring Residency, join us for dinner and a “Musical Journey Through Time” as musicians from the Caroga Arts Ensemble perform a variety of pieces and arrangements from J.S. Bach to the Roaring Twenties to the Beatles and to today’s popular music.

Open Community Classes & Showcases for All

Thursday, May 2 at 10:00am
Eldoa Method: Stretching Class with Minju Kim
Blooming Lotus Yoga & Wellness25 W Main St, Johnstown, NY 12095
Open admission, donations appreciated

Violinist and CLMF Artist Minju Kim presents a class on the Eldoa Method. The Eldoa Method has many unique benefits and an incredible success rate not only for the purposes of rehabilitation but also in the prevention of injuries, improvement of posture, recovery, and overall wellbeing. You may feel immediate relief and lasting results when you integrate the Eldoa Method and techniques into your routine.

Friday, May 3 at 7:00pm
Spring Residency Artist Showcase
St. John’s Episcopal Church, 1 N Market St, Johnstown, NY 12095
Open admission, donations appreciated

Resident Artists gather in Caroga Lake, NY to collaborate on various creative projects. The results of these projects will be showcased at St. John’s Episcopal Church.

Saturday, May 4 at 11:00am
Caroga Arts Collective 2019 Season Preview
Mohawk Harvest Cooperative Market, 30 N Main St, Gloversville, NY 12078
Open admission, donations appreciated

An exclusive look at our upcoming 2019 season as Artistic Director Kyle Price presents the exciting lineup of events coming to Caroga Lake this summer! Special performance by Twin Pixie, Spring Resident Artists.

Become a Housing or Meal donor for Caroga Lake Music Festival 2019!

Create memories with our artists! Caroga Arts brings more than 100+ world-class artists to reside in Caroga Lake and engage in unique performances, community outreaches, and educational programs in the Southern Adirondacks every year. Our artists are welcomed into the homes of local families and offered meals by our community volunteers. This unique opportunity to give to Caroga Arts creates an extraordinary bond among our artists and communities!

All housing and meal donors receive invitations to special events, recognition in Program Book, and an acknowledgement letter for in-kind donations.

Housing for Artists

If you have a home within 15 minutes of Caroga Lake, your home may be perfect! Our Resident Artists typically travel on Mondays and rotate weekly throughout the festival.

Meals for Artists

We are grateful for any meals or food stock/supplies donated to the festival for our Resident Artists! Our team of volunteers bring prepared meals to the Caroga Arts Hub and are invited to enjoy conversations at the dining table with our artists.

Saratoga Arts awards $125,010 for Community Arts

Caroga Arts in The Daily Gazette

CLMF ARTIST NEWS

Caroga Lake musicians reunited in Columbus, OH this past weekend and performed a sold-out show at a popular restaurant and live music venue. CLMF Artists included:
David Wong, violin (’13-’19)
Aaron Schwartz, violin (’12, ’14-’19)
Stephanie Price-Wong, viola (’12-’19)
Kyle Price, cello (’12-’19)
Geoff Saunders (’15-’19)

Jazz Singer-Bassist Katie Thiroux
First appearance in Caroga!

It’s the first day of Spring (hooray!) and we’re springing towards the CarogaLake Music Festival season. Start making your summer plans and mark your calendar for Encore! Jazz Sessions with special guest artist, Katie Thiroux Trio!

Encore! Jazz Sessions
Katie Thiroux Trio
August 14, 2019 at 8pm
Caroga Lake, NY

Katie Thiroux has become a bold standard-bearer for the emerging generation of jazz singer/instrumentalists. Following her prodigious beginnings on bass at age 8 and studies under renowned vocalist Tierney Sutton at 12, Thiroux was mentored by the legendary bassist John Clayton and was awarded a Phil Ramone Presidential Scholarship to Berklee College of Music while gaining experience on the bandstand with artists including Terrell Safford, Terri Lyne Carrington, Branford Marsalis, Larry Fuller, Jeff Clayton, Patti Austin, Geri Allen, Helen Sung, Charles McPherson, and dozens of others.

“A multitasking talent who swings her bass with a Mack-truck-powered lilt that would make her hero Ray Brown proud, and who transforms her voice into a thing of delight” – The New Yorker

She was a finalist in the 2015 Thelonious Monk International Vocals Competition, and her debut release as a bandleader from the same year, Introducing Katie Thiroux, received accolades from All About Jazz, the Huffington Post, the Jazz Journalists Association, and NPR Jazz, who listed the release among their Top 5 Debut Records of the Year. She was named “Rising Star” bassist in the 2018 DownBeat Critics Poll, is a traveling clinician for the Monterey Jazz Festival in the Schools program, and performed a three-month residency at Quincy Jones’ Dubai jazz club in 2017. Thiroux’s newest album with her quartet, Off Beat, was produced by eminent drummer Jeff Hamilton and made DownBeat’s list of Best Albums of 2017.

For this date, Thiroux will be joined by her excellent working trio including drummer Matt Witek and pianist Glenn Zaleski, who appeared at CLMF’s Encore! Jazz Sessions in 2018!

Caroga Arts Collective is honored to have been a top tier recipient of the 2019 Community Arts Grants from Saratoga Arts in support of the 8th Annual CarogaLake Music Festival which will be held from July 15 – August 18. Thank you for your continuing support!

CLMF ARTIST NEWS

Congratulations to CLMF Artist Eliza Wong (’17 Switzerland, ’16 CLMF), National Winner of the 2019 Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Young Artist Competition! A senior at Vanderbilt University, Eliza was chosen as the Strings finalist in the Southern Division and competed against six other division finalists from across the U.S.

Just Announced!
Caroga Arts Ensemble debut at Ravinia Festival

America’s oldest music festival, Ravinia, was once an amusement park and is now one of the largest arts organizations, presenting over 140 different events throughout the summer in the Chicagoland area.

The 2019 Ravinia season continues to celebrate the great American composer Leonard Bernstein’s centennial. Caroga Arts Ensemble will perform Bernstein’s Songfest on June 20 at 7:30pm in Martin Theatre with Alexander Platt as conductor, Singers from the Ravinia Steans Music Institute and Poets selected by The Poetry Foundation.

Caroga Arts Ensemble is honored to be part of a world-class line up that include performers like Jennifer Hudson, Lionel Richie, Sting, Tony Bennett, Pentatonix, Itzahk Perlman, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and many more. See the full 2019 Ravinia schedule!

June 20, 2019 at 7:30 pm
Martin Theatre, Ravinia Festival
Highland Park, IL

Bernstein’s Songfest
Caroga Arts Ensemble
Alexander Platt, conductor
Singers from Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute
Poets from The Poetry Foundation

Come see us at Ravinia! Tickets on sale May 7
Tickets: $35 / $25
Lawn: $10

Music & Merriment in Caroga!

4th Annual Caroga Arts Collective Gala
Saturday, July 27, 2019
Sherman’s Amusement Park, Caroga Lake, NY

MATTHEW WHITAKER QUARTET
Returns to Caroga

Matthew Whitaker Quartet & CLMF Orchestra, 2018 Sherman’s Revival Series

“He has quickly identified the buttons that resonate with a crowd looking for a good time.” – Los Angeles Times

Born in 2001, Matthew Whitaker’s love for playing music first began at the young age of three, after his grandfather gave him a small Yamaha keyboard. At age nine, Matthew began teaching himself how to play the Hammond B3 organ. Four years later, he became the youngest artist to be endorsed by Hammond in its 80+ year history. He was also named a Yamaha Artist at age fifteen, becoming the youngest musician to join the stellar group of jazz pianists.

Now 17 years old, Matthew has already extensively toured the U.S. and abroad, performing before The Youth Assembly at the United Nations and on other world renowned stages including Lincoln Center, Apollo Theater, Carnegie Hall, and Jazz at Lincoln Center in NYC; SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco; The John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, DC; Monterey Jazz Festival, Newport Jazz Festival and at international venues in France, Italy, Germany, Indonesia, the UK, Australia, Switzerland, Portugal, Japan, Spain and Morocco.

Matthew was the 1st place winner at Showtime at the Apollo with Steve Harvey on FOX TV in 2016. He has been featured on national and international radio and television, including the TODAY Show, Harry Connick Jr Talk Show and The Ellen Show!

If you are interested in becoming a Gala Sponsor for this highly anticipated event, please contact info@carogaarts.org

For more information regarding attending the Gala, please visit our website in the coming weeks.

How to Become an Artist or Concert Sponsor

Individuals and Businesses have the unique opportunity to sponsor an Artist or Concert at Caroga Lake Music Festival. Sponsorships will be recognized from the stage, in the concert program, and on the event site.

For Individuals

Caroga Arts Collective is dedicated to increasing accessibility to the arts, cultivating creative and interactive experiences and showcasing top professional artists from the U.S. and abroad. Caroga Arts relies on your generous gifts to continue presenting a variety of accessible world-class performances and events to the community.

Caroga Arts offers individuals the opportunity to become an Artist or Concert sponsor at the following levels:
$10,000+ TRAILBLAZER LEVEL
*Opportunity to Present a CLMF Concert

$7,000 – $9,999 NAVIGATOR LEVEL
*Opportunity to Sponsor a CLMF Concert

$3,000 – $6,999 EXPLORER LEVEL
*Opportunity to Sponsor an Artist

Learn more about Donation Levels

Corporate Sponsorships

Caroga Arts Collective’s corporate sponsorships offer tremendous visibility, promotion and access. Corporate gifts and sponsorships play a major role in supporting the programs of Caroga Arts Collective while offering exclusive partnerships and various benefits for your business and organization.

Among other benefits, Caroga Arts offers businesses the opportunity to sponsor an Artist or Concert at the following levels:

$10,000 PRESENTING SPONSOR
*Opportunity to Present a Concert

$5,000
*Opportunity to Sponsor a Concert

$2,500
*Opportunity to Sponsor an Artist

Learn more about Corporate Sponsorships

Caroga Arts welcomes NBT Bank as a new sponsor

Become a sponsor today and join NBT Bank in supporting the future of Caroga Arts Collective!

CLMF Artists: Where are they today?

Portugese singer-songwriter MARO (CLMF 2018) joined forces with musical phenomenon and Grammy-winning multi-instrumentalist Jacob Collier and is currently on tour in Europe and the U.S. See if they’re performing near you!

Violinist Zenas Hsu (CLMF 2016, 2017) became a member of the Grammy-nominated chamber orchestra, A Far Cry, based in Boston. He also recently performed as guest concertmaster for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Congratulations Zenas on your achievements!14

Work With Us!

Caroga Lake Music Festival is hiring Summer Interns!

Are you a college student or a recent graduate looking for a meaningful summer work experience?

Caroga Arts Collective is hiring summer interns for the 2019 Caroga Lake Music Festival season! CLMF interns have the extraordinary opportunity to work firsthand at an award-winning music festival presenting over 150 world-class artists at more than 40 performances every summer in the serene, beautiful area of the Southern Adirondacks. Featuring a wide range of music genres at some of the most unique venues, Caroga Lake Music Festival offers an excellent experience for interns interested in the music and non-profit fields.

Summer 2019 Available Positions

Operations Intern

Marketing & Development Intern

Sound & Production Intern

Application Deadline: April 15, 2019

14 artists from various creative backgrounds joined forces in Caroga Lake, NY to embark on personal, collaborative and community projects from Jan 15-20.

Resident Artists presented two educational outreaches at Wheelerville School and Cooperstown Elementary.

The three Dine, Listen & Learn events invited the community to explore the arts and enjoy a meal. Thanks to Pleasant Lake Inn, Pine Lake Lodge & Nick Stoner Inn for hosting

In Gloversville, the Saunders family band presented a sing-a-long “Adirondack Songs” at Mohawk Harvest Co-op. Afterwards, Resident Artists presented their final works to a packed audience at Gloversville Library.

Special thanks to our volunteers, supporters, and donors for making our first Winter Residency a great success!
(Despite the snow storm!)

We look forward to the Spring Residency as we continue to inspire creativity through engaging artists and communities throughout the year.

Save The Date

Join Us at the 4th Annual Caroga Arts Collective Gala!

Enjoy Music, Entertainment, Drinks, Dinner, Silent Auction & Much More Fun!

Creatively and Collectively Reigniting Caroga as a Top Destination!

Throughout our history, Caroga Lake and its surrounding communities have attracted many artists, scholars, performers, authors, musicians, and nature enthusiasts. They came here to revel in the intense beauty and restorative nature of the lakes nestled among the majestic Adirondack Mountains. The area fueled their passions, sparked their creativity, and ignited a spirit of community and sense of belonging that brought people back year after year!

Today, you can be a part of this mission to reignite the CarogaExperience through interdisciplinary and inter-arts collaborations among musicians, artists, scholars, and our communities. Recipient of the Regional Chamber of Commerce Tourism Award, Caroga Arts continues to creatively foster Caroga into a top destination and attraction for all.

You, too, can kindle the flame and truly make a difference in our community by joining us at the 4th Annual Caroga Arts Collective Gala on Saturday, July 27, 2019. All tickets, donations, and contributions further the mission of the Caroga Arts Collective and help to enrich the arts in Caroga Lake and in our surrounding communities.

Enjoy spectacular music by some of the most talented musicians in the country, great food, wine and beer, and an amazing silent auction. Plus, gather with people just like you who want to be a part of this incredible vision to build a thriving and sustainable arts community in our area.

Special Moments from last year’s Gala

Photos by Ken Kubota, Edited by Lorie Rosenberg

This Week in Caroga!

New Groundbreaking Program: Winter Residency 2019

Other Artists include:
Jah’China De Leon, Visual Art
Nykeira Franks, Spoken Word
Sunshine Martin, Visual Art
Thomas Dunn, Instrument making
Dr. Sam Lee Fielding, Tong Ren
Vatche Jambazian, Piano

Tickets still available – Reserve today!

Winter Residency 2019!

Fifteen Artists coming to Caroga Lake January 15-20

Caroga Arts Collective’s inaugural Winter Residency brings a group of fifteen dedicated artists from various creative backgrounds across the country to embark on personal, collaborative and community projects while in residence in Caroga Lake, NY. Resident Artists will also present an interactive educational workshop at Wheelerville School.

See Events

Community Classes & Showcases for All

Dine, Listen & Learn! Enjoy a meal & discover something new

Dinner + Postcard Poetry & Sounds of Music
Wednesday, January 16 at 7:00pm
Pleasant Lake Inn
View Event page here

Dinner + Visual Art & Instrument Making
Thursday, January 17 at 7:00pm
Pine Lake Lodge
View Event page here

Sunday Brunch & Artist Showcase
Sunday, January 20 at 11:00am
Nick Stoner Inn
View Event page here
Dine, Listen & Learn Tickets
$25 advance tickets/$30 at door

All tickets include Dining Package + Admission

Call 516-712-8494 to reserve advance tickets

Save $10: Buy package for all three events in advance for $65

Open Community Classes & Showcase

Somatic Session with Dr. Sam Lee Fielding
Thursday, January 17 at 9:00am
146 Jung Road (Residential)
View Event Page here

“Adirondack Songs” led by Geoff & Rob Saunders
Saturday, January 19 at 10:00am
Mohawk Harvest Co-op
View Event page here

Winter Residency Artist Showcase
Saturday, January 19 at 1:30pm
Gloversville Library, Carnegie Room
View Event page here

Open admission, donations greatly appreciated

Caroga Arts returns to the beautifully renovated and historic Gloversville Library for its Winter Residency Artist Showcase in the Carnegie Room!

Caroga Arts receives Tourism Award!

Adirondacks ranked one of 50 Best Places to Travel in 2019

Caroga Arts Collective is beyond grateful to have received the Barbara V. Spraker Tourism Partner Award from the Fulton Montgomery Regional Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber will present the Tourism Award, along with seven other awards to local businesses and organizations, at its annual “Cheers to Business!” event on Friday, January 18, 2019.

In the 2018 season, Caroga Arts celebrated its 7th annual Caroga Lake Music Festival and brought 80 world-class artists to reside in Caroga Lake, NY for up to five weeks. These artists came from 22 states and 7 countries and performed a total of 40 performances for 6,500 concert attendees!

Travel & Leisure Magazine recently ranked the Adirondacks as one of 50 Best Places to Travel worldwide in 2019. The popular travel publication has a readership of over 1 million and the Adirondacks was only one of eight sites chosen from the United States.

Caroga Arts is fortunate to call the Adirondacks “home” and look forward to welcoming more visitors to experience the arts and Adirondacks in Caroga Lake, NY!

Presented by Caroga Arts Collective

Workshops for Professional Musicians
Injury Prevention and Musical Expansion

Applications Now Open!

National Summer Cello Institute
May 30 – June 16, 2019
Caroga Lake, NY

Learn more here

Feldenkrais Workshop for Musicians
May 30 – June 5, 2019
Caroga Lake, NY

Learn more here

We look forward to seeing you in 2019!

In 2018, Caroga Arts Collective experienced a transformational season full of exciting developments!

Some highlights from the 2018 season include:

• Forty-five performances featuring 130+ world class artists.
• Return of Sherman’s Revival Series, including our first concert for kids!
• The inaugural MyHil Film Series.
• Caroga Arts Ensemble’s debut at Maverick Concerts in Woodstock (and most recently its Midwest debut at Chicago’s Symphony Center).
• Bringing National Summer Cello Institute and Feldenkrais Workshop from Madison, WI to Caroga Lake as its new home.

  

As we move into the 2019 season, we look forward to launching Caroga Arts Collective’s year-round residency program.

Caroga Arts recently received a $125,000 matching grant from an anonymous donor to help us create a beautiful entertainment venue in our little Town of Caroga. We also enlisted the support of George Abdella, the donor of Sherman’s to the Town of Caroga, to approve of the sale of Sherman’s to Caroga Arts. We anticipate a public vote on the sale of Sherman’s to Caroga Arts in the upcoming months.

This holiday season, we hope you will consider giving to Caroga Arts Collective!

Supporters of Caroga Arts who must draw down tax deferred retirement savings known as Required Minimum Distributions (“RMD”) may want to investigate whether they can contribute from their 401(k) or IRA and not be subject to tax on that portion of their RMD.

Thank you for your continued support for Caroga Arts!

2018 in Photos

NBC’s The Voice winner Sawyer Fredericks at Sherman’s Revival Series (Photo: Gene Centi)

1,700 people react to FLAME who performed at Sherman’s Revival Series prior to Sawyer Fredericks (Photo: Gene Centi)

Showing of The Red Violin at the inaugural MyHil Film Series

Matthew Whitaker Trio with Caroga Arts Ensemble at Sherman’s Revival Series

Side-by-side orchestra with local music students as part of the Summer String Performance Project.

SAUNDERS Fest: All-day bluegrass festival at Sherman’s Revival Series
Photos by Ken Kubota

Proposed Sherman’s renewal sale to Caroga Arts

Greetings!

• Caroga Arts Collective (Caroga Arts) is a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charitable organization with over 150 local volunteers coming from the Town of Caroga. Caroga Arts has already brought world-class music, arts and community events to Caroga Lake since 2012.
• Caroga Arts is dedicated to revitalizing the Town by creating a first-rate entertainment venue and community center through the expertise and connections of our board, advisory council, staff and volunteers in and beyond the community.
• Caroga Arts plans to raise funds, at no expense to the Town, to improve the Sherman’s property so that it can be used by all members of the community for concerts, car shows, farmers markets, festivals, picnics, town meetings, pre-school, school-age and adult education, and many other town and community events.
• Caroga Arts is committed to enhancing Sherman’s as an asset to the community through attracting and retaining residents, tourists, and business, increasing Town sales tax revenue.
• Caroga Arts has received an anonymous $125,000 matching grant for an entertainment venue and anticipates many more grants and donations once Caroga Arts starts a capital construction drive for improvement of Sherman’s.

Putting Sherman’s back on the map!

Creating fun for all ages, but not on your dollar!

Valuing clean air, water and natural landscapes

Bumper Car Pavilion
– Lakeside performance/film venue, town meeting space
Carousel
– Carousel rides, banquets, gallery, event space

Main Building
– Community center space, offices, classrooms, multi-use conference space

Other features
– Community green space
– Community garden/farmers market
– Town visitors info booth
– Cafe with picnic/play area

Caroga Arts Ensemble spreads wings to Midwest!

Mahler at Chicago Symphony’s Symphony Center

Caroga Arts Ensemble was invited by Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago to perform Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn on October 28, 2018 at 7pm at Symphony Center in Chicago.

Presented by Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago, “Fall Lieder Lounge” will feature Caroga Arts Ensemble as a 14-piece chamber orchestra with maestro Alexander Platt, singers and a narrator.

Caroga Arts looks forward to its first appearance in the midwest in the remarkable Symphony Center, home to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Fall Lieder Lounge Concert Information

Sunday, October 28, 2018 at 7:00pm
Grainger Ballroom, Symphony Center
220 South Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60604
See concert details online

TICKETS
$35 General, $30 Senior, $15 Students
Purchase Tickets Online

PROGRAM
Gustav Mahler: Selections from ​Des Knaben Wunderhorn

ARTISTS
Alexander Platt, curator & conductor
Emily Birsan, soprano
Julie Miller, mezzo-soprano
Ricardo Jose Rivera, baritone
Benjamin Busch, narrator

Caroga Arts Ensemble
Jenny Shin, Flute
Zachary Pulse, Oboe
Graeme Steele Johnson, Clarinet
Ryan Finefrock, Bassoon
Dan Hively, Horn
Bryant Millet, Trumpet
Stephanie Lebens, Trombone
Wes Luke, Violin
Rebecca Benjamin, Violin
Serena Hsu, Viola
Kyle Price, Cello
Dave Scholl, Bass
Alix Raspé, Harp
Dylan Moffitt, Percussion

Congratulations to Deborah Barrett Price,
CLMF Artist & Caroga Arts team member!

Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center announces the Award for Extraordinary Service to Chamber Music to the Chamber Music Connection and Artistic Director Deborah Price.

Under the leadership of founder and violist Deborah Price, The Chamber Music Connection brings together approximately 100 musicians of all ages and abilities to study and perform in chamber ensembles each year.

Several Caroga Lake Music Fesival (CLMF) Artists grew up playing chamber music together through the Chamber Music Connection. They include CLMF founder and cellist Kyle Price, violinists Eliza Wong, Heeyeon Ko, Dawning Welliver; violists Stephanie Price-Wong, Nao Kubota, Serena Hsu, Eva Kennedy, Annalisa Boerner; cellists Ken Kubota, Hannah Moses, and Nikita Annenkov; and bassist Nate West.

CLMF and the Chamber Music Connection share a unique bond of chamber music performance and education. CLMF Artists often serve as faculty and guest artists at the Chamber Music Connection and in May 2017, CLMF and the Chamber Music Connection joined forces to embark on its first international tour to Switzerland.

The Award will be presented on stage at Alice Tully Hall to Deborah Price by David Finckel and Wu Han at the opening night concert on October 16.

Read more about the award

Public Informational Meeting
Tuesday, September 18 at 7:00 PM
Town Hall, Caroga Lake

Caroga Arts presents future plans for property

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT!

Join us at the Town Hall in Caroga Lake on Tuesday, September 18 at 7:00pm.

Caroga Arts Collective Artistic & Executive Director Kyle Price and members from the Caroga Arts Board & Advisory Council will present future plans for the Sherman’s property.

Price has been planning creative ideas for the use of Sherman’s since Fall 2014. Now four years later, George Abdella who made a conditional donation of Sherman’s to the Town of Caroga has agreed to assist in allowing the Town to transfer Sherman’s to Caroga Arts so that it could become a first-class performing arts venue. Additionally, an anonymous donor recently pledged a $125,000 matching grant for construction of a new performing arts venue.

Message from Barbara Lee

As most of my friends know, I am a member of the Board of Directors of the Caroga Arts Collective (CAC), a recently formed not-for-profit corporation which is the parent organization of the Caroga Lake Music Festival. In August, the Music Festival concluded its 7th season. This was our most successful summer yet, with an extended concert season, a variety of music, and an expanded number of performance venues. Best of all, we have had ever-increasing audiences for our concerts, including town and local residents and people from as far away as Albany and beyond.

Those of us on the Board of Directors and the Advisory Council work very hard all year to ensure that the Music Festival is a wonderful experience for our musicians and our audience. We don’t only perform concerts; we have workshops for musicians and outreach programs in local schools and organizations, and we do a lot of teaching. Our concerts are free, but we appreciate donations, and have performed concerts for the benefit of local organizations, like the Caroga Lake Fire Department.

We have been extremely fortunate to be able to perform in a variety of venues, including the Canada Lake Store, Nick Stoner Inn, the Caroga Chapel, the Concordia Club, and numerous local and nearby restaurants and venues. For the past two years we have rented the grounds at Sherman’s from the town and have held a Sherman’s Revival Concert Series. Members of our board, members of our advisory council, and members of the community have volunteered countless hours at Sherman’s to work on the bumper car pavilion to bring it up to code and on the grounds of the property to make it beautiful again so that it can be used by the public. The money that has been spent has come out of the volunteers’ pockets.

The CAC has now offered to purchase the Sherman’s property from the Town of Caroga. George Abdella, who donated the property to the town amidst substantial controversy several years ago, has written a letter to the Town Board supporting the transfer of the property to the CAC. In this letter, he has stated that he will not sue the town for breaching the original donation agreement (which states that the property can never be sold) if the transfer is made to the CAC.

I know that this is a controversial and sensitive topic, and it has been one since the minute the Town of Caroga accepted the deed to the property. A Town Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 18th at 7:00 p.m. at the Town Hall to provide information about this proposed purchase.

Barbara Lee
Secretary, Board of Directors, Caroga Arts Collective

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

The volunteers who help shape our Caroga Lake community

Caroga Arts sends heartfelt gratitude to Community:
Volunteers, Local Businesses, Board & Advisory Council Members

Now that the seventh season of the Caroga Lake Music Festival has concluded, it is time to reflect on the efforts of all of the individuals and entities who have helped the Caroga Arts Collective grow so swiftly and in such a positive direction! We could not exist without the bountiful and enthusiastic help of so many. The Caroga community, comprised of year-round residents, summer residents, and businesses, has truly become our home and has provided us with incredible support and assistance.

Over the years, the number of musicians participating in the music festival has increased, as has the length of the festival. During the inaugural years of CLMF, the musicians resided in Grandma Joyce Barrett’s house and enjoyed her delicious meals and beloved “sticky buns”. But as the festival reached upwards of twenty people in 2014, the community was called to help. Residents of Caroga stepped forward and volunteered to host our musicians in their houses and camps, thereby affording us a unique opportunity to become a part of the community in which we performed. Mary Peck, a member of the Board of Directors, has spent many hours reaching out to potential host families and placing our musicians in their homes. Our musicians and their hosts formed warm bonds, and many have kept in touch throughout the years. Several of our musicians have returned to the Festival, renewing friendships formed in the community during previous seasons.

Town residents have also been incredibly generous in feeding our musicians. Martha Price, a member of the Advisory Council, has assumed the daunting task of soliciting, organizing, and coordinating lunches and dinners for the duration of the Festival, and has earned our deepest gratitude. Volunteers have hosted our musicians for meals at their homes and have delivered meals to Nick Stoner Inn, as well. Often, there have been more than thirty people to be fed at a time, and those who did so provided plentiful, delicious meals.

Concerts presented by Caroga Arts Collective are free, although we gladly accept donations. One way in which we earn revenue is through the sale of Caroga Arts Collective merchandise. Kathy Manning, a member of the Advisory Council, is in charge of our merchandising and deserves our special thanks. Kathy researches, orders, and prices all of our merchandise. She goes to all of our concerts and spends hours organizing and selling our hats, shirts, tote bags, coolers, and other goods. It is a year-round job, and we are grateful for all of her help. Anita Miller, Joyce Barrett, James Long and the Fincke family have provided invaluable assistance to our artists and to the concert-going experience through archiving concert programs, transporting artists to and from Albany International Airport and opening their house for additional rehearsal spaces.

We are now the lucky owners of MyHil, also known as the Schine Property, thanks to the magnanimous donation made by Bruce and Richard Veghte. We have started clearing the property, and have made substantial progress. We have also been working to revitalize the Sherman’s Amusement Park site, and have brought the pavilion that formerly housed the bumper car ride back up to code. Nancy Purcell, a board member, and countless others have spent numerous hours working at Sherman’s. We have cleaned up the site, taken over the mowing of the lawns, and have done substantial landscaping. All of this work has been accomplished thanks to community volunteers who have believed in our vision, and have donated their money, time, tools, skills and labor. All of these efforts have allowed us to use the bumper car pavilion and the grounds for the Sherman’s Revival Series concerts, which included Sawyer Fredericks, Matthew Whitaker, Saunders Fest and more.

Special thanks must go to our local businesses, many of whom have gone above and beyond in providing us with their backing and assistance.

Charlie and Becky Ward, the proprietors of the Nick Stoner Inn & 19th Hole, have spent two years beautifully renovating the premises and refreshing the rooms of their establishment. They have generously opened the Inn to us, housing our musicians and giving us full use of their first floor, thereby providing us with a rehearsal and performance venue unlike any other in the area. They have offered their unstinting support, and have gone out of their way to welcome the Caroga Lake Music Festival, hosting concerts and Encore! Jazz Sessions.

The Fielding family, owners of the Canada Lake Store and Marine, have been extremely supportive of the Caroga Arts Collective, as well. They host The Barge at Canada Lake concert series and provide a unique venue on the shore of Canada Lake where our audience can relax on the beach or in a boat, listen to great music, and watch the sun set. The Fieldings have also provided invaluable assistance in working out the logistics of transportation and parking for our concert events.

Other local businesses who assisted and supported the Caroga Arts Collective include Campers Corner Store, The Boat House, Vroomans Hotel, Pine Lake Lodge, and Pleasant Lake Inn. Along with Nick Stoner Inn and the Canada Lake Store and Marine, these establishments sponsored the Caroga Arts Collective and provided discounts and coupons to our artists as well as feeding them delicious meals and setting up food stands at some of our concerts. Kim Hart, Advisory Council liaison, has taken the lead on promoting Caroga Arts to local businesses and coordinating these partnerships seamlessly. They also opened their establishments as performance venues for us. We greatly appreciate their assistance in promoting and bolstering the Caroga Arts Collective.

We would be remiss if we did not thank the Caroga Lake Evangelical Chapel, which offered us our first rehearsal and performance venue in 2012. Thanks to Jack DeWeese, an Advisory Council member, we have continued to use this beautiful building as a site for our concerts. Our gratitude also goes to the Caroga Historical Museum, which has welcomed us to its exhibit barn for concerts.

As always, we send our deepest appreciation to our Board of Directors and Advisory Council members. Almost of all of our members are year-round or summer residents of Caroga Lake, and are actively involved in every aspect of our organization. They work tirelessly throughout the year to ensure that we have ever-expanding opportunities to teach, learn, and perform. It is because of this group of dedicated individuals that we are able to share our joy of music with our community.

Caroga Lake is where we live. We started here with a dream, and that dream has grown and flourished so beautifully because of the people who share this dream with us. When we arrive every summer, it is a homecoming for us. We know the names and the stories of so many of the people who share this home with us, and they know ours, as well. We cannot thank you enough for welcoming us, housing us, feeding us, hosting us, helping us, working with us, contributing to us, and listening to and loving our music. We look forward to strengthening our bonds in the sunny lakeside seasons to come.

A letter from Board member Hon. James Hopkins

Anonymous donor pledges $125,000 matching grant for construction of a performing arts venue

This is the Cinderella story about how 7 years ago Kyle Price, an 19-year-old cellist, got a few of his friends together to give free concerts while spending their summer at his grandmother’s house on Caroga Lake, population 518, in one of the most economically depressed areas of Upstate New York. They ambitiously called the concerts the Caroga Lake Music Festival (CLMF). They convinced the local Pastor to allow them to play at the Caroga Lake Chapel, where they would accept donations. Each summer the CLMF attracted an increasingly larger group of admirers and artists. Soon the number of musicians outgrew Kyle’s grandmother’s house and local families began to house and feed them.

Two years ago the CLMF became a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charity, the Caroga Arts Collective. They ventured to Switzerland, Florida and Maine to give concerts. A year ago they revitalized the Nick Stoner Inn, a shuttered building in Caroga Lake that now houses some of the artists and has become a thriving restaurant/bar/inn/music venue. They also began to revitalize Sherman’s, a lakeside amusement park that had been closed for many years, by getting local community members to donate countless hours and services to make it a concert-worthy venue.

This summer Caroga Arts hosted a week-long InterArts Showcase, a multi-discipline symposium; the two week-long National Summer Cello Institute; and gave 40 concerts in Upstate New York, Vermont and Florida involving over 90 artists from around the world performing a variety of music genres, from classical music to gypsy jazz. The artists were housed and fed by over 80 local families. Sherman’s was the site of a revival series of free concerts including Sawyer Fredericks, 2015 The Voice winner; Matthew Whitaker, the 17 year old blind jazz pianist who has also performed at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, the Apollo Theatre, and the Newport Jazz Festival; and Saundersfest, an event hosted by an incredibly talented local family that includes a Grammy-Award winning bassist, a backup singer for Chance the Rapper, and the CEO of L.L. Bean who is on the Board of Caroga Arts. The Caroga Arts Board is led by a successful local businessman and also includes a former dean of the Juilliard School; a nationally prominent trial lawyer and her husband, a retired federal judge; and several locally prominent supporters.

There have been exciting recent developments for Caroga Arts. An anonymous donor has pledged an $125,000 matching grant for construction of a performing arts venue, even though a capital construction drive has not yet been announced. At the same time the successful lawyer that made a conditional donation of Sherman’s to Caroga Lake four years ago has agreed to assist in allowing the Town of Caroga Lake to transfer Sherman’s to Caroga Arts so that it could become a first-class performing arts venue.

The Town of Caroga is holding a public hearing on the proposed transfer on September 18th at 7 p.m.

CLMF in The Leader-Herald

Read supporter Anita Potocar’s Letter to the Editor

“Amazing how they were able to transform the Caroga Chapel or the living room at Nick Stoner Inn, into concert halls, right here in Caroga Lake.”

Caroga Arts Ensemble On Tour!

Woodstock, NY & Dorset, VT

7th Annual Caroga Lake Music Festival
Week 5: August 13 -19

Join us in Caroga Lake, Gloversville, Cooperstown and Ghent for a varied assortment of classical, contemporary, jazz and pop music!

With musicians Kayoko Mizakawa, Piano; Logan Contreras, Voice; Armando Contreras, Voice; Jazimina MacNeil, Voice; Seung Jeon, Flute; Graeme Steele Johnson, Clarinet; Arleigh Savage, Bassoon; Kaleigh Acord, Violin; Rebecca Benjamin, Violin; John Bian, Violin; Eva Dove, Violin; Aniela Eddy, violin; Josh Henderson, Violin; Ben Kronk, Violin; Andy Liang, Violin; Valerie Sanders, Violin; Aaron Schwartz, Violin; Tonya Burton, Viola; Andrew Griffin, Viola; Deborah Price, Viola; Jameel Martin, Viola; Stephanie Price-Wong, Viola; Jenna Heawon Shin, Viola; Ray Kim, Cello; Ken Kubota, Cello; Mitch Lyon, Cello; Scott McCreary, Cello; Julian Muller, Cello; Kyle Price, Cello; Nathan Chan, Cello; Jon Borden, Bass; Jordan Calixto, Bass; Nicholas Villalobos, Bass; Nate West, Bass

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15, 7:00 PM
Concert & Ice Cream at Caroga Museum
145 County Rd 111, Caroga Lake
Free

The Caroga Museum in New York State’s Adirondack Park is comprised of a charming old farm house, an exhibit barn, a general store, a cobbler’s shop, an ice house, and the most recent addition, Sherman’s Park Arcade.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 7:00 PM
Dinner & Music at Origins Cafe, Cooperstown
558 Beaver Meadow Rd, Cooperstown
$35

Artist in Residence Concert – Musicians of the Caroga Lake Music Festival debut in the charming baseball town of Cooperstown at Origins Cafe. $35 buys a seasonal, locally-sourced dinner buffet and concert! To reserve your dinner and seat, please call Origins Cafe at 607-437-2862.

You are invited:
Volunteer Appreciaton Pre-concert Reception

FRIDAY, AUGUST 17, 7:00 PM
Caroga Chapel Concert
106 Chapel Road, Caroga Lake
Free

CLMF’s premiere of American composer Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring. Featuring a variety of CLMF resident artists in small chamber groups as well as large orchestra!

In appreciation of the extraordinary volunteers who helped make Caroga Lake Music Festival a success this season, Caroga Arts would like to invite all volunteers and friends to a pre-concert reception. Enjoy drinks and light refreshments starting at 6:00pm at Caroga Chapel on Friday, August 17.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 17, 10:00 PM
Encore! Jazz Sessions: Glenn Zaleski Trio
Nick Stoner Inn, 1810 NY-10, Caroga Lake
Free

Jazz piano trio with New York City’s Glenn Zaleski, a semi-finalist in the 2011 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition and a finalist for the 2011 APA Cole Porter Fellowship in Jazz.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 18, 2:00 – 10:00PM
Sherman’s Revival Series: SAUNDERS FEST
Sherman’s Amusement Park, Caroga Lake
Free

Don’t miss the biggest event of the season! The multi-musical Saunders family, bluegrass virtuosos and Canada Lake residents, will perform an all-day bluegrass festival featuring Grammy-Award winning bassist, vocalist and banjo player Geoff Saunders from the Mark O’Connor Band and mandolin and banjo player Rob Saunders, among other family members. They’ll be joined by Crooked North, Kate Lee & Forrest O’Connor, Chris Wilson and local bluegrass bands for an afternoon of pure banjo thrills and open jam sessions!

Line up:
Crooked North
Saunders Family Band
Kate Lee & Forrest O’Connor
Chris Wilson
Caroga Lake Chamber Players
Durey Creek

SUNDAY, AUGUST 19, 11:30AM
Brunch & Concert at Paul Nigra Center
Paul Nigra Center for the Creative Arts, 2736 New York 30, Gloversville
$35

Back by popular demand, CLMF perform their final 2018 season concert in the Caroga region at the Paul Nigra Center in Gloversville. Have a delicious brunch in the Grand Gallery while enjoying the incredible sounds of the musicians of the Caroga Lake Music Festival.

The brunch menu will include quiche, stuffed French toast, bacon, sausage, potatoes, salad greens, refreshments and desserts.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 19, 6:00PM
Concert at Hawthorne Valley School
Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School, 330 Co Rd 21C, Ghent, NY
Free

Artist in Residence Concert – CLMF musicians return to Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School for the season finale featuring music of multiple scopes and genres.

7th Annual Caroga Lake Music Festival
Week 4: August 6 -12

Join us in Cobleskill, Canojaharie, Cooperstown, Gloversville, and Caroga Lake for a varied assortment of classical, contemporary, jazz and pop music!

You’re never too young to play music! Local children experience the “Instrument Petting Zoo” with CLMF Artists at a Kids Concert at Sherman’s. Thank you Nightingale Violin Shop for the instruments!

With musicians Logan Contreras, Voice; Armando Contreras, Voice; Nicole Heinen, Voice; Esther Park, Piano; Zsolt Bognar, Piano; Graeme Steele Johnson, Clarinet; Alex Mayon, Trumpet; Mason Yu, Violin; Erica Tursi, Violin; Clayton Tillotson, Violin; Aaron Schwartz, Violin; Andy Liang, Violin; Ben Kronk, Violin; Eva Dove, Violin; Michael Chien, Violin; Stephanie Price-Wong, Viola; Deborah Price, Viola; Alice Ping, Viola; Jinsun Hong, Viola; Alejandro Duque, Viola; Nathan Watts, Cello; Kyle Price, Cello; Julian Müller, Cello; Ken Kubota, Cello; Alex Cox, Cello; Jordan Calixto, Bass; Nate West, Bass

SUMMER STRING PROJECTS

The Summer String Projects provide local music students from Fulton, Montgomery and Schoharie Counties the opportunity to experience, learn and share music with the Caroga Lake Music Festival artists for five days leading up to finale performances. Thank you to the agencies who support these endeavors!

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 8, 7:00 PM
Fulton & Montgomery Counties: Summer String Project Finale Concert
Arkell Museum, 2 Erie Blvd, Canajoharie
Free

Saratoga Arts made this program possible with an Arts Education Grant funded by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 9, 7:00 PM
Schoharie County: Summer String Project Finale Concert
St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church
138 Washington Ave, Cobleskill
Free

This event is made possible in part with public funds from the Decentralization Program of the NYS Council on the Arts, administered in Schoharie County by the Greene County Council on the Arts through the Community Arts Grants program.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 10, 7:00 PM
Caroga Chapel Concert
106 Chapel Road, Caroga Lake
Free

Don’t miss! This week you’ll hear some of Opera’s favorite songs from Bizet’s Carmen and Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Featuring a variety of CLMF resident artists in small chamber groups as well as large orchestra!

J-Music Pocket Band Returns!

FRIDAY, AUGUST 10, 10:00 PM
Encore! Jazz Sessions: J-Music Pocket Band
Nick Stoner Inn, 1810 NY-10, Caroga Lake
Free

Back by popular demand! J-Music Pocket Band is an innovative jazz ensemble performing arrangements of Japanese pop and video game music. With Patrick Bartley, Jr., a Grammy-nominated saxophonist, composer, and bandleader.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 9:30-10:30AM
Quartet Performance at Cooperstown Farmers’ Market
101 Main Street, Cooperstown
Free

Come visit the Cooperstown Farmers’ Market to experience the agricultural bounty of the region and hear live music!
Gypsy Jazz with Rhythm Future Quartet

SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 7:00PM
Sherman’s Revival Series: Rhythm Future Quartet
Sherman’s Amusement Park, Caroga Lake
Free

The acoustic jazz ensemble Rhythm Future Quartet has a straightforward agenda: to keep the spirit of gypsy jazz alive and expanding in today’s musical universe. The virtuosic foursome, named for a Django Reinhardt tune, offers up a newly minted sound, influenced by the classic Hot Club of France, yet wholly contemporary. Learn more here!

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 4:00PM
Concert at Peck’s Lake Marina
180 Peck Lake Rd, Gloversville
Free

Artist in Residence Concert – Musicians of the Caroga Lake Music Festival debut in neighboring Peck’s Lake for an late afternoon concert on the water at the popular Peck’s Lake Marina.

Thank you to Main Motorcar for the sponsor vehicle! 🚗

7th Annual Caroga Lake Music Festival
Week 3: July 30-August 5

Caroga has been in the news!
Fulton County Express, June 8
Sawyer Fredericks Performs at Sherman’s

Leader-Herald, June 16
Cheer from the Leader-Herald

Albany Times-Union, July 19
On the wings of whimsy: Summer music festival at Caroga Lake grew from youthful enthusiasm

Upcoming Concerts & Events
Join us in Gloversville and Caroga Lake for a varied assortment of opera, classical, contemporary, jazz and pop music!

With musicians Nicole Heinen, Voice; Graeme Steele Johnson, Clarinet; José Guzmán, Guitar; Alex Mayon, Trumpet;Lindsey Baggett, Violin; Michael Chien, Violin; Heeyeon Ko, Violin; Joseph Kromholz, Violin; Ben Kronk, Violin; Janice Lee, Violin; Andy Liang, Violin; Aaron Schwartz, Violin; Alejandro Duque, Viola; Jebat Kee, Viola; Nao Kubota, Viola; Alice Ping, Viola; Deborah Price, Viola; Stephanie Price-Wong, Viola; Sergein Yap, Viola; Brian Klickman, Cello; Ken Kubota, Cello; Daniel Lim, Cello; Julian Muller, Cello; Kyle Price, Cello; Nathan Watts, Cello; Jordan Calixto, Bass; Nate West, Bass

MONDAY, JULY 30, 7:30 PM
Concert at Luzerne Music Center
The Lodge at Luzerne Music Center, Lake Luzerne, NY
$35 General Admission

Each week, Luzerne Music Center presents two chamber music concerts featuring the faculty and world-renowned guest artists as part of the Luzerne Chamber Music Festival, a six-concert series curated by President and Artistic Director Elizabeth Pitcairn. In 2018, the Music Center will feature two string quartets from the Caroga Lake Music Festival – KASA Quartet and Callisto Quartet – plus clarinetist Graeme Steele Johnson.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 7:00 PM
Concert at Pine Lake Lodge
1050 NY-10, Caroga Lake
Free

Artist in Residence Concert – One of the few tavern concerts of the season, audiences and artists get to experience an intimate, fun and engaging show that features classical, jazz, crossover and pop selections. Come get a sneak-peek inside live “jam sessions” of CLMF musicians.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 7:00 PM
Concert at The Glove Theatre
40 N Main St, Gloversville
Free

Artist in Residence Concert – CLMF makes its debut in the historic 1914 Glove Theatre. After saving the building from becoming a parking lot in 1995, a group of dedicated individuals set out to restore it as a theater. The news of the Glove’s rebirth generated a burst of community enthusiasm. Money was raised to stabilize the structure and throughout the last decade, volunteers have continued to work diligently to restore the Glove to its former prominence.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 3, 11:00 AM
Finale Concert: Summer Music Celebration Camp
Paul Nigra Center for Creative Arts
2736 New York 30, Gloversville
Free

Paul Nigra Center Summer Music Celebration Camp

JULY 31 – AUGUST 3, 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Paul Nigra Center for Creative Arts
All ages welcome
Cost: $150
Spaces still available! Click here to register

The Summer Music Celebration Camp is a four-day long workshop and educational/performance program for musicians of all ages and abilities.

Young Jazz Keyboard Sensation Coming to Caroga!

On Friday, August 3 and Saturday, August 4, New York City teen piano and organ powerhouse Matthew Whitaker will bring his unique gift to the stages of Nick Stoner Inn and Sherman’s Amusement Park.

MATTHEW WHITAKER – TWO CONCERTS!
FRIDAY, AUGUST 3, 10:00 PM
Encore! Jazz Sessions: Matthew Whitaker Trio
Nick Stoner Inn

SATURDAY, AUGUST 4, 7:00 PM
Sherman’s Revival Series: Matthew Whitaker Quartet
plus Caroga Lake Music Festival Orchestra
Nick Stoner Inn

From the TODAY SHOW: Matthew Whitaker, The 16-Year-Old Pianist Who’s Being Called The Next Stevie Wonder

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 6:00PM
The Barge at Canada Lake
103 Old State Rd, Caroga Lake
Free

With musicians of the Caroga Lake Music Festival. One of Caroga’s favorite and most unique venues, The Barge at Canada Lake is framed by true Adirondack lake and mountain scenery. Generously hosted by the Fielding family from Canada Lake Store and Marine.

7th Annual Caroga Lake Music Festival
Week 2: July 23-29

WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 7:00 PM
Performance, Talk and Film Screening:
The Red Violin with Elizabeth Pitcairn and CLMF Orchestra
MyHil Film Series
Pine Lake Pavilion, Timberline Lane
Caroga Lake
Free

Hear the 1720 Red Mendelssohn Stradivarius instrument, formerly owned by composer Felix Mendelssohn’s family, that inspired the film, The Red Violin, with world-class violinist Elizabeth Pitcairn performing The Red Violin Suite with the CLMF Orchestra. Stay an extra hour to watch the film and participate in a talk. Music from The Red Violin was composed by John Corigliano and received an Academy Award in 1999 for Best Original Score. Elizabeth Pitcairn is also music director of the Luzerne Music Center, just north of Caroga Lake in Lake Luzerne. Please note The Red Violin is an R rated film.

FRIDAY, JULY 27, 7:00 PM
Caroga Chapel Concert
106 Chapel Road
Caroga Lake
Free

Caroga Chapel Concerts feature a variety of CLMF resident artists in small chamber groups as well as large orchestra.

FRIDAY, JULY 27, 10:00 PM
Encore! Jazz Sessions: Kittel & Co. Whorls Tour
Nick Stoner Inn, 1810 NY-10
Caroga Lake
Free

Jeremy Kittel, charted #1 on Billboard for Bluegrass, coming to Nick Stoner Inn as part of the last stop of their Whorls Tour!

SATURDAY, JULY 28, 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM
Musical Storytelling: A Kids Concert at Sherman’s!
Sherman’s Amusement Park, W Caroga Lake Shore Road
Caroga Lake,
Free

Inviting children of all ages and their families to join us for an exciting musical storytelling concert featuring the Caroga Lake Music Festival artists at Sherman’s Amusement Park! This unique concert for kids will be created and directed by CLMF artist and cellist Julian Muller.

SATURDAY, JULY 28, 7:00 PM
Sherman’s Revival Series: MARO
Sherman’s Amusement Park, W Caroga Lake Shore Road
Caroga Lake
Free

MARO, a Portuguese singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and recent graduate of Boston’s Berklee College, is known widely through her home country of Portugal for her incredibly unique voice and originals. As the director of the “Berklee People” series, MARO has garnered a national reputation through her collaborations. CLMF artists will join her at the conclusion of her special solo performance.

The Caroga Arts Collective is proud to promote the return of Sherman’s Amusement Park to its former glory as a lakeside summer destination for fun, frolic, and events. Join us at Sherman’s this summer for seven special events!

SUNDAY, JULY 29, 4:00 PM
Concert at Mayfield Presbyterian Church
22 N Main St
Mayfield

Caroga Lake Music Festival is thrilled to return to Mayfield Presbyterian Church for a performance as part of a classical concert series presented by Sacandaga Valley Arts Network (SVAN). Enjoy a collection of small and large chamber ensemble pieces performed by our artists in residence.
$12 Adults
$10 SVAN Members
Kids free

Hear the music, Summer is here!

National Summer Cello Institute and Feldenkrais for All Performers begins today! And the 7th season of the Caroga Lake Music Festival is upon us! We’ve rounded up the news for the first few concerts in this Caroga Concert Bulletin, and we’ll repeat every two weeks all summer.

First up: National Summer Cello Institute presents cellist Mike Block in concert – Free!

Thursday, June 7 @ 7:00pm, Nick Stoner Inn, 1810 NY-10

Back by popular demand! Mike Block, the cellist from Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, performs with fellows from the National Summer Cello Institute and Feldenkrais for All Performers Workshop.

The National Summer Cello Institute (NSCI) is a two-week intensive workshop combining the principles of somatic education with varied approaches to cello mastery designed to redefine how cellists perform and teach. The one-week Feldenkrais for All Performers Workshop teaches body awareness, a technique that has proven to be highly effective in alleviating pain, anxiety, and movement difficulties.

The purpose of the NSCI and Feldenkrais workshops is to help musicians become aware of the intimate relationship between the way that they use their body and the music that they create. NSCI participants experience an introduction to Feldenkrais with fellow musicians, artists, and dancers and continue in private lessons, master classes and seminars dedicated to expanding artistic freedom.

Both workshops originated at the University of Wisconsin-Madison by Uri Vardi, professor of cello at the university. Kyle Price, Caroga Lake Music Festival founder, attended these and subsequently earned a doctoral degree from UW-Madison. He recommends them highly!

This concert is free with donations accepted

Finale Concert: National Summer Cello Institute

Saturday, June 16 @ 7:00 pm, Caroga Chapel, 106 Chapel Rd

Featuring twenty five top cellists from across the country in a “cello choir concert,” a culmination of two weeks studying with renowned faculty from The Juilliard School, the Eastman School of Music, University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Berklee College of Music. Directed by CLMF’s Deborah Barrett Price and Uri Vardi, professor of cello at UW-Madison.

This concert is free with donations accepted

NSCI 2015 Cello Choir performs Artistic Director Kyle Price’s Requiem

Sherman’s Revival Series: Sawyer Fredericks 

Friday, June 8 @ 7:00 pm, Sherman’s Amusement Park
Free tickets required for admission

Sawyer Fredericks, the “musical pride” of Glen, New York, who won “The Voice” television singing competition in 2015 when he was 15 years old, will perform at Sherman’s Amusement Park on June 8.

This event is free, however, tickets are required for admission. Get your tickets before they run out!Tickets are available for pick up from sponsoring locations or online at Eventbrite. Limited to 4 tickets per person.

Tickets are available at:

The Boathouse of Caroga Lake, 2090 NY-10, Caroga Lake, NY 12032
Campers Corner Store, 3044 NY-29A, Caroga Lake, NY 12032
Canada Lake Store, 103 Old State Rd, Caroga Lake, NY 12032
Culligan Water Conditioning, 74 Union St, Fultonville, NY 12072
Nick Stoner Inn and 19th Hole, 1810 NY-10, Caroga Lake, NY 12032
Pine Lake Lodge,  1050 NY-10, Caroga Lake, NY 12032
Pleasant Lake Inn, 5083 State Hwy 29 A, Stratford, NY 13470
Reel Seafood Company, 195 Wolf Rd, Albany, NY 12205
Vrooman’s Hotel, 2040 NY-10, Caroga Lake, NY 12032

Reserve free tickets on Eventbrite

VIP Pass – Support live music in Caroga Lake and meet Sawyer Fredericks!

VIP1 – Contribute $75 for a VIP1 pass and receive:
— Reserved seats in front rows
— Reserved parking
— Meet Sawyer Fredericks in person
—  Exclusive invitation to his pre-show soundcheck

VIP2 – Contribute $40 for a VIP2 pass and receive:

— Reserved seats in front rows
— Reserved parking

Email info@carogaarts.org to reserve your VIP pass now!

All proceeds and donations support Caroga Arts’ free programming to help revitalize life, culture and business in Caroga Lake through concerts, educational outreaches and events for the community.

Read about our entire season!