Caramoor’s Summer Season is Designed for Discovery

As warm weather returns to the gardens, woodlands and historic sites of Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts in Katonah, so too is a full summer season of performances. The 2026 schedule offers a lineup where music, landscape and community align.

Running from June 20 through August 2, the summer season will transform Caramoor’s 81-acre estate into an expansive festival of more than 40 events across five distinctive venues, from the grand Venetian Theater to the intimate Music Room. This season offers a striking breadth of programming, with many first-time performers, a return to the family-friendly Dancing at Dusk and special community celebrations.

“The unique Caramoor setting continues to inspire and inform our programs, from world-class, celebrated artists to rising stars, in a multitude of genres,” says Caramoor Artistic Director Kathy Schuman. “When people ask me what I recommend from our season, I often tell them to pick something that they don’t really know about and take a chance on it. Nine times out of 10 they walk away with a new discovery and favorite new artist.”

World-Class Talent, Old and New

Speaking of world-class celebrated artists, the season opens on June 20 in the Venetian Theater with Broadway favorite Kelli O’Hara performing American Songbook standouts, Broadway favorites, and pop standards accompanied by the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. Just days later, on June 26, fashion icon and performer Isaac Mizrahi takes the same stage with his jazz band for a Pride Month celebration that blends music from Madonna to Sondheim with his trademark storytelling and humor.

Classical highlights include the June 25 return of pianist Hélène Grimaud, a longtime Caramoor favorite who first performed here in 1998. Her recital features music by Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. In addition to her work as a world-class musician—she will perform at Carnegie Hall in December—Grimaud is an avid conservationist and founder of South Salem’s Wolf Conservation Center.

Among the most distinctive events is the free July 19 world premiere of composer Christopher Cerrone’s “The Only Way is Through,” an immersive recital that will be staged in the Sunken Garden. Performed by Sandbox Percussion and the Young People’s Chorus of New York City, the piece invites audience members to move freely through the space as music is constructed in real time—a program that underscores Caramoor’s commitment to innovation.

On July 23, charismatic pianist Yuja Wang will make her Caramoor debut with Latin Music supergroup People of Earth. Together, they will explore the vibrant rhythms and colors of Afro-Latin and Caribbean music. This boundary-crossing performance sits alongside traditional offerings like two Baroque miniature operas by Marc-Antoine Charpentier, which will be performed by Les Arts Florissants on July 17 and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra on July 26.

On July 11, Patty Griffin makes her Caramoor debut. A two-time Grammy Award winner, Griffin will bring her deeply personal songwriting and powerful voice to the Venetian Theater. On August 1, also at the Venetian, Caramoor will present three-time Grammy winner Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers. Best known for hits like “The Way It Is” and a kinship with the Grateful Dead, the group blends rock, jazz, bluegrass and improvisational jams.

From Meditative Moments to Community Celebrations

Family-friendly programming is woven throughout the season. The return of “Dancing at Dusk” on July 8, 15, and 22 invites families and younger audiences to engage with music through interactive, early-evening performances featuring Peter and the Wolf, Latin music and storytelling, and a Western-themed evening, respectively. Events like “Music and Meditation in the Garden,” held on select Saturdays throughout July and August, offer relaxed, open-air music and meditation facilitators for guests of all ages. 

Large-scale celebrations—from a free Juneteenth performance by the Dedicated Men of Zion on June 21 to the July 4 “Pops, Patriots, and Fireworks” spectacular—are further evidence of Caramoor’s community-focused programming. Beyond the concert hall, its annual outdoor American Roots Music Festival on June 27 will fill the air with Americana, folk and bluegrass, and . On July 3, a tribute to Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five recordings celebrates a defining moment in jazz history, while the Caramoor Jazz Festival on July 25 continues that spirit of musical exploration with headliner Emmet Cohen Trio.

On August 2, renowned violinist Gil Shaham and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s under conductor Xian Zhang will bring Caramoor’s summer season to a close with a program of high virtuosity.

“By presenting a broad range of genres and artists, we hope that everyone in our community will find something of interest to them,” says Schuman. “We also have different concert formats, from more casual to traditional, in several different venues, so everyone can choose the listening experience they prefer.”

CEO Gillian Fox, who took the helm about a year ago, called Caramoor magical: “It’s not the kind of place you come to once and never come back.”

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_{Photos: Friends Field (photo credit: Gabe Palacio); Sandbox Percussion and the Young People’s Chorus of New York City (photo courtesy of Caramoor); South Avenue will play during the American Roots Festival (photo by Rory Doyle)}