1. art and entertainment
2. music
3. music genres
4. opera

Chautauqua Institution
P.O. Box 28
Chautauqua, New York
14722-0028
Chautauquan
POSTMASTER PLEASE DELIVER BY MAY 30, 2015
THE
Season: June 27–Aug. 30, 2015
www.ciweb.org
SPR IN G 2 015 ED I T I O N
Master of Ceremonies
In 2015 we celebrate the many
gifts of Marty Merkley, who
will retire following the season
Winner announcement
His melodious baritone voice has
greeted Chautauqua audiences from
the stage at nearly every evening event
in the Amphitheater for 25 seasons.
After this season, Marty Merkley has
decided, it’s time for his next act.
Merkley, the director of programming at Chautauqua Institution since
1991, will retire from his post at the end
of September. He will leave behind a
legacy of visionary leadership that has
seen the Institution through a major
expansion in the breadth and quality
of its artistic programming, with an
emphasis on inter-arts collaboration.
“Chautauqua has afforded me many
opportunities that I would have never
imagined possible when I arrived
here,” Merkley said. “We have worked
hard, been fantastically creative and
accomplished so much. For this I will
always be proud and grateful.”
Merkley was appointed a vice president in 1995. Always referring to his
work at Chautauqua as that of “facilitator,” he is a beloved public figure on
the grounds, responsible for much of
the programming the Institution stages
each summer.
Merkley has helped shepherd critical investments in Chautauqua’s artistic programming during a period of financial hardship in arts communities
across the United States.
In particular, his tenure has seen the
The 2015 Chautauqua Prize
winner was named too late for
this edition of The Chautauquan.
Please visit ciweb.org/prize to
read the announcement.
Ellie Haugsby, The Chautauquan Daily
Marty Merkley, Institution vice president and director of programming, acknowledges
the audience after conducting a piece for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra
at Temple Square on June 25, 2011, in the Amphitheater.
construction of two new major performance venues, Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall
and Fletcher Music Hall, and millions
of dollars in renovations to nearly every other artistic facility, including the
School of Music campus and the worldclass galleries at Strohl Art Center and
Fowler-Kellogg Art Center. He has also
helped guide the continued evolution
of the Amphitheater, including a major
restoration of the iconic Massey Organ.
“Marty’s contributions to Chautauqua have been immeasurable,” said
Tom Becker, president of Chautauqua
Institution. “For 25 years, every ounce
of his talent and humanity has been
used for the benefit of this institution.
Our gratitude to him is immense.”
Please see MERKLEY/MOORE, Page 19
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Opera’s Lesenger to step down
following 2015 season · PAGE 3
Chautauqua Institution is
pleased to announce eight exceptional books as the 2015 finalists for
The Chautauqua Prize:
The Map Thief
Michael Blanding
Gotham/Avery
Byrd
Kim Church
Dzanc Books
Deborah Sunya Moore, a highly regarded
arts educator and percussionist by
training, will succeed Merkley as vice
president responsible for Chautauqua
Institution’s arts programming. Moore
has served on staff since September 2013
as associate director of programming.
Foundation board elects Bonner as next chair
At a regular meeting of
people who have given gifts
the Chautauqua Foundation
through the Promise Camboard of directors on Jan.
paign are looking toward the
31, the board named Cathy
future, and they trust this
Bonner of Austin, Texas,
administration to deliver.”
chair-elect. Bonner will take
Bonner’s business acuoffice following the Aug. 22
men has been recognized by
board meeting when curFortune magazine, which
rent chair Steve Percy comnamed her one of the most
pletes his term.
influential women entrepreCATHY
Bonner has been coming
neurs in the country.
BONNER
to Chautauqua for 20 years,
Foundation CEO Geof
and will be the first woman
Follansbee expressed exciteto serve in this capacity in the history ment regarding Bonner’s election.
of the Foundation.
“As was Steve when he became
“I have to admit that ‘go big or go chair, Cathy is a recent addition to
home’ is the way I work,” she said. “I the Foundation Board and a relativewill be pushing for rapid growth in the ly new face and voice to Chautauqua
Chautauqua Fund, which allows the In- and its leadership,” he said. “She will
stitution to have more resources for an- bring new ways of looking at what we
nual operations and programs, and to have done and, as did Steve, brings
hold the line on gate ticket prices. The extensive experience in the corporate
Eight books
named to 2015
Prize shortlist
and non-profit leadership.”
Prior to her recent retirement, Bonner was CEO and chair of the board
of directors of Service King Collision
Repair Centers, a national chain operating in 30 states. In the 1980s, Bonner
founded the marketing, communications and public relations firm Bonner,
Inc. She is the former manager of the
Texas Tourism advertising program
and was head of the Texas Department
of Commerce from 1991 to 1994.
Bonner conceived the idea of the
nation’s first comprehensive Women’s
History Museum and raised $32 million for the project; her philanthropic
commitments have also included
forming a coalition to establish the
Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.
Please see FOUNDATION, Page 6
‘Carmina Burana’ takes inter-arts
audiences to Medieval Era · PAGE 7
The Bully of Order
Brian Hart
HarperCollins
Euphoria
Lily King
Grove Atlantic/Atlantic Monthly
Redeployment
Phil Klay
The Penguin Press
All Eyes Are Upon Us
Jason Sokol
Basic Books
The Scatter Here is Too Great
Bilal Tanweer
Harper
The Witch
Jean Thompson
Blue Rider Press
Awarded annually since 2012,
The Chautauqua Prize draws upon
the Institution’s considerable literary legacy to celebrate a book that
provides a richly rewarding reading
experience and to honor the author
for a significant contribution to the
literary arts. The author of the winning book will receive $7,500 and all
travel and expenses for a one-week
summer residency at Chautauqua.
Read more about each
book on Page 13
The renewal of our Amp
· CENTER SECTION
The Chautauquan
Page 2
Spring 2015
NEWS
B R I E FLY
Ticketing reminders and policy changes for 2015
Prices for season and weekly passes increases on Wednesday, June 3,
along with rates for season and weekly mooring and boat registration.
Day passes can be purchased in advance, starting April 6.
Season pass holders asked for an improved process which avoided the need
to pick up the pass at Will Call. Season passes were held at Will Call so the
photo could be attached to the season pass. The Ticket Office has been working with the Information Technology staff to improve the process, using season pass photos taken in the prior two seasons. For the 2015 season, the photo
on file with the Ticket Office will be used on the season pass. The season pass
along with the entire order will be mailed. Chautauquans will have their passes when they arrive for the season and will not have to stop at the Main Gate
Welcome Center and stand in line at Will Call to pick up their season pass.
When a photo is not on file or is not usable, the season gate pass will
be held at the Will Call office and can be picked up beginning June 1. The
Ticket Office will inform the Chautauquan at the time of purchase if the
pass will be mailed or held at Will Call.
For the 2015 season, children age 12 and under do not need a gate pass, but
will need to be registered. The Department of Education and Youth Services cannot effectively provide programs geared toward these Chautauquans
when it does not know how many children are entering the grounds. The department is responsible for providing Special Studies classes for all age groups
as well as youth programs such as Children’s School and Boys’ and Girls’ Club.
Resident Guest Passes will be valid for six hours between the hours of
11:30 a.m. and midnight, Monday to Thursday; 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. (must be
picked up no later than 2 p.m.) Friday; and 8 a.m. to midnight Saturday. The
charge is $3 with a maximum of six RGPs per day. A copy of the Resident
Guest Pass regulations can be obtained at the Main Gate Welcome Center
ticket window during regular hours of operation.
Call for Chautauqua memorabilia for Visitors Center displays
The Department of Marketing and Communications seeks artifacts and
memorabilia to display at the Visitors Center on Bestor Plaza. Throughout the
summer, the Visitors Center will rotate artifacts weekly in two display cases.
The artifact and memorabilia displays will highlight the history of Chautauqua
through letters, photographs, postcards and any other artifacts. There is no
limit to the formats of artifacts. They can be anything from products made in
the youth programs to old Chautauqua Golf Club scorecards.
All items will be stored safely and returned after the exhibition. This
is an opportunity show off your personal Chautauqua collection. Any
item borrowed will be a valuable addition to the collection this summer,
especially items that are different or have a great story to tell.
To make a contribution or for more information, please contact Vanessa
Weinert, marketing manager, at [email protected] or 716-357-6402.
Host a CSO reception
Hosting a Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra reception is a great way
to entertain the conductor or soloist in a low-key atmosphere after a
performance. If interested, please contact the Program Office at 716-357-6217.
Dental Congress returns to Chautauqua July 1
The 36th Annual UB Dental Congress will be held July 1–3 at Chautauqua, with lectures by University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine faculty scheduled for each morning in the Hall of Christ. For more information,
call 716-829-2320 or visit www.BuffaloCE.org.
Support students this summer through Connections events
Attention all fans of orchestral music, piano, dance, voice and journalism!
Here is your chance to foster the career of of a budding artist or writer — by
sponsoring a student or two through Chautauqua Connections. Even if you
can’t commit for the whole summer, there are lots of other ways to become
involved. There are no meetings, and it’s free! Check out the website at
www.chauconnect.org or contact Susan Helm at [email protected].
Week Nine rooms available through Chautauqua on a Budget
The Group Sales office still has openings for the 55+ Program during
Week Nine. Participants in the 55+ Program are housed in Bellinger Hall
and participate in all of the programs offered at Chautauqua Institution.
For information, contact the Office of Senior Programming and Group
Sales at [email protected] or 716-357-6262.
Babysitters list available through Youth Services
The Department of Youth Services maintains a babysitting list with names,
addresses, phone numbers and availability of potential care givers. To place
names on this list, contact Karen Schiavone at 716-357-6290. This list is intended as a public service and will not rate or recommend any individual.
Thomas M. Becker
PRESIDENT
George E. Murphy
CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER
ciweb.org
Chautauqua Institution is a
non-profit organization, dependent
upon your gifts to fulfill its mission.
Gate tickets and other revenue cover
only a portion of the cost of your
Chautauqua experience.
Jordan Steves
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS
Printed by The Corry Journal, Corry Pa.
The Chautauquan is published
by the Chautauqua Institution,
Chautauqua, NY 14722. To remove
your name from the mailing list,
please e-mail [email protected].
Photo by Raymond Downey
Chautauqua crews work on a new brick walk that connects Vincent and Simpson to the
Promenade and South Lake Drive through upper Miller Park.
AROUND THE GROUNDS
For more information on these and other
community news items, visit the “On the
Grounds” section of the Institution’s website at ciweb.org/on-the-grounds.
Our gardens and grounds crews are
in the midst of an ambitious schedule
of improvements to the Chautauqua
Institution grounds as we ready for the
upcoming season. A number of significant projects are underway, including
several that tie into or fall under our
long-term Stormwater Management
and Sustainable Shoreline action plans.
Here are current or upcoming initiatives and updates on where they stand:
Amphitheater project
In March, National Park Service
representatives Bonnie Halda and
Kathryn Schlegel conducted a twoday, on-site inspection of the Chautauqua Institution grounds, including a
hands-on review of the Amphitheater
structure and its context within the
landmark district. Read their report
from that visit here (PDF), and how the
Institution is responding to the NPS
recommendations here.
Repairs to the northeast corner of
the Amphitheater, where a tree-top
column failed in March, will be completed in time for the facility to host the
All-County Spring Festival on June 6.
Miller Park
Following last off-season’s tree survey and assessment, the Institution
has begun to implement a master plan
for Miller Park aimed at improving
play, safety, accessibility and stormwater management in one of the most
popular public spaces on the grounds.
Work this spring will focus primarily
on the upper Miller Park area, along
with an expansion of Children’s Beach
and additional play apparatus installation. Remaining improvements to
lower Miller Park are planned for
post-season. Chautauqua staff have installed a new lighted pedestrian brick
walk connecting Simpson, the Promenade and South Lake Drive. The walk
cross a newly installed rain garden at
the South Lake roadside, across from
Palestine Park. Another rain garden
will be installed at the top of the park
along Simpson.
Shoreline projects
Work continues on the South Lake
Drive lake edge shoreline re-naturalization project between the Sports Club
kayak ramp and Foster Avenue. Inlake work was completed as planned
before the start of fish-spawning season. Native-species plantings will be
installed in the late spring.
Plantings were installed on the rebuilt North Lake Drive landslide area
along with rain gardens and a wetland
at the bottom of the slope, all while
maintaining the existing pedestrian
pathway.
Stormwater management
projects
Further north on North Lake Drive,
the University Beach area and hillside
is scheduled for major improvements.
The dirt and gravel service road leading to the lakeside will be rebuilt to fix
an ongoing issue with washouts. At
the North Lake roadside, a series of
new rain gardens will gather and funnel stormwater to a new slow-trickle
waterfall feature adjacent to the University Beach staircase leading to more
rain gardens at the lakeside. We anticipate this work will begin pre-season
but will not be completed until postseason.
With the help of weirs consisting of
one-ton boulders embedded into the
creek bed at strategic locations, the
South End Ravine creek now features
a number of pools that slow stormwater and allow nutrients to settle before
reaching Chautauqua Lake.
Road work
Roads on the south end of the
grounds were resurfaced this spring,
including all of Emerson, Whittier and
Longfellow and the lower half of Hawthorne.
Tree maintenance
Great Lakes Tree Service crews have
completed of the spring schedule of
tree pruning and removal in the central portion of the grounds, between
Park and Prospect avenues, as determined by this off-season’s comprehensive tree assessment. Tree maintenance
will continue in the fall.
Roof projects
Chautauqua has hired local contractor Paramount Roofing to complete
three major roofing projects on Institution facilities prior to the season. On
the docket are a complete roof replacement at the Chautauqua Police Department, replacement of two lower roofs
on the east and west sides of the Hall
of Christ, and complete replacement of
the Hultquist Center roof.
Brick Walk Cafe restrooms
The public restrooms at the Brick
Walk Cafe are currently undergoing
complete renovation designed to update the facilities and make them ADA
compliant.
The Chautauquan
Spring 2015
Page 3
NEWS
FROM THE PRESIDENT
In 2015, a season of beginnings and endings
J
ay Lesenger, the general/artistic
director of the Chautauqua Opera
Company for the past 21 years, first
came to Chautauqua in June of 1984
as the assistant director of the Acting
Company’s production of The Skin of
Our Teeth. The production was staged
in Norton Hall. Ten years later, Marty
Merkley hired Jay as artistic director
of the Chautauqua Opera Company.
Jay is retiring from this position at the
end of this year.
Confirming the interplay of nature and nurture, Jay fell in love with
Mozart’s music at the age of 8 upon
hearing Eine kleine Nachtmusik. He
witnessed his first opera, Puccini’s
Girl of the Golden West, a year later. He
studied music and opera as an undergraduate at Hofstra University, where
he decided on a career as an opera
director at age 19. He did his graduate
work at Indiana University’s prestigious program where he received an
M.S. in opera direction.
Jay brings energy, a remarkable
talent for assessing vocal talent, an
insight into the important balance of
the dramatic and the music in opera
production, and a charming, engaging
humanity to his work at Chautauqua.
His energy and enthusiasm seem
boundless. He cuts a distinctive sarto-
rial figure in his
shorts and high
socks.
And he was
endlessly creative
in inventing ways
to give Chautauquans surprising
glimpses of the
talent he recruits
TOM
each summer.
BECKER
In this regard I
think of his flash
mobbing the Amphitheater during
the lecture by the head of the National Endowment of the Arts and the
remarkable collaboration he created
with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
where his young artists gave voice to
the Justice’s presentation on “Opera
and the Law.”
During the 2013 and 2014 seasons
he produced the operas Peter Grimes
and Madama Butterfly, respectively,
and sited these productions in the
Chautauqua Amphitheater; a herculean effort. By doing so, Jay brings
opera to the broadest expression of
the Chautauqua community and
actively promotes the introduction of
this complex and dazzling art form to
young children and adults who might
otherwise never have an occasion to
witness the beauty of this work.
Jay’s life remains busy as he continues to direct and teach. He has
recently purchased an historic home
in Catskill, New York, built in 1854 by
Walton Van Loan, illustrator and cartographer of the Catskill Mountains.
He brings his art and his joy of
the details of life to everything he
does. He has made a deep and lasting
impression on the life of this great
Institution. When you see him this
summer, give him a hug. He is loved.
In addition to this going we have
a coming. Rossen Milanov has assumed the reins as the ninth artistic
director of the Chautauqua Symphony
Orchestra. Rossen is a passionate man
who excels as a chef, loves to travel to
exotic places to witness the experience
as a local, and is an avid bicyclist. He
is a gifted communicator and exudes
creative energy with a joyful spirit.
He is an outstanding conductor and
musician.
I point to several innovations for
the CSO’s programming this summer that offer the community a very
special look at Rossen’s gifts and his
relationship to the members of the
CSO. “Into the Music” is a threeconcert series designed without an
intermission to explore ideas and the
work of particular composers. After
the 60- to 90-minute concerts the audience is invited to stay for a conversation with Rossen and some members
of the CSO.
One of Rossen’s most obvious passions is that of artistic collaboration;
making Chautauqua an ideal platform
for this work. Two such collaborations
are of notable: “Meditations on Raising Boys” (July 9) and “Ellis Island”
(July 16). The “Boys” work is a commissioned piece created by the composer/violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain and spoken-word artist Marc
Bamuthi Joseph. These two collaborators will be in residence for the week
(with the lecture theme “Boys Will Be
Boys, Then Men”) and involved in the
literary arts writers program.
“Ellis Island,” produced during
the week themed “Immigration,” will
feature Chautauqua Theater Company
actors and direction from Andrew
Borba, associate director of CTC.
And so we begin to develop what I
am sure will be a rich and rewarding
relationship with Rossen Milanov and
reflect fondly and with gratitude the
many gifts of Jay Lesenger.
Beginnings and endings — a biological necessity and a very real part
of the life of this community.
Opera’s Lesenger to step down following 2015 season
In April, Chautauqua Institution
announced that Jay Lesenger, general/
artistic director of Chautauqua Opera
Company, will step down from his
post at the end of 2015. Lesenger has
led Chautauqua Institution’s resident
opera company, the nation’s oldest
continuously producing summer company — and fourth oldest American
opera company overall — since October 1994.
“When Jay arrived here, he faced
the daunting task of reinvigorating the
passion in and for opera at Chautauqua,” said Marty Merkley, vice president and director of programming.
“Jay’s artistry, passion and personal
charisma helped to bring about a renaissance with vibrant productions,
exciting artists, diverse repertoire and
quality production values. His dedication to education for emerging artists
has greatly influenced hundreds of
singers. He has been a stellar colleague,
leader and artist. Chautauqua Institution has been enriched by his tenure.”
An acclaimed stage director and
celebrated teacher, Lesenger has spent
20 years of his almost 40-year career
providing creative direction to opera programming on the Chautauqua Institution grounds. His tenure
is marked by a number of programmatic innovations designed to expose
a wider cross-section of Chautauqua
audiences to opera, and to position the
company toward long-term financial
sustainability. The most visible recent
example is the annual staging of one
of the company’s productions in the
Chautauqua Amphitheater, the Institution’s largest venue, allowing any
Chautauqua gate pass holder to attend
an evening at the opera at no extra
cost. These productions have drawn
the largest audiences for opera in the
Institution’s history.
To foster further opportunities for
engagement with opera, Lesenger
created a Young Artist weekly recital
Search commences for
Lesenger’s successor
Deborah Sunya Moore, incoming
vice president for the performing
and visual arts at Chautauqua
Institution, is leading a national
search for candidates to lead
Chautauqua Opera as artistic and
general director. She has assembled
a search committee comprising eight
Chautauqua community members:
Megan Tan, The Chautauquan Daily
To the delight of the Amphitheater audience, Jay Lesenger performs a surprise solo at
the annual CSO Opera Pops concert on Aug. 6, 2011.
series, late night music revues and,
with the Chautauqua Opera Guild, activities for Chautauqua’s Family Entertainment Series and Children’s School,
and at area libraries.
Lesenger has introduced the Chautauqua audience to significant 20thcentury works including Vanessa
(Barber), Two Widows (Smetana), Peter
Grimes (Britten), The Consul (Menotti)
and The Cunning Little Vixen (Janáček).
He also produced for the first time at
Chautauqua overlooked Italian rarities, including Macbeth, Stiffelio and
Luisa Miller by Verdi, Maria Stuarda by
Donizetti and Bellini’s Norma, and a
number of American musicals, including A Little Night Music, Once Upon a
Mattress, The Music Man, She Loves Me
and Fiddler on the Roof.
The impact of Lesenger’s tenure has
reached far beyond Chautauqua Institution’s gates. A nationally recognized
teacher of acting for singers, he is responsible for an expansion of Chautauqua Opera’s renowned Young Artist
program, and singers have graduated
from his tutelage to perform from
some of the nation’s best-known stages, including the Metropolitan Opera,
Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco
Opera and Seattle Opera.
“The timing is right for me to turn
my attention from administration to
devoting more of my time to directing
and teaching and to spending more
time with my partner, family and
friends,” Lesenger said. “Chautauqua
has been my second home and the opera company has been the focus of my
creative and personal life for more than
half of my professional career so far. I
am enormously proud of our opera
company and thrilled by the range of
repertory that we have produced over
the last 20 years for an audience that
remains supportive and enthusiastic.”
Formerly an associate professor of
music at the University of Michigan,
where he directed the School of Music Opera Theatre, he has also served
as professor and director of opera at
Northwestern University’s Bienen
School of Music. He continues to stage
productions for opera companies
throughout the U.S. and Europe.
Chautauqua Opera marks Lesenger’s final season with performances
of Verdi’s Macbeth on July 11 in the
Amphitheater and Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin on July 31 and Aug. 3 in
Norton Hall.
• John Anderson, Foundation dir.
• Karen Arrison, Institution trustee
• Carolyn Byham, Institution trustee
• Judith Claire, Guild member
• Virginia DiPucci, Guild president
• Jane Gross, Guild member
• Melissa Orlov, Guild member
• Dede Trefts, Institution trustee
Advisers to the process include:
• Marc Scorca, president and CEO,
Opera America
• Rossen Milanov, music director,
Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra
• Marlena Malas, chair, Chautauqua
Voice Program
• Staff from Chautauqua Opera
• Brian C. Goehring, NOW Gen
In early May, the committee
conducted interviews with select
candidates with the hope of
identifying finalists by June. Finalists
will then be invited to spend time on
the grounds this summer around the
major performance dates of July 11,
July 31 and Aug. 3.
Should all go according to plan, Jay
Lesenger’s successor will be named
at the end of August and begin
planning for the 2016 Chautauqua
Opera season in September.
The Chautauquan
Page 4
Spring 2015
NEWS
R E C R E AT I O N AT C H AU TAU Q UA
Chautauqua Health & Fitness
N E W P I L AT E S S T U D I O
The Fitness Center now has an area exclusively for Pilates that includes wallmounted barres, a Cadillac, Stability Chair, Ladder Barrel, Arc Barrels and two
brand new V2 Max Reformers with jump boards.
With a repertoire that embraces a myriad of resistance-based exercises,
executed on all planes of motion, using four large pieces of equipment, several
small props and including three levels of mat-based work, the practice of Pilates
as an exercise discipline has the power to transform lives. By targeting the most
intrinsic of the body’s core muscles, this philosophy of movement pioneered
by Joseph Pilates in the early 1900’s has stood the test of time and is now
appreciated by a wealth of believers, young and old.
“In 10 sessions you feel better, in 20 sessions you look better, in 30 sessions you
have a whole new body,” said Kim Buhler, Pilates trainer.
Chautauqua Golf Club chqgolf.com
Swing into Spring Weekday Special
$35 · Green fee with cart Monday–Friday
Seniors get an additional 15% off
Available May 1–June 26
Tuesday Afternoon Foursome Special
$140 · Four golfers, green fee and cart after 2 p.m. Tuesdays
Available June 29–September 4
NEW in 2015: Weekly Golf Memberships
$125 per week, single membership
Available to guests holding a valid gate pass for one or two weeks
GOLF EVOLUTION COMES TO
LEARNING CENTER
The Golf Learning Center is happy to announce David Wedzik as our new
Director of Instruction for 2015. Wedzik is a former Web.com Tour member and
the 2013 WNYPGA Section Teacher of the Year. He is the creator of the “5 Simple
Keys” earning System (currently the DVD is the number one selling golf DVD on
the market). He is also, along with Erik J. Barzeski, the author of the book many
have called “the best golf book ever written,” Lowest Score Wins. Erik is the
Director of Instructor Development for the “5 Simple Keys” system and will be
joining Dave as the Head Instructor at the Learning Center. They will both be
available for individual lessons (including the use of high-speed video analysis
w/ Analyzr Pro, FlightScope launch monitor, and SAM PuttLab) as well as a series
of clinics and longer golf “camps” designed to serve golfers of all ages and skill
levels. Dave and Erik are both AimPoint Certified and the Learning Center will,
for the first time, offer AimPoint green reading clinics as well. We are extremely
excited to have them both as part of the Golf and Learning Center.
FOOTGOLF
FootGolf will be offered at 1 p.m. Sunday, July 19, at Chautauqua Golf Club.
FootGolf is a combination of the popular sports of soccer and golf. The game is
played with a regulation Size 5 soccer ball at a golf course facility on shortened
holes with 21-inch diameter cups. The rules largely correspond to the rules of
golf. FootGolf as a game is played throughout the world in many different forms,
but as a sport, it is regulated by the Federation for International FootGolf (FIFG).
The American FootGolf League (AFGL) is the exclusive member of the FIFG
and governing body for the sport of FootGolf in the United States. The AFGL
is organizing tournaments throughout the country working with golf courses to
bring FootGolf to their clubs as another avenue for revenue and to develop the
game further.
Chautauqua Tennis Center
The Tennis Center’s courts have received two tons of new Har Tru material per
court this spring, and, as of press time, were on track for a May 15 opening date.
CARDIOTENNIS AND PICKLEBALL
We are looking at adding CardioTennis and Pickleball to our tennis offerings this
year. Please watch future e-newsletter and The Chautauquan Daily for details.
Old First Night Run/Walk/Swim
The Old First Night Run/Walk will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 1, sponsored
by Team VP/Vacation Properties and DFT Communications. Please note
the change in start time from 2014 and the correct date (the race was
incorrectly listed in this year’s Calendar of Events). Those who can’t be at
Chautauqua on race day can sign up for the “Around the World” option and
participate from their own neighborhood.
The swim option will be held at Turner Community Center from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Friday, July 31.
More information about the race will be announced in The Chautauquan Daily. To
register, visit oldfirstnight.com.
Special Studies expands
youth course, master class,
one-day offerings in 2015
This summer’s Special Studies
program builds upon Chautauqua’s
history of lifelong learning with new
offerings for middle school and high
schoolers; additional master classes
with Amphitheater lecturers and renowned experts; and single-day workshops that allow for greater flexibility
with a busy Chautauqua schedule.
New this year, Chautauqua also offers an enhanced online registration process. At chqtickets.com, users can build a
personalized Special Studies catalog
using improved search, subject filters
and printing capabilities. Photography
and history classes are now listed under
their own respective subject headings.
YOUTH COURSES
Chautauqua’s Boys’ and Girls’ Club
continues to offer one of the finest traditional day camps in the country. For
those families looking for alternative
programming, Special Studies has
added classes in a variety of subjects,
expanded its Youth Scholar Camp, and
lowered the minimum age to make
several adult classes available to high
school students.
The Youth Scholar Camp for ages
10 to 14 now offers a full-day program
Weeks One through Six. Courses in
science, writing, math and theater are
offered in the morning and afternoon,
and students are invited to attend the
morning Amphitheater lecture together, joined by a discussion leader.
Week Five’s Youth Writing Camp
for ages 13 to 16 will include a journalism boot camp, in addition to classes
on fantasy writing and poetry. New
youth classes include “Passport to
Good Eating,” “Let’s Design a Theme
Park” and “A Survey of the Arts at
Chautauqua,” which allows teenagers
to spend a week with Chautauqua’s
resident arts programs.
Using the “search by age” filter on
the new online catalog, high school
students can also discover the number
of adult classes available to them. The
majority of classes have a minimum
age of 16, while dozens of adult classes
are also available to 14-year-olds.
MASTER CLASSES
To provide opportunities for deeper
engagement with the week’s lecture
theme, Amphitheater speakers and
other renowned experts have been
invited to teach single-day and weeklong master classes. This year’s master
class instructors include, among others,
Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle author Robert Pinsky, Amp speakers Michael Thompson, Sonia Nazario
and K. David Harrison, Pulitzer Prizewinning journalist Martha Rial, and
faculty from Arizona State University’s
Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics.
New Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra music director Rossen Milanov will teach three master classes, in
Weeks Two, Four and Six, and CSO musicians will take Chautauquans inside
the creative process with “Rehearsal to
Concert: The CSO Musician’s Journey”
Weeks Two through Seven.
Other highlights of the 2015 Season
include “Witches, Rakes and Rogues,”
and “Red Alert: Save Your Family Heritage Now!” from D. Brenton Simons,
president and CEO of the New England
Historic Genealogical Society (Week
Two); “Vanishing Art: Iconoclasm and
Idol Smashing from Byzantium to ISIS,”
led by Providence College art history
professor Joan Branham (Week Six);
and “Physics of Oblivion” with IBM
physicist Charles H. Bennett (Week Six).
S TA N D - A L O N E
WORKSHOPS
For first-time visitors or those trying to squeeze a class into an already
busy Chautauqua schedule, Special
Studies also offers a number of oneday workshops.
Longtime art instructor Jerome Chesley returns to offer “Painting — What’s
in Your Closet” and “Watercolor — Miller Bell Tower” in Weeks Four and Six,
respectively; Lynn Novo leads her popular “Knife Skills” class in the Turner
Community Center culinary classroom,
while also offering a new class on Spanish tapas in Weeks Three and Five. Paul
Johnson offers an afternoon program on
the history of Chautauqua Lake hotels in
Week Six, and professor Mark Altschuler continues his Saturday Morning Short
Story class at the Smith Memorial Library throughout the season.
In Week Nine, the Chautauqua
Writers’ Center offers five stand-alone
workshops from renowned journalist
Joe Kita on the secrets to mastering
riveting beginnings, nail-biting suspense, unremitting love, inspirational
advice and a six-figure salary.
To register for Special Studies
courses, visit chqtickets.com or call the
Ticket Office at 716-357-6250. Printed
Special Studies catalogs are being
mailed in May and will be available on
the grounds during the season.
YOUTH PROGR AMS
Children’s School
2015 Themes
Boys’ and Girls’ Club
2015 Event Dates
Week One: America Celebrates
Week Two: When I Grow Up/
Community Helpers
Week Three: Planes, Trains, and
Automobiles
Week Four: Wacky Week
Week Five: Big Art Everywhere
Week Six: Vanishing
Week Seven: The Places We Know
Week Eight: Beginning, Middle, End
Week Nine: Healthy Me
July 3: Independence Day Parade
(Children’s School and Group 1)
July 9: Track and Field Day
July 16: Darien Lake (SAC)
July 22–23: SAC Canoe/Camping
July 24: Club Carnival
July 30: Airband
August 4: Old First Night
August 6: Water Olympics
Register for Chautauqua’s youth programs at chqtickets.com
The Chautauquan
Spring 2015
Page 5
P O P U L A R E N T E R TA I N M E N T
2015 Amphitheater Specials
Stars of Nashville:
Clare Bowen & Charles Esten**
Purchase tickets at chqtickets.com or call 716-357-6250
The Suffers‡
Friday, August 14, 8:15 p.m.
Popular artists and television stars
Clare Bowen and Charles “Chip” Esten
join forces to co-headline a summer tour.
This 10-piece band from Houston
is redefining the sound of Gulf Coast
soul, intertwining elements of classic
American soul with rock ‘n’ roll.
U.S. Army Field Band
& Soldiers’ Chorus
2015 Inter-arts Collaboration:
Carmina Burana
An Evening with Charlie Rose
and Nancy Gibbs**
School of Dance Student Gala
Friday, June 27, 8:15 p.m.
Saturday, August 15, 8:15 p.m.
Sunday, June 28, 2:30 p.m.
Monday, June 29, 8:15 p.m.
A special evening conversation between the co-host of “CBS This Morning” and the managing editor of Time.
JUNE 27
JULY 10
Sunday, August 16, 2:30 p.m.
JULY 31
Richard Glazier’s
“From Broadway to Hollywood”*
Wednesday, August 19, 8:15 p.m.
This heartwarming and entertaining
evening will combine superb piano
performances with great music from
Broadway, television and the movies.
Live Taping of NPR’s ‘From the Top’
with host Christopher O’Riley*
Tuesday, June 30, 8:15 p.m.
NPR’s “From the Top” is the pre-eminent showcase for America’s best young
musicians. The Amp will be the site of a
live taping for a fall 2015 broadcast.
An Evening Guitar Recital with
Sharon Isbin
Wednesday, July 1, 8:15 p.m.
Acclaimed for her extraordinary lyricism, technique and versatility, Grammy
winner Sharon Isbin has been hailed as
“the pre-eminent guitarist of our time.”
Brass Band of Columbus
An Evening with
Carol Burnett**
SOLD OUT
Friday, August 21, 8:15 p.m.
The comic genius will make her only
western New York appearance this
summer at Chautauqua Institution.
NE W IN 2 015: E M E RG I N G A R T IS T SE R I E S
Keeping with Chautauqua’s long history as a community that fosters rising artistic
talent, this year we launch a series inviting brilliant but lesser-known popular artists
to perform on the Amphitheater stage on two Friday nights. This year the series
includes the 10-piece soul band The Suffers, from Houston, on Aug. 14, and the
exceptionally talented Kristin Diable and The City, from New Orleans, on Aug. 28.
Barbershop Harmony Parade
Sunday, August 23, 2:30 p.m.
Abaca String Band*
Monday, August 24, 8:15 p.m.
The Abaca String Band performs its
Sunday, July 5, 2:30 p.m.
School of Dance Student Gala
WRFA presents “Rolling Hills Radio” own arrangements of a repertoire that
An Evening Piano Recital with
Alexander Gavrylyuk*
FES: Golden Dragon Acrobats*
Donal Fox Inventions Trio*
These tremendously talented performers carry on the traditions of more
than 25 centuries of Chinese acrobatics.
Internationally acclaimed as a composer, pianist and improviser, Donal
Fox expertly fuses jazz, Afro-Latin
and classical idioms into intricate new
works and electrifying performances.
Wednesday, July 8, 8:15 p.m.
The extraordinary pianist returns
for the 10th consecutive season. Repertoire will include works by Chopin,
Mozart, Schubert and Prokofiev.
Punch Brothers/
Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn**
Friday, July 10, 8:15 p.m.
Sunday, July 19, 2:30 p.m.
Tuesday, July 21, 7:30 p.m.
Ampitheater Ball
with the Ladies First Big Band*
Wednesday, July 22, 8:15 p.m.
Punch Brothers showcase their T
Bone Burnett-produced album, The
Phosphorescent Blues, while 15-time
Grammy winner Béla Fleck and banjoist-singer Abigail Washburn display
the deceptively intricate art of the duet.
American Idol Live!**
Chautauqua Community Band
25th Anniversary Concert
2015 Inter-arts Collaboration:
Carmina Burana
Sunday, July 12, 2:30 p.m.
FES: Aga-Boom*
Wednesday, July 15, 7:30 p.m.
Aga-Boom cuts through barriers of
language and culture with the art of
slapstick, the humor of physical comedy and the excitement of childhood.
Pink Martini**
Friday, July 17, 8:15 p.m.
A rollicking musical adventure —
crossing genres of classical, jazz and oldfashioned pop — the 19-member band
performs its multilingual repertoire.
FES: Family Entertainment Series
Friday, July 24, 8:15 p.m.
The top five Idols from Season 14 of
“American Idol” will showcase their individual artistry, all set to a live band.
Saturday, July 25, 8:15 p.m.
NYSSSA School of Choral Studies
Sunday, July 26, 2:30 p.m.
Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home
Companion” America the Beautiful
41st Anniversary Tour**
Friday, July 31, 8:15 p.m.
The “Prairie Home” gang delivers an
evening of jump jazz, sweet harmony,
poetry declamation, Guy Noir, stories
of course, a mass audience chorale and
other classics from 41 years of radio.
Sunday, August 2, 2:30 p.m.
ranges from Bach to the Beatles via
Mozart and Gershwin.
Monday, August 3, 8:15 p.m.
The Beach Boys**
Friday, August 7, 8:15 p.m.
With their classic songs that epitomize the spirit of the California lifestyle of the 1960s, The Beach Boys have
become an American icon. Grab your
board and let’s hang 10!
Special Matinee Concert by the
Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra
LehrerDance*
Wednesday, August 26, 8:15 p.m.
LehrerDance is an exciting and innovative professional dance company
based in Buffalo, New York.
An Evening with
Tom and Jennifer Brokaw**
Thursday, August 27, 8:15 p.m.
Tom Brokaw is a survivor of multiple myeloma and author of A Lucky Life
Interrupted, detailing his experiences
as a patient navigating the health care
system. It is an experience he will discuss with his daughter, patient advocate Dr. Jennifer Brokaw.
Sunday, August 9, 2:30 p.m.
Kristin Diable & The City‡
FES: Bronkar and Aaron present
Collision of Rhythm*
Steeped in traditional roots, folk,
blues and Americana, Kristin Diable,
with her band The City, is one of New
Orleans’ fastest-rising stars.
Friday, August 28, 8:15 p.m.
Tuesday, August 11, 7:30 p.m.
“Collision of Rhythm” happens
when you combine an elite tap-dancing percussion/marimba virtuoso with
a master vocal percussionist juggler!
Music School Festival
Night Celebration*
Wednesday, August 12, 8:15 p.m.
Students from the Chautauqua Music Festival will be selected to perform
on this special evening.
*Community Appreciation Nights
The Doo Wop Project**
Saturday, August 29, 8:15 p.m.
The Doo Wop Project traces the evolution of doo wop from five guys singing tight harmonies on a street corner
to the biggest hits on the radio today.
Barbara Jean Jazz Ensemble
Sunday, August 24, 2:30 p.m.
**Preferred seating available
‡
Emerging Artist Series
New in 2015: Late Night Tapas & drinks on Friday and Saturday nights
Tapas at Heirloom
Featuring
Available daily from 4:30–6 p.m. and from
9–11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays
Artisanal Cheese and Charcuterie
Margherita Flatbread
Mustard-Glazed Pork Belly
Prince Edward Island Mussels
See the entire menu at athenaeum-hotel.com
Page 6
The Chautauquan
Spring 2015
NEWS
2 016 LEC T U R E T H E M E S
SEASON THEME:
What Does it Mean to be Human?
What does it mean to be human? In 2016, we comprehensively explore facets of the human experience, of the human project. When we say we’re
dedicated to “the best in human values,” what do we mean?
As human beings, we are capable of great good, and capable of being catalysts for destruction. We are stewards, explorers, healers, thinkers, feelers.
We have a body, a brain, a fully-functioning computer of the highest caliber.
But we are more than our machine. To be human is to love, to laugh, to hurt.
It is to be self-aware if not self-actualized, and that grasping for something
more, something higher, is perhaps the greatest expression of the human
condition. Human beings are flawed, but we hold fierce potential.
In this summer as we explore our history, our future, our hearts, bodies,
minds and souls, we look at the state of being human today — offering an
unflinching look at humanity at its worst, and celebrating what it means to
be a people striving for its best.
Week One (June 27–July 1): Storytelling with Roger Rosenblatt
From age to age, telling stories is a distinct part of the human condition. It is how
we learn, how we grow, how we honor our history and look toward our future.
There are numerous facets to the way we tell our stories — from the technology
we use to the publishing avenues we pursue. What do our stories tell about us?
What does it mean to have a story to share, and does the telling of the story make
it more permanent, more important?
Week Two (July 4–July 8): Money and Power
It can be argued that democracy is the highest form of government created in
human history, as a democratic process is one of the people. Money plays a role
in that democracy. Money spent by our elected politicians reflects our values as a
society. Are politicians held accountable to society’s values? Beyond government,
we look at our economy and into the sectors of business, nonprofits and education. How much is something worth? We look at how we can buy power, and what
that means for those who can’t afford it.
Week Three (July 11–15): Moral Leadership in Action
Is it time to demand that all of our leaders are moral leaders? We look to the public and private sector, from technology to business, from government to education to explore what it means to have leaders dedicated to the public good. We
hear from five moral leaders — some well-known and some flying under the radar
— to learn of their own daily practices, their processes of renewal, their personal
disciplines. We focus on ways to make those precepts come alive in actual context, as this is more than a philosophical examination; this week is a call to moral
action in all ways large and small.
Week Four (July 18–22): Our Search for Another Earth
Will we destroy our habitat and need another? What would it mean to find “another earth,” another habitable or inhabited planet in the far reaches of space?
What would it mean to transfer humanity from its birthplace? Are there other
humans —and what would that mean for our own sense of humanness? Looking
into the near and far future, what are the economic and political hurdles to space
exploration? Space exploration has long captivated the human imagination. Is
there something out there that we cannot imagine?
Week Five (July 25–29): People and Environment
In Partnership with National Geographic Society
Fifty years into the environmental movement, and 100 years after the National
Parks were founded, how has our sense of our surroundings changed? How has
the role of government in preservation changed? How do we survive in a natural
world we are increasingly out of touch with? In this week, we examine our surroundings and the ways we can preserve and save our home land.
Week Six (Aug 1–5): The Future of Cities
The realities of where we live are changing. We are a concentrated society, and by
2050, more than two-thirds of the world’s population will live in cities. Can urban
centers keep up? Will the cities of the future be prosperous, equitable ones, or
will they be impoverished slums? How can we transform what we already have —
vacant houses, for example — into what we need for the future? There are the
basic needs of a city — housing, infrastructure, transportation — but what of the
less tangible “needs” for a prosperous society: the need to nourish and support
the human condition. What are the solutions?
Week Seven (Aug. 8–12): Pushing Our Bodies’ Limits
In this week, we look at the limits of our humanness — our brain and our body
— and how we are able to alter, push, or even defeat those limits. We have
constantly pushed against our natural state, even our natural lifespan. We
modify and enhance, overcome and transcend. Our natural states — our gender,
our disabilities, our aging — are up for debate. How do we, and how can we,
push our boundaries and transcend our humanity?
Week Eight (Aug. 15–19): War and Its Warriors
Is war a condition of humanity? Throughout this week, we explore the anthropology of aggression, how war changes human beings and how human beings have
changed the ways wars are fought. Humans are soldiers, but so are drones. Nations are players, but so are rogue, non-state actors. While this is not a week for
us to take sides, it is a week for us to ask questions of our history. As Americans,
what are our justifications for war? What are our responsibilities to our veterans?
Wars may end, but not necessarily so for the men and women who fought. This
is a week honoring those who have served, exploring ways we can better serve
them, and examining our consciences.
Week Nine (Aug. 22–26): American Music
In Partnership with Jazz at Lincoln Center
Musical and artistic expression is a key characteristic of being human. When it
comes to our cultural identity, few things are distinctly American as our music. Jazz
and the blues express not only what it means to be human, but to be American.
Institution, Foundation
announce new hires
Scott Ekstrom is now Library Director at Smith Memorial Library, having previously worked at the Chautauqua
Bookstore as Book Department Manager since 2010. Prior
to joining Chautauqua, Ekstrom worked for HLIC and
The Lamb’s (Manhattan Initiative), an Off-Broadway theater company and workshop venue. Early in his career, he
taught English for Westfield Academy and Central School,
and for Christian Central Academy. He has a Master of Arts
with merit in text and performance from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and King’s College London, University
of London; and a Bachelor of Arts in English (summa cum
laude) from Houghton College.
Dustin “Dusty” Nelson has been appointed Director of
Gift Planning for the Chautauqua Foundation. He is a former
partner in the law firm Schaack & Nelson located in Mayville, New York, with more than 30 years’ experience in the
areas of trusts and estates, estate planning and residential
and commercial real estate law, including condominium development, planned unit developments and homeowner’s
association representation. Nelson holds a Bachelor of Arts
in economics from the University of California, Irvine, and a
J.D. from Washington & Lee University School of Law.
Jill Cummiskey is the new Assistant Director of the
Chautauqua Fund at the Chautauqua Foundation. Cummiskey previously served in a donor relations capacity for
almost a decade at the Bradford Hospital Foundation in
Bradford, Pennsylvania, and prior to that supported the
Bradford Medical Center in an administrative capacity.
Cummiskey has extensive experience working with volunteers and coordinating special events. She attended the
University of Pittsburgh at Bradford.
SCOTT
EKSTROM
DUSTY
NELSON
JILL
CUMMISKEY
Institution to serve as host for 2015
meeting of Chautauqua Trail in August
“Chautauqua” is an educational
and cultural movement that built communities and supported individuals
in the development of their full potential spiritually, intellectually, culturally and physically. The concept began
in the late 19th century and spread
throughout rural North America as
hundreds of Chautauqua communities were established. However, by the
mid-1920s, the movement began to recede due to the rise of the automobile,
radio and access to education. Only
a handful of these communities survived the decline.
Today, there are 18 Chautauqua
communities across North America,
and the demand for authentic, cultural
experiences and continued learning
opportunities is on the rise. The Chautauqua Trail, a group of organizations
and individuals committed to promoting the Chautauqua concept, is one of
the driving forces behind this renaissance.
Learn more about the Chautauqua
experience by visiting the Chautauqua
Trail website at chautauquatrail.com
Chautauqua Institution is pleased
to host the Trail’s annual meeting in
2015. Representatives from most of the
Chautauquas across the U.S. and Canada will arrive on Aug. 9 for meetings
scheduled on Aug. 10 and 11. They will
depart on Aug 12.
Chautauqua is seeking housing for
some of these representatives. If you
are interested in providing a homestay
and getting to know about their Chautauqua, please call Myra Peterson at
716-357-6231. Their meals are provided
by the conference.
FOUNDATION from Page 1
thropy as well
as the size of our
endowment,” he
said. “I think that
Foundation CEO
Geof Follansbee
has added some
terrific
people
to his staff over
the last couple of
STEVE
years.
PERCY
“For me personally, the last
eight years have been all about the
people I have gotten to know; from my
colleagues on the board, to the trustees,
to Geof’s and Tom’s teams and many
Chautauquans. My wife, Polly, says
that despite the fact that the job has
taken a lot of my time, she is so grateful
that we had the opportunity to make
so many new friends — folks we never
would have met without this opportunity, and I most definitely feel the same
way. I know that Cathy can look forward to the same benefit as she moves
into the job. Thanks, Chautauqua.”
Bonner first visited Chautauqua to
celebrate a friend’s birthday and has
returned each year since. She became
a property owner on Bestor Plaza nine
years ago.
Bonner takes over leadership of a
board that Percy has overseen with expert care for eight years.
“The Foundation has been served
extraordinarily well by Steve’s steady
and strong leadership,” Follansbee
said. “While seeing our asset base
more than double and embarking
and co-chairing Chautauqua’s largest fundraising endeavor by far with
the Promise Campaign, Steve has also
led the Foundation through the development of significant changes to our
spending policy and payout formula.”
Percy, the retired chairman and
CEO of BP North America, reflected
on his time as chair.
“I am very satisfied with the growth
we have seen in both overall philan-
Spring 2015
The Chautauquan
Page 7
NEWS
2015 inter-arts collaborators visit the Medieval Era in Orff’s ‘Carmina’
By Tyler Miller
Communications Assistant
In the third and final year of a multiyear initiative to highlight the depths
of Chautauqua’s talent, it’s fitting that
this season’s inter-arts collaboration,
Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, will deliver
what audiences desperately craved after the previous two seasons’ productions: a second performance.
Occurring at 8:15 p.m. Saturday, July
25, and Saturday, Aug. 15, in the Amphitheater, this summer’s inter-arts
production will feature an impressive
cast of performers from both inside
and outside the grounds.
Directed by Marty Merkley, director of programming at Chautauqua
since 1991, the production of Carmina
Burana will once again feature multifaceted artistic talents located within
the grounds, including the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, performers from Children’s School, the Charlotte Ballet in Residence, and Timothy
Muffitt, music director of the Music
School Festival Orchestra. The production will also be assisted by the vocal
performances of the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus and the Rochester Oratorio Society. The addition of these two
choruses has aided in the addition of a
second performance.
From the beginning, the three-year
Chautauqua Inter-arts Collaboration
Initiative called for production of
three distinct performances created
from different source material. In 2013,
Chautauqua saw the performance of
The Romeo & Juliet Project, which featured an existing story with a whole
new vision; the 2014 performance of Go
West!: The Mythology of American Expansion featured familiar works in an en-
Matt Burkhartt, The Chautauquan Daily
Chautauqua Opera Young Artists perform a selection from The Ballad of Baby Doe as
part of the 2014 Chautauqua inter-arts collaboration, Go West!, July 26 in the Amp.
tirely new and original story. Merkley
noted that Carmina Burana delivers on
this promise, too — by taking “an existing piece from the Chautauqua repertoire and doing something uniquely
‘Chautauquan’ with it.”
Chautauqua’s 2015 inter-arts collaboration will mark the third time in 25
years that a rendition of Carmina Burana
has been performed on the grounds.
However, this production will differ
from the previous ones not only in the
size of the performance, but with the
musical direction itself. For example,
the performance will feature musical
insertions between carefully selected
movements curated with the help of
10 early-music specialists from Boston,
New York City and Washington, D.C.
Among the insertions will be a version of a musical march written by Orff
and performed at the 1936 Olympics in
Germany. The march does not exist on
sheet music — Orff destroyed his previous writings after producing Carmina
Burana, which he considered a proper
starting point for his collected works
— and only in a video online, so it will
be specifically transcribed for Chautauqua’s performance of Carmina Burana.
Composed by Orff in 1935 and 1936,
Carmina Burana has become a timeless
piece of classical music whose first and
last movement, “O Fortuna,” has been
featured in everything from television
commercials to the University of Oslo’s
yearly matriculation ceremony.
Based off 24 poems from a Medieval
collection of secular texts from the 11th,
12th, and 13th centuries known as Carmina Burana, Orff’s scenic cantata of the
same title originally featured the performances of an orchestra, a chorus and
a ballet. Covering a wide array of sub-
jects, these poems have stayed relevant
with their commentary on topics such
as wealth, fortune, lust and gluttony.
Keeping with the trends of previous
inter-arts collaborations, Chautauqua’s
production will feature other artistic
media in expressing the many themes
of Carmina Burana.
Much like in last year’s performance of Go West!, Carmina Burana will
add a visual arts component to its production. This year, however, the usual
place for visuals in the Amphitheater
— directly above the stage — would
obstruct the 200-person choir. Therefore, the visual arts component is going to be projected both on the ceiling
and on the back wall anchored by the
Massey Memorial Organ.
With this added feature, the Amp
itself becomes a significant part of the
performance through what Merkley
notes as “carefully selected works of
art and architecture” that “will be chosen to enhance the text and moods.”
Having worked at Chautauqua Institution since 1991, Merkley has seen
his fair share of artistic diversity, thus
making him an appropriate director of
an interdisciplinary endeavor of this
size. Since this will be Merkley’s final
season at Chautauqua, a revamped
and dynamic production of Carmina
Burana will serve as a fitting closure to
an impressive and memorable career
on the grounds.
As the production of Carmina Burana moves forward, the 2015 season
gets closer. And though the upcoming season marks the end of the threeyear Chautauqua Inter-arts Collaboration Initiative, the success so far is
a reminder, Merkley said, that “each
season will see smaller collaborations
within the arts organizations.”
‘All in’ at Chautauqua, Turbens endow galleries directorship
Jack and Susie Turben
have demonstrated their love
for Chautauqua in a way that
not only reflects their deep
commitment to the visual
arts, but also honors their
longtime friendship with
Chuck and Char Fowler, fellow Clevelanders and next
door neighbors in Chautauqua. The Turbens have made
a bequest intention, along
with an immediate gift that will endow the directorship of the VACI (Visual Arts at Chautauqua Institution)
galleries, a position currently held by
Judy Barie. The Turbens’ decision to
fund the endowment was driven by
their motivation to ensure forever the
level of expertise and professionalism
so demonstratively brought to the Galleries Director position by Barie.
“Now that we’ve become a nationally recognized program with top facilities, the Turbens’ gift is so critical,”
said Don Kimes, artistic director of
VACI. “There is no way any of us on
the current staff can be replaced for
the salaries we started with as young
professionals. … This is a critical step
toward endowing all our leadership
positions in the arts at Chautauqua,
and we are so grateful to the Turbens.
“The Fowlers and the Strohls profoundly changed the game for the visual arts at Chautauqua by creating
gallery spaces that are competitive
with the best in the country. Now that
we are beginning to have our leadership positions endowed, we can maintain the level of quality and visibility
we’ve achieved since merging the galleries and the
School of Art back in 2007.”
The other reason the Turbens contributed was to honor their friends, the Fowlers.
Jack and Chuck have been
business associates in Cleveland for years, and Susie and
Char share a passion for the
arts. After Char and Chuck
made a gift a few years back,
transforming the former Kellogg Hall
into the stunning eight-gallery building that it is today, (now Fowler-Kellogg Art Center), the Turbens wanted
to become part of the effort.
Regular visitors to the galleries now,
Jack and Susie became acquainted with
VACI over several years, purchasing
art and attending events during the
summer season. “We were impressed
with Judy and with the whole leadership team’s work to program the facility,” said Jack.
“Susie particularly likes the architecture of the VACI complex,” Jack
added. The Turbens share a passion for
art and architecture. Among their favorite architects is Frank Lloyd Wright,
so much so that they bought a house in
this style on Lake Erie, which Jack happily notes is 25 minutes closer to Chautauqua than their home in Cleveland.
The house is now a national historic
site, a result the Turbens worked hard
to achieve.
Jack, a lifelong Clevelander, is a private equity and business investment
specialist. Susie is an early-childhood
development specialist and a former
Jack and Susie Turben
board member for National Public
Radio. She grew up in Buffalo and
knew of Chautauqua through spending time as a camper on Chautauqua
Lake. Her grandmother was a musician who played in the Athenaeum 60plus years ago. But it wasn’t until much
later that friends invited the Turbens
to the grounds, and they realized what
they had been missing.
“I had heard of this place,” says Jack,
“but I lived 55 years of my life without having any idea what people were
talking about.” They “got hooked” and
the rest is history. They participate in
almost everything Chautauqua offers
and also have a 19-foot Boston Whaler
docked at their rental home on North
Lake, which is next to the Fowlers’
home.
“We’re all in,” says Jack. “We do the
full complement, including golf and
tennis.” Their enduring friendship
with the Fowlers is the icing on the
cake.
For Char Fowler the Turben gift is
reflective of the friendship both couples hold so dear.
“Chuck and I have valued our
friendship with Jack and Susie
through the years,” she says. “We admire their zest for life, their intelligent
conversations and their generosity
here at Chautauqua and at home in the
Cleveland area. We are most grateful
for their latest gift for the directorship
of the VACI galleries, ensuring quality
‘arts experiences’ for many in years to
come.”
The Turbens’ bequest intention
makes them members of the Eleanor B.
Daugherty Society, which recognizes
those who have made a gift to Chautauqua through their estate. For more
information on how you can become
a member of the Daugherty Society,
and enjoy the many benefits associated with membership, please contact
Dusty Nelson, Director of Gift Planning, at 716-357-6409 or email dnelson@
ciweb.org.
The Chautauquan
Page 8
Spring 2015
LECTURES
DAVID
VON DREHLE
KAY BAILEY
HUTCHISON
FRANCES E.
JENSEN
VINT
CERF
ISABEL
WILKERSON
TIMOTHY
SNYDER
HUSAIN
HAQQANI
SEYED HOSSEIN
MOUSAVIAN
Newly added lecturers bring crucial perspectives
Week One
21st-Century Literacies
Monday, June 29
David Von Drehle is an editor-atlarge for Time magazine, where he has
covered politics, breaking news and
the Supreme Court since 2007. He is
the author of four books, including
Abraham Lincoln and America’s Most
Perilous Year, published in 2012, and
Triangle: The Fire That Changed America.
Friday, July 3
Former Texas Senator Kay Bailey
Hutchison is a businesswoman and
public servant with more than 40 years
of experience in the public and private
sectors. Currently, she serves as senior
counsel at Bracewell & Giuliani LLP.In
January 2013, Hutchison stepped down
from 20 years in the U.S. Senate, having been the first woman to represent
Texas in the Senate. Having first been
elected vice-chairman of the Republican Conference and later chairman of
the Republican Policy Committee, at
one time she was the fourth-highest
ranking Republican Senator.
Hospital and Children’s Hospital, Boston. She is a fellow of the American
College of Physicians, a member of the
editorial board of Annals of Neurology,
and a reviewing editor for the Journal
of Neuroscience.
Week Three
Immigration
Friday, July 17
Ian Goldin is director of the Oxford Martin School and professor of
globalization and development at Oxford University. He was previously
vice president of the World Bank and
its director of development policy after
serving as adviser to President Nelson
Mandela and chief executive of the Development Bank of Southern Africa.
He has published 17 books, including
Divided Nations: Why Global Governance
is Failing and What We Can Do About It;
Exceptional People on Migration, Globalisation for Development; and The Economics of Sustainable Development.
Week Four
Irrationality
Week Two
Boys Will Be Boys, Then Men
Week Five
Art & Politics
Frances Jensen, co-author of The
Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist’s Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and
Young Adults, is chair of the Department of Neurology in the Perelman
School of Medicine at the University
of Pennsylvania. Previously, Jensen
was a professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and a senior neurologist at both Brigham and Women’s
Christopher H. Gibbs is the James
H. Ottaway Jr. Professor of music at
Bard College. Previously he was a professor of music at the State University
of New York at Buffalo. He is the author or co-author of a number of books,
including the college edition of The
Oxford History of Western Music, and biographies of the composers Liszt and
Schubert.
Wednesday, July 8
Monday, July 27
2 015 SPECI AL PRO G R A M S
Week Six
Vanishing
Week Seven
Redefining Europe
K. David Harrison is a linguist and
activist for the documentation and
preservation of endangered languages
teaching at Swarthmore College and affiliated with National Geographic. His
research focuses on the Turkic languages of central Siberia and western Mongolia. He co-starred in the Emmy-nominated 2008 documentary film “The
Linguists” and serves as director of research for the nonprofit Living Tongues
Institute for Endangered Languages.
An expert on German, European and
transatlantic foreign and security policy
and strategy, Constanze Stelzenmüller
is the inaugural Robert Bosch senior fellow with the Center on the United States
and Europe at Brookings. Prior to working at Brookings, she was a senior transatlantic fellow with the German Marshall Fund of the United States, where
she directed the influential Transatlantic Trends survey program.
Monday, August 3
Tuesday, August 4
Vint Cerf is vice president and
chief Internet evangelist for Google,
and widely known as a “Father of the
Internet.” With Robert Kahn, Cerf is a
co-designer of TCP/IP protocols and
the basic architecture of the internet
— work that prompted President Bill
Clinton in 1997 to award them with
the U.S. National Medal of Technology. The Presidential Medal of Freedom
was awarded to them both in 2005.
Thursday, August 6
Isabel Wilkerson devoted 15 years to
the research and writing of The Warmth
of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s
Great Migration. The book was named
to more than 30 “Best of the Year” lists
and won the National Book Critics Circle Award. Wilkerson won the Pulitzer
Prize for her work as Chicago bureau
chief of The New York Times, making her
the first black woman in the history of
American journalism to win a Pulitzer
and the first African-American to win
for individual reporting.
Wednesday, August 12
Friday, August 14
Timothy Snyder is the Bird White
Housum professor of history at Yale
University and a permanent fellow
at the Institute for Human Science in
Vienna, specializing in the history of
central and eastern Europe. He is the
author of five award-winning books,
including: Nationalism, Marxism, and
Modern Central Europe: A Biography of
Kazimierz Kelles-Krauz and Bloodlands:
Europe Between Hitler and Stalin.
Week Eight
The Middle East
Monday, August 17
Husain Haqqani was Pakistan’s
ambassador to the United States from
2008 to 2011. A trusted adviser to three
Pakistani prime ministers, he is a professor at Boston University and former
director of its Center for International
Relations. He is also the co-chair of
the Hudson Institute’s Project on the
Future of the Muslim World and the
editor of the journal Current Trends in
Islamist Thought.
Tuesday, July 21 & Thursday, July 23 · 5:30 p.m. · Chautauqua Cinema
Meet the Filmmaker Series. “(Dis)honesty.” Yael Melamede, producer and director
Monday, June 29 · 4 p.m. · Hall of Philosophy
Applied Ethics Series. Mary K. Feeney. “The times are a changin’ — What
Wednesday, July 22 · 6 p.m. · Chautauqua Cinema
civic literacy means for modern communities.” ASU Lincoln Center for ApMeet the Filmmaker Series. “American Denial.” Christine Herbes-Sommers,
plied Ethics. (Feeney will also teach a master class through Special Studies
executive producer
this week)
Monday, Aug. 3 · 4 p.m. · Hall of Philosophy
Monday, June 29 – 8:15 p.m. · Amphitheater
Applied Ethics Series. Brad Allenby. “Civilizational Conflict, Strategy, and
An Evening with Charlie Rose and Nancy Gibbs
Emerging Technologies.” ASU Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics (Allenby
will also teach a master class through Special Studies this week)
Wednesday, July 1 · 3:30 p.m. · Hall of Philosophy
Presentation. Ann Kowal Smith, executive director and founder, Books@Work.
Monday, Wednesday & Friday, Aug. 3, 5 & 7 – 12:30 p.m. · Chautauqua Cinema
Meet the Filmmaker Series. Aug. 3: “The Colosseum — Roman Death Trap.”
Wednesday, July 8 · 4 p.m. · Hall of Philosophy
Aug. 5: “Petra — Lost City of Stone.” Aug. 7: “Hagia Sophia — Istanbul’s AnThe 11th Annual Robert H. Jackson Lecture on the Supreme Court. Laurence
cient Mystery.” Gary Glassman, producer and director
H. Tribe, Carl M. Loeb University Professor and professor of Constitutional
law at Harvard University
Tuesday, Aug. 11 · 3:30 p.m. · Hall of Philosophy
Middle East Update. Geoffrey Kemp, director of Regional Security Programs,
Wednesday, July 8 · 5:30 p.m. · Chautauqua Cinema
Center for the National Interest; Ziad Asali, president and founder of the
Meet the Filmmaker Series. “My Own Man.” David Sampliner, director;
American Task Force on Palestine
Chris Tarry
Wednesday, July 15 · 3:30 p.m. · Hall of Philosophy
Lecture. “2016 Election Preview.” David Kozak, distinguished professor of
public policy and director of Leadership Erie, Gannon University
Wednesday, Aug. 12 · 3:30 p.m. · Hall of Philosophy
Middle East Update. Geoffrey Kemp; Michele Dunne, senior associate in the
Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Wednesday, Aug. 19 · 6 p.m. · Chautauqua Cinema
Monday–Friday, July 20–24 · Times and locations vary
Meet the Filmmaker Series. “1913 Seeds of Conflict.” Ben Loeterman, writer
Join Week Four’s morning lecturers in special afternoon programs, with exand director.
panded sessions for audience members to ask questions about behavioral economics, discuss experiments to try at Chautauqua, and preview the next day’s
Monday, Aug. 24 · 12:30 p.m. · Hall of Philosophy
lecture.
Applied Ethics Series. Jason Robert. “Building healthier communities is a
July 20, 3:30 p.m., Hall of Philosophy: Dan Ariely
wicked problem.” ASU Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics (Robert will also
July 21, 5 p.m., Smith Wilkes Hall: David A. Pizarro
teach a master class through Special Studies this week)
July 22, 3:30 p.m., Hall of Philosophy: Michael I. Norton
July 23, 5 p.m., Hall of Philosophy: Noah J. Goldstein
Thursday, Aug. 27 · 8:15 p.m. · Amphitheater
July 24, 3:30 p.m., Smith Wilkes Hall: Leslie K. John
An Evening with Tom and Jennifer Brokaw
The Chautauquan
Spring 2015
Page 9
LECTURES
2 015 LEC TU R E THE M E S
Week One (June 29–July 3): 21st-Century Literacies: Multiple Ways to Make Sense of the World
JAMES & DEBORAH
FALLOWS
KATHLEEN
SEBELIUS
to platform
Daveed Gartenstein-Ross is a senior
fellow at the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies, an adjunct assistant professor in Georgetown University’s security studies program, and a lecturer
at the Catholic University of America.
The author or volume editor of 15 books
and monographs, including Bin Laden’s
Legacy, his research and professional
work are focused on the challenges
posed by violent non-state actors.
Friday, August 21
Seyed Hossein Mousavian is a Research Scholar at the Program on Science and Global Security. He is a former
diplomat who served as Iran’s ambassador to Germany, head of the Foreign
Relations Committee of Iran’s National
Security Council and as spokesman
for Iran in its nuclear negotiations with
the European Union. He also served as
vice president of Iran’s official Center
for Strategic Research and was editor
in chief of the Tehran Times.
Emad Kiyaei is executive director of
the American Iranian Council (AIC), a
nonprofit and nonpartisan educational
organization seeking to help policy
makers and citizens overcome key misunderstandings and misperceptions
between the United States and Iran.
Emad is also a researcher at Princeton
University’s Woodrow Wilson School
of Public & International Affairs.
Week Nine
Creating Livable Communities
Tuesday, August 25
A national correspondent for The
Atlantic, James Fallows is co-creator,
with his wife Deborah, of the publication’s “City Makers: American Futures” project. Through that project
in partnership with APM’s “Marketplace,” the Fallowses travel the country reporting on the people, organizations and ideas re-shaping the country.
James Fallows has written for The
Atlantic since the late 1970s, living and
reporting in Seattle, Berkeley, Austin,
Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai, and
Beijing. He has been a finalist for the
National Magazine Award five times
and has won once. Deborah Fallows is
a contributing writer for The Atlantic,
and author of Dreaming in Chinese. She
has has lived in Shanghai and Beijing
and traveled throughout China for
three years. A linguist, she most recently worked in research and polling
for the Pew Internet Project and in data
architecture for Oxygen Media.
Note: Muhtar Kent, previously announced
for Aug. 25, will now lecture on Aug. 26.
Thursday, August 27
Kathleen Sebelius is one of America’s leading voices on health policy,
health care reform and human service
delivery. From April 2009 through June
2014, she served as U.S. secretary of
Health and Human Services, where she
led the charge for passage of the Affordable Care Act and oversaw agencies that
include the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She previously served as governor of Kansas.
How do we go about building literacy in a variety of disciplines and in areas outside our expertise, and encourage others to do
the same? How can these efforts help in building and maintaining a well-informed citizenry? Top-rated Chautauqua lecturer David Von Drehle returns to open our 2015 season with remarks on historical literacy, how we must understand our past in order to
understand our present. Author Roger Rosenblatt speaks Tuesday on the power of imaginative literacy. Mae Jemison, the first
African-American female astronaut for NASA and current principal of the 100-year Starship Project, will discuss the importance
of science literacy on Wednesday. Thursday, entrepreneur John Hope Bryant will speak to financial literacy and the work done at
his organization, Operation Hope, to invest in financial dignity in under-served communities. Former U.S. Senator from Texas, Kay
Bailey Hutchison, will conclude the week Friday with an examination of civic literacy, and the importance of an informed citizenry.
Week Two (July 6–July 10): Boys Will Be Boys, Then Men
What’s happening to our boys? How are we raising them? A large and growing body of scholarship suggests that our boys, all boys,
are facing enormous challenges with healthy development and socialization, and are feeling confused and underappreciated.
Chautauqua’s Director of Religion the Rev. Robert M. Franklin Jr. will launch the week Monday with an overview of the challenges
and opportunities young men and their families and support systems face, and what Chautauqua hopes to accomplish through
this 10-lecture platform in partnership with the Department of Religion. Joining Franklin on Monday will be Joe Echevarria, retired
Deloitte CEO and co-chair of President Barack Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative. Psychologist and author Michael Thompson will speak Tuesday about the emotional lives of boys and the societal impact on their development. Wednesday, neuroscientist Frances Jensen will discuss her work and her book, The Teenage Brain. Author and youth advocate Wes Moore returns to the
Amp stage Thursday to discuss his advocacy work and the importance of social outreach for inner-city youths.
Week Three (July 13–17): Immigration: Origins and Destinations
In this week, we track current trends in movements of peoples throughout the world, including but also stepping outside the ongoing American debate over legal and illegal immigration. Patrick Griffin, chair of the Department of History at the University of
Notre Dame, leads the week with a discussion Monday about the history of sending and receiving societies and the movement
of peoples across the Atlantic Ocean, with specific focus on Irish immigration to America. Journalist Sonia Nazario will take the
stage Tuesday to discuss her work covering immigration issues and the personal stories of those immigrants, particularly with
regard to her book, Enrique’s Journey. Wednesday, celebrated academic and cultural critic Henry Louis Gates Jr.will discuss
his work with genealogy on his PBS show “Finding Your Roots.” Former U.S. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales will speak
to the American debate surrounding immigration and immigration reform efforts in the federal government on Thursday. On
Friday, economist Ian Goldin will conclude the week with an exploration of how the movement of peoples — or “international
mobility” — impacts our global economy.
Week Four (July 20–24): Irrationality
Duke professor Dan Ariely joins us with esteemed social-science contemporaries to explore the complex and often irrational
world of human decision-making in a week that will also include analysis of simultaneous research on Chautauquans. Why do
we regularly act in ways that defy our interests? How do we justify our own dishonesty? Ariely kicks off the week on Monday.
David Pizarro, an associate professor at Cornell University, on Tuesday will discuss moral judgment, the effects of emotion on
judgment, and the overlap between the two. Wednesday, Mike Norton, an associate professor of business administration in the
Marketing Unit at the Harvard Business School, examines how people spend their money: their behavior, psychology, decisionmaking and philanthropy. Noah Goldstein, an associate professor of management and organization at the UCLA Anderson
School of Management, on Thursday will discuss the factors that lead people to change their behaviors. Leslie John, an assistant
professor of business administration in the Marketing Unit at the Harvard Business School, wraps up the week Friday with a focus
on consumers’ behavior, marketing and public policy, and the health and privacy of consumers.
Week Five (July 27–31): Art & Politics
The history of politics is also a history of the role of art in politics — to frame, to distort, to manipulate. Lecturers this week will
demonstrate the way art is used in politics and to influence political processes, using historical and modern examples in music, fine
art, photography, the digital world, comedy, satire and language. Christopher H. Gibbs, James H. Ottaway Jr. Professor of music
at Bard College, begins the week Monday with a discussion of the Nazi co-optation of Carmina Burana, and the classical history
of the nexus of art and politics that goes back to Plato. On Thursday, editorial cartoonist for The Washington Post Tom Toles will
discuss his work and the importance of the art of protest and satire in a free society. Friday, political campaign advertising strategists Mark Putnam and Fred Davis will discuss their careers creating ad campaigns for politicians on both sides of the aisle.
Week Six (Aug 3–7): Vanishing
Almost everything that ever existed, whether physically or theoretically, no longer does. What do we wish we could have back,
and what are we glad is gone? What exists now that is about to vanish? Why does it matter? Linguist K. David Harrison opens
the week Monday as he discusses his work documenting and preserving endangered languages as part of National Geographic’s Enduring Voices project. Tuesday, Google’s chief internet evangelist, Vint Cerf, will talk about vanishing artifacts and
his fears of a “digital dark age.” The author of 2015 CLSC selection Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania, Erik Larson,
will speak Wednesday about vanishing of wartime respect for citizens, as well as the physical vanishing of the ship Lusitania. On
Thursday, Isabel Wilkerson, author of The Warmth of Other Suns, will address the idea of persistent, or even returning racism,
after decades of work to eradicate its ills.
Week Seven (Aug. 10–14): Redefining Europe
Chautauqua once again partners with the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation to examine what it means to be a citizen of
Europe today. Is the European Union united, or not? London-based New York Times columnist Roger Cohen opens the week
with an examination of the issues currently facing Europe. David Marsh, a financial specialist and chairman and co-founder
of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum, on Tuesday will discuss the current economic state in Europe.
Wednesday, the Brookings Institution’s Constanze Stelzenmüller will discuss European foreign policy and the relations
between (and among) European nations and the United States. Ulrike Guérot, senior fellow at the Open Society Initiative for
Europe, will speak Thursday on the future of democracy among European countries, and current issues facing the continent’s
youth. To conclude the week Friday, Timothy Snyder, the Bird White Housum Professor of History at Yale University will
discuss the ongoing tension between Russia and Eastern Europe, and the future of that region.
Week Eight (Aug. 17–21): The Middle East Now and Next
Building upon more than two decades of compelling programming on the Middle East, Chautauqua in 2015 brings together
today’s and tomorrow’s brightest thinkers and doers in global affairs for an in-depth, weeklong inquiry to further understand this
troubled region. On Monday, former Pakistani ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani will be in conversation with Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. Previous speaker Robin Wright, joint fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Woodrow Wilson International Center, will speak Tuesday with Jawad Nabulsi, founder
of the Nebny Foundation. Dennis Ross, William Davidson Distinguished Fellow at the Washington Institute, will speak Thursday
with Ghaith al-Omari, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute and former executive director of the American Task Force on
Palestine. Friday, former Iranian nuclear negotiator Seyed Hossein Mousavian will be in conversation with Iranian scholar Emad
Kiyaei. NBC News Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel will speak to Middle Eastern states of affair Wednesday.
Week Nine (Aug. 24–28): Creating Livable Communities
What is a livable community? From business and civic engagement in the well-being of employees and citizens, we will explore
how we can create communities that can in turn help us live healthier, more fulfilling lives in more beautiful and sustainable places.
Urban planner Toni L. Griffin opens the week Monday, discussing her work as director of Detroit Works Project and her comprehensive, citywide framework plan for urban transformation “Detroit Future City.” On Tuesday, James and Deborah Fallows will
discuss their work with The Atlantic’s “American Futures” project, tracking the renaissance of American cities and towns. Muhtar
Kent, CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, will present on Wednesday his company’s work in stabilizing and improving economies in
villages around the world. Thursday, former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will look to the future
of health care, and address the most pressing issues facing public health.
The Chautauquan
Page 10
Spring 2015
RELIGION
SHAWN
DOVE
THE REV. DAISY
MACHADO
MICHAEL ERIC
DYSON
OMID
SAFI
AKBAR
AHMED
PHIL
DONAHUE
VLADIMIR
POZNER
ANAT
HOFFMAN
Interfaith Lecturers demonstrate inclusivity, respect
►See the updated listing of 2 p.m.
lectures at ciweb.org/2015-lectures
Week One
Interfaith Literacy
Week Two
Boys Will Be Boys, Then Men
Tuesday, July 7
Shawn Dove serves as CEO of the
Campaign for Black Male Achievement (CBMA), a national membership
organization designed to ensure the
growth, sustainability, and impact of
leaders and organizations committed
to improving the life outcomes of black
men and boys in America. Under his
leadership, CBMA has evolved into the
largest national philanthropic initiative focusing on eliminating the barriers facing black men and boys.
Week Three
For We Were Strangers
in a Strange Land
Tuesday, July 14
The Rev. Daisy L. Machado serves
as professor of the American history
of Christianity at Union Theological
Seminary, having completed her tenure as dean for academic affairs. Her
publications include Borders and Margins: Hispanic Disciples in the Southwest,
1888–1942. She is co-editor of A Reader
in Latina Feminist Theology: Religion and
Justice, in which she wrote the article
“The Unnamed Woman: Justice, Feminists, and the Undocumented Woman.”
Week Four
The Ambivalence of the Sacred:
Religion and Violence
Monday, July 20
Philip Jenkins is distinguished professor of history at Baylor, and serves
as co-director for the Program on Historical Studies of Religion in the Institute for Studies of Religion. He is one
of the world’s leading religion scholars.
Jenkins’ work has been lauded in many
different disciplines including sociology, criminology, and religious studies. His major current interests include
the study of global Christianity; of new
and emerging religious movements;
and of 20th-century U.S. history.
Friday, July 24
Michael Eric Dyson became a contributing opinion writer for The New
York Times in March 2015. The winner
of an American Book Award and two
NAACP Image Awards, he is a professor of sociology at Georgetown University. A former factory worker, an ordained Baptist minister and a onetime
church pastor, Dyson has been celebrated as one of the nation’s most visible
public intellectuals and is at work on a
book about President Obama and race.
Week Five
Art, Politics, Religion
Tuesday, July 28
Omid Safi, a leading Muslim public
intellectual, is Director of the Duke Islamic Studies Center, where he serves
as a professor of Islamic Studies spe-
cializing in contemporary Islamic
thought and Islamic spirituality. He
also serves as Chair for the Islamic
Mysticism group at the American
Academy of Religion, the largest international organization devoted to the
academic study of religion.
Wednesday, July 29
Joshua DuBois is the author of the
best-selling book The President’s Devotional: The Daily Readings That Inspired
President Obama. He is one of the country’s leading voices on community partnerships, religion in the public square
and issues affecting African-American
men. DuBois led the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood
Partnerships during Obama’s first term.
Thursday, July 30
Tanisha Ramachandran is assistant
professor of South Asian religions at
Wake Forest University. She is working
on a monograph, Idolized Representations: A Genealogy of the Hindu Image, that
explores the social, political and cultural history of Hindu imagery in India,
Europe and North America. Her other
areas of interest include the racialization of religion, Hinduism in the media,
feminism in South Asia and the diaspora, and colonialism on the subcontinent.
Friday, July 31
Vivienne Benesch is an actor, director, producer and teacher in her 11th season as artistic director of Chautauqua
Theater Company. At Chautauqua she
has directed more than 15 productions.
In 2013, she conceived and directed
the inaugural inter-arts collaboration,
The Romeo & Juliet Project, featuring 85
performers from Chautauqua’s resident
dance, opera, theater and School of Music programs alongside the Chautauqua
Symphony Orchestra. She will be in
conversation with two CTC actors.
Week Six
Religion: Vanishing and Emerging
Wednesday, August 5
Phil Zuckerman is a professor of
sociology and secular studies at Pitzer
College in Claremont, California. The
author of several books, including Living
the Secular Life, Faith No More and Society
without God, he founded the first Secular
Studies department in the nation. Secular studies is an interdisciplinary program focusing on manifestations of the
secular in societies and cultures, past
and present, and entails the study of
non-religious people, groups, thought
and cultural expressions.
Thursday, August 6
Lawrence A. Hoffman teaches classes in liturgy, ritual, spirituality, theology
and synagogue leadership at Hebrew
Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. His Rethinking Synagogues: A New
Vocabulary for Congregational Life and his
Art of Public Prayer are widely used by
churches and synagogues as guides to
organizational visioning and liturgical
renewal. In 2011, he received a second
National Jewish Book Award for coauthoring Sacred Strategies: Transforming
Synagogues from Functional to Visionary.
Friday, August 7
Anouar Majid is currently acting
as founding director of the Center for
Global Humanities and Vice President
for Global Affairs at the University of
New England in Maine. Born in Tangier, Morocco, Majid is the author of five
critically acclaimed books on Islam and
the West, including Unveiling Traditions,
Freedom and Orthodoxy, A Call for Heresy,
We Are All Moors and Islam and America:
Building a Future without Prejudice.
Week Seven
Reimagining the Soul of Europe
Monday, August 10
Stephen E. Hanson is the director
of the Wendy and Emery Reves Center
for International Studies and the Lettie
Pate Evans Professor in the Department
of Government at the College of William and Mary. He has authored many
books, included among which are Time
and Revolution: Marxism and the Design
of Soviet Institutions. In 2014, Hanson
served as the elected president of the
board of the Association for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies.
Wednesday, August 12
Akbar Ahmed is the Ibn Khaldun
Chair of Islamic Studies in the School of
International Service at American University. He was the first distinguished
chair of Middle East and Islamic Studies at the U.S Naval Academy. Ahmed
belonged to the senior Civil Service of
Pakistan and was the Pakistan High
Commissioner to the U.K. and Ireland.
His recent extensive research throughout Europe has produced the documentary “Journey into Europe: Islam,
Immigration and Empire.”
Thursday, August 13
In 1967 Phil Donahue changed the
face of daytime television, pioneering
the audience-participation talk format
as the host of the Donahue show, a 29year run which stands as the longest
of its kind in U.S. television history. In
the 1980s, Donahue and Russian journalist Vladimir Pozner co-hosted a series of satellite “spacebridge” telecasts
between the United States and the Soviet Union. It was the first event of its
kind in broadcasting history.
Working at first as a translator
of Elizabethan poetry into Russian,
Vladimir Pozner subsequently joined
the Novosty Press Agency as a senior
editor, later becoming executive editor of Soviet Life magazine and then
Sputnik magazine. In the early 1980s
Pozner became an active member of a
movement, later called “citizen diplomacy,” involving Soviets and Americans who were profoundly concerned
about the state of U.S.-USSR relations.
This movement involved unofficial exchanges and conferences in both countries, namely, in Riga and Chautauqua.
Friday, August 14
David N. Hempton is the dean of
Harvard Divinity School. His research
and teaching interests include religion
and political culture, religious identities
and ethnic conflicts, the interdisciplinary study of lived religion, the history
and theology of Evangelical Protestantism and Pentecostalism, the global
history of Christianity since 1500, and
religious disenchantment and secularization. He is currently engaged on a
comparative study of secularization in
Europe and North America from the
eighteenth century to the present.
Week Eight
The Middle East:
Preserving and Sharing Sacred Space
Monday, August 17
Vincent J. Cornell is Asa Griggs
Candler Professor of Middle East and
Islamic studies and chair of the Department of Near Eastern and South
Asian Studies at Emory University.
His academic interests cover the entire
spectrum of Islamic thought from Sufism to theology and Islamic law. He is
currently finishing The Wiley-Blackwell
Companion to Islamic Spirituality with
Bruce Lawrence of Duke University.
Tuesday, August 18
A descendant of seven generations
of rabbis in Denmark, Rabbi Michael
Melchior is the founder and chairman
of several organizations that work to
facilitate social change for a shared
and sustainable democratic society in
Israel. His organizational efforts include Mosaica, The Yachad Council,
Meitarim and The Citizen’s Accord Forum. He also was the founding chairman of Birthright Israel.
Thursday, August 20
Albert Lincoln has recently returned to the United States after 20
years at the Baha’i World Centre in
Haifa, Israel, where he served as secretary-general of the Baha’i International
Community. In this capacity, Dr. Lincoln represented the Baha’i community in international fora and interactions
with government representatives, diplomats, high officials and leaders of
thought from many parts of the world.
Week Nine
Spirituality in the
Livable Community
Tuesday, August 25
Carol R. Naughton is senior vicepresident and co-founder of Purpose
Built Communities, founded in 2008.
She had previously served for seven
years as executive director of the East
Lake Foundation, the lead nonprofit
organization that developed and continues to implement a bold, innovative
and successful model of community
revitalization that helps families break
the cycle of poverty.
Thursday, August 27
Anat Hoffman became executive
director of the Israel Religious Action Center in April 2002. She guides
IRAC in its work to promote Jewish
pluralism, tolerance and equality and
to combat racism, corruption and religious coercion. During Hoffman’s
tenure, she has also expanded IRAC’s
mission to go beyond the courts and
the Knesset, and to engage in helping
people directly through social action.
The Chautauquan
Spring 2015
Page 11
RELIGION
2 015 SE A SO N
CHAPLAINS-IN-RESIDENCE
The guest chaplains invited for the 2015 Season represent intended
theological, denominational, gender, racial and ethnic diversity, as well as
ministerial context. The philosophy of the Department of Religion, from the
beginning, has embraced and manifested the belief that an expression of
these diversities is key to Chautauqua’s future.
Week One
June 28–July 3
Week Two
June 5–10
The Rev. Joel C.
Gregory
His Excellency,
The Most Rev.
Edward K.
Braxton
Prof. of preaching,
George W. Truett
Theological
Seminary
Bishop, Diocese of
Belleville, Illinois
Week Three
July 12–17
Week Four
July 19–24
Week Five
July 26–31
Week Six
August 2–7
The Rev.
Katharine Rhodes
Henderson
The Rev. Frank
Madison Reid III
The Rev. Dwight
D. Andrews
The Rev. Barbara
K. Lundblad
Senior pastor, Bethel
A.M.E. Church,
Baltimore
Senior minister, First
Congregational
Church UCC, Atlanta
Professor of
preaching emerita,
Union Theological
Seminary
Week Seven
August 9–14
Week Eight
August 16–21
Week Nine
August 23
Week Nine
August 24–28
The Rev.
James Walters
The Rev. Anna
Carter Florence
The Rev.
Bernice A. King
The Rev.
Martha Simmons
Chaplain, London
School of Economics
Professor of
preaching, Columbia
Theological
Seminary
CEO, The King
Center
Associate minister,
Rush Memorial
United Church of
Christ, Atlanta
President, Auburn
Theological
Seminary
G I F T P L A N N I N G and T H E E L E A N O R B . D A U G H E R T Y S O C I E T Y
The following individuals have made a planned gift for Chautauqua by provision in their will, retirement plan, as beneficiary of their IRA, life insurance, through our Pooled Life
Income Fund, in a trust or through a gift of real estate. In doing so they are members of the Eleanor B. Daugherty Society, named for a retired music school teacher from Buffalo,
NY, who left a significant bequest to Chautauqua. Chautauqua Foundation is proud to recognize these thoughtful individuals for their generosity and foresight in helping to ensure
the future of Chautauqua Institution. Become a member of the Daugherty Society. Contact Dusty Nelson, director of Gift Planning, at 716.357.6409/[email protected] or visit
chautauquafoundation.org and click on Ways to Give. Plan your gift today. If you have included Chautauqua in your estate plans and your name is not listed below, please let us
know so we can recognize and thank you!
New members are highlighted with the symbol (
Anonymous (14)
W. Andrew Achenbaum
Joan B. Alexander
Caroline Thompson & Steve Allen
Joanne and Henry Altland
John E. Anderson
Jack Armstrong
Sherra and Jim Babcock
James M. Bailey
Drs. Arthur and Barbara Banner
Robert and Mary Bargar
William E. and LaDonna G. Bates
Bob and Joan Battaglin
Nancy Bechtolt
Ann C. Beebe
Mary and Charles Beggerow
Jill and Arnie Bellowe
Christina Bemus
Alice Benedict
Bobbi and Donald Bernstein
Caroline Van Kirk Bissell
Mary Blair
Robert and Jean Boell
Cathy Bonner
June Bonyor
Mr. Edward J. Borowsky
Diana and David Bower
Loretta Bower
Ted Arnn and Mary Boyle
P. James and Barbara Brady
Kathy and James Braham
Barbara and Twig Branch
Sharon and David Britton
Margaret and William Brockman
Steven and Cynthia Brown
Audre Bunis
Frederic J. and Susan Franks Buse
Mr. and Mrs. Richard J. Buxbaum
Gloria A. Caldwell
Andrew L. and Gayle Shaw Camden
Mr. and Mrs. David H. Carnahan
Susan Cartney
Dr. and Mrs. Bret A. Charipper
Christine and Ken Caro
Jean Cheney
Carol and Jim Chimento
Molly Rinehart and Charles Christian
Geoff and Kathy Church
Marilyn and Sebastian Ciancio
Joan R. Clouse
John and Bette Cochran
Helen B. Cochrane
Wendell and Ruth Gerrard Cole
Richard and Dorothy Comfort
Jack Connolly
Ira B. Cooperman
Helen Cornell
Dr. and Mrs. R. William Cornell
John and Emily Corry
Dr. Ellis and Bettsy Cowling
Virginia H. Cox
Martin A. Coyle
John and Linda Creech
Christopher and Susan Cribbs
Joseph and Nancy Cruickshank
Barbara and John Cummings
Lindy McKnight and Erin Cunningham
Courtney Curatolo
Laura and Brad Currie
James and Karen Dakin
).
Dan and Carrie Dauner
Dave and Mary Davenport
David Delancey
Jennifer DeLancey
John P. DeVillars
June and Barry Dietrich
John and Virginia DiPucci
Judith and Roger Doebke
Rev. Linda L. Dominik
Lee and Barbara Dudley
Carol McCarthy Duhme
Cynthia Norton and Eagle Eagle
David and Miriam Y. Eddelman
Rivona Ehrenreich
Mr. and Mrs. Hal A. Fausnaugh
Sylvia M. Faust
Norma Ferguson
Rita Van Wie Finger
Jennifer and Rich Flanagan
Lucille and Michael Flint
Shirley A. Flynn
George L. Follansbee, Jr.
Caryn and Henry Foltz
Charlotte and Chuck Fowler
Barbara Fox
Zetta and Ken Fradin
Joanne Fuller
Louise Farnsley Gardner
vic and Joan Gelb
Marc Geller
Barbara and Peter Georgescu
William and Nancy Gerdes
Christopher and Helena Gibbs
Lauren Rich Fine and Gary Giller
Sherry Stanley and John Giusti
Carole E. Gladstone
Joseph and Toni L. Goldfarb
Karen and Tim Goodell
Ellen and Bob Gottfried
Dr. Cheryl O. Gorelick
Carolyn Graffam
Suzanne Gray
Rodney Schlaffman Greenberg
Elizabeth Greene
Don and Kathy Greenhouse
Fred and Judy Gregory
Kent I. and Fredrika S. Groff
Elisabeth and Jim Groninger
Carl Grunfeld
Travis and Betty Halford
Murray and Pegi Hamner
Mr. and Mrs. James Pryor Hancock
Kathleen E. Hancock
Judith L. Hanson
Walter and Joan Harf
Terrie Hauck
Paula and Ray Hecker
William and Anne Mischakoff Heiles
George Herchenroether
Dorothy and Bill Hill
Mr. D. Armour Hillstrom
Patricia and Robert Hirt
Sally L. Holder
Anita and Sidney Holec
Bob Hopper
Kathleen Howard
Cheryl S. and Carl W. Huber, Jr.
Pat and Jay Hudson
Gale H. Hurst
Don and Mary Hustead
Mr. and Mrs. Wilmot W. Irish
Mary Ellen and Robert Ivers
Bob and Gretchen Jahrling
Lois Johnston Walpole James
Catherine Jarjisian
Karin A. Johnson
Lucille Jordan
David and Nan Jubell
John F. and Mary Giegengack Jureller
Jeannette Kahlenberg
Norman and Nancy Karp
Bill and Martha Karslake
Evelyn Kasle
Judy and Leonard Katz
Naomi and Charles Kaufman
Joan Keogh
Jane and Chaz Kerschner
Patricia L. King
William M. Kinley
Bob and Priscilla Kirkpatrick
Joan G. Kissner
Audrey and Kenny Koblitz
Donna and Stewart Kohl
W.R. Konneker
Chuck and Peg Korte
Robert S. Kravitz, DDS
Judy and Jim Kullberg
Philip A. Kuster
Robert and Nancy Kyler
Robert D. Lang
Joseph and Judy Langmead
Robert E. and Susan Laubach
Barbara Widrig Lee
CiCi and Owen Lee
Eileen and Marty Leinwand
Ronald and Barbara Leirvik
Clare Levin
George Levine
Kathryn Lincoln
Mr. and Mrs. Herbert W. Lind
Natalie Kahn Lipsett
Fred and Pearl Livingstone
Kay H. Logan
Paul and Anne Luchsinger
Jeannette Ludwig and Claude Welch
Linda and Saul Ludwig
James H. Lynch, Jr.
Betty and Sid Lyons
Flora and Ross Mackenzie
Barbara Mackey
Robert L. and Jean A. Major
Dorothea and Gerald Maloney
Jane and Deac Manross
Alison and Craig Marthinsen
Salvatore and Mary Martoche
Mrs. Patricia L. Maue
Jack and Yvonne McCredie
Pat and Griff McDonald
Geraldine McElree
Dr. and Mrs. Robert E. McKee
Susan McKee and Hal Simmons
Robert J. and Carol G. McKiernan
Amy and Pat Mead
Mary Lu Mertz
Don and Alyce Milks
Greg and Bijou Miller
Miriam S. Reading and Richard H.
Miller
Kurt Miller and Karen Williams Miller
Sylvia Lucas Miller
KeeKee Minor
Dr. Steve and Mary Gibbs Mitchell
James and Judith Moffitt
Mrs. Dawson E. Molyneaux
Richard and Quack Moore
Sally Moore
Mary Anne Morefield
Wayne and Marilyn Morris
Mary and Thomas Mulroy
Donna B. Mummery
Cynthia and Robert Murray
Dusty Nelson
Jay and Joyce Nesbit
Karen Paul Newhall
Dr. Lillian Ney
Constance Barton and William
Northrup
Susan Nusbaum
Anne and Stephen Odland
Monica Ondrusko
Melissa and George Orlov
Barbara Brandwein Painkin
Anne and Jack Palomaki
Mary Lou Cady Parlato
Joseph D. and Susan O. Patton
Edward Paul
Pete and Sarah Pedersen
Rosalie H. Pembridge
Katherine and James R. Pender
Steve and Polly Percy
Ginny and Bob Perkins
Tim and Pat Peters
Mary and Bob Pickens
Mr. and Mrs. W. Stephen Piper
John and Eleanor Pless
Gloria Plevin
Av and Janet Posner
Edna Posner
Jeff and Judy Posner
Sam Price
Barbara Rait
Lois Raynow
Harold and Martha Reed
Kirk and Susan Reed
Sherry S. Reid
Thurston and Suzanne Reid
Leslie and Tim Renjilian
Ellen J. Reynolds
Les Reynolds and Diane Payne
Reynolds
Neal and Linda Rhoads
Charles and Trudy Rhodes
Mrs. Jack Rice
Mr. and Mrs. Richard M. Rieser
Kathleen Riley
Patricia Rittman
Jerrie Hawkins Roba
Philip and Rachel Rogers
Sarah and David Rosen
Annette Ross
Joyce and Richard Ross
Dr. James and Sharon Roth
Marcia and Jerry Rothschild
Dale and Howard Sanders
C. Angus Schaal
William and Jone Schlackman
Edward C. Schmidt
Barbara F. Schmitt
J. Jason Phillips and Sheila Schroeder
Helene Schwartz
Susan B. Scott
Sheldon and Phyllis Seligsohn
Becky Sharp
Mary Ellen Sheridan
Elaine and Allen Short
Suzanne Shull
Elizabeth Wade Siegel
Harriet Simons
Edie and Dan Sklar
Penny and Tom Small
Darwin and Myra Smith
George and Maggie Snyder
Benjamin S. and Anna Fornias
Sorensen
Merritt H. and David S. Spier
Rabbi Samuel and Lynn Stahl
Sherry Stanley
Dorothy B. Stevenson
Lowell and Rebecca Strohl
Lydia Strohl and Eric Riddleberger
Shirley and Donald Struchen
Ann H. and Daniel F. Sullivan
Mrs. Mary C. Swanson
Mrs. W. Wendle Taggart
Joyce Tate
Margery B. Tate
Martha Teich
Stephen and Patricia Telkins
Janet Templeton
Linda and Robert Thomas
Allison O. Titgemeier
Beatrice C. Treat
Susan and Jack Turben
Karen S. Turcotte
Mary Tymeson
Rev. George E. Tutwiler
Mrs. Spencer Van Kirk
Tara Van Derveer
Judith Claire and Robert W. Van Every
Dr. Carol Voaden
Edward and Melanie Voboril
Arlene and Irving Vogel
Nancy Waasdorp
Linda Wadsworth
Laurence and Maria Wagner
Carolyn and Bill Ward
Mrs. Lois Weaver
Jo-an M. Webb
Herbert R. and Lorraine H. Weier
Beatrice Weiner
Linda Steckley and Pete Weitzel
Cynthia C. and Terry R. White
Lee White
Caroline Levasseur and Heather
Whitehouse
Dr. Jeanne Wiebenga
Mark Williams
Dent and Joan Williamson
Jane Foster and Arthur Willson
Mrs. Jean Wilson
Lou B. Wineman
Subagh Kaur and Subagh Khalsa
Winkelstern
Sally L. Wissel
Caroline Young
Robert and Donna Zellers
Patricia Feighan and Stephen Zenczak
Barbara Zuegel
Page 12
The Chautauquan
Spring 2015
LITERARY ARTS
Writers’ Center fosters
supportive community of
aspiring, established writers
By Clara Silverstein
Program Director,
Chautauqua Writers’ Center
Write. Revise. Repeat.
That’s the basic formula for writers
everywhere. During the summer, the
Chautauqua Writers’ Center forms a
lively community to support this endeavor. Whether you’re just starting
to jot down a few ideas or finishing a
book-length manuscript, you can find
inspiration as well as guidance in our
programs.
During the Chautauqua season, visit the Literary Arts Center at Alumni
Hall at 3:30 p.m. Sundays, when our
writers-in-residence for the week read
from their work; it’s a good sample of
contemporary literature being published today. The writers share their
insights about literature and writing
in our lunchtime lecture series at 12:15
p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays.
The Writers’ Center writers-inresidence for the week also offer writing workshops. Topics throughout the
summer include a variety in fiction,
memoir and poetry. Our workshop
leaders, all published authors and experienced teachers, encourage discussion and help guide you through the
craft of writing. Taking a workshop is
a valuable way to meet and share your
work-in-progress with a small and insightful group of Chautauquans.
This summer, we bring Pulitzer
Prize-winning poet Carl Dennis to
the Literary Arts Center Aug. 24 for a
master class, “What a Poem Needs to
Be Persuasive.” A partnership with the
Chautauqua Theater Company brings
in playwright Zayd Dohrn to teach a
weeklong workshop in writing for theater, film and TV during Week One.
We offer at least two writing workshops each week throughout the summer. Special topics in prose include
writing about family photographs with
Kristin Kovacic (Week One), spiritual
autobiography with Ari L. Goldman
(Week Seven) and humor writing with
Lori Jakiela (Week Eight). In poetry,
Gabriel Welsch explores the use of time
in poetry (Week Two), Marjory Wentworth uses the news as inspiration
(Week Four) and Joan Murray explores
“Quicksand Poems: Politics, Religion,
Sex Secrets” (Week Five). For more
experienced poets, Rick Hilles leads a
two-week advanced workshop Weeks
Six and Seven. During Week Nine, Joe
Kita leads a class on a different aspect
of writing each day. Take one or many
of our workshops during the summer.
We welcome your visit to the Literary Arts Center at Alumni Hall to hear
our authors read from their work, talk
about their literary passions, and share
their expertise in their workshops. For
a full listing of our programs, see the
Special Studies catalog or visit our
website, writers.ciweb.org.
2 015 W R ITER S’ CENTER WO R K SH O P S
All workshops meet on the second floor of the Literary Arts Center at Alumni
Hall. Register through Special Studies, call the Ticket Office at 716-357-6250 or
visit chqtickets.com. Writer biographies and course descriptions are available
online at writers.ciweb.org.
Week One · 6/29–7/3
Prose: Kristin Kovacic, “What You Can’t See in This Picture: Unpacking
Family Photographs”
Poetry: Chard deNiord, “Telling Secrets to Yourself”
Playwriting Workshop: Zayd Dohrn, “The Great American Drama: Writing
for Theater, Film, and TV”
Week Two · 7/6–7/10
Prose: J. David Stevens, “From Notion to Narrative: Finding the Right Form”
Poetry: Gabriel Welsch, “Writing Time”
Week Three · 7/13–7/17
Prose: Lynne Griffin, “At Stake: Building Tension in Fiction”
Poetry: Danielle Legros Georges, “Poetic Forms: Familiar and Foreign”
Week Four: 7/20–7/24
Prose: Jay Stetzer, “The Craft of the Oral Tradition”
Poetry: Marjory Wentworth, “Beyond the Headlines”
Week Five: 7/27–7/31
Prose: Susan Choi, “The Role of Place”
Poetry: Joan Murray, “Quicksand Poems: Politics, Religion, Sex, Secrets”
Week Six: 8/3–8/7
Prose: Nancy Reisman, “Telling Detail: How to Catch the Ephemeral”
Advanced Poetry Workshop (8/3, 8/5, 8/7): Rick Hilles, “Invigorated Visions
& Revisions”
Week Seven: 8/10–8/14
Prose: Ari L. Goldman, “Searching for Your Soul Through Writing”
Poetry: Laura Kasischke, “Tapping the Well”
Advanced Poetry Workshop (8/10, 8/12, 8/14): Rick Hilles, “Invigorated
Visions & Revisions”
Week Eight: 8/17–8/21
Prose: Lori Jakiela, “A Writer Walks Into a Bar: Humor Writing”
Poetry: Michael Waters and Mihaela Moscaliuc, “The Poetic Sequence”
Week Nine: 8/24–8/28
Prose: Joe Kita, “Be the Writer You’ve Dreamed of Being”
Poetry: Carl Dennis, “What a Poem Needs to be Persuasive”
Literary Arts Friends continue, expand events for Chautauqua authors
By Fred Zirm
Chautauqua Literary Arts Friends
In the winter issue of The Chautauquan, I tried to give an overview of all
the activities sponsored by the Chautauqua Literary Arts Friends. As spring
takes hold and summer approaches,
I would like to zero in on two newer
events and one older one that require
participation from Chautauquans like
you in order to succeed.
Beginning Thursday evening of
Week Two and continuing through
Week Eight, the Brick Walk Cafe has
been generous enough to allow us to
hold readings in the Authors’ Alcove
space between the cafe and the Book-
store. Chautauqua writers are encouraged to apply to participate in this series called “The Authors’ Hour.” All
are invited to hear what talented writers we have on the grounds.
An application for this and other
events mentioned in this article are
available on the Institution website.
Just click Literary Arts at the top of the
Institution’s home page and then select
Literary Arts Friends — or go to the
page directly at ciweb.org/literary-arts/
literary-arts-friends.
On Sunday, July 19, the Friends
will work with the Writers’ Center in
sponsoring the first Authors Among
Us Book Fair on Bestor Plaza from
noon to 3 p.m. If you have written and
published a book of literature (poetry,
fiction, drama or creative nonfiction/
memoir), please apply to be part of this
inaugural event.
Finally, the Friends and the Institution’s Department of Education will
again hold the annual Robert Pinsky
Favorite Poem Project on Tuesday, Aug.
4. At that time, selected Chautauquans
will have the chance to read their favorite poem at the Hall of Philosophy
and explain why it has become so dear
to them. This project will be doubly
meaningful this year since Pinsky will
be visiting Chautauqua earlier in the
season. Let us know if you would like
to be a reader by filling out the application on the Institution website.
With your support and participation, all the events listed above will
thrive in addition to our regular Sunday lemonade social and Open Mic,
our Tuesday informal critiques after
the poetry Brown Bag, our Dinner with
Friends event on July 5 and the Literary
Arts Contest for writers of all ages.
Please consider helping underwrite
our full calendar and become a member of the Chautauqua Literary Arts
Friends by using the application, also
on the Institution website. Your membership will be greatly appreciated and
you will then be invited to attend a special members-only reception for former
poet laureate Pinsky on Friday, July 3.
CLSC Recognition Day advances, begins family traditions at Chautauqua
By Dick Karslake
CLSC Alumni Association
Last year at the Old First Night celebration in the Amphitheater, I found
myself talking with a young member
of Boys’ and Girls’ Club whose family I know very well. Unfortunately, it
wasn’t until the moment had passed
that I realized that I had known, greatly respected and had fond memories
of his great-grandfather. Had I mentioned it during our conversation, he
most likely would have looked at me
strangely as he probably would have
had no idea to whom I was referring. In
fact, the boy’s father also never had the
chance to know the person we are talking about (his grandfather). But, what an
opportunity I had to give this lad some
pride in his family background if I had
offered up some honest and sincere
compliments of this ancestor — a well
known and highly respected member
of our Chautauqua community.
For those of us who are fortunate
enough to have returned here regularly while growing up, this kind of
generational interaction is Chautauqua-common and, if we but think of
it, offers great opportunity to support
and build family and community
pride. As it turns out, there are in the
CLSC graduating class of 2015 numerous individuals who have had siblings,
parents, grandparents, great grandparents, great-great grandparents, aunts,
uncles and cousins who graduated
from this historic reading course. Some
in the class are even descendants of former CLSC directors. This CLSC family
tradition goes back as far as the CLSC
itself (1878). So be here on Recognition
Day, Wednesday, Aug. 5, and observe
this phenomenon and then strike out
on your own to develop further your
own family CLSC-Chautauqua tradition. Join the CLSC, enjoy the traditions
and generational opportunities and
continue your own lifelong quest for
knowledge and human understanding!
Also this summer, the CLSC Alumni
Association will be hosting scholarship
students for the second consecutive
season. The plan is for four students interested in writing to spend one week
(Sunday through Saturday) at Chautauqua. They will be housed privately
with gate tickets provided. They also
will be immersed in taking courses
(also paid for by the scholarship) and
involved in as many Chautauqua activities as possible. These students will be
rising seniors from secondary schools
within Chautauqua County, and these
scholarships are offered in part to familiarize them with what goes on here
at this enclave in the center of their
wonderful, predominantly rural county. Once they gain exposure and an appreciation of Chautauqua, we believe
that not only will the “good news” of
Chautauqua spread throughout the
county but also the odds will increase
dramatically that they will be drawn
back to Chautauqua in the future.
Let the people at the front desk of
the Literary Arts Center at Alumni Hall
know if you would like to be on the list
of possible hosts for one of these delightful Chautauqua County students.
T H E R E N E WA L O F O U R A M P Special Section
Page S1
T H E R EN E WA L O F O U R A M P:
Its place. Its purpose.
The feeling. The experience.
The Chautauqua Amphitheater — the “Amp” — functions as our
community’s most important place for assembly around arts, culture
and worship. Over its 122-year history, most of the Amp’s parts have
been built up, torn down, repaired, replaced and remodeled. What
we see today is the result of decades of changes, and Chautauqua
Institution intends to renew the Amp to meet the community’s
needs for the next 100 years.
The Chautauqua Institution Board of Trustees’ strategic plan, adopted in
2010, tasked the Institution leadership with this monumentally important
responsibility.
Safety and accessibility.
Commitment to history and historic adaptation.
As with most structures of a certain age, it is important to secure the Amp as a safe place
for assembly. Wholesale repairs and reconstruction are required to address some significant safety issues which affect audiences and artists alike.
Our plan for the Amp’s renewal faithfully adheres to its past.
The Amp in its current configuration also presents major barriers to accessibility, especially for differently abled persons and those with physical limitations.
Respect for audiences.
Current and future audiences deserve an Amp that provides a modern-day experience.
Providing such an experience demands significant attention to comfort, access and
sightlines. Chautauquans deserve to experience not only the best contemporary art and
culture, but also art and culture that is innovative and dynamic — all of which require an
Amp with substantially modernized and upgraded facilities. Chautauqua audiences also
deserve an experience which honors the Amp’s traditional feel (e.g. openness to nature,
neutrality and large-scale simplicity).
Respect for artists and presenters.
In order to attract renowned artists and presenters the Amp must be a facility that evidences respect for them and the work they do. This is particularly important for our resident artists and presenters, who use the space many times throughout a given season.
The current Amp’s backstage area is woefully inadequate and even unsafe for artists,
presenters and production crews. Chautauqua’s artistic leadership is unanimous in its
desire for improved performance space and technology in order to deliver the best possible art in both individual and collaborative forms.
Institutional sustainability.
Chautauqua’s vitality is dependent upon its ability to provide an evolving array of programs that meet the needs and desires of current and future audiences. As the centerpiece of that evolving array of programs, the Amp must be structurally and technologically sustainable for the next 100 years. Past efforts to adapt the Amp have largely been
very short-term and cobbled together, and it is important to renew the Amp in a way that
is long-term and comprehensive.
Financial sustainability requires that we increase seating and standing capacity both in
an absolute sense but also by not compromising existing seating during inter-arts performances or when it rains.
Plans for a renewed Amp are the subject of much discussion. To
put these plans and the dialogue into perspective, it is important to
remember the reasons for an Amp renewal project.
That past is a story of a very modest, large utilitarian structure that has been frequently
and practically mended and repaired, decade after decade, for over a century. Its various forms and functions have been adapted, replaced or modified in support of program changes and basic upkeep needs.
The Amp’s neutrality, openness to nature and large-scale simplicity has led to frequent
and non-strategic maintenance, repair and adaptation year after year. But the piecemeal
and reactive response to maintaining the structural health of this facility has taken its toll.
Decade after decade, the community and audiences easily accepted whatever change
to the Amp’s stage, roof or audience space occurred. They did not then, and — with the
proposed, more comprehensive Amp renewal being planned — will not in the future
experience change or loss to what is important, what is sacred, and what matters most
about assembling as a community in this Amp.
What matters most? It is simply this: the destination, the location — the place.
This place is unchanged and has remained that unique place of assembly for nearly 140
years of Chautauqua history. It will still be that same historical, familiar and memory-rich
location when the renewal of the Amp is completed.
The constancy of the location — the place — and the ongoing commitment to the mission-based content audiences experience in that place — the purpose — both remain
intact.
The history, the memories, the moments of individual reflection and collective jubilation remain. As we preserve that history and those memories, we also look forward to
cherishing the new memories we will soon be able to create in an Amphitheater that is
renewed, structurally sound, accessible and ready to support a future of what we value:
a program that is reflective of our purpose, that is challenging, and that is rich in quality
and thought.
For more about Chautauqua’s working design proposal for the Amp renewal
project, visit Page S4 of this special section and ciweb.org/amp-project
W H ER E W E A R E N O W:
N E X T ST EPS:
Working with the National Park Service.
Continuing our work with the Chautauqua community.
In response to concerns expressed by preservation proponents and regional preservation groups, Chautauqua Institution requested the National Park Service’s assessment
and technical assistance in reviewing current project plans for the Chautauqua Amphitheater. The NPS review of the project was made in the context of Chautauqua’s longheld federal designation as a National Historic Landmark District — a designation conferred by the Department of the Interior. Though the Amp itself is not a landmark, it is
certainly one of the most important contributing structures to our NHL District.
This coming season, Chautauqua Institution will hold a series of community engagement
sessions on the Amphitheater renewal project. These sessions will be designed to listen
to concerns and answer questions, and to educate attendees on the current state of
the structure, the history of changes and modifications throughout its 122 years and the
Institution’s proposed design. Attendees will be encouraged to ask questions and offer
input, and their contributions will be recorded and reported out to the public.
In March, National Park Service representatives conducted a two-day, on-site inspection
of the Chautauqua Institution grounds, including a hands-on review of the Amphitheater
structure and its context within the district. A full report from their visit is available at
ciweb.org/amp-project. Among the NPS recommendations:
• Continued identification of the Amphitheater’s “character-defining qualities,” along
with a determination of how those qualities might be preserved.
• Retention of an independent structural engineer to fully examine and clearly
identify the Amphitheater’s structural challenges, to understand its current status, if
the plan was not undertaken.
In response, the Institution has:
• Convened an advisory panel of key professionals with strong backgrounds in
architecture and historic preservation.
• Retained the services of an independent structural engineering firm that has
expertise in historic buildings.
The sessions will take place on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays all through the season:
MONDAYS
WEDNESDAYS
FRIDAYS
In-person, in-depth tour
of current Amphitheater
facility, including attic
space, back-of-house,
stage and seating bowl
45 minutes
Session on the structural
history of the Amp,
the challenges (and
sometimes perils) of
presenting there, and the
process that led to the
current design proposal,
followed by community
dialogue and Q-and-A
60 minutes
Community dialogue and
input through breakout
groups on aspects of the
Amphitheater project,
followed by reports from
each and general dialogue and Q-and-A
60 minutes
All recorded input will feed into materials the Chautauqua Institution Board of Trustees will
consider at its Aug. 29 meeting, when the Amphitheater project is scheduled for a vote.
“We recognize your strong commitment to preserving and maintaining the Chautauqua NHL District, and the
extensive and high-quality programming that is critical to maintaining a successful and on-going community.”
—Bonnie Halda, Chief of Preservation Assistance, National Park Service • April 2015 report to Chautauqua President Tom Becker
T H E R E N E WA L O F O U R A M P Page S2
Special Section
Images courtesy of Chautauqua Institution Archives
FROM WOOD TO STEEL. Above, the original Amphitheater structure on the current
site, which stood from 1879 to 1892. At right is the current Amphitheater shortly after its
construction in 1893, with the original thrust stage meant for sermons and lectures.
The Chautauqua Amphitheater: Continuity and
A
BY J O N S C H M ITZ, A RCH IVIST A N D H ISTO RI A N
t the center of this and every chautauqua there is a platform, around which the
whole chautauqua community assembles. In today’s world we each go to our
own space from which to look at the world — our own websites, our own books
and television shows. But, at Chautauqua, people gather in one place, one physical place to experience and learn, not alone, but as a community. No matter what else
separates them, they come together by sharing a common experience together. This is
why the Amphitheater, a facility inherited from the old camp meetings and still serving a
need today, stands at the heart of Chautauqua’s past, present and future identity, and why
it is so important to preserve the unique look, feel, function and experience of this site.
The Old Auditorium
At first, the Assembly gathered under the
trees in an outdoor auditorium where Miller Park is today. When it rained, the audience would trek up the hill to fit under, as
best they could, the large canvas tent. Lewis Miller realized that many more people
could sit under the canvas if it were spread
over the ravine to the south. This is where
the present Amphitheater stands today.
The 1879 Amphitheater
The covered ravine became the new center of the grounds; and, in 1879, a wooden structure was erected and named the
“Amphitheater” by one of the first and
best known speakers at Chautauqua, the
nationally renowned Rev. James Buckley.
The sides were left open for better ventilation and to keep some of the outdoor
experience of the tent and old auditorium.
passage to the stage. There would also
be sitting rooms for soloists with a winding staircase leading to the choir area. All
rooms were originally to be connected
with speaking tubes and fitted with bells to
alert performers and speakers, although it
does not appear this was completed.
The Board accepted the plan and it was decided at the summer meeting to take down
the old Amphitheater and proceed with
building the new one as soon as the 1892
season ended. E. G. Leper (also spelled
“Lepar”) of Jamestown was awarded the
contract. Construction began that fall and
carried on through the winter, allowing the
The structure was impressive, more for its
functionality than its appearance. It seated
5,000, although often many more would
cram in as best they could. The acoustics
worked well, except when it rained. The
roof was flat and the sound of heavy rainfall could drown out even the most powerful voice. The roof also weakened with
each winter and after a decade began to
show serious deterioration.
The new Amphitheater incorporated
several significant improvements, giving
Chautauqua one of the finest large facilities for public speaking anywhere in the
country. (In fact, without the new facility, it
is uncertain that Chautauqua would have
continued to attract national speakers so
successfully over the next several decades.)
The real capacity of the new Amphitheater is unclear, since it allowed considerable standing room. As a reporter for the
Assembly Herald wrote, the new Amphitheater “would hold from 7,000 to 15,000
people according to the degree of one’s
imagination.” The Administration claimed
it could hold around 11,000 — but this may
have been a little generous (there was actual seating for about 5,500, depending on
the space required by each person).
1907 Massey Organ addition
The first major renovation took place over
the winter of 1906–07 to accommodate
the massive “Memorial Organ” donated
by the Massey family of Toronto. The organ is still the largest outdoor organ in the
world. It was built by the Warren Organ
Company of Woodstock, Ontario. There
are 4 manuals with 61 notes each, and a
pedal of 32 notes, 18 stops on the Great,
19 on the Swell, 15 on the Choir, 8 on the
Solos and 14 on the pedal. The wind was
supplied by an Orgoblo electric fan that
could vary pressure.
Installing the organ required taking out
and rebuilding the front of the building —
the side facing the lake. The organ needed
to be placed farther back than the original,
and the choir seats arranged on either side
for more room. A fireproof chamber was
constructed to house and protect the organ. The stage was lowered and additional
seats were added around its perimeter.
Unlike the 1893 construction, this project
failed to keep on schedule, and the season
of 1907 was without any organ at all until
early August. But it was worth the wait.
Already, the Amphitheater was nationally known as one of the best constructed
structures for public speaking; now it had
also one of the country’s finest organs.
1921–1964
The next renovation was in 1921. The original stage had been designed with a protruding center, which suited public speaking. But the stage was now being used
more for other purposes, including pageants and orchestral performances. So the
stage was enlarged by a third and squared
off in the front.
The 1893 Amphitheater
The Board met early in 1892 to discuss
renovations, but it was decided that these
would cost nearly the same amount as a
new Amphitheater. They postponed a final
decision to their summer meeting. In the
meantime, a local architect, Ellis G. Hall,
drew up plans for the new Amphitheater.
The plan retained the original width and
location of the old building, but was extended along the ravine — 13 feet towards
the lake and 30 feet up the hill. The central
area of 160 by 100 feet would be free of
columns, allowing a clear view of the stage.
The seats would be replaced with slightly
reclined, solid wood benches. Unlike the
flat roof of the 1879 Amphitheater, the new
roof was pitched, supported by steel columns and trusses, and wooden pillars to
support the eaves. The choir gallery was
built in concentric tiers, with a clerestory
to provide light. There would be a cloak
room for the choir on either side of the organ, and a reception and waiting room beneath on the ground level, along with the
offices for the Department of Instruction
and rooms for the speakers with a direct
work to be completed for the next season
just before the Panic of 1893 might have
caused delay. We have no record of a dedication ceremony, if there was one. (Such a
ceremony would typically be described in
the Assembly Herald, but the Herald did
not start publication until three weeks after the Amphitheater was in use.) The final
cost was $26,478.02, just a little over budget, due to the unexpected expense of
the electric lighting (a combination of arch
lighting with incandescent bulbs).
TWO MAJOR PROJECTS.
Above, the center of the
original backstage area
is completely removed in
the 1906–07 off-season to
make way for the Memorial
Organ donated by the
Massey family. At right, the
1954 stage is demolished
and the entire stage area is
excavated during the winter
prior to the 2002 season.
The backstage area underwent minor
renovations when the new console was
added in 1928, and was completely remodeled in 1954, when the width of the
stage was increased by 12 feet to better
accommodate the orchestra and allow it
to be arranged more easily in a semicircle.
New rooms were added for speakers and
guest performers with space set aside for
the orchestra’s library. The concrete floor
in the back was covered with light-colored
asphalt tile, and new restrooms were installed. The backstage was given a facelift, with new lighting and plywood ceilings
and walls. The roof was sealed, and other
repairs made. Ten years later, the concrete
bowl of the Amphitheater was replaced.
1978 ‘Revivification Project’
In 1977, safety concerns led the Executive
Committee of the Board of Trustees to recommend making a structural analysis of
Amphitheater. The Institution approached
and obtained grant assistance from the
New York Historic Preservation Trust. In
T H E R E N E WA L O F O U R A M P Special Section
Page S3
JAMES A. PARDO, JR., CHAIR
CHAUTAUQUA INSTITUTION BOARD OF TRUSTEES
An open letter to the Chautauqua community
Dear Friends,
As the 2015 Chautauqua Season approaches, I think it appropriate to publicly share my views regarding aspects of the Amphitheater project in general and related board governance
issues in particular. I do so now in the hope it will provide you
accurate information and therefore be helpful to the enjoyment of our time together this summer.
EXTENSIVE RENOVATIONS. In one
of the only photos of the 1954 work to
the Amphitheater, engineer Clifford
Cheney stands with a workman. In the
background is a web of wooden shoring
above the stage and choir loft.
renovation
1978, the Amphitheater’s “Revivification
Project” was begun. By the end of the project, in addition to replacing the existing
roof, “a complete structural renovation to
the building” had been made, including
the “strengthening of existing columns,
addition of steel purlins throughout the
roof structure, complete reconstruction
over the stage and choir loft, replacement
of wooden trusses and beam supports,
strengthening of the back porch and addition of sleepers and fasteners to prevent
ceiling declamation.” Robert Osborn, chair
of the Building and Grounds Committee,
reported to the Board that, “structurally,
we really have a new building.” But while
this was true, the Amphitheater remained
much the same — in the same location,
with the same function, the same feel and
the same experience.
The perimeter of the Amphitheater underwent further change as part of the Revivification Project with the addition of the wall
and bleachers, with further repairs and minor modifications made later.
1996–Present
In 1996, all of the benches on the floor of
the Amphitheater were replaced with new
benches to the same specifications as the
old. This project was supported in part by
charitable donations with the donors being
recognized by plaques on the rear of each
replaced bench. In February 2003, the bottom chord of a roof truss at the southeast
corner of the Amphitheater cracked, causing the supporting column to shear and
threaten the stability of the columns on the
south side. Emergency repairs held the roof
in place until the truss could be repaired
and the wood column replaced with steel.
A similar failure occurred at the northwest
corner in March 2015.
In 2002, again for safety considerations (particularly for dancers’ safety), the Institution
decided to tear out and replace the 1954
stage completely. This, to date, is the last
major renovation to the Amphitheater.
The Chautauqua Institution’s Board of Trustees is the governing body of the Institution. As such, the Board rather than
any other individual or group has the ultimate responsibility
for considering and approving or disapproving any plan that
might ultimately be proposed for the improvement, enhancement, or rebuilding of Chautauqua’s historic Amphitheater.
From the very beginning, the Board has been closely engaged
in the process surrounding the Amphitheater project — a process that remains both evolving and continuing. The core values articulated in the Board’s 2010 Strategic Plan support such
a project, and the Board-approved Promise Campaign announced in 2014 makes such an undertaking the cornerstone
project of the Campaign.
From the earliest conception of the project, the Board has not
only received reports from the Administration, but has provided feedback, made requests, challenged assumptions,
attended community information sessions, consulted with
experts, and otherwise employed a variety of approaches to
oversee a process that it regards as thorough, transparent,
fundamentally sound, and critical to the ultimate outcome.
The Board’s extensive work relating to the Amphitheater project,
while robust, has been undertaken quietly and largely outside the
public view. In acting in that manner, the Board has been guided
by a recognition of, and commitment to, its role as the governing
body within the Institution charged with ultimate decision-making responsibility for any project plan that might come before it in
the future for consideration or possible approval. In that regard,
the Board’s approach has ensured beyond any possible doubt
the Board’s independence and complete lack of predisposition
with regard to any particular Amphitheater project or design.
With that as background, I note the following based on my
involvement in that process:
• This is the right time for the Institution to undertake a
project to address the needs of the Amphitheater. Those
needs currently are complemented by strong leadership;
outstanding artistic, educational, and religious capabilities;
unprecedented financial strength and stability; and a donor
base with the capacity and inclination to act. However, this
fortunate confluence of circumstances will not last indefinitely. Accordingly, there exists some urgency to act.
• The project is evolving and iterative. Consequently, I am not
surprised when new information emerges, new circumstances
are encountered, and new decisions must be made. Design
and other changes have occurred throughout the project in
response to new information, circumstances and decisions,
and such changes continue to occur and no doubt will continue to occur in the future. These changes should not serve as
a source of frustration, skepticism or anger, but instead should
be understood as inevitable and evidence of thoroughness.
• The Amphitheater project planning process was undertaken without any preconceived ideas. Every key projectrelated decision — including the long-term location of the
Amphitheater, the nature of any new or revamped structure, and the construction timeline — has been driven and
continues to be driven by the development of facts and the
gathering of critical input from experts and stakeholders.
This process goes back to the work of the initial Amphitheater Study Group, which gathered community input and
provided a detailed report to the Board in November 2011.
The process continues today, and the process will continue
in the 2015 Season through, among other things, professionally facilitated community sessions.
• The overarching objectives of the Amphitheater project
are entirely appropriate and include:
· Ensuring the safety of performers, staff, and audience
members;
· Demonstrating respect for artists and presenters;
· Maintaining respect for and enhancing the experience
of audiences;
· Having an infrastructure capable of supporting and
sustaining Chautauqua for the next century.
These objectives act to guide decision making around design
elements that will maintain and enhance the fundamental nature and essential elements of the Amphitheater (such as the
openness of the bowl, the nature and lighting surrounding
the roofline, and the spatial aesthetics of the current facility),
improve sight lines, expand capacity under the roof, and conform the structure and space to current code requirements
for issues such as handicap access and structural safety.
• The Amphitheater’s role as the cornerstone of the Institution’s delivery of programming must remain paramount. Any Amphitheater project first and foremost must
support the Institution’s future programming needs. The
process by which the programmatic objectives of the project were developed was sound, and those objectives are
the right ones to ensure Chautauqua’s future success.
MASSEY RESTORATION. Workers labor
inside the Massey Organ chamber on
some of the largest of the organ’s 5,640
pipes during the 1992 restoration project.
• The Amphitheater project’s multi-year planning process
was designed to obtain, consider, and incorporate appropriate feedback from a wide range of stakeholders
— including community members, performers, artistic directors, donors, preservationists, and staff — and, as noted
above, that process continues today and will continue into
the 2015 Chautauqua Season.
• The Institution has retained and engaged with an appropriately diverse and credentialed team of outside
experts to assist in envisioning, developing, planning,
and executing the Amphitheater project. These include
architects, engineers, construction project managers, historic preservation experts, and others.
• The Institution approached the Amphitheater project
from the beginning with an awareness of, and a sensitivity
to, the Amphitheater’s role as the heart of the Chautauqua
community and one of the more prominent components of
the diverse Chautauqua National Historic Landmark District.
• The Institution must continue to be a good steward of
its financial resources, including philanthropic gifts from
donors that it has received in the past and that it will receive
in the future, to remain able to pursue its mission for generations to come.
The Amphitheater project incorporates and reflects a wide range
of values. Those values range from the lofty to the prosaic; from
the universal to the highly specific. Each of those values, on its
own, is valid and worthy, and each has been and will continue to
be considered carefully by the Board. Consensus among Chautauquans regarding certain aspects or elements of the project is
far from universal. And that lack of consensus seems to manifest
itself most acutely either when individual values come into conflict one with another or where entirely agreed-upon values are
weighed differently by different people.
The role of the Board, among other things, is to hear, understand, and evaluate the different perspectives of Chautauquans and decide on a plan of action that — within the
constraints that surround the project — best balances the
competing views while substantially achieving the project’s
fundamental goals. Ultimately, this will require the Board to
make choices — many of which may prove hard rather than
easy and complex rather than simple.
My hope is that all within our community will strive over the
next several months to employ a balanced perspective as they
consider the relative merits of the project as it morphs toward
a final design — by seeking to identify the positive and not just
the negative; by recognizing the inherent complexities and
challenges of the process; and by acknowledging the integrity
and good intentions of the dedicated and committed people
on all sides of the issues that surround this project.
Chautauqua is unique and exceptional. It is a periodic program
around which a permanent community has grown. It remains
founded on progressive notions of self-improvement, growth
and change, yet it is deeply rooted in history and tradition.
Those who come in contact with Chautauqua develop a sense
of passion for it and ownership of it. It is simultaneously both a
communal, shared space and a place of private property ownership and intimate relationships. It is a community where the
only requirement for membership is a desire to join, and where
the forms of engagement are widely varied. It is a place with
such a rich and diverse mix of offerings that no two Chautauqua experiences — whether across years or among different
people — are ever the same. In that sense, each individual
Chautauquan forges his or her own unique experience comprised of intensely personal interests and beliefs, yet all Chautauquans share a powerful common bond.
At its best, this intriguing, sometimes self-contradicting collection of attributes can inspire, inform, and amaze, making
the Institution a place with a unique hold on the hearts of
Chautauquans. At other times, however, Chautauqua also can
unduly inflame passions and lead to overzealousness in defense of individual views and desires.
The debate around the Amphitheater project has seen both
ends of the spectrum — inspired, selfless effort in support of
the community and in defense of important values; but also
skeptical and uncharitable comments both in public and private. The next several months, including the 2015 Chautauqua
Season, present a moment for all of us to pause, reflect, and
then move forward in a manner that exemplifies the best of our
community — to respect the views of others; to give the benefit of the doubt; to assume good motivations of those whose
views differ from one’s own; to temper the tone with which dialogue takes place; and to subject one’s own comments, communications, and behavior to rigorous self-scrutiny.
Neither the Chautauqua Institution nor any individual’s Chautauqua experience is about a particular program, building,
belief, event, or person. Rather, both are and properly should
be about celebrating the best in human values. And so we are
called to revert to the historic norm and act in a manner to
make that real and true not only in the upcoming Season, but
for generations to come.
With best regards to each of you and your families for a most
enjoyable 2015 Chautauqua Season, I am,
Sincerely,
James A. Pardo, Jr.
Chair, Board of Trustees
T H E R E N E WA L O F O U R A M P Page S4
Special Section
A TO U R O F O U R A M P H I T H E AT ER
C U R R E NT/H ISTO R I C A L
WO R K I N G D ES I G N PRO P OSA L
APPROACH FROM BESTOR PLAZA. Keeping the Amphitheater at its current site retains vital connectivity to the other significant community gathering places at the heart of the
Chautauqua Institution grounds, including Bestor Plaza, Smith Memorial Library, the Athenaeum Hotel and the Brick Walk Cafe. On our approach from Bestor Plaza, as now, the
brick walk ushers us toward the Amp and its open, welcoming embrace. The effect is even more striking with the renewed Amp, which reclaims the historic openness of the facility's
western plaza area by removing of the 1981 bleachers.
JUST OUTSIDE GATE 4. As we prepare to enter the Amp’s outer boundary, just as in 1907, we can see clear through the facility toward the Presbyterian House and Athenaeum
Hotel to the south and southeast. The wings of the roof are extended 15 feet on the edges to protect more seating from the elements. The height of the roof’s peak and western
gable remain exactly the same, and, despite the entire structure’s prominent size and surface area, it dissolves into the surrounding landscape as the activity inside the Amp grabs
our attention and draws our eyes downward, toward the stage. Retained in the new design but not seen in this rendering are the hundreds of globe lights ringing the roof’s edge.
DESCENT INTO THE BOWL. We descend into the deepened seating bowl at eye level with the grand Massey Memorial Organ façade, which continues to serve as the dramatic
backdrop for onstage activity. The Amp’s signature alabaster color is preserved in elements from the benches to the choir loft to the beadboard-like ceiling. Code-compliant steps
and handrails provide safer means of ingress and egress, and ramps allow for wheelchair- and scooter-accessible seating at three tiers of the bowl rather than two. The stage itself
has been widened by 30 feet to accommodate Chautauqua’s growing and continually evolving artistic programming, and stage entrances are wider to allow easier access for our
artists and crews and their instruments, set pieces and equipment.
VIEW FROM STAGE AREA. From near the stage, we see that the Amp’s unique large-scale simplicity has been carefully preserved. The curved wooden ceiling is retained and
continues to contribute to the facility’s tremendous acoustics. The distinctive “tree-top” columns ringing the outside of the bowl provide a connection to the Amp’s urban forest
setting, and interior steel columns, fewer in number, echo the Amp’s past while yielding better sight lines for more in the audience. Ergonomically improved wooden benches provide a more comfortable experience, and the similar seating configuration preserves the strong connection the audience feels with the lecturer, preacher and performer.
The Chautauquan
Spring 2015
Page 13
LITERARY ARTS
2 0 1 5 C H A U T A U Q U A P R I Z E F I N A L I S T S | See the winner announcement at ciweb.org/prize
The Map Thief
Byrd
Michael Blanding
Kim Church
Gotham/Avery
In The Map Thief,
readers are taken
into the high-stakes
work of map
dealing, a history
of cartography and
the true story of a
rare map dealer
who made millions
stealing priceless
pieces of history.
Chautauqua Prize
Readers called it
a “page turner” that
pulled them in from
the first pages, and
said that Blanding
“did an terrific job of
weaving together
the history of
cartography with
a gripping story of
thievery, deceit and a
double life.”
Dzanc Books
A novel told in
vignettes and letters,
Byrd is a meditation
on family, the
choices we make
and the ripples of
consequence that
spread out through
the years. Readers
lauded Church’s
ability to take the
subject of adoption
and shine new light
upon it, in a writing
style that is “succinct;
Church says a lot with
few words, picking
her details wisely.” It
is a novel, another
said, with “strength
and power, and a
deft and delicate
touch.”
The Bully of
Order
Euphoria
Redeployment
Lily King
Phil Klay
Grove Atlantic/
Atlantic Monthly
Brian Hart
HarperCollins
The Bully of Order, a
novel depicting the
lawless Pacific Coast
at the turn of the
20th century, tracks
the lives of a family at
the mercy of violent
social and historical
forces. Readers
said that while the
story is “violent,
dark and crude,”
Hart’s “artistry with
the language” and
“exacting, loving
detail,” creates
a clear, dramatic
narrative.
Drawing on the reallife experiences and
writing of Margaret
Mead as inspiration,
Euphoria follows
the dangerously
intertwined lives of
three anthropologists
studying tribes in
New Guinea. King,
readers said, “is not
one to fall prey to
cheap contrivances,”
deftly building
suspense among the
“compelling depicted
characters.” All told,
one reader said,
“Euphoria is a gem.”
2 0 15 C H AU TAU Q UA L I T E R A R Y
AND SCIENTIFIC CIRCLE SELECTIONS
Week Four
Thursday, July 23
Week Five
Thursday, July 30
The Opposite of Loneliness
Station Eleven
Marina Keegan
Presented by Anne Fadiman
The Penguin Press
In the National Book
Award-winning
Redeployment, the
horrors of war take
center stage. As
they read about
characters on the
front lines in Iraq
and Afghanistan,
readers called the
short stories “explicit,
emotional and also
enlightening,” that
they “cut to the
marrow of the warrior.
… Each skillfully
constructed narrative
tells a tale of
emotional, physical
or spiritual depths.”
All Eyes Are
Upon Us
Jason Sokol
Basic Books
All Eyes Are Upon Us
is a history of race
and politics in the
Northeast, a region
with a long and
celebrated history
of racial equality
and liberalism. But
Sokol’s book reveals
the deep-seated
racism in the region,
and a resulting
gap between its
ideals and its reality.
Readers called
the book “timely,
important and
fascinating,” and
Sokol’s research
“clearly presented.”
The Witch
Bilal Tanweer
The short stories
of The Witch
refreshingly
reintroduce readers
to classic fairy tales,
told in contemporary
settings while still
retaining the magic
and suspense of
their source material.
Chautauqua Prize
readers called
Thompson’s writing
“elegant in its
simplicity” and “a
reader’s delight,”
and commended
the stories for
being “gripping
tales, refreshing
our pleasure in
storytelling as an art
that warns, instructs
and enthralls.”
Harper
Interconnected
short stories make
up the novel of The
Scatter Here is Too
Great, a love letter
to the Pakistan
city of Karachi, its
inhabitants and
the often-violent
interruptions to their
daily lives. Tanweer is
a “masterful writer,”
a reader said, while
another described
the work as “a lyrical
meditation and a
brilliant book.”
Jean Thompson
Blue Rider Press
These three titles have been confirmed as Chautauqua Literary and Scientific
Circle selections. CLSC author presentations take place at 3:30 p.m. in the Hall of
Philosophy unless otherwise noted. The full 2015 CLSC slate features 11 books.
More information on all the books and authors is available at ciweb.org/clsc.
Week Six
Wednesday, Aug. 5
(Morning lecture)
Emily St. John Mandel
An affecting and hope-filled
posthumous collection of essays and stories from Marina
Keegan, whose star was on the
rise when she graduated magna
cum laude from Yale in May 2012.
She had a play that was to be produced at the New
York International Fringe Festival and a job waiting
for her at The New Yorker. Tragically, five days after
graduation, Keegan died in a car crash. She was 22.
As her family, friends, and classmates, deep in
grief, joined to create a memorial service for Keegan,
her last essay for the Yale Daily News, “The Opposite
of Loneliness,” went viral, receiving more than 1.4
million hits. Keegan words turned her into an icon
for her generation.
The Opposite of Loneliness, with a foreword from
Keegan’s teacher and mentor, Anne Fadiman, is an
assemblage of her essays and stories that articulates
the universal struggle that all of us face as we figure
out what we aspire to be and how we can harness
our talents to make an impact on the world.
The Scatter
Here is Too
Great
One snowy night Arthur
Leander, a famous actor, has a
heart attack onstage during a
production of King Lear. Jeevan
Chaudhary,
a
paparazzoturned-EMT, is in the audience
and leaps to his aid. A child
actress named Kirsten Raymonde watches in horror
as Jeevan performs CPR, pumping Arthur’s chest as
the curtain drops, but Arthur is dead. That same night,
as Jeevan walks home from the theater, a terrible flu
begins to spread. Hospitals are flooded and Jeevan and
his brother barricade themselves inside an apartment,
watching out the window as cars clog the highways,
gunshots ring out, and life disintegrates around them.
As Arthur falls in and out of love, as Jeevan watches
newscasters say their final goodbyes, and as Kirsten
finds herself caught in the crosshairs of a violent,
dystopian prophet, we see the strange twists of fate
that connect them all. Station Eleven tells a story about
the relationships that sustain us, the ephemeral nature
of fame, and the beauty of the world as we know it.
Dead Wake: The Last
Crossing of the Lusitania
Erik Larson
On May 1, 1915, with World
War I entering its 10th month, a
luxury ocean liner sailed out of
New York, bound for Liverpool,
carrying a record number of
children and infants. For months, German U-boats
had brought terror to the North Atlantic, but the
Lusitania’s captain placed tremendous faith in the
gentlemanly strictures of warfare that for a century
had kept civilian ships safe from attack.
Germany, however, was determined to change the
rules of the game, and the captain of Unterseeboot-20,
was happy to oblige. As U-20 and the Lusitania made
their way toward Liverpool, an array of forces both
grand and achingly small — hubris, a chance fog, a
closely guarded secret, and more — all converged to
produce one of the great disasters of history.
It’s a story that many of us think we know but don’t,
and Erik Larson tells it thrillingly, switching between
hunter and hunted while painting a larger portrait of
America at the height of the Progressive Era.
C L S C YO U N G R E A D E R S 2 0 15 S E L E C T I O N S
Seeking readers for 2016 Chautauqua Prize
CLSC Young Readers programming
takes place Wednesday afternoons during the season, generally in the Literary
Arts Center at Alumni Hall. The Young
Readers program, designed for youth
ages 9 to 14, includes a brief book discussion followed by an interactive program
complementing the book’s themes. Programs are open to all youth and reading
the week’s selection is encouraged but
not required for attendance.
Remaining 2015 CLSC Young Readers selections will be announced shortly. To view the complete list, plus a
PDF of the program’s historic book list,
please visit ciweb.org/literary-arts.
The Department of Education
seeks Chautauquans who are writers, publishers, critics, editors, librarians, booksellers and literature
and creative writing educators to be
volunteer readers for The Chautauqua Prize 2016 selection process. In
the spring of 2016, the fifth annual
Chautauqua Prize will be awarded
through a two-tiered judging process wherein each dedicated reader
will be asked to review eight to 10
books, to be read between November 2015 and February 2016. Each
Week One: The Right Word: Roget and His
Thesaurus (for younger readers up to
age 11) by Jen Bryant and Melissa Sweet
Week Two: The Outsiders by S.E.
Hinton and The Crossover by Kwame
Alexander
Week Three: Enrique’s Journey (Young
Readers Edition) by Sonia Nazario
Week Four: Hansel & Gretel (ages 9–12)
by Neil Gaimann and Lorenzo Mattotti
and Through the Woods (ages 12+) by
Emily Carroll
Week Five: Under the Egg by Laura Marx
Fitzgerald
Week Eight: I am Malala (Young Readers
Edition) by Malala Yousafzai
Week Nine: Counting by 7s by Holly
Goldberg Sloan
nominated book will be evaluated
by three reviewers, with the final
selection made by a three-member,
independent, anonymous jury.
Those interested and who meet
the criteria should contact Sherra
Babcock, vice president and Emily and Richard Smucker Chair for
Education, at [email protected].
She will host instructional meetings during the summer and a conference call in the fall. More information on the prize is available at
ciweb.org/prize.
The Chautauquan
Page 14
Spring 2015
MUSIC
Logan Chamber Music Series
2 015 SE A SO N
4 p.m. Mondays • Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall
Tickets for the Logan Chamber Music Series are no longer distributed at the
Colonnade on Monday mornings. All chamber music concerts are open-seating.
June 29
July 6
July 13
July 20
July 27
Aug. 3
Aug. 10
Aug. 17
Aug. 24
The Rose Ensemble
Music Festival Faculty Quartet
Vienna Piano Trio
Chautauqua Quartet
Chautauqua Chamber Winds
Ahn Trio
Musette Explosion
PUBLIQuartet
Telegraph Quartet
2 015 SACR ED SO N G SERV I CE S
Jared Jacobsen, coordinator of worship and sacred music
June 28 “Let everything that hath
breath …”
July 5 Favorite Hymns of Our U.S.
Presidents
July 12 Hymns Along the Brick
Walk
July 19 Helping Our Lutheran
House Celebrate 125 Years!
July 26 Dancing with God
Special guests: The Rochester
Oratorio Society
Aug. 2 In Remembrance:
Chautauqua Sings the
Fauré Requiem
Aug. 9 Music and Storytelling with
Ken Medema
Aug. 16 The Family of Abraham
Shares Sacred Space
Aug. 23 Christmas in the Americas
Aug. 30 “And unto ages and ages …”:
Final Chautauqua Thoughts
MAKE A GIFT
GET AN INCOME
You and your family want to support Chautauqua, but
you would also like to receive an income for life. We can
do that. It’s called our POOLED LIFE INCOME FUND.
Here is how it works:
• Make a gift to Chautauqua
• You get an immediate income tax deduction
• You receive an INCOME FOR LIFE (or for two lives!)
We are available to speak with you to provide
the details and other strategies that can maximize
the efficiency of your gift.
Yes—please send me information on Gift Planning
Cut out this ad, fill out form and mail back to: Dusty Nelson, Director of Gift
Planning, Chautauqua Foundation, PO Box 28, Chautauqua, NY 14722
Name
Street Address
Telephone: (day)
State
2015 marks the 25th anniversary
of the Chautauqua Community Band.
First organized in 1990 by founder and
conductor Jason Weintraub, the band
has grown from the original 20 or so
musicians to the current 60 to 80 who
join forces for the Fourth of July and
Old First Night concerts on Bestor Plaza.
And this year the Community Band
will perform a special celebratory concert at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, July 12, in the
Amphitheater.
In 1990, Weintraub was a member of
the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra
and conducted a community band in
Atlanta.
“Here we were at Chautauqua, the
most American of places, and there
was no band music on the Fourth of
July,” he said. “It seemed like such a
natural thing to do.”
Though small in size at the beginning, the response from Chautauquans was very positive from the first.
The Community Band was a sure fit
and gave an opportunity for amateur
musicians to take part in the performance aspect of Chautauqua. The size
of the band began to grow as more and
more Chautauquans who had played
an instrument in high school or college
decided to pick up their instruments
and get involved.
“This aspect has been very rewarding to me,” Weintraub said.
The Community Band is a true melting pot of the Chautauqua community.
All segments are represented, including students from the MSFO, members
of the CSO, Chautauquans from on the
grounds, employees of the Institution
and residents of nearby communities
— all coming together to make music
for the pleasure and entertainment of
all Chautauquans.
The band’s concert schedule this
year will be:
•12:15 p.m. Saturday, July 4, on Bestor
Plaza (in the Amp if rain)
• 2:30 p.m. Sunday, July 12, in the Amphitheater
•12:15 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4 (Old First
Night), on Bestor Plaza (in the Amp
if rain)
Once again the Chautauqua Community Band will bring patriotism,
tradition and community spirit to
Chautauqua during the 2015 season.
Mark those dates, pack your lunch,
get out those blankets and lawn chairs,
and come share in the community
spirit with Chautauqua’s own Community Band.
Symphony Partners plan July 20 golf
tournament to honor Whitaker’s memory
Gift Planning with the Chautauqua Foundation
City
Community Band celebrates
25th anniversary in 2015
ZIP
Telephone: (evening)
email address
Or for more information contact:
Dusty Nelson, Director of Gift Planning
716.357.6409 • email [email protected]
Please remember Chautauqua in your wills and trusts
C H A U T A U Q U A F O U N D A T I O N . O R G
By Ellie Doud
Symphony Partners
It is hard to believe in a few weeks
the 2015 season will here. Symphony
Partners is looking forward to another
exciting and interesting summer.
There will continue to be Meet the
Sections on the Amphitheater back
porch after the some of concerts and
the ever-popular and stimulating Meet
the CSO Musicians Brown Bags on
several Fridays in Smith Wilkes Hall.
The members-only CSO Open Rehearsal/Picnic will be July 8 at Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall. This will also be
the time when Symphony Partners
members will have the opportunity to
welcome Rossen Milanov.
Monday, July 20, will give Partners members a wonderful chance to
participate in some way in the Mary
Whitaker Memorial Golf Tournament.
The purpose of Symphony Partners
is to provide opportunities for the audience and Chautauqua Symphony
musicians to interact on a personal
level through the many events being
offered. Membership continues to be
$10 for an individual and $20 for a family. The mailing address is PO Box 751,
Chautauqua NY, 14722.
Camp offers musical summer for young musicians
For the past seven seasons, the
Chautauqua Band/Orchestra Camp
for middle grades has offered a musical experience for young instrumentalists entering grades 6 through 9. Now
on the books is the 2015 program, and
it’s time to plan for a wonderful musical summer.
According to camp director Peter
Lindblom, the camp offers many exciting and valuable musical experiences
for the middle school- and high schoolaged instrumental student. Lindblom
is assistant principal trumpet with the
Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra and
instrumental music instructor in the
Jamestown, N.Y., public schools.
A new high school chamber music
program was added in 2014, and it will
continue this year. It is open to high
school wind players. If enrollment is
strong enough, these musicians will
participate in a full-orchestra as well.
This year’s camp will be held during Week Eight of the Chautauqua Season, Aug. 17 to 22, culminating with a
concert in Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall. The
camp will once again have the availability of the Institution’s School of
Music facilities. Tuition is $200 before
June 15, 2015, and $220 thereafter.
A typical day for both programs begins at 9 a.m. with band and orchestra
rehearsals led by conductors Donna
Davis, string teacher and Suzuki coordinator from Dallas, Texas, and Terry
Bacon of the Churchville-Chili (New
York) school district. Following a lunch
break, which includes recreational activities, the band and orchestra will
resume rehearsals in smaller sectionals and larger groups. The day ends
around 3 p.m.
The jazz program for high school
students will be under the direction of
John Cross, Chautauqua County music
educator and renowned jazz performer.
The orchestra program is open
to string players entering grades 7
through 12. Exceptions for younger
players will be made based on experience. The jazz program is available to
interested wind and rhythm section
players in grades 9 through 12. The
middle school band camp is for band
instrumentalists entering grades 6
through 9.
For more about the Chautauqua Band/Orchestra Camp, contact
Lindblom at [email protected] or
716-661-0557, or visit chautauquamusiccamps.org.
The Chautauquan
Spring 2015
Page 15
SYMPHONY
2015 CHAUTAUQUA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SEASON
Thursday, July 2 — 8:15 p.m.
Rossen Milanov, conductor
Alexander Gavrylyuk, piano
Rainbow Body...........................................................................Christopher Theofanidis
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43..............................Sergei Rachmaninoff
Enigma Variations, Op. 36: IX. “Nimrod” Moderato.............................Edward Elgar
Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14...................................................................Hector Berlioz
Saturday, July 4 — 8 p.m. — Pops Concert: Independence Day Celebration
Stuart Chafetz, guest conductor
Mike Eldred, tenor
Tuesday, July 7 — 8:15 p.m. — Into the Music No. 1: “A Visit to the Museum”
Rossen Milanov, conductor
Alexander Gavrylyuk, piano
Pictures at an Exhibition............................................. Modest Mussorgsky (arr. Ravel)
Thursday, July 9 — 8:15 p.m.
Rossen Milanov, conductor
Daniel Bernard Roumain, violin
Marc Bamuthi Joseph, spoken word
Fanfare for the Common Man..............................................................Aaron Copland
Meditations on Raising Boys (World Premiere)...... Daniel Bernard Roumain, music
Marc Bamuthi Joseph, librettist
Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman........................................................... Joan Tower
Scheherazade, Op. 35............................................................. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
N E W I N 2 015: I N T O T H E M U S I C S E R I E S
This new concert format aims to not only inspire and entertain audience
members, but to also engage and educate the community about the music,
composers,and artists involved in each program. Maestro Rossen Milanov
will share fascinating facts that give new and veteran concertgoers alike
insight into the music. Community members who want to converse about the
shared experience will be invited to stay for “After the Music,” a post-concert
conversation with Milanov and special guests.
Tuesday, July 7 · 8:15 p.m. · Into the Music No. 1: “A Visit to the Museum”
The series opens with Mussorgsky’s stunning Pictures at an Exhibition and pianist
Alexander Gavrylyuk, who will join Milanov to illustrate excerpts of the work, which
was originally written for piano. These two artists will guide audience members
through listening highlights before the full work is performed by the CSO.
Tuesday, July 28 · 8:15 p.m. · Into the Music No. 2: “The Genius of Mozart”
What makes Mozart so special? From Eine kleine Nactmusik to opera overtures,
Milanov shares an array of Mozart’s music that will delight listeners. Highlights
from favorite concertos will be performed by CSO concertmaster Brian Reagin
and rising stars from the Music Festival’s famed Voice and Piano programs.
Tuesday, August 18 · 8:15pm · Into the Music No. 3: “Exploring Golijov”
Five-time Grammy Award winner soprano Dawn Upshaw champions some of
today’s most relevant new music. Argentinian-born composer Osvaldo Golijov
wrote “Three Songs” for her and audience members will be invited to hear about
this collaboration with Milanov and Upshaw after the concert.
Tuesday, July 14 — 8:15 p.m.
Charlotte Ballet in Residence
Grant Cooper, guest conductor
Danses Brillantes......................................................................................... Eduoard Lalo
Balanchine Pas de Deux
Excerpts from The Four Seasons, Op. 8................................................Antonio Vivaldi
Symphony No. 9, Op. 125 in D Minor (3rd Mvt.)................. Ludwig van Beethoven
Thursday, August 6 — 8:15 p.m.
Rossen Milanov, guest conductor
Antonii Baryshevskyi, piano
Masquerade.....................................................................................................Anna Clyne
Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 16, G minor.............................................. Serge Prokofiev
Symphony No. 2, Op. 17, TH 25b, C minor
(Little Russian; Ukrainian).............................................. Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Thursday, July 16 — 8:15 p.m.
Rossen Milanov, conductor
Brian Reagin, violin
Andrew Borba, stage director for Ellis Island
Chautauqua Theater Company Conservatory actors
Theme from “Schindler’s List”..............................................................John Williams
The Firebird: Suite (1919 version)............................................................Igor Stravinsky
Ellis Island.......................................................................................................Peter Boyer
Saturday, August 8 — 8:15 p.m. — Opera Pops Concert
Stuart Chafetz, guest conductor
Chautauqua Opera Apprentice and Studio Artists
Saturday, July 18 — 8:15 p.m. — Opera Highlights Concert
James Meena, guest conductor
Chautauqua Opera Apprentice and Studio Artists
Thursday, July 23 — 8:15 p.m.
Rossen Milanov, conductor
Roberto Plano, piano
Concerto in E-flat (Dumbarton Oaks).................................................Igor Stravinsky
Piano Concerto, Op. 54, A minor.................................................... Robert Schumann
Symphony No. 7, Op. 92, A major.......................................... Ludwig van Beethoven
Saturday, July 25 – 8:15 p.m. — Inter-arts Collaboration: Carmina Burana
Timothy Muffitt, guest conductor
Marty W. Merkley, director
Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus, Adam Luebke, director
Rochester Oratorio Society, Eric Townell, director
Charlotte Ballet in Residence & Chautauqua Dance,
Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, director & choreographer
Leah Schneider, soprano
Philip Cutlip, baritone
Wayne Hankin, early music specialist and coordinator
Chautauqua Motet Choir, Jared Jacobsen, director and organist
Tuesday, July 28 — 8:15 p.m. — Into the Music No. 2: “The Genius of Mozart”
Rossen Milanov, conductor
Brian Reagin, violin
Soprano and pianist from Chautauqua Music Festival
Eine kleine Nachtmusik (Serenade, K. 525): I. Allegro
Le nozze di Figaro, K. 492: Overture
Le nozze di Figaro, K. 492: Aria “Deh vieni non tardar”
Symphony No. 40, K. 550, G minor: I. Molto allegro
Piano Concerto, No. 21, K. 467, C major: II. Andante
Violin Concerto No. 5, K. 219, A major (Turkish): III. Rondo: Tempo di menuetto
Die Zauberflöte, K. 620: Overture....................................Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Sunday, August 9 – 2:30 p.m. — Audience Choice Concert
Rossen Milanov, conductor
Thursday, August 13 — 8:15 p.m.
Case Scaglione, guest conductor
Owen Lee, double bass
Háry János: Suite .......................................................................................Zoltán Kodály
Concerto No. 1 for Double Bass, F sharp minor..........................Giovanni Bottesini
Symphony No. 6, Op. 60, B. 112, D major.......................................... Antonín Dvořák
Saturday, August 15 – 8:15 p.m. — Inter-arts Collaboration: Carmina Burana
Timothy Muffitt, guest conductor
Marty W. Merkley, director
Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus, Adam Luebke, director
Rochester Oratorio Society, Eric Townell, director
Charlotte Ballet in Residence & Chautauqua Dance,
Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, director & choreographer
Leah Schneider, soprano
Philip Cutlip, baritone
Wayne Hankin, early music specialist and coordinator
Chautauqua Motet Choir, Jared Jacobsen, director and organist
Tuesday, August 18 — 8:15 p.m. — Into the Music No. 3: “Exploring Golijov”
Rossen Milanov, conductor
Dawn Upshaw, soprano
Last Round.............................................................................................. Osvaldo Golijov
II. Muertes del angel (Deaths of the Angel)
Three Songs..............................................................................................Osvaldo Golijov
1. Night of the Flying Horses
2. Lúa descolorida
3. How Slow the Wind
Dances of Galánta (Galántai táncok).....................................................Zoltán Kodály
Thursday, August 20 — 8:15 p.m.
Rossen Milanov, conductor
Horacio Gutiérrez, piano
In the Steppes of Central Asia........................................................... Alexander Borodin
Piano Concerto No. 4, Op. 58, G major................................. Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No. 5, Op. 100, B-flat major ............................................. Serge Prokofiev
Thursday, July 30 — 8:15 p.m.
Karina Canellakis, guest conductor
Tim Fain, violin
Tannhäuser, WWV 70: Overture (Dresden version)......................... Richard Wagner
Violin Concerto, Op. 14.......................................................................... Samuel Barber
Symphony No. 3, Op. 97, E-flat major (Rhenish)........................... Robert Schumann
Saturday, August 22 — 8:15 p.m.
Cristian Macelaru, guest conductor
Nicola Benedetti, violin
Variaciones Concertantes..................................................................... Alberto Ginastera
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (Preview Performance)..........Wynton Marsalis
La valse, poème chorégraphique..................................................................Maurice Ravel
Saturday, August 1 — 8:15 p.m.
Rossen Milanov, conductor
Amit Peled, cello
Pohjola’s Daughter, Op. 49............................................................................Jean Sibelius
Cello Concerto No. 2, Op. 126, G major.................................... Dmitri Shostakovich
Symphony No. 4, Op. 98, E minor................................................... Johannes Brahms
Tuesday, August 25 — 8:15 p.m.
Cristian Macelaru, guest conductor
Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano
Fountains of Rome............................................................................... Ottorino Respighi
Poème de l’amour et de la mer, Op. 19 .................................................. Ernest Chausson
Symphony No. 1, Op. 39, E minor.............................................................Jean Sibelius
Page 16
The Chautauquan
Spring 2015
T H E AT E R
‘Once more unto the
2015
breach, dear friends!’ Season
Chautauqua Theater Company is
armed and at the ready for a great
summer.
“It’s not exactly a military campaign,
but at this point in pre-season, all of us
are ready for action,” said Managing
Director Sarah Clare Corporandy.
The plays have all been chosen,
the company and the calendar are in
place, creative teams are hard at work,
staff and conservatory are making
their travel plans and, apart from the
thousand and one details to attend to,
the company feels (to borrow Shakespeare’s words), “like hounds in the
slips,” eagerly awaiting Opening Day.
With the selection of two exciting
New Play Workshops to complete their
mainstage lineup, the recruitment of
an exceptional company as well as the
programming of several important
opportunities for substantial community engagement, CTC is poised
for what Artistic Director Vivienne
Benesch calls “our most dynamic and
substantial season to date. Not only
am I thrilled by the scope of the stories we are exploring this season, but
I’m equally exhilarated by the creative
ways in which we’ll be telling and listening to those stories.”
The ‘Our Town’ shuffle
Many of you may already have received a hint about one of those acts of
“creative storytelling” when you purchased your tickets to Our Town (and
if you haven’t done so yet, buy them
today!). CTC is literally moving several
rows of seats around and making Bratton Theater and the audience an integral part of the show. “We believe that
this unique design — brought to you
by the veteran team of director Paul
Mullins and set designer Lee Savage
— will greatly enhance your experience of this masterpiece,” Corporandy
said. “A big thank you already to the
Ticket Office staff and our audiences
for taking this leap with us.”
Playwrights, playwrights
everywhere
Brand new stories will also be developing in front of your eyes and ears as
the New Play Workshop kicks off another busy summer. As previously announced, Zayd Dohrn, the recipient of
the next Chautauqua Play Commission
in conjunction with the Writers’ Center,
will be in residence for Week One of
the season. Week Three will welcome
Chicago-based writer Jason Wells with
his political comedy Engine of Our Ruin,
directed by resident director Ethan McSweeny. In Week Six, writer David West
Read brings his affectionate and hysterical romance Afterlove to the boards.
“Listening to stories in new ways is a
great part of what goes into developing
original work for the theater,” Benesch
said, “and all the playwrights in residence this season will be tuning and
sharpening our ears.”
New and returning faces
Audiences are also in for a treat as
a combination of extraordinary new
talents and stellar alumni return to
work with CTC. Acclaimed director
Evan Cabnet will make his CTC debut
at the helm of Henry V. “I’ve been dying to get Evan up here for several seasons,” Benesch said. “We’re incredibly
lucky that between premiering a ‘lost’
William Inge play at the Williamstown
Theatre Festival in June and a Broadway production of Thérèse Raquin (starring Keira Knightly) in the fall, he was
eager to fit in this tiny Shakespeare
epic at Chautauqua!”
Among familiar faces in the acting
company, you’ll see guest artist favorite
Carol Halstead and Associate Artistic
Director Andrew Borba back on stage
in Our Town (Borba’s been “behind”
the scenes directing since 2009’s Arcadia!) and Conservatory alumna Tangela
Large (Clybourne Park) as Esther Mills at
the center of Intimate Apparel.
The 2015 Conservatory will see the
return of two of last year’s ensemble:
Jonathan Majors (Walter Lee in A Raisin in the Sun) and Kate Eastman (Nicole in The May Queen.) Kate will play
Mrs. Van Buren in Intimate Apparel and
Jonathan will take on the titular role in
Henry V.
“Returning to CTC for a second
season is indeed a blessing,” Majors
said. “After a groundbreaking 2014, I
am honored and humbled to have the
opportunity to challenge my artistry
and embrace my civic duty with and
within the Chautauqua community.”
Our Town
by Thornton Wilder
July 3–July 12
Intimate Apparel
by Lynn Nottage
July 24–August 2
Henry V
by William Shakespeare
August 14–21
The New Play Workshop
Engine of Our Ruin • July 17–18
Afterlove • August 5–7
For tickets or more information:
www.CTCompany.org
C H AU TAU Q UA I N S T I T U T I O N • C I W E B .O R G
Community engagement
Last summer, CTC began several
important conversations and initiatives around issues of access, race,
class and culture (at Chautauqua and
beyond), and the company is eager to
continue them and to deepen its community outreach and involvement in
the coming season.
“Diversity, dialogue, collaboration
and access are integral to our mission as
a part of the panoply of arts here at the
Institution,” Benesch said, “and alongside this season’s mainstage programming and its important themes, we are
continuing to find ways to engage more
deeply with the Chautauqua community inside and outside the gates.”
Events geared toward this goal include new post-show discussions on
our mainstage; new inter-arts collabo-
rations such as the performance of Ellis
Island with the CSO (complementing
Week Three’s lecture theme, “Immigration”); the Young Playwrights Project, involving the engagement of more
than 150 third graders from two Chautauqua County public schools; participation in the Department of Religion’s
Interfaith Lecture Series at the Hall of
Philosophy in Week Five; presence and
programming at Children’s School,
CLSC Young Readers programs, the
Authors’ Hour at the Brick Walk Cafe;
and continued ticket initiatives to
bring younger audiences to the theater
and to the Chautauqua grounds.
“Yes, Henry V urges his soldiers on
into battle, but specifically calls them
‘dear friends,’ ” Borba said. “We can’t
wait to be in the trenches of great entertainment and dialogue with you, our
community of dear friends. Once more.”
FCT continues support of those on stage, behind scenes for CTC
By Linda Nelson
Friends of Chautauqua Theater
Members of Friends of Chautauqua
Theater are already planning for a long
list of summer 2015 activities.
Fun activities will begin even before Opening Day. Judith Doebke is
in charge of the “Be a Buddy” picnic
to welcome the tech interns and staff
who handle backstage activities for the
Chautauqua Theater Company. Volunteers to help with the food and setup
are needed. Doebke is also planning a
“Meet the Company” picnic at 2:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 28, where all are invited
to meet our CTC conservatory actors
and instructors. After the introductions
and ice cream social, Jeff and Judy Posner have organized the volunteer “families” for the “Adopt an Actor” matches.
The “How I Got This Job” audition
monologue benefit performance is
scheduled for 4 p.m. Tuesday, July 7,
with organizational duties this year
by Cheryl Gorelick. Jerry Vanim is
planning our annual Producers Circle
members “Thank You” party with
special guest Marty Merkley, at 5 p.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 18. Producer’s Circle is
open to anyone who has been a member of FCT for at least one year, and
who has chosen to take an active volunteering role for FCT events.
An “early bird” treat will occur
the morning of June 22 at Elizabeth S.
Lenna Hall, when CTC actors will perform winning plays from the Young
Playwrights Program. This 2014–15 offseason project involved Chautauqua Institution, CTC, Florida Studio Theatre,
Chautauquan and FST board member
Georgia Court, and two Chautauqua
County elementary schools, with partic-
ipation from our local FCT Play Readers.
• Theater educational opportunities will abound throughout the 2015
season. “Sneak Peeks” will give FCT
members a chance to view a segment
of tech rehearsal day in Bratton Theater before the opening of each play.
Brown Bags with theater staff and FCT
members will provide opportunities
to learn more about the work involved
in understanding and preparing for
each production. Play discussion forums coordinated by Mark Altschuler
will provide additional in-depth play
analysis during each production’s run.
• FCT Theater Support Activities
are designed to provide help to CTC
throughout the hectic summer schedule. Tech Rehearsal Dinners for the
company occur before each production opens. Carol Collins and Allison
Russell will coordinate this season’s
volunteer servers, menus and food
providers. “Set Change Buffets” will
be co-chaired by Joe Sternman, Sylvia Weiss and Janet and Vern Wallace. Russell is this year’s chairperson
for the Opening Night Party FCT will
sponsor for CTC after the 2015 Shakespeare play, Henry V.
Along with food for eager CTC eaters, FCT also helps by providing needed props, finding items to be used for
housing, and serving as supportive
friends to all theater company personnel. Volunteers for FCT events are always welcomed.
Friends of Chautauqua Theater is
open to all Chautauquans who love the
theater. Dues are only $10 and membership information can be obtained
from Marsha Butler, president, at Box
1083, Chautauqua, NY 14722 or marsha.
[email protected].
Spring 2015
The Chautauquan
Page 17
OPERA
Lesenger’s last season will be
most dynamic yet for Opera
By Sara Noble
Company & Media Management Asst.
This summer, passion takes center stage with two masterful operas
based on beloved works of literature.
Upholding our tradition of presenting
“opera you can understand,” both of
our operas this season will be sung in
English. Although we will be sad to see
General/Artistic Director Jay Lesenger
step down from his post at the end of
this season, we think this may be our
most dynamic season yet!
On July 11, Shakespeare’s most diabolical couple meets their tragic fate to
the masterful and haunting music of
Giuseppe Verdi. Verdi had a passion
for the works of Shakespeare. With
Macbeth, he created a dark and brooding world, filled with political intrigue,
murder and the supernatural as Macbeth and his Lady stop at nothing to
gain and keep the throne of Scotland.
Don’t miss this chilling drama full
of vocal fireworks performed for one
night only in the Amphitheater.
A Chautauqua favorite, baritone
Michael Chioldi, returns as the tormented Macbeth, a role he debuted
this season at Palm Beach Opera and
at the Royal Opera House Muscat in
Oman. One of the most sought-after
dramatic baritones of his generation,
Chioldi has sung with almost every
major American opera company. Internationally, he has traveled extensively
in Japan with Maestro Seiji Osawa,
and has appeared in Brazil, Canada,
France, Germany, Macau and Spain. At
Chautauqua, he has appeared in Lucia
di Lammermoor, The Marriage of Figaro,
The Elixir of Love, Cavalleria Rusticana/
Pagliacci, Manon Lescaut, Falstaff and
last season’s Madam Butterfly. This will
be Chioldi’s eighth production with
Chautauqua Opera, and we are very
happy to have him back.
“Dynamite” soprano Jill Gardner
joins us this summer in her Chautauqua Opera debut as the scheming
Lady Macbeth. Gardner is considered
one of today’s great interpreters of the
title role of Tosca, for which Opera News
raved, “In Gardner’s hands, her Act II
aria, ‘Vissi d’arte,’ was not merely a famous showstopper but an opportunity
to reveal layers of Tosca’s character.”
Notable engagements for Gardner this
season include a role debut as Minnie
in Puccini’s La fanciulla del West with
Opera Coeur d’Alene, a return to Toledo Opera to sing Tosca, and a performance as Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly with Piedmont Opera.
With Macbeth, we also welcome two
former Chautauqua Opera Young Artists back as guest artists: bass-baritone
David Crawford as the doomed Banquo and dramatic tenor Jason Wickson
as the heroic Macduff. Crawford, who
sang his 250th performance with the
Metropolitan Opera this season, was
seen at Chautauqua last season in the
role of William Jennings Bryan in The
Ballad of Baby Doe. In 2012, Wickson performed the role of Normanno in Lucia
di Lammermoor as an Apprentice Artist.
He has gone on to perform major roles
at opera houses across the country.
We are happy to have Maestro Hal
France on the podium to conduct our
production of Macbeth at 8:15 p.m.
Saturday, July 11, in the Amphitheater. France has conducted previously
for Chautauqua Opera and the Music School Festival Orchestra, and is a
sought-after conductor at opera companies across North America.
When the Russian country girl Ta-
tiana meets the city sophisticate Eugene Onegin, she falls head-over-heels
in love with him. She declares her love
in a passionate letter, but is crushed
when the diffident Onegin rejects her.
The flirtations of her sister Olga lead to
a tragic duel between Onegin and the
local poet Lenski, Olga’s fiancé. Country manners and city ways finally confront each other when Onegin meets
Tatiana again, now a wealthy married
woman living in St. Petersburg. Will
she run away with him, or honor her
vows? On July 31 and Aug. 3, hear how
the lush, sweeping score of the great
Tchaikovsky transforms Alexander
Pushkin’s social satire into one of the
world’s most romantic operas.
This new production features the
“persuasively expressive” baritone
Matthew Worth as the title character. Worth is quickly becoming the
baritone of choice for innovative productions and contemporary operatic
works. Career highlights include the
world premiere and recording of Mark
Neikrug’s Healing Ceremony with Susan Graham, and the world premiere
of Douglas Cuomo’s Doubt with Christine Brewer. A former student of Marlena Malas’ Chautauqua Voice Program, Worth makes his Chautauqua
Opera debut this season.
As Tatiana, the woman who finally
captures his heart, soprano Elizabeth
Baldwin returns to Chautauqua after
her impressive performance as Ellen
Orford in Britten’s Peter Grimes (2013).
Another former Chautauqua Opera Young Artist, Baldwin has been
praised by the San Francisco Examiner
as “ferociously talented” and is in
equal demand on both operatic and
concert stages across the country.
They are joined by bass Richard
Bernstein as Prince Gremin, who performed at the Metropolitan Opera for
his 20th consecutive season this year.
He was last seen at Chautauqua in the
role of Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor (2012). Past Chautauqua Opera
productions include Street Scene (2008)
and Susannah (2004).
2015 Apprentice Artists tenor John
Riesen and mezzo-soprano Clara
Nieman are cast as Onegin’s ill-fated
friend Lenski and Tatiana’s sister Olga.
Riesen and Nieman were both Studio
Artists at Chautauqua last season, and
we are thrilled to welcome them back
as Apprentice Artists.
Maestro Peter Leonard, former
general/artistic director of Volkstheater Rostock and the North German
Philharmonic, makes his Chautauqua
Opera conducting debut. Leonard has
conducted dozens of opera companies
and orchestras throughout Europe and
North America, including the New
York Philharmonic. His extensive opera repertoire includes a path-breaking new production of Wagner’s Ring
des Nibelungen. We are honored to have
him join us at Chautauqua this season.
Our Young Artists will stay busy
this summer with a series of weekly
Artsong recitals, an opera highlights
concert with the CSO, a late-night musical theater revue, an operatic revue
for young audiences and a big scenes
program onstage in Norton Hall
on Aug. 7. Happily, Maestro Stuart
Chafetz, a true Chautauqua favorite,
returns to conduct this summer’s Opera Pops concert with the Chautauqua
Symphony Orchestra on Aug. 8.
Come help us celebrate General/
Artistic Director Jay Lesenger’s 21st
and final season. Don’t miss a note of
Chautauqua Opera!
M E S S A G E F R O M J AY L E S E N G E R
Dear Colleagues, Friends and Family,
After 21 years as general and artistic director, I have decided to make the
2015 season my last one with the Chautauqua Opera Company.
This decision comes with mixed emotions. The Chautauqua community
has been my second home and the opera company has been the focus of my
creative and personal life for more than half my professional career so far.
But the timing is right for me to turn my attention from administration to
devoting more of my time to directing and teaching and to spending more
time with my partner, family and friends.
I am enormously proud of our opera company — the incredibly high
quality of work we have produced on tight budgets, our amazing and committed staff, our sensational guest artists and the many young singers who
have lent their talents to our community. I am thrilled by the range of repertory that we have been able to produce for an audience that remains supportive and enthusiastic.
My departure is many months off, so I am very much looking forward to
spending this summer with my dedicated staff, including the brilliant Carol
Rausch, our music administrator and chorus master, and Michael Baumgarten, our resourceful resident lighting designer and production manager,
who have both been with me since I started and who continue to bring their
unflagging energy and expertise to opera at Chautauqua.
I am also looking forward to another summer of being inspired and
nurtured by the talents and artistic output of my colleagues in both symphonies, our superb theater company, the excellent ballet, our adventurous art
department, and the young singers of the Voice Program. And I am really
anticipating being back with the Opera Guild and the rest of the Chautauqua
community, which continue to give us all such input, support and affection.
My contract ends officially at the end of 2015. I will spend the fall helping
to effect a smooth transition for the opera company. But before that, we will be
producing new productions of Verdi’s exciting Macbeth and Tchaikovsky’s stunning Eugene Onegin and welcoming our talented crop of 2015 Young Artists.
Opera has been an important part of the Chautauqua community for 87
years. I can’t wait to see what the next years will bring — more thrilling productions and the continued high-level training of young vocal talent — the
two things that Chautauqua Opera does best!
2015
Season
Sincerely,
C H A U TA U Q U A
OPERA
C O M PA N Y
Jay Lesenger, General/Artistic Director
Giuseppe Verdi
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Macbeth Eugene
Saturday, July 11 • 8:15 p.m.
Chautauqua Amphitheater
One Performance Only
Onegin
Friday, July 31 & Monday, Aug. 3
7:30 p.m. • Norton Hall
Concerts with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra
Saturday, July 18 • 8:15 p.m.
Opera Highlights Concert;
Chautauqua Opera Young Artists
Saturday, August 8 • 8:15 p.m.
Opera Pops Concert; Stuart
Chafetz, guest conductor;
Chautauqua Opera Young Artists
For tickets or more information:
opera.ciweb.org
C H AU TAU Q UA I N S T I T U T I O N • C I W E B .O R G
The Chautauquan
Page 18
Spring 2015
VISUAL ARTS
VACI Art Lecture Series welcomes many familiar voices
2 015
EXHIBITIONS
ciweb.org/vaci
58th Chautauqua Annual Exhibition of Contemporary Art
June 28–July 20 · Strohl Art Center Main Gallery · Reception 3–5 p.m. June 28
Gatherings: Contemporary Drawings
June 28–July 23 · Fowler-Kellogg Art Center · First Floor · Reception 3–5 p.m. July 2
Art in Politics: From Rauschenberg and Warhol to the Present Day
June 28–Aug. 24 · Strohl Art Center · Gallo Family Gallery · Reception 3–5 p.m. June 28
Domestic Vacations
June 28–July 26 · Strohl Art Center · Bellowe Family Gallery · Reception 3–5 p.m. June 28
From Clay to Table
June 28–July 23 · Fowler-Kellogg Art Center · Second Floor · Reception 3–5 p.m. July 2
The Circle / Square Game
July 22–Aug. 25 · Strohl Art Center · Main Gallery · Reception 3–5 p.m. July 22
Chautauqua School of Art Annual Student Exhibition
July 20–31 · Fowler-Kellogg Art Center · Reception 3–5 p.m. July 26
James Sham’s “Drone”
July 26–30 · Outdoor plaza between Fowler-Kellogg Art Center and Strohl Art Center
NAKED
July 28–Aug. 24 · Strohl Art Center · Bellowe Family Gallery · Reception 3–5 p.m. July 28
VACI Partners Open Members Exhibition
Aug. 3–20 · Fowler-Kellogg Art Center · Reception 3 p.m. Aug. 4
Melvin Johnson Sculpture Garden
June 22–Aug. 22
VA C I PA R T N E R S S P E C I A L E V E N T S
Art in the Park
Noon–4:30 p.m. Sunday, July 5, and Sunday, Aug. 9
Due to the overwhelming popularity of the annual “Art in the Park”
shows in Miller Park, there will be two once again in 2015. These events are
hosted by VACI Partners, Chautauqua’s visual arts friends group. Sixty artists will have the opportunity to exhibit and sell their works in Miller Park.
Stroll Through the Arts
5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1
Plans are underway for this summer’s scholarship fundraiser for the visual arts, hosted by VACI Partners. Please mark this date on your calendars
and plan to spend the evening with us! Tickets can be purchased during
the season at Strohl Art Center beginning July 2, 2015. Proceeds from this
event will benefit the Chautauqua School of Art scholarship fund.
VACI Partners help students reach
full potential through scholarships
Every summer we welcome a dynamic and diverse group of 38 art students from across the country to the
Chautauqua School of Art’s summer
program. This seven-week program
is intense, with long hours spent in
classes, lectures and working in the
various studios producing a body of
work that is unique to each student.
The students, invigorated by the community of people who share their passion and inspired by the teachers and
lecturers who guide them, begin to
realize their full potential. They leave
at summer’s end with confidence and
a deeper commitment to their work.
For most of these students the opportunity to participate in this exceptional program is only made possible
by the support of VACI Partners and
the scholarship program.
Last summer, through our various
events and programs, we raised more
than $30,000 for scholarships and our
goal in 2015 is to continue to grow
that amount. By becoming a VACI
Partners member and by supporting
our summer events, you can help us
continue to engage a diverse body of
students whose artistic expressions
and ideas enrich the whole Chautauqua community while giving them an
opportunity to grow and mature as
artists in a supportive environment.
Becoming a member of VACI
Partners does have its benefits! Particularly a 10 percent discount on
full-price items in the Gallery Store
at Strohl Art Center, advance email
notification to special VACI Partners
events, free subscription to our VACI
Partners e-newsletter, the opportunity to become involved as a volunteer
at one of our events and exhibit privileges in the annual VACI Partners
Open Members Exhibition.
Now is the best time to join to
enjoy all of what VACI Partners offers this summer. Details on how
you can become a member can be
found at our website: ciweb.org/vacipartners#membership.
Help us make a difference to a future generation of art students by becoming a member of VACI Partners
today!
Guests of the 2015 VACI Art Lecture Series speak at 7 p.m. on the dates given at the
Hultquist Center, unless otherwise noted.
Tuesday, June 30
Kyle Staver is a figurative painter
who has been the recipient of the Benjamin Altman Figure Prize from the National Academy of Design, as well as a
2015 Guggenheim Foundation Award.
Staver’s daily Facebook postings of
works by artists from different time periods and cultures who address similar
issues related to the human condition is
a mainstay of the morning wakeup for
many artists around the country.
Friday, July 3
Peter Beasecker is professor of art
and head of the ceramics program at
Syracuse University. He is recognized
as a maker of elegant porcelain pots reflecting a studied sensibility. His recent
work has concentrated on “carriers,”
dark stoneware vessels holding numerous porcelain cups or bowls. Beasecker
has exhibited extensively in national
and international venues.
Tuesday, July 7
Dannielle Tegeder is a contemporary artist who works with installation,
animation and sound and is also known
for her abstract paintings and drawings.
An associate professor of art at Lehman
College, CUNY, Tegeder has had solo
gallery exhibitions in Paris, Houston,
Los Angeles, Berlin, Chicago and New
York and has participated in group exhibitions at a number of museums.
Friday, July 10
Alison Hall is an abstract painter
whose work has been deeply influenced
by her love of Giotto’s Scrovegni Chapel
in Padua, Italy. A Chautauqua School of
Art alumnus, Hall taught drawing and
painting at Hollins University, where
she also served as director of their program in Italy for eight years. Her teachers’ teachers were taught by the ultimate drawers, and she believes their
spirits persist through her teaching.
Tuesday, July 14
Angela Dufresne began painting
as a budding feminist growing up in
the suburbs of Kansas City. She began
teaching at Rhode Island School of Design in 2004 and has also lectured at
Princeton University, Sarah Lawrence
College and Yale University, among
others. A Chautauqua School of Art
alumnus, Dufresne has exhibited nationally and internationally. She is represented by Monya Rowe Gallery.
Friday, July 17
Lisa Corinne Davis is a painter
whose “subject has always been the
exploration of racial, social, and psychological identity. She … expresses
her personal experience as an AfricanAmerican woman in the 21st century,
and, by extension, that of an individual
in modern society” (P. Hoban). She is
represented by Gerald Peters Gallery
in New York and the Mayor Gallery in
London and is currently a full professor at Hunter College, CUNY.
Tuesday, July 21
Helen Frederick is a distinguished
artist, curator, educator and founder of
the renowned Pyramid Atlantic print
studio. She has served on the directorial boards of alternative art spaces, local and national boards and national
peer-review panels. She is a full professor in studio art at George Mason
University in Virginia.
Friday, July 24
James Sham is a sculpture/installation artist and is currently a visiting assistant professor and Murchison
Research Fellow, University of Texas
at Austin. He has exhibited in a broad
range of venues and his videowork has
been published in numerous DVD periodicals. A Chautauqua alumnus, Sham
has completed residency programs including the Core Program at the Museum of Fine Arts (Houston), Skowhegan
and a Rosenquist Artist Residency.
Monday, July 27
Jack Rassmussen has been executive director at di Rosa Preserve: Art &
Nature, a contemporary art museum
and natural habitat in Napa, California.
There, he oversaw the care and exhibition of 2,100 artworks indoors and out,
and organized traveling exhibitions.
Currently he is director and curator of
the American University Museum at
the Katzen Arts Center.
Tuesday, July 28
Robert Storr is a member of VACI’s
Advisory Council to the Artistic Director and is dean of the Yale University
School of Art as well as consulting curator of Modern and Contemporary
Art at the Philadelphia Museum of
Art. Previously Storr was the curator of
painting and sculpture at the Museum
of Modern Art and was also the commissioner of the 2007 Venice Biennale.
Thursday, July 30 · Hall of Christ
Jim Kempner served as juror for
Chautauqua’s 54th Annual Exhibition
of Contemporary Art and is founder of
Jim Kempner Fine Art, located at 501
West 23rd Street in New York’s Chelsea
art district. His gallery specializes in
contemporary art in all media, with a
special emphasis on prints. He will be
joined by Charlie Hewitt, his co-producer on “The Madness of Art.”
Friday, July 31
Don Kimes is now in his 30th year
as artistic director in the Visual Arts at
Chautauqua Institution, VACI, working throughout that time with his wife,
Lois Jubeck, the managing director. Together they built VACI into one of the
most respected summer art programs
in America. A respected painter, curator and teacher, his work is represented
by Denise Bibro Fine Art (New York)
and has been presented in more than
150 exhibitions internationally.
Tuesday, August 4
Stanley Lewis is a quintessential
landscape painter who looks to the history of art through the eyes of a painter
rather than a historian. Represented by
Betty Cunningham Gallery (New York
City) and a 2007 Guggenheim Fellow,
Lewis is a highly respected teacher and
has been a guest artist in dozens of programs nationally.
Friday, August 7
Mark Boguski is on the ceramics
faculty as California State University,
Hayward. He comments that both his
sculptural artwork and his functional
pottery take advantage of the versatile
nature of clay as an infinitely expressive art material. Boguski talks about a
desire to create objects for everyday use
that impart a feeling of sensuousness,
surprise, and pleasure.
Tuesday, August 11
Julie Langsam is on the faculty of
Rutgers University and is the former
Motto Endowed Chair and head of
painting at the Cleveland Institute of
Art. Her paintings straddle figurative
imagery and the legacy of modernism
in the context of the 21st century. She
is the recipient of a Pollock-Krasner
Award and is represented in collections
throughout the United States.
Spring 2015
The Chautauquan
Page 19
THE ARTS
Dance Circle honors McBride,
shares Views on Pointe in 2015
By Chris Anderson
Chautauqua Dance Circle
The Chautauqua Dance Circle (CDC)
connects the Chautauqua Dance program with the Chautauqua community.
We provide scholarship money to attract the most promising ballet students
to Chautauqua’s Summer Dance program. For the community, we provide
the Monday afternoon Views on Pointe
Lecture Series and Pre-Performance Dialogues, both of which are designed to
increase your appreciation of dance and
enhance your enjoyment of the Charlotte Ballet in Residence performances.
We have much to celebrate in 2015.
First, the CDC provided $19,200 in
dance scholarships! Second, #PattiPride!
Finally, we are celebrating our 2014 programming success with another exciting season. Our Monday afternoon lecture series hit the mark last year with
standing-room-only audiences for a
few lectures.
“Jiří Kylián, Master Dance Maker”
kicks off our Views on Pointe Lecture
Series during Week Two. Jean-Pierre
Bonnefoux, artistic director of Chautauqua Dance, will present a lecture
and demonstration about the worldrenowned choreographer. Jiří Kylián
has served as the artistic director and
house choreographer of Nederlands
Dans Theater for more than 30 years.
His choreography is performed by
dance companies around the globe.
Arrive early for “#PattiPride,” our
Views on Pointe lecture/demonstration
during Week Four! It’s sure to be standing room only as we come together to
celebrate 2014 Kennedy Center Honors awardee Patricia McBride. Karen
Dakin, CDC president, will moderate.
Speakers include Bonnefoux, a Charlotte Ballet dancer and Marty Merkley.
Don’t miss the “The Making of a
Dancer” during Week Six. Prepare to
be charmed by Maris Battaglia, associate director, Chautauqua Ballet, as she
demonstrates the progression of a dancer in the Chautauqua summer program
from young student to professional
dancer in a lecture/demonstration. You
will delight in watching various levels
of student dancers demonstrating what
it takes to become a professional.
Week Seven will be illuminating.
In a lecture/demonstration, “Shedding
Light on Lighting,” John Woodey, lighting designer, will discuss entertainment
lighting design, lighting for dance performances and the challenges of lighting for the Chautauqua Amphitheater.
The Views on Pointe Lecture Series
concludes in Week Eight with “Charlotte Ballet Highlights.” Jim Dakin,
CDC treasurer, will present video
recordings of three Charlotte Ballet
pieces with contrasting styles. A lively
discussion will follow.
The dialogues before every evening Amphitheater performance of the
Charlotte Ballet in Residence continue
to grow in popularity. Throughout the
summer, the audience will enjoy insights
from the choreographers, the conductor
and the artistic directors. You will walk
away with a greater understanding
and appreciation of the evening performance. You may also leave with a smile
on your face, as the interaction between
the speakers can be quite entertaining.
Dance with us this summer and celebrate our beautiful dance students,
Patricia McBride’s contributions to
dance and the Charlotte Ballet in Residence! Your CDC dues help the Chautauqua School of Dance attract some of
the best student dancers in the country.
Ninety percent of the CDC’s 2014 annual dues is going toward 2015 dance
scholarships. Please join us! Contact
Jim Dakin at [email protected] for
more information.
Opera Guild celebrates Lesenger,
continues support of Young Artists
By Virginia DiPucci
Chautauqua Opera Guild
Before long the sounds of our Chautauqua Opera will again enchant us.
Once again, General/Artistic Director
Jay Lesenger has created a spectacular
season! Under his direction, Chautauquans will experience a rich variety
of musical expression through performances of grand opera, the pops,
and highlight concerts along with the
weekly art song recitals.
However, this season marks our final
summer with Jay as he announces his retirement. To him Jay for his magnificent
tenure with us, the Guild is sponsoring
WQED Pittsburgh and WNED Buffalo’s
recorded radio broadcast of Chautauqua Opera’s Amphitheater performance
of Macbeth. All members are invited to
join Jay and the cast for dessert and coffee following this performance. In looking forward, much excitement abounds
for Chautauqua’s opera lovers.
•Thanks to Cynthia Norton’s dedication, Norton Hall’s façade and lobby
will sparkle once again, taking its
place as a shining star in Chautauqua’s history.
•The new “Opera on Wheels” program, with the Guild’s Opera Cart
making its way throughout the
grounds, offers opportunities to ex-
perience opera in à la carte fashion.
•The pre-opera dinners will be available once again.
•Coming again are Opera Trunk
Shows, featuring the work of Sandy
D’Andrade, who designs a variety
of unique outfits that represent each
of the operas.
This summer marks the 55th anniversary of the Young Artists Program,
and the Guild’s commitment to our
young artists is a major focus in our programs, events and projects. Each year,
the Guild contributes approximately
$15,000 toward artistic awards for our
Young Artists. This year, Hale and Judy
Oliver head the Adopt-an-Artist program, and they invite all Chautauquans
to become opera parents.
Please keep in mind that Guild
members continue to make a difference
through our financial contributions
and advocacy for Chautauqua Opera.
We invite all our fellow Chautauquans
to join our opera family. Being part of
the Chautauqua Opera family offers opportunities to meet other opera enthusiasts and participate in all the special
functions and events. Beyond financial
support, Guild membership dues also
provide various services to the opera
company and its young artists. We welcome your input and need your help.
Dance at Chautauqua
2015 Amphitheater Programs
Dance Salon
8:15 p.m. Thursday, July 3
Charlotte Ballet
in Residence
An Evening of
Pas de Deux
8:15 p.m. Wednesday, July 29
Dance Innovations
8:15 p.m. Tuesday, July 14
8:15 p.m. Wednesday, August 5
School of Dance
Student Gala
School of Dance
Student Gala II
2:30 p.m. Sunday, July 19
2:30 p.m. Sunday, August 16
Chautauqua Festival
Dancers with the MSFO
8:15 p.m. Monday, July 27
C H AU TAU Q UA I N S T I T U T I O N • C I W E B .O R G
MERKLEY/MOORE
from Page 1
Nearly all of the current Chautauqua artistic directors and School of
Music leadership came on board during Merkley’s time as director of programming. Through his leadership,
Chautauqua in 2008 became just the
fourth summer music festival in the
U.S. to be designated an All-Steinway
piano festival.
Merkley’s tenure has seen the first
and several subsequent recordings of
popular NPR programs at the Amphitheater, including Garrison Keillor’s
“A Prairie Home Companion” and
“From the Top,” hosted by Christopher
O’Riley (the latter returns June 30). At
his urging, the Mormon Tabernacle
Choir returned to Chautauqua multiple times after decades away.
As part of his farewell season,
Merkley will direct two performances of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana during the 2015 Chautauqua season, at
8:15 p.m. on July 25 and Aug. 15, in
the Amphitheater (see Page 7).
Moore to succeed Merkley
Merkley leaves his Chautauqua responsibilities in the capable hands of
Deborah Sunya Moore, whom Becker
appointed as vice president overseeing all artistic programming effective
Oct. 1. Moore currently serves the Institution as associate director of programming, a position she has held
since September 2013.
“I am excited about the development of our arts programming at
Chautauqua under Deborah’s leadership,” Becker said. “She understands
at a very high level the intersection
between art and education. I believe
that she will embrace this challenge
in a way that is at once creative and
expressive of the authentic characteristics of Chautauqua Institution.”
Moore first came to Chautauqua
in 1996 in an appearance as an Amphitheater guest artist and has spent
time here every summer since. Her
husband, Brian Kushmaul, is the
Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra
principal percussionist.
A percussionist herself, Moore is
also an arts educator and advocate of
performing arts programs for youth
and persons with disablities.
In her new role, Moore will take
over responsibility for all performing and visual arts presentations at
the Institution, both professional and
pre-professional, including the CSO,
Chautauqua Opera, Chautauqua
Dance, School of Music (instrumental,
piano and voice), Chautauqua Theater
Company, the Visual Arts at Chautauqua Institution, all popular entertainment scheduled in the Amphitheater
and the Logan Chamber Music Series.
“I am thrilled to continue supporting the work of our outstanding
resident, visiting and student artists
who challenge us to explore the best
in human values through artistic expression,” Moore said. “It is an honor
to step into the role Marty has held for
past 25 years. I look forward to collaborating with our artistic directors and
teams to uphold the significance of the
performing and visual arts at Chautauqua. Our joint goal will be to innovate and evolve our work in a way that
fosters meaningful engagement on
both a community and national level.”
Page 20
The Chautauquan
Spring 2015
RELIGION
Hurlbut foodservice supports church’s mission Chautauquans
Worship at Hurlbut Memorial Community United Methodist Church
occurs at 10:45 a.m. every Sunday
through June 21 and is preceded by
church school at 9:30 a.m.
Beginning June 28, Hurlbut worships at 8:30 a.m. Sundays during the
summer. The early Sunday morning
worship service offers a brief message,
Scriptures, music and communion. At
Hurlbut we welcome everyone to worship with us.
Something is always happening
at Hurlbut Church. We serve lunches,
dinners, hamburgers and hot dogs
during all nine weeks of the Chautauqua season. All the proceeds from
these meals support our missions and
ministries of the church. Hurlbut’s lunches are served from
11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. every weekday,
providing families, visitors and employees a reasonably priced, nutritious
meal. Thursday dinners begin at 5 p.m.
Even with food prices rising, we were
able to keep the cost for lunch and dinner the same as last summer.
The Hurlbut Lemonade Stand will
be open at 9:30 a.m. Sundays during
the summer. Please come by for coffee,
rolls, hot dogs or hamburgers! Hurlbut
considers this ministry a way of being
of service in our summer community.
The church is now handicapped accessible on all levels, since having a
limited use-limited access (LULA) elevator installed.
We are encouraged that Hurlbut
and the Chautauqua communities continue to show support, generosity and
faithful stewardship.
Mystic Heart Community: In the tradition of diversity
The history of religion at Chautauqua is well known. What began as an
enclave of Methodists in 1874 quickly
became a non-denominational gathering of many Protestant faiths and later
a place equally welcoming to Jews,
Catholics, and occasional visitors of
other faiths.
The Abrahamic Initiative (later to be
called the Abrahamic Program), Chautauqua’s special effort to welcome and
learn from and with Muslims, began
discreetly in 1998 and was officially
launched in 2000. In that same year, the
Department of Religion, with founders
Ross Mackenzie, Subagh Khalsa and
Subagha Winkelstern, also launched
the Mystic Heart meditation program,
devoted to understanding the spiritual
essence of all faith traditions.
Now called the Mystic Heart Community, it has provided a full season
of daily meditation sessions and twice
weekly seminars delving deeply into
traditional spiritual practices of Sikhs,
yogis, Buddhists, Christians, Jews, Sufis, Hindus and the Baha’i faith. Maureen Rovegno, associate director of the
Department of Religion, has posted the
schedule of offerings for 2015, which
can be found at themysticheart.org. All
events are free and open to anyone,
with any level of experience, although
donations are requested to help support the program.
“Our history suggests the future. As
we have grown in understanding and
inclusiveness over the years, so must
we continue to grow,” said Khalsa,
who co-directs the Mystic Heart.
He explained that many of the
world’s greatest faith and spiritual traditions remain under-represented at
Chautauqua.
“We have so much to learn from one
another,” he adds, “and we can learn
best when we are in direct contact with
one another, sharing our beliefs and
practices.”
Khalsa looks forward to a time
when Chautauquans regularly interact with Tibetan Buddhists, Shinto
practitioners, Jains, Taoists and others; when Chautauqua’s reputation as
a place that welcomes all spiritual and
faith traditions has an even fuller expression. The Mystic Heart serves as a
stimulus to that development.
“We acknowledge with great gratitude that for 15 years the Mystic Heart
has taught and made available the
wisdom and spiritual practices of the
world’s religions to those who may
never have otherwise experienced
them,” Rovegno said, “thereby widening the embrace of the Department of
Religion to include Eastern as well as
Abrahamic spirituality and praxis.”
Baha’is plan lectures, gospel music workshop in 2015
The Baha’is have a diverse offering
of activities this summer season. They
will feature two outstanding speakers
as part of their ongoing Martha Root
Memorial Lecture Series, as well as a
gospel music workshop.
One of the highlights will be the return of Van Gilmer, music director of the
Baha’i House of Worship in Wilmette,
Illinois, for a gospel music workshop
August 8–9. This is the fifth year for
this workshop that has been so enthusiastically received that it has become
an annual event. Chautauquans are invited to join area singers for rehearsals
on Saturday and Sunday, culminating
in a concert Sunday afternoon. Here is
an opportunity to learn about and participate in some of the most spiritually
moving and deeply religious music that
is uniquely American.
Our speaker on Sunday, July 12, is
Natascha Yogachandra, who recently
graduated from New York University
at the age of 20 with a degree in journalism and cultural anthropology. A
summary of her thesis was published
in the article “Teaching Positive Masculinity” on The Atlantic’s website. Her
passion for service began as a 7-yearold when she started collecting old
books to send to children in impoverished areas that her father visited in
his travels. When the tsunami struck
in Southeast Asia in 2004, Natascha,
then 11, persuaded her parents to travel there to provide assistance. From
that experience was born the “Hope
is Life” foundation. Since then she has
lived and worked in several parts of
the world, from Thailand to Patagonia,
working particularly with young girls.
In 2009 she wrote and had published
her personal experiences in the book
Spirit of Service.
Joany Lincoln will speak on Aug. 23,
during Week Nine, “Creating Healthy
Communities.” She and her husband,
Albert Lincoln, have recently returned
to the United States after living outside
the country for the last four decades (23
years in France and French-speaking
Africa, followed by 20 years of service
at the Baha’i World Center in Israel).
At the heart of all Baha’i activity is
a spirit of service that inspires constructive social transformation. As a
member of the Baha’i International
Teaching Center, Joany Lincoln provided guidance and resources to communities around the globe in support
of their efforts to develop the capacity
for diverse and inclusive activities. In
this capacity she traveled extensively,
visiting countries in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Pacific. Her
visits were eagerly anticipated because
following consultation she would often bring out her guitar and lead community singing.
She completed her undergraduate
studies in music, and earned a master’s
degree in African ethnomusicology
from the University of Abidjan, Ivory
Coast. She has been actively involved
with music all of her life and maintains a keen interest in chamber music,
improvisation, and composition.
U N I T Y O F C H AU TAU Q UA A N N O U N C E S 2 0 15 M I N I S T E R S
Unity of Chautauqua guest ministers have been selected for the 2015
season. Ministers in weekly order
will be: the Revs. Jack and Susan Eng
Poole, Clarksville, Indiana, with the
Rev. Doris Lewis of Victoria, British
Columbia; the Rev. Sandra Campbell,
Lee’s Summit, Missouri; the Rev. Don
Foster, Hamilton, Ontario; the Rev. Eileen Patra, Livonia, Michigan; the Rev.
Betty Martin Lewis, Sun City Center,
Florida; the Rev. Doris Hoskins, Cincinnati, Ohio; Scott Sherman, Vero
Beach, Florida; the Rev. Gene Lynch,
Stanardsville, Virginia; the Rev. Jamie
Sanders, Pensacola, Florida; and the
Rev. Ron Neff, Unity of Chautauqua,
will speak at the final Sunday of the
season.
In addition to serving as guest minister for the Sunday morning service at
9:30 a.m. in the Hall of Missions, they
will offer meditation from 8 to 8:20
a.m., each weekday in the Hall of Missions. From 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday evenings, the guest minister for
the week will present a lecture on
Unity’s Positive Path for Spiritual Living, to be held in the Film Room of the
Main Gate Welcome Center.
Neff is minister of Unity of Chautauqua and Jo-An Webb, Chautauqua,
New York, is president of the board of
directors. Other board members are
Kelly Mareri, Andy Jochum and Virginia Richardson, all of Jamestown,
New York; Valerie DiCarlo of Westlake,
New York; and licensed Unity teacher
Amy Neff of Stuart, Florida.
to present at
CCF programs
Chautauqua Christian Fellowship
welcomes all to attend our Monday
evening programming for the upcoming 2015 season. We are grateful
to the Chautauqua Department of
Religion for their co-sponsorship of
our Christian-based programming.
CCF events are held in the Hall of
Philosophy from 7 to 8 p.m.
7 p.m. Monday, June 29
Tasso Spanos
Spanos is a myofascial trigger
point therapist with 32 years experience as a pain specialist. He has
studied with Dr. Janet Travell, White
House Physician to President Kennedy. His many presentations include
physician and hospital groups, and
other pain specialists. Spanos founded the Pittsburgh School of Pain
Management and was the director of
the Center for Pain Treatment.
Spanos created the “Feeling Better” exercise video and has led his
exercise class, “Feeling Better,” since
1982 at Chautauqua Institution and
Osher Classes at Carnegie Mellon.
These are therapeutic exercises for
the control of pain and thousands
have benefited from them. His desire
is to be informative and helpful to
those who attend. He will teach and
demonstrate how to get in and out of
the Amphitheater and the Amp seats.
7 p.m. Monday, July 6
The Rev. William N. Jackson
Jackson is a former director of the
Chautauqua Institution Department
of Religion (1984–1989). Educated
at Westminster College, Pittsburgh
Theological Seminary and Princeton Theological Seminary, Jackson
served in Presbyterian churches in
Abington, Pennsylvania, Boardman
and Canton, Ohio, and Flint, Michigan. In retirement, he has served in
eight interim pastorates and as guest
chaplain of the week at Chautauqua
on five different occasions.
A strong advocate for missions,
Jackson has had a far-reaching ministry in interracial and interfaith
programs. He has been an active advocate in ministries to the homeless
and disenfranchised in the churches
he has served. At Chautauqua, Jackson is a member of the two Chautauqua choirs. The author of two books,
Jackson has also composed several
children’s anthems and songs.
7 p.m. Monday, July 20
Gena Bedrosian
Bedrosian is a lifelong Chautauquan who has performed since receiving organ and piano scholarships.
A life member of many Chautauqua
organizations, Bedrosian has sung
in the Chautauqua Choir for over 20
years. During her young adult years,
Bedrosian put music on hold to train
as a physician at University of Southern California, UCLA Harbor General Hospital and Johns Hopkins Hospital. She was one of the first 1,000
emergency physicians board certified
in the United States, and is now retired from a 36-year career.
A member of the Fort Myers Symphonic Master Singers, Bedrosian
performs numerous choral concerts
annually. She performs classical organ, piano, hand bells and sacred
choral music as witness to Christ’s
saving grace in many venues in
New York and southwest Florida.
Spring 2015
The Chautauquan
Page 21
RELIGION
EJLCC offers another full season of programming
In 2015 the Everett Jewish Life Center at Chautauqua will celebrate its seventh year. It is a place that welcomes
all in the Jewish and larger Chautauqua community to gather and share in
the joy of learning and life. The EJLCC
serves as a bed and breakfast with five
rooms to rent and offers diverse programs including films, a lecture series,
book reviews, Yiddish conversations
and receptions. All of the activities are
free of charge.
Our popular series continues this
year with films shown Sunday and
Wednesday each week. Our printed
schedule of films will be available at
the EJLCC and around the grounds.
Watch for our special event “Movie
With a Nosh” featuring a showing of
“The Sturgeon Queens,” the documentary on the history of the famed lox
and herring emporium Russ & Daughters on the Lower East Side of New
York City. A special New York deli buffet follows this showing.
Opportunities for Yiddish conversations will be held on most Thursdays
during the season.
E J L C C 2 0 15 L E C T U R E R S A N D T O P I C S
WEEK ONE: Rabbi Rosette Barron
Haim, associate rabbi, TempleTifereth Israel in Cleveland.
“Strong Women in the Bible and
Their Place in Modern Religious
Life” and “When Does Life Begin
and End? An Examination of
Current Issues of Bioethics”
WEEK TWO: Natan Sachs, fellow,
Brookings Institution Center
for Middle East Policy. “An
Overview of Israeli Society and
Politics” and “Jerusalem and the
Palestinian-Israeli Conflict”
WEEK THREE: Rabbi Uri Regev,
president and CEO, Hiddush.
“The New Government in Israel:
Good or Bad News for Religious
Freedom? (Can Israel be both
Jewish and Democratic?)” and
“Who is a Jew: Israel’s Unfinished
Saga of Religion, Law and Politics”
WEEK FOUR: Norman Ornstein,
resident scholar, AEI. “The Sorry
State of American Politics: How
We Got Into Our Tribal Mess” and
“Coping with Dysfunction: What
We Can Do to Get Out of the Mess”
WEEK FIVE: Rabbi Kenneth Kanter,
associate dean and director,
the HUC-JIR Rabbinical School.
“The Jews of Tin Pan Alley: The
Jewish Contribution to American
Popular Music from the 1890s
to the 1930s” and “We Jews on
Broadway: The Jewish Role in the
History of the Broadway Musical”
WEEK SIX: Rabbi Elyse Goldstein,
founding rabbi, City Shul in
Toronto. “Women are from
Genesis, Men are From Leviticus!
Do Women And Men Read The
Bible Differently?” and “The
Power of Prayer: Halleluyah!”
WEEK SEVEN: Gary Rosenblatt,
editor and publisher, The Jewish
Week. “Confessions of a Jewish
Journalist: Covering One’s
Community from the Inside” and
“What’s So Funny About Jewish
Humor?”
WEEK EIGHT: Mitchell Bard,
American foreign policy analyst.
“The Arab Lobby” and “The
Truth About Israel and the
American College Campuses”
WEEK NINE: Anat Hoffman,
executive director, Israel Religious
Action Center. “From the Back of
the Bus to the Top of the Agenda”
and “When Chicken Soup Won’t
Do the Trick”
Chabad Lubavitch celebrates Hebrew Congregation plans
second season at new house full 2015 calendar of events,
commemorates 55 years
Chabad Lubavitch of Chautauqua
welcomes all Chautauquans to participate in its many programs this upcoming season. Chabad’s events include
daily classes, special lectures, challah
baking, Shabbat, Rosh Chodesh and Tisha B’av services, Kosher BBQs, Shabbat
community dinners, ice cream socials
and Open House Meet and Greets.
At 9:15 a.m. weekdays at Alumni
Hall, Rabbi Zalman and Esther Vilenkin will lead classes exploring the
great philosopher Maimonides and his
work The Guide to the Perplexed, “Everyday Ethics,” “Prayer Re-examined,”
“Talmudic Ethics” and “Kabala and
Psychology.”
At 12:15 p.m. Fridays at the Zigdon
Chabad Jewish House, there will be a
challah-baking class and participants
will leave with ready-to-bake braided
loaves of challah.
At 9:30 a.m. Saturdays Chabad conducts Shabbat morning services in the
Library Room of the Everett Jewish Life
Center, followed by a festive Kiddush
lunch at 12 p.m. at the Zigdon Chabad
Jewish House. This summer there will
be a Shabbat service on the opening
Saturday of the season, June 27, at the
Zigdon Chabad Jewish House.
Chabad will conduct Tisha B’av services at 9:30 p.m. Saturday, July 25, and
from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Sunday, July 26,
at the Zigdon Chabad Jewish House.
The community Kosher BBQs will
be held 12 to 2 p.m. Sunday, July 12, and
Sunday, Aug. 2, at Miller Park (there is
a minimal charge). The balloon man,
Happy the Clown, and a bounce house
will entertain the children. In case of
rain, the event will move to 5 to 7 p.m.,
weather permitting.
This year Chabad is once again
hosting a Shabbat Dinner open to the
entire Chautauqua community from
6:45 to 8:15 p.m. Friday, July 3, at the
Athenaeum Hotel. Additional community Shabbat dinners will be held at
7 p.m. July 10 and Aug. 7 at the Zigdon
Chabad Jewish House. A traditional
four-course kosher Shabbat dinner
will be served alongside the sharing
of stories, Torah thoughts and Shabbat
songs. Advanced reservations are necessary as space is limited. There is a fee
for this event.
Chabad Lubavitch together with
the Hebrew Congregation will host a
Klezmer concert from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30
p.m. Sunday, Aug. 9 in the Athenaeum
Hotel Parlor, where light refreshments
will be served. The Amrom Chodos
Klezmer group from Buffalo will entertain. This program is made possible
through generous support from the
Lippman Kanfer Family Foundation.
Chabad extends a special invitation
to all who have family members and
friends with special needs. Chabad
strives to enhance the Chautauqua
experience in a manner in which all
can participate and feel connected.
Please stop by the Zigdon Chabad Jewish House during our Sunday meet
and greets, or any time, and ask for
Esther or Rabbi Vilenkin so that you
can be personally welcomed and partnered with us to ensure that you and
your family can enjoy our Chabadsponsored activities. In association
with Friendship Circle International,
Chabad looks forward to creating a
community where all feel included.
The Special Jewish Lecture series
will be held from 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. on
July 15, July 30 and Aug. 13 at the Hall
of Philosophy.
The Vilenkins will continue to serve
as religious and scholarly resources on
the Chautauqua grounds for questions
regarding Jewish Law and other Judaic needs. During the off-season they
can be reached through phone at 917364-1013 or by emailing rabbi@cocweb.
org. During the summer they can be
reached by either visiting the Zigdon
Chabad Jewish House at 23 Vincent or
by calling 716-357-3467.
In 2015, the Chautauqua Hebrew
Congregation will celebrate 55 years
of service to the Chautauqua community, including religious services,
social events, educational talks and
a music scholarship program. We
coordinate our efforts with the Chautauqua Department of Religion in an
effort to ensure that our events are
welcoming to all Chautauquans.
Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat services at the lake, from 5 to 6 p.m., are
in a beautiful setting near Miller Bell
Tower. From 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Saturdays, we have inspiring services led
by a rabbi and cantorial song leader
in the Hurlbut Church sanctuary, followed by delicious Kiddush lunches. We welcome back Rabbis Frank
Muller, Gary Pokras, Samuel Stahl,
Barbara Symons and Ron Symons to
conduct services. This year, Rabbis
Elyse Goldstein, Debra Orenstein,
and Alan Podet will join our roster
of distinguished rabbis. Many of our
favorite song leaders will also be returning this year.
We will sponsor two Friday night
Shabbat dinners at the Everett Jewish
Life Center, July 7 and July 31, and a
Sunday evening gala celebration for
our 55th anniversary, Aug. 23. In addition, there will be two Havdalah
services — at 6:45 p.m. on July 11 (on
the lawn of the Literary Arts Center at Alumni Hall) and Aug. 15 (on
the lawn behind Smith Wilkes Hall)
— and a Tisha B’Av service on July
26 in the Hurlbut Church sanctuary.
We will also join with the Chabad
Lubavitch congregation in sponsoring a Klezmer concert on Aug. 9 in the
Athenaeum Hotel Parlor.
This year the Shirley Lazarus
Speakers Series, held from 8 to 9 p.m.
Sundays in the Hurlbut sanctuary,
will feature many of our Chautau-
qua Institution favorites: Vivienne
Benesch, the Rev. Robert M. Franklin, Don Kimes, Marty Merkley,
George Murphy, Jon Schmitz and
Clara Silverstein. The presentations
are always followed by refreshments.
After the program, transportation is
provided throughout the grounds of
Chautauqua.
The Tuesday afternoon social hour
and refreshments program, held
in the Everett Jewish Life Center
Library, encourages social interactions and group discussions, always
including refreshments. This program is a great way to introduce new
Chautauquans to our congregation.
A special feature of the social hour
is our annual student musical recital,
featuring fine young musicians who
have received scholarships from our
congregation.
The board of directors for the Hebrew Congregation consists of Len
Katz and Arthur Salz (co-presidents),
Renee Andrews (vice-president, ritual), Gloria Gould, (vice-presidentm
programming), Judy Farber (recording secretary), Joan Harf (corresponding secretary), Carole Reeder (treasurer), Bob Spirtas and Burt Zucker
(publicity co-chairs), and at-large
members Seymour Bayewitch, Larry
Cohen, Jackie Katz and Eleanor Pless.
Special thanks are due to Marilyn
Neuman, Sandi Zucker, Betty Salz,
Carole Wolsh, and Judy Katz.
Our egalitarian nature and welcoming atmosphere, which extends
to all Chautauquans, are hallmarks
of the Hebrew Congregation. Updated information can be found on our
website, hebrewcongregationchautauqua.
org. Please join us during this anniversary year to celebrate all that the
Hebrew Congregation has to offer at
Chautauqua!
S T AY U P T O D A T E : Sign up to receive off-season updates from Chautauqua at ciweb.org/e-newsletter
Page 22
The Chautauquan
Spring 2015
COMMUNITY
Excited to serve as Fund co-chairs, Nowosielski,
Lutz encourage new volunteers to join the team
Thanks to the generosity of hundreds of individuals, foundations and
corporate partners who annually invest in the Chautauqua experience,
the Chautauqua Fund has continued
to see successive growth and recordbreaking results. In fact, 2014 marked
the 23rd consecutive year of increased
giving to the Chautauqua Fund. Since
2012, Jack and Yvonne McCredie of
Alameda, California, have been at the
helm of this effort as co-chairs of the
Chautauqua Fund. Their commitment
and passion have inspired the advocacy of dozens of volunteers, as well as
members of the community who have
joined them in supporting Chautauqua with a gift to the annual fund.
Serving as honorary co-chairs in the
year ahead, the McCredies will pass the
torch to incoming co-chairs of the 2015
Chautauqua Fund, Cathy Nowosielski
and Jeff Lutz. Tina Downey, director
of the Chautauqua Fund, recently welcomed the couple to this role.
“I am so pleased that Cathy and
Jeff have agreed to serve Chautauqua
in this capacity,” Downey said. “Their
clear passion for this place and its ide-
als — coupled with their strength of
commitment and leadership — will be
of great benefit to this community.
“I would also like to sincerely thank
Yvonne and Jack for diligently leading
our team over the past three years, and
for their ongoing guidance as we all
work together in strengthening Chautauqua’s annual delivery of a superb
program.”
Nowosielski is a physician, board
certified in internal medicine, currently working as a hospital chaplain in
the Detroit area. She has volunteered
for several cultural and educational institutions in Michigan — including the
Grosse Pointe Academy, the Michigan
Science Center, United Way for Southeastern Michigan, Detroit Institute of
the Arts and the University of Michigan — and has been in a leadership
role during several fundraising campaigns. At Chautauqua, Nowosielski
also serves on the board of trustees of
Chautauqua Catholic Community.
Lutz is a longtime partner in Deloitte Consulting’s health care practice.
He has contributed to the community through active roles with various
southeastern Michigan educational
and cultural institutions, serving on
several advisory boards at the University of Michigan and the boards of
a local college and two Catholic high
schools, the archdiocesan newspaper
and Polish Seminary.
Nowosielski and Lutz will be spending their 19th summer in Chautauqua
this year, and have recently purchased
a home on the grounds. They have two
grown sons, Andrew and Ryan, and
enjoy spending time in Marco Island,
Florida, during the winter season.
“The annual fund really is critical.
It is the primary stopgap measure to
keep this place going,” Lutz said. “Every dollar and donation counts. The
gate pass couldn’t possibly cover all
you get at Chautauqua.”
The 2015 Chautauqua Fund goal is
$3.85 million, which provides the main
source of philanthropy toward the Institution’s operating budget. The Chautauqua Fund also makes up approximately 22 percent of the overall Promise
Campaign, and is vital to supporting
the full range of programs and activities experienced each year at Chautau-
Cathy Nowosielski and Jeff Lutz
qua. While leadership contributions
are invaluable to achieving growth in
the Chautauqua Fund, almost half of
those who donate to the annual fund
give up to $125, underscoring the importance of active participation.
“I have some new ideas to offer,”
Nowosielski said of the new commitment she and her husband share, “but
I don’t have much of an agenda here,
other than that I hope my children and
grandchildren will see Chautauqua as
their home one day.”
If you are interested in serving as a
volunteer, to advocate on behalf of the
2015 Chautauqua Fund, please email
[email protected] or call 716-357-6404.
Leaders of Bestor, 1874 Societies invite fund
participation, share membership opportunities
Each year, the collective generosity
of this community makes possible the
Chautauqua experience — subsidizing
the annual cost to deliver the depth
and quality of programming that every resident, visitor, student and patron enjoys from the moment they enter these grounds.
While hundreds generously participate in giving to the Chautauqua
Fund, making contributions of all sizes — literally ranging from $1, or $10
to a six-figure gift in 2014 — leadership
giving currently contributes over 88
percent of all dollars raised inside the
annual fund.
The Bestor Society recognizes those
who make an annual commitment of
$3,500 or more to the fund.
“I think that leadership philanthropy has made an incredible difference
at Chautauqua over the years,” said
the group’s chair, Dede Trefts McEvoy.
“Giving is a very personal decision,
and philanthropy is only as effective
as the organizations we give to. I am
delighted to be able to have the chance
to make this contribution. Chautauqua
has been a very important part of my
life and my family’s life.”
She lives in Connecticut, not far
from the home where her great-grandfather lived when he would make the
trek to Chautauqua in the 1890s.
“I have been somebody throughout
my career who has loved to innovate,”
said McEvoy, an IBM executive. “Trying to figure out what’s going to make
a difference for the Bestor Society is
part of my agenda for the short term. A
tangible financial goal is to continue to
help us increase the number of Bestor
Society members as well as the number
of dollars that are contributed as a percentage of the Chautauqua Fund goal.”
For McEvoy, learning from and
working with the Institution has been
a life-long relationship.
“The community, the programming, the grounds and my wonderful
Chautauqua experiences with family
and friends are so much a part of my
Stay connected:
Join the
NOW Generation
· Inviting Chautauquans ages 21 to
40 to stay connected year-round.
· Offering social, professional
networking, family-focused and
volunteer opportunities.
· Preparing and empowering young
adults for leadership roles.
Amanda Mainguy, The Chautauquan Daily
Nancy Gay Bargar and Dede Trefts McEvoy
memories,” she said. “I am very motivated to share this wonderful place
with future generations.”
The 1874 Society also recognizes
generous leadership giving to the
Chautauqua Fund, with members
who have committed $1,874 to $3,499
and are helping to keep prices affordable for families and visitors. McEvoy’ counterpart in chairing the 1874
Society is Nancy Gay Bargar. Bargar
resides in Lakewood, New York, yearround and celebrates her family’s deep
roots at Chautauqua. Ensuring Chautauqua’s future, as it is the breeding
ground for many of her life’s passions,
is of critical importance to Bargar.
“I was motivated to become part of
this team because I increasingly feel
the administration has the skills to
adapt to the changes that are inevitable,” Bargar said. “The staff is incredibly supportive and that’s very helpful
for volunteers.”
Bargar’s personal investment in
Chautauqua’s future is connected to
her past, but with an eye to the future.
“This opportunity is about relationships, and realizing that — now with
my parents gone — of the things they
gave their children, one of the greatest
gifts was the Chautauqua experience,”
she said. “The more people we can attract to financially invest in Chautau-
qua, the easier it’s going to be on future
generations.”
Unrestricted giving is among the
most valuable of gifts the Institution
can receive, as the Chautauqua Fund
supports the Institution’s annual operating expenses and the full range of
programming offered each summer.
The Chautauqua Fund can also serve
as a meaningful vehicle to support a
specific program area or that has special significance to an individual or
family. Gifts of any size to the annual
fund may be designated to an area of
one’s choosing, whether it is to provide
scholarship for students at the Chautauqua Schools of Fine & Performing
Arts, to help produce an artistic performance or educational experience, or
underwrite youth activities.
Members of the Bestor Society and
the 1874 Society enjoy invitations to
select events with lecturers or artistic
staff, exclusive backstage tours, byinvitation seminars and a complimentary subscription to Pillars, a semi-annual publication.
To learn more about the 1874 and
Bestor Societies, and how you can be
a part of this leadership community,
please contact Tina Downey, director
of the Chautauqua Fund, at 716-3576406 or [email protected].
“I am excited to find ways for me and
my peers to take full advantage of
everything Chautauqua has to offer,
and to introduce a larger circle of
friends to a place that means so
much to me.”
—Amy Schiller
NOW Generation
Advisory Council member
NOW Gen events are held both on
the grounds during the summer and
throughout the year in a growing
number of cities around the country.
Save the Date*
Annual NOW Generation
President’s Reception
Friday, July 3
5:30 to 7 pm
Are you interested in meeting fellow
young Chautauquans or families in a
city near you?
*To sign up for the NOW Gen e-newsletter and
receive invitations to this event and others
taking place at Chautauqua this summer,
please email [email protected]
For information on additional
programs, volunteer opportunities
and more, please contact
Megan Sorenson, staff liaison,
at [email protected] /
716.357.6243.
Please “like” the NOW Generation!
facebook.com/NOWGenCHQ
Spring 2015
The Chautauquan
Page 23
COMMUNITY
CWC honors past president Vackar inside Saturday lecture series
“Enrich your summer” is a phrase
the Chautauqua Women’s Club has
adopted as a theme for this coming
season, taking a cue from our mission
statement. An organization “dedicated
to the enrichment of the lives of its
members and the Chautauqua community,” the CWC is hosting exciting
and varied programs this summer.
Please join us!
At the Contemporary Issues Forum,
presented each Saturday of the season
in the Hall of Philosophy at 3 p.m., new
this year is the first presentation of the
Barbara Vackar Lecture Series.
Vackar, past president of the CWC
who served from 2005 to 2010, is being
honored by friend and fellow Texan
Cathy Bonner, who is funding this annual lecture series. Bonner is a former
CWC board member and current member who also serves on the Chautauqua
Foundation Board of Directors and will
become its chair at the end of this season.
The CWC is excited to announce that
former U.S. senator Bill Bradley is the
first speaker secured for Barbara Vackar
Lecture Series and will speak Aug. 1.
Bradley served in the Senate from 1979
to 1997, representing the state of New
Jersey, and was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president in 2000.
Currently Bradley is managing director
of Allen & Company and author of seven books, the latest being We Can All Do
Better — also the subject of his talk.
The Chautauqua Women’s Club provides programming throughout the
week at its house at 30 South Lake Drive.
Each Monday at 1 p.m. the Professional
Women’s Network addresses a variety
of issues for professional women and
on Wednesdays at 3:30 p.m., Contemporary Issues Dialogues provide an opportunity to be a part of a conversation
with one of the Amphitheater lecturers.
In our Thursday morning Chautauqua
Speaks programs, hear from individuals and their unique contributions to
Chautauqua. In addition, join others
for bridge, mah jongg, canasta, foreign
language hour or social time for young
women and mothers.
Please visit to the CWC website at
chautauquawomensclub.org, and check
The Chautauquan Daily during the season for more details. CWC programming is available for all Chautauquans
— men are welcome as well as nonmembers. We can enrich your summer!
Outdoor lighting, pedestrian
safety top CPOA 2015 initiatives
By Bill Neches
Chautauqua Property Owners Association
Your Chautauqua Property Owners Association (CPOA) is dedicated
to maintaining and enhancing quality
of life on the grounds during and beyond the season. Your dues and donations are used to sponsor events and
to support the Institution in its parallel mission.
CPOA officers and board of directors:
▪▪ President: Bill Neches
▪▪ Vice President: Barbara Brady
▪▪ Secretary: Debra Dinnocenzo
▪▪ Treasurer: Chip Gamble
▪▪ Area Representatives:
Sandy Miller (Area 1)
Dianne Hess (Area 2)
Leslie Renjilian (Area 3)
Helen Habenicht (Area 4)
John Dilley (Area 5)
Suzanne Shull (Area 6)
Fred Rice (Area 7)
Phil Carl (Area 8)
Mary Boyle, Laura Saulson (Area 9)
Carrie Zachry (Area 10)
Susan Cartney (member at large)
▪▪ Class B Chautauqua Trustees:
Jennifer DeLancey
Greg Miller
Bob Jeffrey
Hugh Butler
▪▪ Affiliates:
Laura Damon (North Lake
Informed Citizens)
Robert Kimble (POWR)
The CPOA Outdoor Lighting Committee, chaired by John Dilley, has
been involved in lengthy discussions
with National Grid since last summer
regarding the Chautauqua Gateway
Demonstration Project in conjunction
with the U.S. Department of Energy. We
are hopeful that the installation of new
LED street lighting on Pratt Avenue,
between Ramble and Hurst, will begin
this year. We anticipate some exciting
news sometime in the next few months
which will have great impact on the future of street lighting in Chautauqua.
The CPOA Transportation and Safety Committee, chaired by Jim Lampl,
will continue to focus on the Shared
Space initiative to enhance the safety
of all Chautauquans, especially pedestrians. The reduction of vehicular
traffic and speed, improved bicycle
safety and awareness, and marketing
of safety issues are some of the topics
that will be addressed. There are plans
for a number of safety-related activities this summer.
Your board of directors will continue to be active in advocating for
property owner issues by distributing
important news from the Institution,
as well as taking issues back to our
board meetings where we meet four
times each season with President Tom
Becker and the senior staff. Becker told
us he prizes the time he spends with
our board addressing resident issues
and answering questions about matters related to property owners.
2015 CPOA summer schedule:
▪▪ Week Zero: Potluck dinner at
Hurlbut Church
▪▪ Week Four: Area Picnics
▪▪ CPOA and Trustees Open Forum:
July 18
▪▪ CPOA business meeting and Trustees
Open Forum: Aug. 8
Your CPOA is a member- and volunteer-supported nonprofit which
raises funds through dues and donations to pursue our mission of quality improvement. Watch for our 2015
membership letter in your mail. In addition to joining by mailing the membership application card, you may now
join the CPOA, or make a donation
with a credit or debit card using our
secure online payment system. Please
visit our website at www.cpoa.ws and
click the “Join Us” link on the homepage and then click on the “Pay Membership Dues” button.
Please pay your 2015 dues promptly. Volunteers are needed. Donations
and queries may be sent to P.O. Box
12, Chautauqua, NY 14722. Please visit
our website at www.cpoa.ws for project
updates and reports.
Contact the CPOA by e-mail at
[email protected].
C H AU TAU Q UA W O M E N ’ S C L U B
CONTEMPOR ARY ISSUES FORUM
The Chautauqua Women’s Club will present another season of
compelling speakers with its Contemporary Issues Forum this summer.
All lectures are held at 3 p.m. Saturdays at the Hall of Philosophy.
July 4
Jonathan Eig, author, The Birth of the Pill
“Sex and the Revolution: Impact of the Pill on American Culture”
July 11 Maryanne McGuckin, co-author, The Patient Survival Guide
“Staying Alive in the Health Care System”
July 18
Hal Gregorsen, co-author, The Innovator’s DNA
“The CEO’s Dilemma: Asking the Right Questions (Before Anyone Else Does)”
July 25
Jennifer Pharr Davis, author, Called Again
“Called Again: Love and Triumph on the Appalachian Trail”
Aug. 1
Bill Bradley, former U.S. senator from New Jersey
“We Can All Do Better”
Aug. 8
Rome Hartman, journalist and producer, “60 Minutes Sports”
“U.S. Journalism: Endings and Beginnings”
Aug. 15 Carolyn Curry, founder and director, Women Alone Together
“Then and Now: The Impact of Chautauqua on the Women’s
Movement in the South”
Aug. 22 G. Terry Madonna, director, Franklin Marshall College Poll
“2016 Presidential Election:
At the Starting Gate: Prospects and Possibilities”
Aug. 29 Carla Hayden, CEO, Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore
“Information and Literacy in the Digital Age”
BTG adds Eco-Garden category
to biennial gardens celebration,
doubles number of Garden Walks
The Bird, Tree & Garden Club begins its 102nd year at Chautauqua
Institution under the leadership of
Suzanne Aldrich with a full schedule. In anticipation of Chautauqua in
Bloom, the first special event, headed
by Pari Tuthill, will be a native plant
sale from 6 to 7 p.m Monday, July 6,
and from noon to 3 p.m. Tuesday, July
7, in Smith Wilkes Hall.
Chautauqua in Bloom, the biennial
tribute to Chautauqua’s many private
gardens and the homeowners who
tend them, kicks off on July 22 when
garden club judges from western New
York and Pennsylvania will view
gardens registered for the event. The
stellar conclusion of “Chautauqua in
Bloom,” the Garden Recognition Day,
will feature a photographic journey
through the gardens. The recognition
awards will accompany the program,
scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Wednesday,
July 29, at Smith Wilkes Hall. All are
welcome to join in the celebration.
Barbara Zuegel, chairman of Chautauqua in Bloom, notes that there will
be a new category for the event this
year: Eco-Gardens. She points out that
gardens managing stormwater run-off
and using native plants that require
no garden chemicals are vital to the
health of Chautauqua Lake. Other categories for garden recognition are Sun
Gardens, Shade Gardens and Container Gardens. The registration deadline
is July 15 and registration is free. More
information and registration forms
will be available on the BTG website,
at Smith Wilkes Hall, at Smith Memorial Library and at the Colonnade.
Another traditional event, the
Mushroom Sandwich Sale, is scheduled for noon on Friday, July 17. Chairman Marty Gingel reminds those
who aren’t mushroom lovers that they
can opt for toasted cheese sandwiches. This always enjoyable lunch event
takes place in the garden behind
Smith Wilkes Hall. Music by the Dixie
Lakesiders will add to the fun.
The Tuesday Brown Bag Lunch Programs at Smith Wilkes will continue
to offer a variety of speakers on nature, ecology and wildlife. Typical of
the coming season, according to Tuesday program chair Mary Lou Parlato,
will be the presentation “Tree of Forty
Fruits” with Sam Van Aiken, a Syracuse University faculty member and
visiting instructor at the Institution’s
School of Art. The “Tree” is a unique
work of art, research and conservation.
Monday evening Lake Walks are
scheduled in collaboration with the
Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy. Tuesday morning Bird Walks
will be offered this year in collaboration with the Jamestown Audubon
Society and the Roger Tory Peterson
Institute. Bat Chats are scheduled
for Wednesdays, Garden Walks on
most Thursdays and Nature Walks
on Fridays. The Purple Martin Chats,
always well attended, take place the
first four Fridays of the season. In the
past the Garden Walks have drawn
large crowds, so this summer BTG is
pleased to be able to double the number of these popular programs.
There will be weekly programs appropriate for children in the South End
Ravine outdoor classrooms. The Bird,
Tree and Garden Club will also offer
support toward the maintenance of the
Sensory Garden at Children’s School.
More
information
regarding
times, dates and meeting locations is
available on the BTG website, chautauquabtg.org. Printed programs will
be available at the library, Smith Wilkes Hall and the Colonnade.
2015
Visit us online at ciweb.org
S U N D AY
C A L E N D A R
M O N D AY
T U E S D AY
2015 Season: June 27–August 30
For the most up-to-date schedule or to order
tickets, visit us online at ciweb.org
General information: 1.800.836.ARTS
Tickets: 716.357.6250
Hotel reservations: 1.800.821.1881
E V E N T S
O F
W E D N E S D AY
T H U R S D AY
F R I D AY
S AT U R D AY
W E E K O N E • Lecture Theme | 21st-Century Literacies: Multiple Ways to Make Sense of the World • Interfaith Lecture Theme | Interfaith Literacy
June 28
10:45 The Rev. Joel C. Gregory,
professor of preaching,
George W. Truett Theological
Seminary, Baylor University
2:30 U.S. Army Field Band &
Soldiers’ Chorus
5:00 Vespers
8:00 Sacred Song Service
29
9:15 The Rev. Joel C. Gregory
10:45 David Von Drehle, editor-atlarge, Time magazine
2:00 Meryl Justin Chertoff, exec.
director, Justice and Society
Program, Aspen Institute
4:00 The Rose Ensemble
8:15 An Evening with Charlie Rose
and Nancy Gibbs**
30
9:15 The Rev. Joel C. Gregory
10:45 Roger Rosenblatt,
distinguished professor of
English and writing, Stony
Brook University
2:00 Stephen Prothero, professor
of religion, Boston University
8:15 Live Taping of NPR’s
“From the Top” with host
Christopher O’Riley*
July 1
9:15 The Rev. Joel C. Gregory
10:45 Mae Jemison, former NASA
astronaut; principal, 100 Year
Starship Project
2:00 Marc Saperstein, principal
emeritus and professor of
Jewish history and homiletics,
Leo Baeck College
8:15 An Evening Guitar Recital
with Sharon Isbin
9:15 The Rev. Joel C. Gregory 2
10:45 John Hope Bryant, chairman
and CEO, Operation Hope
2:00 Eboo Patel, founder and
president, Interfaith Youth
Core (IFYC)
3:30 CLSC Author Presentation.
Robert Pinsky, The Sounds
of Poetry
8:15 CSO. Rossen Milanov,
conductor; Alexander
Gavrylyuk, piano*
9:15 The Rev. Joel C. Gregory
10:45 Kay Bailey Hutchison, former
U.S. senator from Texas
2:00 Christopher Leighton,
executive director, Institute
for Christian & Jewish Studies
8:00 Theater. Our Town
8:15 Chautauqua Dance Salon.
Mark Diamond, associate
artistic director
9
The Most Rev. Edward
K. Braxton
10:45 Wes Moore, author, The Work:
My Search for a Life That Matters
2:00 Robert K. Ross, pres. and CEO,
The California Endowment
3:30 CLSC Author Presentation.
Gilbert King, Devil in the Grove
4:00 Theater. Our Town
8:15 CSO. Rossen Milanov,
conductor; Daniel Bernard
Roumain, violin (world premiere)
The Most Rev. Edward
K. Braxton
10:45 Amphitheater Lecture
2:00 Robert M. Franklin Jr.;
Carol Sutton Lewis, founder,
Ground Control Parenting;
Gregory D. Hess, president,
Wabash College
4:00 Theater. Our Town
8:15 Punch Brothers / Béla Fleck
with Abigail Washburn**
3
8:15
27
Stars of Nashville:
Clare Bowen & Charles Esten**
2:15
4
Theater (opening).
Our Town
Jonathan Eig, author,
The Birth of the Pill
Chautauqua Symphony
Orchestra Independence
Day Pops Concert. Stuart
Chafetz, guest conductor;
Mike Eldred, tenor
3:00
8:00
W E E K T W O • Lecture & Interfaith Lecture Theme | Boys Will Be Boys, Then Men
5
10:45 The Most Rev. Edward K.
Braxton, bishop, Diocese of
Belleville, Illinois
2:15 Theater. Our Town
2:30 Brass Band of Columbus
5:00 Vespers
8:00 Sacred Song Service
8:00 Theater. Our Town
9:15 Rev. Edward K. Braxton 6
10:45 Robert M. Franklin Jr., dir.,
Department of Religion,
Chautauqua Institution;
Joe Echevarria, co-chair,
My Brother’s Keeper
2:00 Marian Wright Edelman,
founder and president,
Children’s Defense Fund
4:00 Music Festival Faculty Quartet
8:15 MSFO. Timothy Muffitt,
conductor*
9:15
10:45
2:00
7:00
8:00
8:15
7
The Most Rev. Edward
K. Braxton
Michael Thompson, author,
Raising Cain; psychologist
Shawn Dove, CEO, Campaign
for Black Male Achievement
FES: Daniel Bernard Roumain,
“Music, Melody, You & Me”
Theater. Our Town
CSO. Rossen Milanov,
conductor; Alexander
Gavrylyuk, piano
8
The Most Rev. Edward
K. Braxton
10:45 Frances E. Jensen, author,
The Teenage Brain
2:00 Fr. Greg Boyle, founder and
executive director, Homeboy
Industries
2:15 Theater. Our Town
8:00 Theater. Our Town
8:15 An Evening Piano Recital
with Alexander Gavrylyuk*
9:15
9:15
10
11
9:15
2:15
3:00
8:15
Theater. Our Town
Maryanne McGuckin,
co-author, The Patient
Survival Guide
Chautauqua Opera presents
Macbeth with Chautauqua
Symphony Orchestra.
Hal France, guest conductor
W E E K T H R E E • Lecture Theme | Immigration: Origins and Destinations • Interfaith Lecture Theme | For We Were Strangers in a Strange Land
12
10:45 The Rev. Katharine Rhodes
Henderson, president,
Auburn Theological Seminary
2:15 Theater. Our Town
2:30 Chautauqua Community Band
25th Anniversary Concert.
Jason Weintraub, founder
and conductor
5:00 Vespers
8:00 Sacred Song Service
8:00 Theater. Our Town
13
The Rev. Katharine
Rhodes Henderson
10:45 Patrick Griffin, chair,
University of Notre Dame
Department of History
2:00 R. Stephen Warner,
professor of sociology
emeritus, University of Illinois
at Chicago
4:00 Vienna Piano Trio
8:15 MSFO. Timothy Muffitt,
conductor
9:15
14
15
16
The Rev. Katharine
9:15 The Rev. Katharine
Rhodes Henderson
Rhodes Henderson
10:45 Sonia Nazario, author,
9:15 The Rev. Katharine Rhodes
10:45 Alberto R. Gonzales, former
Enrique’s Journey
Henderson
U.S. attorney general
2:00 Daisy L. Machado, prof. of the 10:45 Henry Louis Gates Jr., host,
2:00 Jin Young Choi, asst. prof. of
American history of Christianity,
“Finding Your Roots,” PBS;
New Testament and Christian
Union Theological Seminary
director, Hutchins Center for
origins, Colgate Rochester
3:30 CLSC Author Presentation.
African American Research,
Crozer Divinity School
Alice McDermott, Someone
Harvard University
8:15 CSO. Rossen Milanov,
8:15 Charlotte Ballet in Residence.
2:00 Henry Louis Gates Jr.
conductor; Brian Reagin,
Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, dir.
7:30 Family Entertainment Series.
violin; CTC actors; Andrew
CSO. Grant Cooper, guest cond.
Aga-Boom*
Borba, director*
9:15
17
The Rev. Katharine
Rhodes Henderson
10:45 Ian Goldin, co-author,
Exceptional People: Migration
Shaped Our World and Will
Define Our Future
2:00 Heather C. McGhee, president,
Demos; Gail Christopher,
vice president for programs,
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
4:00 Theater. New Play Workshop
8:15 Pink Martini**
18
9:15
2:15
3:00
8:15
Theater. New Play Workshop
Hal Gregersen, co-author,
The Innovator’s DNA:
Mastering the Five Skills of
Disruptive Innovators
CSO Opera Highlights Concert.
Chautauqua Opera
Young Artists; James
Meena, guest conductor
W E E K F O U R • Lecture Theme | Irrationality • Interfaith Lecture Theme | The Ambivalence of the Sacred: Religion and Violence
19
10:45 The Rev. Frank Madison
Reid III, senior pastor, Bethel
A.M.E. Church, Baltimore
2:30 Chautauqua School of Dance
Student Gala. Jean-Pierre
Bonnefoux, director
5:00 Vespers
8:00 Sacred Song Service
20
9:15 Rev. Frank M. Reid III
10:45 Dan Ariely, James B. Duke
Professor of psychology and
behavioral economics, Duke
University
2:00 Philip Jenkins, co-director,
Program on Historical Studies
of Religion, Baylor University
Institute for Studies of Religion
4:00 Chautauqua Quartet
8:15 MSFO. Timothy Muffitt,
conductor
21
The Rev. Frank Madison
Reid III
10:45 David A. Pizarro, associate
professor of psychology,
Cornell University
2:00 Interfaith Lecture
7:30 Family Entertainment Series.
Golden Dragon Acrobats*
9:15
22
The Rev. Frank Madison
Reid III
10:45 Michael I. Norton, author,
Happy Money: The Science
of Smarter Spending
2:00 Interfaith Lecture
8:15 Amphitheater Ball with the
Ladies First Big Band*
9:15
23
9:15 Rev. Frank M. Reid III
10:45 Noah J. Goldstein, associate
professor of management and
organization, UCLA Anderson
School of Management
2:00 Hussein Rashid, founder,
islamicate, L3C
3:30 CLSC. Anne Fadiman presents
The Opposite of Loneliness
by Marina Keegan
8:15 CSO. Rossen Milanov, cond.;
Roberto Plano, piano
24
The Rev. Frank Madison
Reid III
10:45 Leslie K. John, assistant
professor of business
administration, Harvard
Business School
2:00 Michael Eric Dyson,
professor of sociology,
Georgetown University
8:00 Theater. Intimate Apparel
8:15 American Idol Live!**
9:15
25
3:00
4:00
8:15
Jennifer Pharr Davis,
2012 National Geographic
Adventurer of the Year;
author, Called Again
Theater (opening).
Intimate Apparel
Inter-arts Collaboration.
Carmina Burana with the
Chautauqua Symphony
Orchestra. Timothy Muffitt,
guest conductor
W E E K F I V E • Lecture Theme | Art & Politics • Interfaith Lecture Theme | Art, Politics, Religion
26
10:45 The Rev. Dwight D. Andrews,
senior minister, First
Congregational Church UCC,
Atlanta
2:15 Theater. Intimate Apparel
2:30 NYSSSA School of Choral
Studies
5:00 Vespers
8:00 Sacred Song Service
8:00 Theater. Intimate Apparel
28
29 9:15 Rev. Dwight D. Andrews 30
9:15 Rev. Dwight D. Andrews 27
10:45 Christopher H. Gibbs, James
10:45 Tom Toles, editorial cartoonist,
H. Ottaway Jr. Professor of
9:15 The Rev. Dwight D. Andrews 9:15 The Rev. Dwight D. Andrews
The Washington Post
music, Bard College
10:45 Amphitheater Lecture
10:45 Amphitheater Lecture
2:00 Tanisha Ramachandran, asst.
2:00 Ori Z. Soltes, Goldman
2:00 Omid Safi, director, Duke
2:00 Joshua DuBois, author, The
prof. of South Asian religions,
Professorial Lecturer in
Islamic Studies Center
President’s Devotional: The
Wake Forest University
theology and fine arts,
5 & 7 FES: Hobey Ford, “Migration”
Daily Readings That Inspired
3:30 CLSC. Emily St. John Mandel,
Georgetown University
8:15 Chautauqua Symphony
President Obama
Station Eleven
4:00 Chautauqua Chamber Winds
Orchestra. Rossen Milanov,
4:00 Theater. Intimate Apparel
4:00 Theater. Intimate Apparel
8:15 Chautauqua Festival Dancers.
conductor; Brian Reagin,
8:15 An Evening of Pas de Deux.
8:15 CSO. Karina Canellakis,
Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, dir.
violin*
Charlotte Ballet in Residence.
guest conductor; Tim Fain,
Music School Festival Orchestra*
Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, dir.
violin
9:15 Rev. Dwight D. Andrews 31
10:45 Fred N. Davis III (R) and Mark
Putnam (D), political strategists
2:00 Vivienne Benesch, artistic dir.,
Chautauqua Theater Company;
with CTC conservatory actors
4:00 Theater. Intimate Apparel
7:30 Opera. Eugene Onegin
8:15 Garrison Keillor’s
“A Prairie Home Companion”
America the Beautiful 41st
Anniversary Tour**
August 1
8:00
2:15
3:00
8:15
Old First Night
Run/Walk/Swim
Theater. Intimate Apparel
Bill Bradley, former U.S.
senator from New Jersey
Chautauqua Symphony
Orchestra. Rossen Milanov,
conductor; Amit Peled, cello
W E E K S I X • Lecture Theme | Vanishing • Interfaith Lecture Theme | Religion: Vanishing and Emerging
2
10:45 The Rev. Barbara K.
Lundblad, Joe R. Engle
Professor of Preaching, Union
Theological Seminary, NYC
2:15 Theater. Intimate Apparel
2:30 WRFA presents
“Rolling Hills Radio”
5:00 Vespers
8:00 Sacred Song Service
8:00 Theater. Intimate Apparel
3
The Rev. Barbara K.
Lundblad
10:45 K. David Harrison, associate
professor of linguistics,
Swarthmore College
2:00 Steven M. Tipton, Charles
Howard Candler Professor,
Candler School of Theology,
Emory University
4:00 Ahn Trio
7:30 Opera. Eugene Onegin
8:15 Donal Fox Inventions Trio*
4
9:15
The Rev. Barbara K.
Lundblad
10:45 Vint Cerf, vice president
and chief Internet evangelist,
Google Inc.
2:00 Interfaith Lecture
6:00 FES: Chautauqua Opera
7:30 OLD FIRST NIGHT
9:15
5
The Rev. Barbara K.
Lundblad
10:45 Erik Larson, author, Dead
Wake: The Last Crossing of
the Lusitania
2:00 Phil Zuckerman, professor of
sociology and secular studies,
Pitzer College
8:00 Theater. New Play Workshop
8:15 Dance Innovations.
Charlotte Ballet in Residence.
Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, dir.*
9:15
9:15 Rev. Barbara K. Lundblad 6
10:45 Isabel Wilkerson, author,
The Warmth of Other Suns
2:00 Lawrence A. Hoffman, prof.
of liturgy, worship and ritual,
Hebrew Union College
3:30 CLSC Author Presentation.
Héctor Tobar, Deep Down Dark
6:00 Theater. New Play Workshop
8:15 CSO. Rossen Milanov,
conductor; Antonii
Baryshevskyi, piano
7
The Rev. Barbara K.
Lundblad
10:45 Amphitheater Lecture
2:00 Anouar Majid, founding
director, Center for Global
Humanities, University of
New England
4:00 Theater. New Play Workshop
8:15 The Beach Boys**
9:15
8
3:00
8:15
Rome Hartman, journalist and
producer, “60 Minutes Sports”
CSO Opera Pops Concert.
Chautauqua Opera Young
Artists; Stuart Chafetz,
guest conductor
W E E K S E V E N • Lecture Theme | Redefining Europe • Interfaith Lecture Theme | Reimagining the Soul of Europe
9
10:45 The Rev. James Walters,
chaplain, London School of
Economics
2:30 Chautauqua Symphony
Orchestra Special Matinee.
Rossen Milanov, conductor
5:00 Vespers
8:00 Sacred Song Service
9:15 The Rev. James Walters 10
10:45 Roger Cohen, columnist,
The New York Times
2:00 Stephen E. Hanson, vice
provost for international affairs,
College of William and Mary
4:00 Musette Explosion
8:15 Chautauqua Voice Program.
Marlena Malas, chair;
Music School Festival
Orchestra. Timothy Muffitt,
conductor
11
9:15 The Rev. James Walters
10:45 David Marsh, managing dir.,
Official Monetary and
Financial Institutions Forum
2:00 Interfaith Lecture
7:30 Family Entertainment Series.
Bronkar & Aaron present
Collision of Rhythm *
12
9:15 The Rev. James Walters
10:45 Constanze Stelzenmüller,
Robert Bosch senior fellow,
Ctr. on the United States and
Europe, Brookings Institution
2:00 Akbar Ahmed, Ibn Khaldun
Chair of Islamic studies,
School of International
Service, American University
8:15 Music School Festival
Night Celebration*
9:15 The Rev. James Walters 13
10:45 Ulrike Guérot, founder and dir.,
European Democracy Lab,
European Sch. of Governance
2:00 Phil Donahue, former talk
show host; Vladimir Pozner,
Russian journalist
3:30 CLSC Author Presentation.
Anthony Doerr, All the Light
We Cannot See
8:15 CSO. Case Scaglione, guest
cond.; Owen Lee, double bass
14
9:15 The Rev. James Walters
10:45 Timothy Snyder, author,
Bloodlands: Europe Between
Hitler and Stalin
2:00 David N. Hempton, dean,
Harvard Divinity School
8:00 Theater. Henry V
8:15 The Suffers
15
3:00
4:00
8:15
Carolyn Curry, founder
and director, Women Alone
Together
Theater (opening). Henry V
Inter-arts Collaboration.
Carmina Burana with the
Chautauqua Symphony
Orchestra. Timothy Muffitt,
guest conductor
W E E K E I G H T • Lecture Theme | The Middle East Now and Next • Interfaith Lecture Theme | The Middle East: Preserving and Sharing Sacred Space
16 9:15 Rev. Anna Carter Florence 17
10:45 The Rev. Anna Carter
10:45 Husain Haqqani, former
Florence, Peter Marshall
Pakistani ambassador to U.S.;
Assoc. Professor of Preaching,
Daveed Gartenstein-Ross,
Columbia Theological
senior fellow, Foundation for
Seminary, Decatur, Ga.
the Defense of Democracies
2:15 Theater. Henry V
2:00 Vincent Cornell, chair,
2:30 Chautauqua School of Dance
Student Gala. Jean-Pierre
Emory University Department
Bonnefoux, director
of Middle Eastern and South
5:00 Vespers
Asian Studies
8:00 Sacred Song Service
4:00 PUBLIQuartet
8:00 Theater. Henry V
8:15 MSFO. Timothy Muffitt, cond.
19 9:15 Rev. Anna Carter Florence 20
9:15 Rev. Anna Carter Florence 18
10:45 Robin Wright, joint fellow,
10:45 Dennis Ross, distinguished
USIP and Wilson Center;
9:15 The Rev. Anna Carter
fellow, Washington Institute;
Jawad Nabulsi, founder,
Florence
Ghaith Al-Omari, senior
Nebny Foundation
10:45 Richard Engel, chief foreign
fellow, Washington Institute
2:00 Rabbi Michael Melchior, fdr.
correspondent, NBC News
2:00 Albert Lincoln, fmr. secretaryand chairman, Mosaica
2:00 Interfaith Lecture
general, Baha’i Intl. Community
2:15 Theater. Henry V
2:15 Theater. Henry V
3:30 CLSC. Lawrence Wright,
7:00 FES. Chautauqua Regional
8:00 Theater. Henry V
Thirteen Days in September
Youth Ballet
8:15 Richard Glazier’s
4:00 Theater. Henry V
8:15 CSO. Rossen Milanov, cond.;
“From Broadway to
8:15 CSO. Rossen Milanov, cond.;
Dawn Upshaw, soprano*
Hollywood”*
Horacio Gutiérrez, piano
9:15 Rev. Anna Carter Florence 21
10:45 Seyed Hossein Mousavian,
former Iranian nuclear
negotiator; Emad Kiyaei,
executive director, American
Iranian Council
2:00 Albert Lincoln, former
secretary-general, Baha’i
International Community
4:00 Theater. Henry V
8:15 An Evening with
Carol Burnett**
22
3:00
8:15
G. Terry Madonna, director,
Center for Politics and Public
Affairs, Franklin and Marshall
College; director, Franklin and
Marshall College Poll
Chautauqua Symphony
Orchestra. Cristian
Macelaru, guest conductor;
Nicola Benedetti, violin
W E E K N I N E • Lecture Theme | Creating Livable Communities • Interfaith Lecture Theme | Spirituality in the Livable Community
23
10:45 Bernice A. King, CEO,
The King Center
2:30 Barbershop Harmony Parade
5:00 Vespers
8:00 Sacred Song Service
24
The Rev. Martha Simmons,
associate minister, Rush
Memorial United Church of
Christ, Atlanta
10:45 Toni L. Griffin, director,
30
J.
Max Bond Center on Design
10:45 The Rev. Robert M.
for the Just Community,
Franklin Jr., director, Dept. of
City College of New York
Religion, Chautauqua Institution
2:30 Barbara Jean Jazz Ensemble 2:00 Interfaith Lecture
4:00 Telegraph Quartet
8:00 Sacred Song Service
8:15 Abaca String Band*
9:15
25
26 9:15 Rev. Martha Simmons
27
9:15 Rev. Martha Simmons
10:45 James and Deborah Fallows,
10:45 Kathleen Sebelius, former
authors, The Atlantic’s
9:15 The Rev. Martha Simmons
U.S. secretary of health and
“American Futures” project
10:45 Muhtar Kent, chairman and
human services
2:00 Carol R. Naughton,
CEO, The Coca-Cola Company 2:00 Anat Hoffman, executive
senior vice-president and
2:00 Chet Manchester, Christian
director, Israel Religious
co-founder, Purpose Built
Science practitioner, teacher
Action Center
Communities
and lecturer
3:30 CLSC Author Presentation.
8:15 Chautauqua Symphony
8:15 LehrerDance*
Diane Ackerman,
Orchestra. Cristian
The Human Age
Macelaru, guest conductor;
8:15 An Evening with
Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano
Tom and Jennifer Brokaw**
MSFO: Music School Festival Orchestra · FES: Family Entertainment Series · *Community Appreciation Night · **Preferred seating available
28
9:15 The Rev. Martha Simmons
10:45 Amphitheater Lecture
2:00 Michael McBride, director,
Lifelines to Healing Campaign,
PICO National Network
8:15 Kristin Diable & The City
29
3:00
8:15
Carla Hayden, CEO, Enoch
Pratt Free Library, Baltimore
The Doo Wop Project**
Schedule as of May 7, 2015 (Subject to change)