Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts

October 11, 2025

The 2025 fall Rosen House Concert Series at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts is now in progress - please take the opportunity to attend one of their wonderful events if you're in the area.

Caramoor, which is not far from my farm, is an 81-acre former country estate where art and music enthusiasts Lucie and Walter Rosen built an Italianate-style villa and gardens to entertain their friends from around the world. In 1946, the Rosens opened their property as a performing arts center, which now hosts seasonal concerts, historic house tours, educational programs, and other outdoor affairs and performances. Concerts range from classical, opera, and chamber music to jazz, American roots, global sounds, and the American songbook. Earlier this month, Caramoor welcomed accomplished classical cellist, Abel Selaocoe, to their Music Room stage. Other performers scheduled this year include jazz and soul singer Christie Dashiell, classical guitar sensation Raphaël Feuillâtre, and the talented Poiesis String Quartet. In addition, Caramoor is open all year round and available to visitors who wish to wander the grounds and its historic gardens.

Enjoy these photos, and please visit the website at caramoor.org to see what events are being offered in the coming weeks.

: Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts is located in the picturesque hamlet of Katonah, New York and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. If you haven’t been, Caramoor is a wonderful place where one can hear exceptional music, enjoy interesting and informative programs, and walk through beautifully maintained and historic gardens.

: The Rosens built the estate and restored the grounds gradually during the 1930s, importing many architectural and decorative items from Europe. The Caramoor became a center for the arts and music following the World War II death of the Rosens’ only son.

: The Cedar Walk is a 300-foot path through an allée of high eastern and western cedars. A hammock at one end provides respite for visitors.

: Also on the Caramoor grounds is this commissioned sound art sculpture, in”C”, created by Trimpin. Born Gerhard Trimpin, Trimpin is a kinetic sculptor, sound artist, and musician. His work integrates sculpture and sound across a variety of media.

: The gardens are meticulously manicured and maintained. Some of the original gardens were planted around 1912, making them one of the oldest native features of the estate.

: This is the inside of the Venetian Pavilion. The theater is set around Greek and Roman marble columns topped by Venetian arches and protected by a billowy tent. It’s always brilliantly lit and the acoustics excellent. (Photo by Gabe Palacio)

: The Venitian Pavilion is the second-largest building on the property. It was added in the late 1950s as an additional music venue.

: The Rosen House is a two story stucco building with a red tiled roof in a variety of asymmetrical gables and hip configurations.

: This is a family portrait of Lucie Bigelow Rosen and her children, Walter and Anne. This was painted in their New York City townhouse and is now displayed at Caramoor along with the green desk in the painting.

: Here is one wall of the formal Dining Room at Rosen House. (Photo by Gabe Palacio)

: The Dining room was a central entertaining room at the estate. The room’s design and décor reflect the Rosens’ love for music and the arts.

: The “Monkey Bedroom” of the Rosen House was reserved for guests and showed Lucie’s love for nature. (Photo by Gabe Palacio)

: The La Loggia Bedroom is another elaborate guest space at Caramoor. Every room in the Rosens’ country home was filled with fine decorative art and furniture. (Photo by Gabe Palacio)

: This is the Music Room at Caramoor. This room seats 170 guests and is known for its Renaissance furniture, Gothic tapestries, and stained glass elements.

: This 16th century coffered ceiling is from a palace in southern Italy, carved in a design of squares and crosses with rosettes in the center.

: Above are 16th century French and Swiss glass windows. Nine of these windows were made especially for the Music Room.

: On one side is the Spanish alcove within the Music Room. It features a Gothic 16th century ceiling from an inn near Toledo, Spain. Chairs flank a 17th century Italian table. The Rosen family regularly gathered in this area to entertain and play board games.

: The Music Room is now used for intimate musical performances, recitals, opera and lectures. My nephew, Christopher Herbert, performed here in 2018 with his musical group, New York Polyphony, an amazing a cappella vocal quartet that sang both early and new music.

: Not long ago, the Caramoor held its first event of the fall season with a performance from Abel Selaocoe, a boundary-breaking cellist from South Africa. (Photo by Gabe Palacio)

: His captivating solos weaved together Western classical traditions with the rich musical heritage of Africa. Abel released his second album, Hymns of Bantu, this past spring. (Photo by Gabe Palacio)

: I encourage you to visit Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts the next time you’re in the area – it’s open all year round. Check out its calendar at caramoor.org or stop in for a pleasant walk through the historic gardens.