Chautauqua Institution today announced that Amit Taneja will assume additional responsibilities as Senior Vice President of Community Relations & Chief IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Accessibility) Officer. Reporting directly to Chautauqua President Michael E. Hill, Ed.D., Taneja will continue to drive key initiatives that make Chautauqua Institution a more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible community while also deepening its engagement with community organizations. In his expanded role, Taneja will lead efforts to strengthen community relations, acting as the principal executive liaison between the Institution and various community groups, including the Chautauqua Property Owners Association (CPOA). He will support volunteer appreciation...
Chautauqua Institution Director of Religion Programs Rafia Amina Khader has been named to Interfaith America’s 2024–25 Interfaith Innovation Fellowship Cohort. Khader is among the cohort’s 11 outstanding interfaith leaders who will convene over the next year to leverage their collective knowledge toward shared action as they seek to meet a felt need in their community through an interfaith lens. According to the Interfaith America release, the Innovation Fellows were selected from Interfaith America’s Emerging Leaders Network because of their proven commitment to constructive interfaith cooperation and demonstrated ability to make meaningful and longstanding impact in their communities. In her role as a fellow, Khader...
Chautauqua Opera Company and Conservatory, the resident opera company and conservatory of Chautauqua Institution, announced today its 2025 season. Chautauqua Opera Company For its 2025 season, Chautauqua Opera continues its 95-year history of producing opera at Chautauqua Institution while also strengthening its commitment to developing new opera. Alongside a production of Puccini’s La bohème in Chautauqua’s Amphitheater, the company will conduct workshops of three new operas. Ranging from chamber operas to large-scale pieces, these workshops will feature Chautauqua Opera Company’s 16 Young Artists collaborating with celebrated composers and librettists. Chautauqua audiences will have the exclusive opportunity to experience these new...
Chautauqua Institution is celebrating a major investment by New York State in the science-based conservation of Chautauqua Lake. A $4.7 million grant to Chautauqua Institution from the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation (NYSEFC) will sustain scientific research and related infrastructure investments in Chautauqua Lake through May 2027. Institution President Michael E. Hill, says this investment from New York State represents a milestone in the multiyear vision for Chautauqua Lake conservation named in Chautauqua Institution’s strategic plan, 150 Forward. “When our Board of Trustees in 2019 named the development of science-based solutions for the conservation of Chautauqua Lake as one...
Chautauqua’s 2025 Summer Assembly is taking shape — it’s time to start planning your experience! This season features an exceptional lineup of speakers, performers, and artists, including Lewis Black’s biting humor, LeVar Burton’s captivating storytelling, Kwame Alexander’s lyrical poetry, Denyce Graves’s powerful voice, and George Saunders and Doris Kearns Goodwin’s literary brilliance. From lectures to concerts and theater productions, Chautauqua will once again be your community for learning, connection and inspiration. Mark your calendars and secure your gate passes and tickets! 2025 Summer Assembly Sales Schedule December: Select concerts and lectures. The perfect holiday gift — stay tuned for exciting...
Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC), the resident theater company of Chautauqua Institution, today announced their commission and development of a musical adaptation of The Crossover, the critically acclaimed novel by New York Times best-selling author and Chautauqua Institution’s Michael I. Rudell Artistic Director of Literary Arts and writer-in-residence Kwame Alexander. Under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Jade King Carroll, CTC is cementing its reputation as a national home for exciting new works. Carroll’s tenure has brought a renewed focus on commissioning, developing and producing works from new and established American playwrights. This commitment to fostering innovative storytelling is exemplified with...
Monday, October 7, 2024 Chautauqua, N.Y. – Chautauqua Institution and the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra (CSO) today announced a series of new musician appointments. Sharon Roffman joins the CSO as concertmaster after a two-year audition process, Stanislav Chernyshev as Principal Clarinet, and Matthew Strauss as Principal Timpani. Additionally, six exceptional violinists — Leslie Frey Anderegg, Zhe Deng, Zhen Lui, Molly McDonald, Kurt Munstedt and Timothy Peters — have been welcomed ahead of the 2025 season. Cristina Cutts Dougherty’s appointment as Principal Tuba is historic, as she becomes the first female principal tuba player in the orchestra’s history. Led by Music Director...
Cathrine and Craig Greene, Roe Green Foundation Gifts Celebrated Chautauqua Institution today announced two major projects have reached critical milestones through substantial philanthropic support as part of its 150th anniversary fundraising initiative, Boundless: A Campaign for Chautauqua. In recognition of major gifts supporting these capital projects, the Chautauqua Institution Board of Trustees voted to name two facilities in honor of the philanthropists whose contributions have made these essential projects a reality. Greene Family Commons: Renaming of Bellinger Hall Bellinger Hall, a cornerstone of Chautauqua’s residential life, will be renamed the Greene Family Commons following a transformational $10 million commitment...
Chautauqua Institution’s Board of Trustees elected Matthew Benson, Karen Goodell and Dave Pelton to four-year terms at the final meeting of the body’s 2023–24 cycle on Aug. 24. Board-elected trustees are vetted and nominated by the Board’s Nominating and Governance committee that considers the knowledge, skills and experience necessary to support the Institution’s leadership, advancement and evolution, guided by the strategic plan, 150 Forward: A Renewed Vision for Chautauqua Institution. Also at the Aug. 24 meeting, David Peckinpaugh was elected to a second four-year term. Additionally, members of the Chautauqua Corporation elected Michelle Adelman as the newest of the four trustees selected...
“Sabbath, Shabbat and Sabbatical: A Recipe for the Next 150 Years” Dr. Michael E. Hill, 18th President of Chautauqua Institution Good evening, Chautauqua. This year marks my eighth time presiding over this closing service that concludes our Summer Assembly, and I hope I never lose the wonder and awe that is created by Joshua Stafford, the Massey Organ, and Largo. It’s a deeply unfair act to follow, and yet, like Groundhog’s Day, I find myself here again. Thank you, Josh, and our amazing choir for the blessing you have been all summer. We have spent an entire summer celebrating Chautauqua’s...
