Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC), the resident theater company of Chautauqua Institution, today announced its 2024 season. In celebration of Chautauqua’s sesquicentennial, CTC’s season will draw from the full breadth of the theater company’s legacy. CTC will present three New Play Workshops (NPW) and three mainstage productions: Noah Haidle’s Birthday Candles, Lynn Nottage’s Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine, and Kate Hamill’s The Light and The Dark (the life and times of Artemisia Gentileschi), a world premiere directed by Producing Artistic Director Jade King Carroll. The season will also include the return of the beloved Bratton Late Night, featuring the talents...
Featured from Buffalo News As part of this year’s State of the State address, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul pledged to dedicate vital resources to help protect and rehabilitate some of our region’s most precious waterways – including Chautauqua Lake. This is welcome news for those who visit and make Chautauqua County their year-round home, but also for those who understand the importance of New York’s beautiful lakes to the state’s culture, ecosystem, and economy. Each is a vital part of our identity, and we applaud Hochul’s push for science-based conservation efforts to improve these treasures for generations to come. ...
From its founding in 1874, Chautauqua Institution has been a hub of intellectual and cultural activity, welcoming people from across the globe to share their ideas and insights. Over its 150 years, Chautauqua has weathered world wars, depressions, and profound social change, remaining a world-renowned destination for educational exploration, spiritual growth, and community engagement. As Chautauqua celebrates this remarkable milestone, we invite readers to explore our rich history with five fascinating facts you may not know about Chautauqua! 1. Chautauqua Institution was the first of several Chautauquas. As Chautauqua Institution grew in popularity, other “chautauquas” began to spread across the...
Everyone has a story to tell. Join us to discover yours at the Inaugural 2024 Kwame Alexander Writers’ Lab at Chautauqua Institution (previously known as the Chautauqua Writers’ Festival), taking place over four days, June 18-21. Reimagined by the #1 New York Times bestselling author and Michael I. Rudell Artistic Director of Literary Arts, the Writers’ Lab boasts a tradition of intensive master class workshops with award-winning contemporary authors while enjoying our beautiful lakeside community, Chautauqua Institution. This year we are celebrating and featuring writers in Memoir, Poetry, and Children’s Literature, including Kwame Alexander, Safiya Sinclair, Kate Bowler, Nikki Grimes,...
Chautauqua Institution today announced a transformational $5.3 million gift from longtime Chautauquans Craig and Cathrine Greene. Their multifaceted commitment, which includes gifts to both Chautauqua Institution and the Chautauqua Foundation, supports a wide range of capital projects and strategic initiatives that are core components of Boundless, A Campaign for Chautauqua. The gift includes support for the planned renovation of Bellinger Hall, an unrestricted contribution to the Chautauqua Fund, support for IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility) initiatives, and additional funding to endow dance excellence at Chautauqua through the existing Craig and Cathrine Greene Family Fund and establishment of the Sasha...
Chautauqua Institution today announced the naming of the Bonnefoux McBride Artistic Director of Chautauqua School of Dance in honor of longtime faculty Patricia McBride and Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux. The naming follows significant gifts made by Chautauquans Jane Foster and Arthur S. Willson, and the redesignation of existing endowment gifts made by the Carnahan-Jackson Foundation, endowing the position in perpetuity. Sasha Janes becomes the inaugural Bonnefoux McBride Artistic Director of Chautauqua School of Dance following his appointment as head of the school last year. “With tremendous thanks to Jane, Arthur and the Carnahan-Jackson Foundation for their generous forethought, we are thrilled to...
See what’s streaming on CHQ Assembly this February! CHQ Assembly’s February 2024 Lineup In February, we’re highlighting Chautauqua’s Forum on Democracy. Chautauqua’s three-day forum on democracy featured authors, contemporary thinkers and scholars engaging in panel discussions, presentations and seminars. Topics were as varied as history, technology, voting rights, literature, and more. Join Chautauqua’s lecturers Trevor Potter, Sayu Bhojwani, David Blight, Michael Waldman, and Christy Vines as they analyze and provide clear, diverse and action-oriented solutions to new paths for our democracy’s future. If you aren’t a member, visit assembly.chq.org to sign up today! In the Spotlight Chautauqua’s Forum on Democracy ...
Chautauqua Institution today announced the 2024 season repertoire of the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra (CSO) under the baton of Music Director and Principal Conductor Rossen Milanov. The 2024 season, marking the CSO’s 95th season and Chautauqua Institution’s sesquicentennial, will offer 24 performances between June 25 and Aug. 17, with concerts in Weeks One through Week Nine of Chautauqua’s Summer Assembly. Repertoire will range from classics to tributes, commissions, and several concerts with Principal Pops Conductor Stuart Chafetz on the podium. The CSO continues its relationship with the Sphinx Organization, with eight CSO Fellows selected from the Sphinx Orchestral Partners program joining...
Impacting Students Through Rhythmic Expression Chautauqua Arts Education kicked off the 2023–2024 school year working with students to tap into their creativity and connect with others through rhythm and sound! The transformative “Feelin’ the Beat” School Residency Program shares the joy of musical expression through drumming with 10 area schools and almost 500 students. Developed in 2014 by Chief Program Officer Deborah Sunya Moore and Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra Principal Percussionist Brian Kushmaul, the original vision was to create an arts education program for students attending special education programs in Erie 2 Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) Educational Centers....
Bush 3rd Graders’ Imagination Takes Center Stage Through CHQ Young Playwrights Project Applause, cheers, and excitement filled the auditorium of Bush Elementary School as the special guests bowed. “Did you enjoy that play?” asks Emily Olcott, one of four teaching artists visiting the school that day from Chautauqua Institution. “YES!” the children replied in unison following the short performance. “Well, great! Because we’re going to perform another play for you except… This one hasn’t been written yet!” Olcott responded to the students’ amazement. “In just a minute, I’m going to go into the audience and get creative ideas and suggestions...
