Church of the Wild
Outdoor ClassroomKriss Miller
Kriss Miller
A trio of chamber operas performed on the lawn of the Athenaeum Hotel, including two world premieres from The Summer Place, a new opera inspired by oral histories and true accounts of life at Chautauqua Institution across the decades. Conceived to be performed outdoors on the grounds of Chautauqua, The Summer Place is a fitting...
"A Journey through the Holy Land in the times of Jesus" (weather permitting)
A Service of Remembrance
Monte Thompson was a professional dancer, and also spent years as a restauranteur. His life was spent on his feet. Now retired, he is interested in continuing to be able to move easily and gracefully while using breathing and stretching techniques to help quiet his mind and prepare him to face each day with purpose...
The daughter of a foreign correspondent, Kate Braestrup spent her childhood in Algiers, New York City, Paris, Bangkok, Washington, DC and Sabillasville, Maryland. Educated at the Parsons School of Design, the New School and Georgetown University, Kate has her master's degree from Bangor Theological Seminary and received an honorary doctorate from Unity College in 2010. Kate...
Enjoy watching master voice teachers at work as they mentor Opera Conservatory students.
Matthew Strauss has been applauded throughout the United States as an energetic percussionist and timpanist with a diverse musical background. In addition to his position as Associate Principal Timpanist / Section Percussionist with the Houston Symphony, Mr. Strauss is an Associate Professor of Percussion at Rice University and faculty member at the Texas Music Festival...
Thomas Chatterton Williams is a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of Losing My Cool and Self-Portrait in Black and White. He is a visiting professor of humanities and senior fellow at the Hannah Arendt Center at Bard College, a 2022 Guggenheim fellow, and a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. To...
Play CHQ invites families to explore together through games, crafts, STEM activities and more throughout the 2024 season. You can join the fun at pop-up locations across the grounds! In case of inclement weather, all Play CHQ events will be held at Sheldon Hall of Education, Room 202.
Presenters Philip Allen and Christina Noel will lead a community discussion on our Week Five CLSC selection, Horse: A Novel, by Geraldine Brooks.
Enjoy learning more about the lake and water-shed conservation efforts while paddling along during this hour-long guided kayak tour. The tour begins and ends at the Sports Club. The cost is for rental of single or tandem kayak plus $10 per person for the tour guide. Limited spots so please reserve one day before the...
The Rev. Dr. George D. McClain, a United Methodist clergy, is a social activist leader and professor for the United Methodist Office of Deaconess and Home Missioner where he is currently teaching a class on the Theology of Mission taking place at the Chautauqua Institution this week. George's religious social activism began during the Civil...
Pillar Talks: Reflections on 150 Years of Chautauqua Programs featuring Sherra Babcock, former Emily and Richard Smucker Chair for Education
Celebrate Chautauqua's 150th Anniversary with the Play CHQ team. In this session, you will have the opportunity to build models showing your dreams for Chautauqua's next 150 years. Play CHQ invites families to explore together through games, crafts, STEM activities and more throughout the 2024 season. You can join the fun at pop-up locations across...
Thirty-eight years ago, four American string players formed a quartet with the express purpose of melding the wide range of music performed in North America, both past and present. To honor the significant lineage of these musical traditions and the profound relationship between them, the quartet borrowed an “old/new name for the continent, based on...
Sound Meditation from An Artist and Poet
Rebecca McCabe Ibel is the owner and director of Contemporary Art Matters. Originally from Columbus, she graduated from The Branson School in Marin County, California. She received her BA in Art History at The American University of Paris. Her career in the arts began at Sotheby’s auction house in New York and worked in Berlin...
150th Anniversary StoryCorps Archive: The Cohen Multimedia Studio is available for recording your StoryCorps conversation for inclusion in Chautauqua's 150th Anniversary Archive. Book your recording time online here. Available times will be highlighted on each day’s schedule with a white box. Each recording session is designed for two people to be in conversation. Think of...
"A Journey through the Holy Land in the times of Jesus" (weather permitting)
Chautauqua School of Dance presents an outstanding mixed repertoire evening of new and established works, masterfully performed by the Music Student Festival Orchestra. This performance will feature the most exceptional young talent in the country. Under the leadership of Sasha Janes, the school continues its long tradition of excellence as a top-tier summer training program...
Explore locally and come to Chautauqua Institution on Buffalo Day. Residents of Buffalo have free admission and parking* all day. Our Buffalo Day includes access to all events in the Amphitheater and Hall of Philosophy that day, beaches, and so much more! Please bring proof of residency for entry. Youth 12 and under are always...
Chautauqua Science Group Weekly Lecture Kevin Teichman, USEPA senior science advisor (ret.)
The daughter of a foreign correspondent, Kate Braestrup spent her childhood in Algiers, New York City, Paris, Bangkok, Washington, DC and Sabillasville, Maryland. Educated at the Parsons School of Design, the New School and Georgetown University, Kate has her master's degree from Bangor Theological Seminary and received an honorary doctorate from Unity College in 2010. Kate...
Margaret Sullivan is an award-winning media critic and a groundbreaking journalist who currently writes for The Guardian US and serves as executive director of the Craig Newmark Center for Journalism Ethics and Security at Columbia Journalism School. She began her career as a summer intern at her hometown paper, The Buffalo News, and rose through...
Play CHQ invites families to explore together through games, crafts, STEM activities and more throughout the 2024 season. You can join the fun at pop-up locations across the grounds! In case of inclement weather, all Play CHQ events will be held at Sheldon Hall of Education, Room 202.
Maya K. van Rossum is the Delaware River Keeper and founder of Green Amendments For The Generations, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring passage of Green Amendments in every state constitution across our nation
Miller Cottage Tours: Join Clara Miller for a 30-minute tour of the first floor of the historic Miller-Edison Cottage. The cottage was built in 1875 for the co-founder and first president of the Institution, Lewis Miller, an inventor and businessman from Akron, Ohio. President Ulysses S. Grant visited the property that year. Miller’s daughter, Mina,...
Sohrab Ahmari is a founder and editor of Compact and a contributing writer for The New Statesman. Previously, he spent nearly a decade at News Corp., as op-ed editor of the New York Post and as a columnist and editor with the Wall Street Journal opinion pages in New York and London. In addition to...
Inter-generational Climate Storytelling Workshop Prep with Planet Forward
Social hour at the Baptist House, Catholic House, Christian Church, Everett Jewish Life Center, Episcopal Cottage, Lutheran House, Unitarian House and United Methodist House
As part of our annual Buffalo Day tradition, we invite patrons to attend a panel focusing on important work happening in the greater Buffalo region. This year's panel will focus on racial equity work happening in Buffalo and Chautauqua County. Panelists include: Glenn Jackson - M&T Bank/Oishei Foundation; Felicia Beard - Community Foundation for Greater...
Spencer Myer, piano Tuesday, July 23 2024, 4:00 p.m. Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall Lauded for "superb playing" and "poised, alert musicianship" by the Boston Globe, and labeled "definitely a man to watch" by London's The Independent, American pianist SPENCER MYER is one of the most respected and sought-after artists on today's concert stage. A renowned...
The Niagara Movement: The Early Battle for Civil Rights Presented in partnership with Buffalo-Toronto Public Media as part of Buffalo Day 2024. This powerful hour-long documentary by WNED PBS, delves deep into the movement’s pivotal role in shaping the civil rights landscape. The documentary explores the Black elite and intellectual society at the turn of...
Bring gate pass. Adjacent to Turner Community Center
150th Anniversary StoryCorps Archive: The Cohen Multimedia Studio is available for recording your StoryCorps conversation for inclusion in Chautauqua's 150th Anniversary Archive. Book your recording time online here. Available times will be highlighted on each day’s schedule with a white box. Each recording session is designed for two people to be in conversation. Think of...
Chia-Hsuan Lin, conductor Conductor Chia-Hsuan Lin returns to the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra for a program that journeys through diverse musical landscapes, featuring a rich tapestry of compositions from around the world. The program culminates with Antonin Dvorak's majestic Symphony No. 8, a stirring masterpiece that pays homage to the folk traditions of Dvorak's native Bohemia....
Play CHQ invites our young adults to a Dance tickets available for purchase at all play Premium events and at the YAC for $10 tickets will be available for purchase at the door night of.
Enjoy the beauty of the lake during our sunrise paddle. This is not a guided tour but an opportunity to rent a kayak, SUP or canoe for an enjoyable hour at sunrise. Reservations accepted one day in advance at the Sports Club. Contact sportsclub@chq.org with questions.
Monte Thompson was a professional dancer, and also spent years as a restauranteur. His life was spent on his feet. Now retired, he is interested in continuing to be able to move easily and gracefully while using breathing and stretching techniques to help quiet his mind and prepare him to face each day with purpose...
Join Chautauqua's StoryCorps Ambassador Nancy Stanley for a cup of your favorite morning beverage to discuss the process of capturing your StoryCorps conversation for Chautauqua's 150th Anniversary StoryCorps Archive.
The daughter of a foreign correspondent, Kate Braestrup spent her childhood in Algiers, New York City, Paris, Bangkok, Washington, DC and Sabillasville, Maryland. Educated at the Parsons School of Design, the New School and Georgetown University, Kate has her master's degree from Bangor Theological Seminary and received an honorary doctorate from Unity College in 2010. Kate...
In a week centered on “Our Greatest Challenges (That We Can Actually Do Something About),” the Chautauqua Lecture Series and Chautauqua Climate Change Initiative welcome environmentalist and writer Bill McKibben back to the Amphitheater stage, where he’ll be joined by journalist Frank Sesno as they discuss work both men are doing to catalyze climate action...
Play CHQ invites families to explore together through games, crafts, STEM activities and more throughout the 2024 season. You can join the fun at pop-up locations across the grounds! In case of inclement weather, all Play CHQ events will be held at Sheldon Hall of Education, Room 202.
Wednesdays at 12:15 p.m. on the Porch of the Literary Arts Center at Alumni Hall will now feature the CLSC Young Readers Book Discussion, geared toward educators, librarians, parents, and children’s literature enthusiasts, immediately followed by a Play CHQ event on the lawn of Alumni Hall for kids of all ages.
Miller-Edison Cottage Shipman Garden Tour and Q&A: Hosted by the Bird, Tree and Garden Club of Chautauqua, with support from Betsy Burgeson, Supervisor of Gardens at Chautauqua, these weekly tours of the Ellen Biddle Shipman garden at the historic Miller-Edison Cottage are a favorite summertime experience. The cottage was the home of Chautauqua co-founder Lewis...
Enjoy paddling while learning about historic sites along the shores of Chautauqua Institution during this hour-long guided kayak tour. The tour begins and ends at the Sports Club. The cost is for rental of single or tandem kayak plus $10 per person for the tour guide. Limited spots so please reserve one day before the...
Frank Sesno Book Signing. Ask More: The Power of Questions to Open Doors, Uncover Solutions, and Spark Change
Sharon Brous is the senior and founding rabbi of IKAR, a leading-edge Jewish community based in Los Angeles, and a leading voice in reanimating religious life in America, working to develop a spiritual roadmap for a soulful, justice-driven, multi-faith ethos in Los Angeles and around the country. Brous cofounded IKAR in 2004 to reinvigorate Jewish...
"In the Garden" exhibition Opening Reception July 24, 3-5pm. Exhibition runs July 24-Aug 21. Inspired by what we learn from the garden, this exhibition reflects the complicated histories and often tenuous futures of flowers and food. It also digs at our relationship to them, as those charged with tending the garden. Through media ranging from...
Pierce Freelon is a Grammy-nominated artist, picture book author and podcaster. His Grammy-nominated children’s music albums AnceStars and Black to the Future have been featured on NPR, Billboard and “The Today Show.” He is the author of two children's picture books with Little, Brown Books for Young Readers: Daddy and Me: Side by Side and...
Play CHQ invites families to explore together through games, crafts, STEM activities and more throughout the 2024 season. You can join the fun at pop-up locations across the grounds! In case of inclement weather, all Play CHQ events will be held at Sheldon Hall of Education, Room 202.
Play CHQ is partnering with our friends in Arts Education to bring you Drumming with the School Residencies “Feelin’ the Beat” program throughout the summer! Play CHQ invites families to explore together through games, crafts, STEM activities and more throughout the 2023 season. You can join the fun at pop-up locations across the grounds!
Therapeutic Gong Meditation
Join us for an operalogue to learn more about the music, with performances by young artists.
"In the Garden" Gallery Talk, July 24 from 5-6pm with exhibiting artists, immediately following our opening reception. Join us in the Main gallery at Strohl Art Center for a discussion with "In the Garden" exhibiting artists Hillary Waters Fayle, Brian Fleetwood, and Margaret Jacobs, moderated by curator Erika Diamond. This program is generously sponsored by...
Play CHQ invites families to explore together through games, crafts, STEM activities and more throughout the 2024 season. You can join the fun at pop-up locations across the grounds!
Programmed by Unity of Chautauqua
150th Anniversary StoryCorps Archive: The Cohen Multimedia Studio is available for recording your StoryCorps conversation for inclusion in Chautauqua's 150th Anniversary Archive. Book your recording time online here. Available times will be highlighted on each day’s schedule with a white box. Each recording session is designed for two people to be in conversation. Think of...
This timeless fairytale follows two siblings bravely navigating a mysterious forest, and their perilous encounter with a mischievous witch and her delectable gingerbread house. Chautauqua’s Amphitheater is the perfect setting to bring Engelbert Humperdinck’s mesmerizing and lush score to life with the full power of the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, sung in English and transporting audiences...
YAC Dance for 12-17 year old Chautauquans. Admission is $5.
The daughter of a foreign correspondent, Kate Braestrup spent her childhood in Algiers, New York City, Paris, Bangkok, Washington, DC and Sabillasville, Maryland. Educated at the Parsons School of Design, the New School and Georgetown University, Kate has her master's degree from Bangor Theological Seminary and received an honorary doctorate from Unity College in 2010. Kate...
Timothy P. Carney is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he works on civil society, family, localism, religion in America, economic competition, and electoral politics. He is concurrently a senior columnist at the Washington Examiner. Carney will close the Chautauqua Lecture Series’ survey of “Our Greatest Challenges (That We Can Actually Do...
Play CHQ is stepping back in time to celebrate Chautauqua's 150th Anniversary. Join us for a session of Victorian style play with traditional games, toys, and activities! Play CHQ invites families to explore together through games, crafts, STEM activities and more throughout the 2024 season. You can join the fun at pop-up locations across the...
Inter-generational Climate Storytelling with Frank Sesno and Planet Forward. This is a "Storycorps" for the Climate, featuring cross-generational participants sharing their fears, hopes and dreams for our future.
Don't have a partner? One will be provided. Game managed by Shelley Dahlie. $10/person.
Play CHQ Premium invites families to explore together with our activities. Access to Play CHQ Premium can be purchased online at learn.chq.org. The Premium play pass grants access to 4 events for the week it is purchased for. Play CHQ Premium pass is available online for $25. Individual events can be purchased at the start...
Miller Cottage Tours: Join Clara Miller for a 30-minute tour of the first floor of the historic Miller-Edison Cottage. The cottage was built in 1875 for the co-founder and first president of the Institution, Lewis Miller, an inventor and businessman from Akron, Ohio. President Ulysses S. Grant visited the property that year. Miller’s daughter, Mina,...
Drop in on this hands-on jewelry workshop led by CVA exhibiting artist Brian Fleetwood. Participants will each make a brooch that is designed to help them contribute to local ecosystems. This workshop is generously sponsored by the Kay Hardesty Logan Foundation in conjunction with the exhibition "In the Garden". Participation in this workshop is free...
The Venerable Tenzin Priyadarshi is an innovative thinker, philosopher, educator, and a polymath monk dedicated to promoting ethical imagination and empathy-based learning. He is President & CEO of The Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Venerable Tenzin's unusual background encompasses entering a Buddhist monastery at the age...
Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle Presentation — Horse: A Novel, by Geraldine Brooks Kentucky, 1850: An enslaved groom named Jarret and a bay foal forge a bond of understanding that will carry the horse to record-setting victories across the South. When the nation erupts in civil war, an itinerant young artist who has made his...
Join Chautauqua Institution President Michael E. Hill, Ed.D. and Board of Trustees Chair Candace L. Maxwell for an information and Q&A session on the Institution's revised strategic plan. Register here: https://chq1874.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_My1Z8O6ARBuaNHb0Oz6_hg We will email you a reminder.
Rossen Milanov, conductor Prepare to be spellbound by a symphony program that traverses the depths of human emotion and narrative complexity. Samuel Barber's "Essay for Orchestra" sets the stage with its evocative melodies and stirring orchestration. Angel Kotev's "Rhapsody No. 3 (‘Fateful’)" follows, offering a haunting exploration of destiny and fate through its mesmerizing themes...
Enjoy the beauty of the lake during our sunrise paddle. This is not a guided tour but an opportunity to rent a kayak, SUP or canoe for an enjoyable hour at sunrise. Reservations accepted one day in advance at the Sports Club. Contact sportsclub@chq.org with questions.
Monte Thompson was a professional dancer, and also spent years as a restauranteur. His life was spent on his feet. Now retired, he is interested in continuing to be able to move easily and gracefully while using breathing and stretching techniques to help quiet his mind and prepare him to face each day with purpose...
The daughter of a foreign correspondent, Kate Braestrup spent her childhood in Algiers, New York City, Paris, Bangkok, Washington, DC and Sabillasville, Maryland. Educated at the Parsons School of Design, the New School and Georgetown University, Kate has her master's degree from Bangor Theological Seminary and received an honorary doctorate from Unity College in 2010. Kate...
Chico Tillmon is the executive director of the Community Violence Intervention Leadership Academy at the University of Chicago Crime Lab, the first CVI training program designed to elevate the leadership capacity of leaders who oversee community-based organizations, offices of violence prevention, hospital violence intervention, and other components of the CVI ecosystem working tirelessly to quell...
During the season stop by Bestor Plaza to try something new! We won't have the Food Festival during Week Nine this year, but we have food trucks and tents throughout the season. Kosher Food Tent (bagels, lox, knishes, blintzes and more): 11:30 a.m.–2 p.m., Sundays through Thursdays, weekly Yakisoba’s (noodles, dumplings and more): Thursdays &...
Each Friday at 12:15 p.m. on the Porch of the Literary Arts Center at Alumni Hall, the Chautauqua Community Poem, curated by Kwame Alexander from entries by our fellow Chautauquans, will be shared and spotlight reader from each of the Chautauqua Writers' Center workshops will share their work, introduced by each week's Writers' Center Faculty....
Jumu'ah introduction for visitors is at 12:30 PM. Jumu'ah Service is at 1:05 PM
Kaitlin B. Curtice is an award-winning author, poet-storyteller, and public speaker. As an enrolled citizen of the Potawatomi nation, Kaitlin writes on the intersections of spirituality and identity and how that shifts throughout our lives. She also speaks on these topics to diverse audiences who are interested in truth-telling and healing. As an inter-spiritual advocate,...
Sara Davis Buechner, piano Friday, July 26 2024, 4:00 p.m. Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall Noted for her musical command, cosmopolitan artistry, and visionary independence, Sara Davis Buechner is one of the most original concert pianists of our time. Lauded for her “intelligence, integrity and all-encompassing technical prowess” (New York Times), “thoughtful artistry in the full...
Ilya Kaler is considered to be one of the most outstanding personalities of the violin today. He is the only violinist to win the Gold Medal at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow (1986), the Sibelius Competition in Helsinki (1985), and the Paganini Competition in Genoa (1981). He has been described as a "magician, bewitching our...
150th Anniversary StoryCorps Archive: The Cohen Multimedia Studio is available for recording your StoryCorps conversation for inclusion in Chautauqua's 150th Anniversary Archive. Book your recording time online here. Available times will be highlighted on each day’s schedule with a white box. Each recording session is designed for two people to be in conversation. Think of...
Chautauqua Institution welcomes legendary R&B vocal group Boyz II Men to its 2024 summer concert series. The smooth harmonies and enduring themes of Boyz II Men earned them the distinction of best-selling R&B group of all time, with 64 million albums sold. With past hits like “End of the Road,” “I’ll Make Love to You,”...
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