The Skaneateles Festival is celebrating 45 years this summer from July 31 through August 24, 2024, featuring an incredible variety of concerts from jazz to classical to bluegrass.
The season includes 14 main series concerts, two KidsFest performances, a free music lecture series with Juilliard professor Aaron Wunsch, and several community outreach performances.
The idea for the Skaneateles Festival came together in the spring of 1980 in discussions between musician Lindsay Groves and Skaneateles residents Beth Boudreau and Louise Robinson. The first season, two weeks, was presented that August in the village’s Library Hall. The generous David and Louise Robinson opened their home, Brook Farm, which soon became the Festival’s center.
At Brook Farm, musicians would live, eat, rehearse, relax, and perform, all because of the Robinsons’ hospitality – which extended to the thousands of concertgoers who sat under the stars and listened to music on Saturday evenings for the first 36 years of the festival. Its mission is to be one of the nation’s outstanding summer music festivals, set in the beauty of the Finger Lakes region.
Concert evenings at the picturesque Robinson Pavilion offer stunning lake views and are situated at Anyela’s Vineyards, taking place on Friday, August 2, and Saturdays, August 10, 17, and 24. Opening the first vineyard concert of the season is renowned musician Rhiannon Giddens. A two-time GRAMMY winner and recipient of the prestigious MacArthur ‘Genius’ grant, Giddens is known for her iconic folk music and efforts to spotlight overlooked contributions to American musical history.
During week two, the festival proudly welcomes Syrian clarinetist Kinan Azmeh and invites audience members to grab a glass of wine and bring a picnic for Beethoven Under the Stars. Appearing at the Festival for the first time on August 17 is Chris Thile – a GRAMMY Award-winning mandolinist, singer, and songwriter. Thile is a highly regarded musician celebrated for his mastery of the mandolin and innovative approach to bluegrass, folk, and classical music.
The Festival Finale features the highly anticipated return of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis on August 24.
For concerts at the vineyards, audiences are welcome to arrive as early as 6:00 pm and bring picnic dinners to enjoy on the lawn overlooking the lake. Wine and beer will be available at Anyela’s Vineyards; outside alcohol is not. On August 3, the Skaneateles Festival presents its largest-ever orchestral concert at one of the area’s high schools. The program, Music of the Americas, features colorful music from North and South America, including Alberto Ginastera’s Harp Concerto featuring Bridget Kibbey, Gabriela Lena Frank’s celebration of Inca warriors, and music by Aaron Copland and Gershwin’s beloved Rhapsody in Blue.
This season’s outreach initiative, “Searching for Home” invites performers, composers, and audiences to reflect on the nature of home and consider what it means to those who must search out a new one. It will highlight performers, composers, and musical traditions from those who resettled in Central New York: Syrians, Somalians, Afghans, and Ukrainians. The outreach initiative will include free performances open to the public between Syracuse and Auburn.
Chamber concerts at the First Presbyterian Church (97 East Genesee Street, Skaneateles) are performed on Thursday and Friday nights (except August 2). Two celebratory opening concerts at the church will feature favorite musicians from the festival’s past, including violinist Joe Genualdi, cellists Steven Doane and Rosemary Elliott, and pianist Andrew Russo.
Violinist James Ehne will make his Festival debut on August 1 with pianist Andrew Armstrong. He is one of the most sought-after violinists in the world, performing regularly with leading orchestras, and recently won a GRAMMY Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo.
The Dover Quartet will perform on August 8 and 9. August 8 will bring together two dearly beloved string quartets and August 9 presents a premiere performance of a new collaboration between bass-baritone Davóne Tines and the quartet where they will explore spirituality and mysticism through varied cultural lenses. The Claremont Trio takes the stage on August 15 and 16 performing a new work by Kinan Azmeh, commissioned by the Skaneateles Festival, and a “Queen of Hearts” program which will highlight regal trios by Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel.
The Westerlies debut at the Festival on August 22, joined by the young violinist-fiddler, George Meyer. Together they’ll present Songbook – music of John Prine, Randy Newman, Woody Guthrie, spirituals by the famous Golden Gate Quartet, and more.
The final week highlights this year’s Young Artist in Residence, the Ivalas Quartet – the current graduate quartet-in-residence at The Juilliard School. There will be several free outreach performances from the quartet and a ticketed evening concert by candlelight on August 23.
Tickets range from $32-70 for adults based on concert and seating choice. Youth under 18 are free in Section B (lawn). College students may purchase $10 student tickets at the door of the concert. Season Passes are on sale now. Week Passes and Vineyard Passes go on sale Monday, April 1, and individual tickets go on sale May 1.
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