The 2025 summer season of the Skaneateles Festival begins this week and will run through August 23, featuring a lineup of dynamic concerts and experiences for the community to enjoy.
The 2025 season features concerts from jazz to classical to bluegrass and includes 13 main series concerts, a special matinee concert in East Syracuse, two KidsFest performances, a musical naturewalk at Baltimore Woods, a free music lecture series with Juilliard professor Aaron Wunsch, and several free community performances.
The season kicks off on Thursday, July 31 at the First Presbyterian Church of Skaneateles. It features Baroque ensemble Ruckus: “the world’s only period-instrument rock band,” with up-and-coming violinist Keir GoGwilt and vocalist Fiona Gillespie (San Francisco Classical Voice). The concert, starting at 7:30 p.m., will offer a folk-Baroque feast of dance music, featuring works by Corelli, Geminiani, and Neil Gow, as well as a selection of traditional Gaelic songs.
Concert evenings at Robinson Pavilion hold lake views and are situated at Anyela’s Vineyards. Opening the first vineyard concert of the season on Friday, August 1 is 19-time Grammy winning banjo player Béla Fleck. The concert, starting at 8:00 p.m., will also feature harpist Edmar Castañeda and drummer Antonio Sánchez, as Béla debuts his new project, BEATrio.
BEATrio has been praised for its innovative fusion of diverse musical styles. “This project reminds me of the early days of the Flecktones,” Fleck said, reflecting on the trio’s inception. “Together, we’ve forged an unforseen trio, a union that is truly magical,” Castañeda added.
Tickets are still available in the Section B lawn seating and will be available at the door. The rain location for this event is at Auburn Junior High School.
Saturday, August 2 features the largest Skaneateles Festival Orchestra event of the season at Anyela’s Vineyards, with pianist Soyeon Kate Lee, “displayed a stunning command of the keyboard, from the beautifully gauged weighting of her finger strokes to the scrupulous calibration of inner voices and dynamics” (The Washington Post) And up-and-coming conductor Louis Lohraseb. The program, “Listen to the Wind,” will feature music inspired by nature and include a selection from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, Theofanidis, Chopin and Mendelssohn. The rain location for this concert will be at Skaneateles High School.
For concerts at the vineyards, audiences can 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 for purchase at Anyela’s Vineyards; outside alcohol is not permitted. This season, dinner from the Sherwood Inn or personal charcuterie boards from Good Eats are also available for pre-order ahead of the concerts.
The first week of the Festival also introduces KidsFest on August 1, providing an opportunity to get the whole family involved. Starting at 10 am, experience Fiddlesticks! with Ruckus, a shapeshifting, collaborative baroque ensemble with a playfulapproach to early music, at the First Presbyterian Church of Skaneateles. Kids get free entry and adults may purchase a $5 ticket at the door.
Free weekly sessions of Skan Fest U return, which will take place on Tuesdays, 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm July 29th through August 19th. These sessions are free and open to the public, at the First Presbyterian Church in Skaneateles. Attendees can get inside the music, including several Nature-inspired works to be heard on Festival programs this season and learn how the appreciation of Nature might aid musical understanding. They will also see live performances by Festival artists and meet with fellow music enthusiasts and Nature lovers afterward over a glass of wine. These sessions are led by Co-ArtisticDirector Aaron Wunsch, who teaches at The Juilliard School.
Tickets range from $35-70 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 with a valid college ID. All Festival tickets are now on sale.
For more information on the season, visit www.skanfest.org.
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