Counting down to Summer with the Performing and Visual Arts Team
Dear Chautauquans,
Happy New Year! It’s 2026, and my colleagues and I are counting down to the Summer Assembly; I hope that you are too. I wanted to share a bit about our planning process and some of the exciting programming already set for the summer.
The Performing and Visual Arts team (PAVA) consists of dedicated administrators and visionary artistic directors who dream and plan year-round to ensure that you, our students, and the Western New York community have enriching and unforgettable encounters with the arts at Chautauqua.
This time of year, we have applications streaming in for our school of music, opera company young artists program, school of dance, theatre conservatory and school of visual arts. Across all programs, we receive over 2,400 applications! I am so grateful to our community of Chautauquans who support these students through our Connections Program, donations for scholarships, and the game-changing, philanthropically funded renovations underway for the Greene Family Commons, our student dorms.
January finds us solidifying programming across all artforms — inviting back beloved voices while scouting for new work and meeting with dozens of artists, agents, and managers.
We’ve just announced Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC)’s Mainstages: Best for Baby, a new comedy starring Broadway’s George Abud and Crystal Dickinson; and How I Learned What I Learned by August Wilson, a giant of 20th-century American playwrighting. In the coming weeks, CTC will announce additional programming, including New Play Workshops. We are also planning for the grand opening of the Roe Green Theater Center this summer. This theater building, which will contain studios, offices and a Blackbox theater, is made possible entirely by donors and will serve as a hub of creative activity. We can’t wait to welcome you to see a CTC presentation or late-night entertainment — did I mention there’s a bar? — in this beautiful, new space.
Chautauqua Opera Company and Conservatory have also announced their season. The Opera Company will feature a triple-bill of the comedy The Music Shop and contemporary works inspired by Chautauqua history, A.E. Reverie and Ida by Lamplight, and workshops of Anne of Green Gables, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, and Sarah in the Theatre. The Conservatory will present The Magic Flute and a double-bill of L’Enfant Prodigue & Les Mamelles de Tiresias (Opera Conservatory).
This summer, our Chautauqua Visual Arts team will once again mount a breathtaking nine exhibitions in nine weeks, including a July 1 lecture with the groundbreaking artists Guerilla Girls.
And, of course, we are programming the evening and Sunday afternoon entertainment for the Amphitheater. Highlights include Broadway stars Kelli O’Hara and Sutton Foster performing with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet, Alison Krauss, and Silkroad Ensemble featuring Rhiannon Giddens.
In addition, you may know that our Chautauqua Arts Education team serves 6,000 students in Chautauqua County public schools each year. This work spans twelve months and is incredibly rewarding. Our teaching artists help spark a love of arts, culture, and self-expression in kids from all walks of life in Western New York. January marks the start of our Young Playwrights Project, where 3rd and 4th graders from nine schools write more than 450 short plays and hear them read aloud. If you are in the area and interested in volunteering, contact Suzanne at sfassettwright@chq.org — I highly recommend it!
We will have much more to share with you in the coming weeks: Chautauqua Chamber Music, our School of Dance and School of Music performances, and the full Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra calendar. Keep an eye out for announcements and consider joining us for a webinar focusing on all programming at 1 p.m. EST on Jan. 27.
Finally, I want to share a special thanks to our PAVA “friends” groups: Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra League, Chautauqua Opera Guild, Friends of Chautauqua Visual Arts, Friends of Chautauqua Theater, and Chautauqua Dance Circle. Your enthusiasm, support and kindness sustain our administrators and artistic leaders all year long. THANK YOU!
10…9…8…see you very soon.
With appreciation,
Laura Savia
Vice President of Performing and Visual Arts