A stunningly virtuosic pianist, Alexander is internationally recognised for his electrifying and poetic performances. His performance of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.3 at the BBC Proms was described as “revelatory” by The Times and “electrifying” by Limelight. Alexander was Artist-in-Residence at Wigmore Hall for the 23/24 season. Highlights of the 2025-26 season include debuts with Orquesta...
Dr. Michael Chan joined the Concordia College community in June 2022 as the executive director for faith and learning. Prior to that, he was associate professor of Old Testament at...
Leading the fourth installment of a five-part weeklong deep dive into “The 2026 Election: What’s at Stake?,” renowned scholars E.J. Dionne, Jr. and Christine Emba join in conversation for a...
Theater Chats (formerly known as Brown Bags) On selected Thursdays at 12:15 p.m., bring lunch to Smith Wilkes Hall and join special guests, including actors, designers, playwrights and more, for...
Dionne is a senior fellow and the W. Averell Harriman Chair in American Governance in the Governance Studies program at Brookings. He is also a Distinguished University Professor in the...
Join us for an afternoon of song, featuring our 2026 Young Artists.
Rossen Milanov, conductor Mak Grgic, guitar The Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra is thrilled to welcome guitarist Mak Grgic in an evening of symphonic storytelling. Stravinsky’s “Song of the Nightengale” opens the...
Explore locally and come to Chautauqua Institution on Chautauqua County Day. Residents of Chautauqua County have free admission and parking from 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Our Chautauqua County Day...
Dr. Michael Chan joined the Concordia College community in June 2022 as the executive director for faith and learning. Prior to that, he was associate professor of Old Testament at...
Kevin R. Kosar and Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, two of the nation’s leading experts in the workings of the U.S. federal government, governance, and interbranch relations, will present in tandem on...
Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle — LatinoLand: A Portrait of America's Largest and Least Understood Minority by Marie Arana LatinoLand is an exceptional, all-encompassing overview of Hispanic America based on...
A consummate performer, Harry Connick, Jr. has exemplified excellence in the entertainment world for decades—be it music, film, television or Broadway. His prodigious talent has earned him Grammy, Emmy and...
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Librettist: Original text by Emanuel Schickaneder, English dialogue translation by Alice Goodman Stage Director: Nathan Troup Conductor: Stephen Hargreaves In Mozart’s comic opera The Magic Flute,...
WORLD PREMIERE By Sharyn Rothstein Directed by Oliver Butler Bratton Theater Best for Baby and its devilishly funny emcee takes audiences inside Johnson & Johnson’s decades-long and still evolving baby...
Rossen Milanov, conductor Embark on a thrilling musical journey across galaxies with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra. The evening opens with John Williams’ iconic “Main Theme” from the Star Wars Suite...
Cantor Olivia Brodsky serves as Cantor and Co-Clergy of East End Temple in Manhattan, alongside Rabbi Joshua Stanton. She is a vocalist dedicated to preserving Jewish culture and tradition while...
Chautauqua School of Dance presents an outstanding mixed repertoire matinee of new and established works featuring the most exceptional young talent in the country. Under the leadership of Sasha Janes,...
Chautauqua Writers' Center Faculty Reading & CLSC Young Readers Author Presentation — Angela May (Children's Literature) and Mary Alice Monroe (Prose) Angela May is the co-author of The Islanders, a...
WORLD PREMIERE By Sharyn Rothstein Directed by Oliver Butler Bratton Theater Best for Baby and its devilishly funny emcee takes audiences inside Johnson & Johnson’s decades-long and still evolving baby...
Cantor Olivia Brodsky serves as Cantor and Co-Clergy of East End Temple in Manhattan, alongside Rabbi Joshua Stanton. She is a vocalist dedicated to preserving Jewish culture and tradition while...
David Wallace-Wells is an acclaimed columnist and staff writer for The New York Times. Neither a scientist nor an environmental activist per se, Wallace-Wells is a celebrated climate change speaker...
Experience the adventurous Del Sol Quartet in a powerful concert that explores how generational knowledge helps us heal our world. Known for their bold artistry and commitment to diverse voices,...
Comprised of top-tier students from conservatories and universities in the U.S. and abroad, Music School Festival Orchestra members participate in a variety of musical activities during their summers at Chautauqua including chamber music and private lessons along with their meticulous orchestral training. Alumni from the MSFO can be heard in many of the world’s top...
Cantor Olivia Brodsky serves as Cantor and Co-Clergy of East End Temple in Manhattan, alongside Rabbi Joshua Stanton. She is a vocalist dedicated to preserving Jewish culture and tradition while making it evermore applicable to daily life and accessible for people of all generations. Brodsky is passionate about engaging a diverse community of people with...
Chautauqua Science Group Weekly Lecture
Aja Barber is a writer and sustainability consultant focusing on the intersections of sustainability, fashion, and the textile industry. Her work explores the traditions of privilege, wealth inequality, racism, feminism, colonialism, and how these systems of power affect our buying habits. Consumed is her debut book, a treatise on the state of fashion, climate change,...
Bird, Tree & Garden Club lunchtime lecture series
Described as "an artist with a polished sound and tremendous constructive power" and hailed by the Hoja del Lunes de Madrid, as "the Spanish pianist of his generation," José Ramón Méndez is one of the most exciting Spanish pianists of today. Recent performances include Chopin's first piano concerto with the Cuban National Symphony Orchestra and...
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Librettist: Original text by Emanuel Schickaneder, English dialogue translation by Alice Goodman Stage Director: Nathan Troup Conductor: Stephen Hargreaves In Mozart’s comic opera The Magic Flute, Prince Tamino embarks on a journey to rescue Pamina, only to discover that the true battle isn’t between people, but between ignorance and understanding. Guided...
WORLD PREMIERE By Sharyn Rothstein Directed by Oliver Butler Bratton Theater Best for Baby and its devilishly funny emcee takes audiences inside Johnson & Johnson’s decades-long and still evolving baby powder scandal. A Big American Play ripped straight from the headlines, this world premiere is equal parts showbiz spectacle and intimate human storytelling, brought to...
Timothy Muffitt, conductor Under the baton of Timothy Muffitt, the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra opens with Christopher Theofanidis’s Rainbow Body, a luminous work inspired by one of Hildegard von Bingen’s medieval chants. Closing out the night is Beethoven's Symphony No. 3, “Eroica”, an evolutionary masterpiece that ushered in an era of new symphonic music. Equally expansive...
Cantor Olivia Brodsky serves as Cantor and Co-Clergy of East End Temple in Manhattan, alongside Rabbi Joshua Stanton. She is a vocalist dedicated to preserving Jewish culture and tradition while making it evermore applicable to daily life and accessible for people of all generations. Brodsky is passionate about engaging a diverse community of people with...
Ron Gonen is the founder and CEO of Closed Loop Partners, a firm at the forefront of building the circular economy. Closed Loop Partners is comprised of an asset management business, innovation center and operating group that builds and operates circular economy infrastructure, including the largest privately held recycling company in the U.S. It is...
WORLD PREMIERE By Sharyn Rothstein Directed by Oliver Butler Bratton Theater Best for Baby and its devilishly funny emcee takes audiences inside Johnson & Johnson’s decades-long and still evolving baby powder scandal. A Big American Play ripped straight from the headlines, this world premiere is equal parts showbiz spectacle and intimate human storytelling, brought to...
Elizabeth Mooney is a visual artist that explores the construct of landscape through painting, printmaking, and kinetic sculpture. She received her MFA in Painting and Drawing from California College of the Arts, and her BFA from the Art Institute of Boston. Elizabeth was a Visual Artist Fellow at the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center, and...
Programmed by Unity of Chautauqua
THE MUSIC SHOP / A.E. REVERIE / IDA BY LAMPLIGHT Three operas light up the Amphitheater stage on July 22, bringing both side-splitting laughter and heart-melting nostalgia. In Richard Wargo’s zany one-act The Music Shop (last seen at Chautauqua where it premiered in 1993) Dmitri and Masha try to help the hapless Ivan remember the...
Cantor Olivia Brodsky serves as Cantor and Co-Clergy of East End Temple in Manhattan, alongside Rabbi Joshua Stanton. She is a vocalist dedicated to preserving Jewish culture and tradition while making it evermore applicable to daily life and accessible for people of all generations. Brodsky is passionate about engaging a diverse community of people with...
Theater Chats (formerly known as Brown Bags) On selected Thursdays at 12:15 p.m., bring lunch to Smith Wilkes Hall and join special guests, including actors, designers, playwrights and more, for...
WORLD PREMIERE By Sharyn Rothstein Directed by Oliver Butler Bratton Theater Best for Baby and its devilishly funny emcee takes audiences inside Johnson & Johnson’s decades-long and still evolving baby...
Join us for an afternoon of song, featuring our 2026 Young Artists.
WORLD PREMIERE By Sharyn Rothstein Directed by Oliver Butler Bratton Theater Best for Baby and its devilishly funny emcee takes audiences inside Johnson & Johnson’s decades-long and still evolving baby...
Rossen Milanov, conductor The Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra presents two notable symphonies of the twentieth century. Hovhaness’s Symphony No. 2, “Mysterious Mountain,” unfolds as a meditation on nature, drawing listeners into...
Drawing on his experience as a cultural commentator and advocate for spiritual renewal, Rainn Wilson closes Chautauqua’s Week Four theme “Wasted: Our Era of Disposability” in conversation, weaving humor with...
Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle — Where the Rivers Merge: A Novel by Mary Alice Monroe From the New York Times bestselling author, the first of two epic and triumphant...
Experience new plays the moment they come to life. The FutureNow new play labs showcase original work by CTC’s inaugural class of Playwriting Fellows in collaboration with our Directing Fellows—a...
Chautauqua Lecture Series keynote speaker Rainn Wilson hosts a workshop engaging the Chautauqua community with his journal-style Soul Boom Workbook: Spiritual Tools for Modern Living—written in collaboration with Wilson’s SoulPancake...
WORLD PREMIERE By Sharyn Rothstein Directed by Oliver Butler Bratton Theater Best for Baby and its devilishly funny emcee takes audiences inside Johnson & Johnson’s decades-long and still evolving baby...
For nearly four decades, Alison Krauss & Union Station have upheld their legacy as one of the most influential and widely celebrated acts in bluegrass and roots music. Known for...
An evening of improv featuring the extraordinary talents of our 2026 conservatory.
Experience new plays the moment they come to life. The FutureNow new play labs showcase original work by CTC’s inaugural class of Playwriting Fellows in collaboration with our Directing Fellows—a...
WORLD PREMIERE By Sharyn Rothstein Directed by Oliver Butler Bratton Theater Best for Baby and its devilishly funny emcee takes audiences inside Johnson & Johnson’s decades-long and still evolving baby...
Experience new plays the moment they come to life. The FutureNow new play labs showcase original work by CTC’s inaugural class of Playwriting Fellows in collaboration with our Directing Fellows—a...
Rossen Milanov, conductor The Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus joins the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra for a captivating performance of the iconic Carmina Burana. Carl Orff’s masterpiece is drawn from medieval texts exploring...
The Rev. Zina Jacque serves as President and Chair of the Board of National Senior Communities, overseeing the largest not-for-profit network of continuing-care retirement communities in the nation. Across two...
"Cutwork" exhibition runs July 26-August 25. "Cutwork" is a broad exploration of work using methods of cutting into or removing material. Featuring hand-cut paper, metal, fibers, and ceramics, these artists...
"A Different Light: Landscapes by Gwen Norton" exhibition - July 26-August 25. Gwen Norton is currently in her thesis year of the MFA program at the School of Visual Arts...
WORLD PREMIERE By Sharyn Rothstein Directed by Oliver Butler Bratton Theater Best for Baby and its devilishly funny emcee takes audiences inside Johnson & Johnson’s decades-long and still evolving baby powder scandal. A Big American Play ripped straight from the headlines, this world premiere is equal parts showbiz spectacle and intimate human storytelling, brought to...
"Cutwork" opening reception. Exhibition runs July 26-August 25. "Cutwork" is a broad exploration of work using methods of cutting into or removing material. Featuring hand-cut paper, metal, fibers, and ceramics, these artists explore the weight and gravity of their material and subject matter. Layered and lacy textures reveal what is built and what is left...
"A Different Light: Landscapes by Gwen Norton" opening reception. Exhibition runs July 26-August 25. Gwen Norton is currently in her thesis year of the MFA program at the School of Visual Arts in Photography, Video, and Related Media Department. Her work has been exhibited solo, two-person, and group shows in New York City and Martha’s...
Nicola Melville, Chair Alexander Kobrin, 2026 Heintzelman Family Artistic Advisor Pianists from the Chautauqua School of Music present a dazzling program of works for one and two pianos, with repertoire drawn from virtuoso works of the great classical composers and arrangements of popular and familiar tunes. Don't miss your chance to see the next generation of...
Chautauqua Writers' Center Faculty Reading — Featuring Jim Daniels (Poetry) and Kristin Kovacic (Prose) Jim Daniels is the recipient of the 2025-26 Michigan Author Award for lifetime achievement from the Library of Michigan and the Michigan Center for the Book. His new book, Late Invocation for Magic: New and Selected Poems, was published in January....
Experience new plays the moment they come to life. The FutureNow new play labs showcase original work by CTC’s inaugural class of Playwriting Fellows in collaboration with our Directing Fellows—a program developed through CTC’s newly expanded partnership with The Drama League—and brought to life in public, staged, and designed workshop readings. Performed by CTC’s Acting...
WORLD PREMIERE By Sharyn Rothstein Directed by Oliver Butler Bratton Theater Best for Baby and its devilishly funny emcee takes audiences inside Johnson & Johnson’s decades-long and still evolving baby powder scandal. A Big American Play ripped straight from the headlines, this world premiere is equal parts showbiz spectacle and intimate human storytelling, brought to...
The Rev. Zina Jacque serves as President and Chair of the Board of National Senior Communities, overseeing the largest not-for-profit network of continuing-care retirement communities in the nation. Across two distinguished careers in higher education and ministry, she has worked to lift people, strengthen communities, and send good into the world. She continues to guide...
The highly anticipated musical adaptation of Kwame Alexander’s Newbery medal-winning novel, The Crossover, was commissioned and is being developed for the stage by the Chautauqua Theater Company. Hosted by Jade King Carroll, the producing artistic director of the Chautauqua Theater Company and director of The Crossover musical, the dynamic creative team behind the musical will...
Michael R. Dreeben is a distinguished lecturer from government at Georgetown University Law Center and an adjunct professor at American University Washington College of Law. From 1988 to 2019, Dreeben served in the Office of Solicitor General in the U.S. Department of Justice, first as an assistant to the solicitor general and then as a deputy solicitor general. As deputy solicitor general from 1994 to 2019,...
Join the acclaimed Verona Quartet for an afternoon of expressive performances and dynamic ensemble artistry. Hailed for their “sensational” playing and deep musical insight, the Verona Quartet brings passion and precision to every work they perform. Their program showcases a vibrant mix of classical masterpieces and contemporary voices, reflecting their commitment to storytelling through sound....
Music by: Claude Debussy & Francis Poulenc Librettist: Édouard Guinand & Guillaume Apollinaire Stage Director: Emma Griffin Conductor: Timothy Muffitt Two masters of French music share the stage in a sparkling double bill. Francis Poulenc’s Les Mamelles de Tirésias (1945) bursts with surreal satire, flipping gender norms topsy-turvy in a wildly imaginative romp of music...
Kao Kalia Yang is known for her work for adults, but since 2019, she's cultivated an award-winning body of work in children's literature. Join Yang in this Masters Series session as she reads from some of her picture books and speaks to the movement across age groups and genre lines in a life dedicated to...
The Rev. Zina Jacque serves as President and Chair of the Board of National Senior Communities, overseeing the largest not-for-profit network of continuing-care retirement communities in the nation. Across two distinguished careers in higher education and ministry, she has worked to lift people, strengthen communities, and send good into the world. She continues to guide...
Chautauqua Science Group Weekly Lecture
Stephanie Elizondo Griest is a globetrotting author from the Texas-Mexico borderlands. Currently a professor of creative nonfiction at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, she has performed on five continents in capacities ranging from a Moth storyteller to a literary ambassador for the U.S. State Department. Her six books include Around the Bloc: My Life...
Bird, Tree & Garden Club lunchtime lecture series
WORLD PREMIERE By Sharyn Rothstein Directed by Oliver Butler Bratton Theater Best for Baby and its devilishly funny emcee takes audiences inside Johnson & Johnson’s decades-long and still evolving baby powder scandal. A Big American Play ripped straight from the headlines, this world premiere is equal parts showbiz spectacle and intimate human storytelling, brought to...
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 service of music” (Washington Post), and “astounding virtuosity” (Philippine Star), Japan’s InTune magazine sums it...
The Chautauqua School of Art proudly welcomes Glenn Goldberg as a member of our 2026 visiting faculty. Glenn Goldberg will participate in the School’s Summer Lecture Series, sharing insights and practices with our artistic community. Glenn Goldberg was born in the Bronx in 1953 and attended the New York Studio School and Queens College during...
Stuart Chafetz, conductor Chautauqua Opera Company Apprentice and Studio Artists join Stuart Chafetz, Principal Pops Conductor, and the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra for the annual Opera & Pops concert. This popular summer event showcases Chautauqua Opera’s young artists in music from Opera, Operetta and Broadway.
The Rev. Zina Jacque serves as President and Chair of the Board of National Senior Communities, overseeing the largest not-for-profit network of continuing-care retirement communities in the nation. Across two distinguished careers in higher education and ministry, she has worked to lift people, strengthen communities, and send good into the world. She continues to guide...
Natalie Merchant has earned recognition among America’s most respected recording artists, drawing audiences with her captivating performances and intentional songwriting over her 40-year career. Her music blends folk, rock and world music influences, and she continues to be regarded as a pioneering figure in alternative music. She joins the Chautauqua Lecture Series during our week...
WORLD PREMIERE By Sharyn Rothstein Directed by Oliver Butler Bratton Theater Best for Baby and its devilishly funny emcee takes audiences inside Johnson & Johnson’s decades-long and still evolving baby powder scandal. A Big American Play ripped straight from the headlines, this world premiere is equal parts showbiz spectacle and intimate human storytelling, brought to...
Natalie Wigg-Stevenson is a theologian, minister, author and associate professor of contextual education at Emmanuel College (Victoria University, University of Toronto). Natalie brings to her teaching a spirit of play alongside rigorous theological thinking and deep pastoral attentiveness. Based out of Toronto, she is the author of Ethnographic Theology: An Inquiry into the Production of...
Chautauqua Arts Education programs serve thousands of students and hundreds of teachers each year in Chautauqua County, carrying out Chautauqua Institution's mission through empowering students to learn about their world and themselves through the arts. Director of Arts Education Suzanne Fassett-Wright and Vice President of Performing and Visual Arts Laura Savia will be joined by...
Programmed by Unity of Chautauqua
WORLD PREMIERE By Sharyn Rothstein Directed by Oliver Butler Bratton Theater Best for Baby and its devilishly funny emcee takes audiences inside Johnson & Johnson’s decades-long and still evolving baby powder scandal. A Big American Play ripped straight from the headlines, this world premiere is equal parts showbiz spectacle and intimate human storytelling, brought to...
Directed and Choreographed by Sasha Janes, Bonnefoux McBride Artistic Director of Chautauqua School of Dance On the wild, windswept moors of Yorkshire, this ballet adaptation of Wuthering Heights brings to life the haunting story of Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw—two souls bound by a fierce, unbreakable love that defies class, reason, and even death. Through powerful...
The Rev. Zina Jacque serves as President and Chair of the Board of National Senior Communities, overseeing the largest not-for-profit network of continuing-care retirement communities in the nation. Across two...
Micah Hendler is the founder and artistic director of the Jerusalem Youth Chorus (JYC), an Israeli-Palestinian music and dialogue project he has brought from a dream to the global stages...
Theater Chats (formerly known as Brown Bags) On selected Thursdays at 12:15 p.m., bring lunch to Smith Wilkes Hall and join special guests, including actors, designers, playwrights and more, for...
The Motions by Zora Howard A CTC Commission
Micah Hendler is the founder and artistic director of the Jerusalem Youth Chorus (JYC), an Israeli-Palestinian music and dialogue project he has brought from a dream to the global stages...
WORLD PREMIERE By Sharyn Rothstein Directed by Oliver Butler Bratton Theater Best for Baby and its devilishly funny emcee takes audiences inside Johnson & Johnson’s decades-long and still evolving baby...
Rossen Milanov, conductor The Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra presents two of Richard Strauss’s most compelling tone poems. In Also sprach Zarathustra, Strauss explores themes of human striving and philosophical inquiry. Death...
Fredrik Backman is the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, Britt-Marie Was Here, Beartown, Us...
Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle — Feeding Ghosts: A Graphic Memoir by Tessa Hulls An astonishing, deeply moving graphic memoir about three generations of Chinese women, exploring love, grief, exile,...
The Motions by Zora Howard A CTC Commission
WORLD PREMIERE By Sharyn Rothstein Directed by Oliver Butler Bratton Theater Best for Baby and its devilishly funny emcee takes audiences inside Johnson & Johnson’s decades-long and still evolving baby...
The Sports Club is hosting the popular 50th Annual Old First Night Run/Walk Race and Kids Fun Runs. The OFN 2.75 mile chip-timed race follows the perimeter of Chautauqua's beautiful...
Experience new plays the moment they come to life. The FutureNow new play labs showcase original work by CTC’s inaugural class of Playwriting Fellows in collaboration with our Directing Fellows...
The Motions by Zora Howard A CTC Commission
Experience new plays the moment they come to life. The FutureNow new play labs showcase original work by CTC’s inaugural class of Playwriting Fellows in collaboration with our Directing Fellows—a...
WORLD PREMIERE By Sharyn Rothstein Directed by Oliver Butler Bratton Theater Best for Baby and its devilishly funny emcee takes audiences inside Johnson & Johnson’s decades-long and still evolving baby...
Dolly Parton’s Threads: My Songs in Symphony features Dolly’s songs and the stories behind them in an innovative multimedia symphonic experience featuring Dolly on screen, leading audiences in a visual-musical...