Episcopal Holy Eucharist
2026-07-14 07:45, 2026-07-15 07:45, 2026-07-16 07:45, 2026-07-17 07:45, 2026-07-19 07:45, 2026-07-19 09:00, 2026-07-20 07:45, 2026-07-21 07:45 (America/New_York) and 15 more dates | Chapel of the Good Shepherd, Chapel of the Good Shepherd

Daily Word Meditation
2026-07-14 08:00, 2026-07-15 08:00, 2026-07-16 08:00, 2026-07-17 08:00, 2026-07-20 08:00, 2026-07-21 08:00, 2026-07-22 08:00, 2026-07-23 08:00 and 9 more dates | Hall of Missions, Hall of Missions
(Programmed by Unity of Chautauqua)

Catholic Mass
2026-07-14 08:15, 2026-07-15 08:15, 2026-07-16 08:15, 2026-07-17 08:15, 2026-07-20 08:15, 2026-07-27 08:15, 2026-07-28 08:15, 2026-07-29 08:15 and 5 more dates | Hurlbut Church sanctuary, Hurlbut Church sanctuary

Chautauqua Prays for Peace though Compassion
2026-07-14 08:55, 2026-07-15 08:55, 2026-07-16 08:55, 2026-07-17 08:55, 2026-07-20 08:55, 2026-07-21 08:55, 2026-07-22 08:55, 2026-07-23 08:55 and 9 more dates | Hall of Philosophy Grove

Michael Chan
2026-07-14 09:15, 2026-07-15 09:15 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
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 Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. He joined Luther Seminary after completing his Ph.D. at Emory University and a year of research and teaching at the University of Helsinki. He is a graduate of Luther Seminary (M.A. in biblical theology) and Pacific Lutheran University (B.A. in elementary education). Dr. Chan provides leadership and support for the Campus Ministry team; the Dovre Center for Faith and Learning; and the Lorentzsen Center for Faith and Work.

Chautauqua Science Group Weekly Lecture. JD Stillwater: One Song: The Science of Oneness
2026-07-14 09:15 | Hurlbut Church sanctuary, Hurlbut Church sanctuary
JD Stillwater moves and inspires thousands of people all over North America and the globe with science-centered messages of awe and deep kinship, from Chautauqua Institution to a Sinai and Synapses Fellowship to The Parliament of the World’s Religions to academic conferences and civic clubs.
With a gift for making difficult science concepts graspable for average people, JD continues his decades-long career as a science educator, sharing insights from mainstream conventional science as a source of unifying inspiration, from stages, webinars, pulpits, and workshops. He offers insights from how nature works that help us discern who we are and our place in the world.

School of Music Masterclass: WindSync
2026-07-14 10:00 | Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall, Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall

Service of Blessing and Healing
2026-07-14 10:15, 2026-07-15 10:15, 2026-07-16 10:15, 2026-07-17 10:15, 2026-07-20 10:15, 2026-07-21 10:15, 2026-07-22 10:15, 2026-07-23 10:15 and 9 more dates | Randell Chapel, UCC Headquarters

James C. Capretta and Matthew Fiedler
2026-07-14 10:45 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
The Chautauqua Lecture Series continues its theme dedicated to “The 2026 Election: What’s at Stake?” with scholars James Capretta and Matthew Fiedler in conversation, sharing their expertise on the state of health care and health policy in the United States. The program is the second in a five-part weeklong series presented at Chautauqua in partnership with the American Enterprise Institute and Brookings Institution, each featuring experts from both organizations.
James C. Capretta is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute where he studies and comments on U.S. health care, entitlement, and fiscal policy. He also serves as a senior adviser to the Bipartisan Policy Center. He previously held senior staff positions at the Office of Management and Budget and in Congress, primarily at the Senate Budget Committee. He is the author of US Health Policy and Market Reforms: An Introduction, published by AEI Press in 2022, along with numerous other book chapters, papers, and articles.
Matthew Fiedler is the Joseph A. Pechman Senior Fellow in Economic Studies and a senior fellow with the Center on Health Policy at Brookings. His research examines a range of topics in health care economics and health care policy. Prior to joining the Brookings Institution in January 2017, Fiedler served as Chief Economist for the Council of Economic Advisers, where he oversaw the Council’s work on health care policy, including implementation of the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance and health care payment reforms. Fiedler holds a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University and a B.A. in mathematics and economics from Swarthmore College.

Play CHQ: Paper Bag Puppets
2026-07-14 12:00 | Bestor Plaza, Bestor Plaza

Bob Jeffrey: Architecture of the 2026 House and Garden Tour
2026-07-14 12:30 | Smith Wilkes Hall, Smith Wilkes Hall
Bird, Tree & Garden Club lunchtime lecture series
Bob Jeffrey is an Historic Preservationist who redevelops historic properties in Florida, New York, and Pennsylvania. He holds an undergraduate degree in architecture from Miami University of Ohio and a master’s degree of architecture from Kent State University. He is a lifelong Chautauquan who started coming back for the full season in 2007. He has served on the Board of Trustees and chaired the Architectural Review Board. He currently sits on the Athenaeum Hotel Board. In St. Petersburg he sits on the Community Planning and Preservation Board. Bob’s hobbies include watercolor painting and gardening.

CHQ Mystic Heart -Cantor Julie Newman, Jewish Mindfulness Meditation
2026-07-14 12:30, 2026-07-16 12:30 | Hall of Missions, Hall of Missions
Cantor Julie Newman founded and serves as President of the Tiferet Project. Tiferet has been a source for Jewish spiritual practices in Pittsburgh such as twice weekly Jewish mindfulness meditation groups. She has been crafting and leading innovative Jewish worship services in the Pittsburgh area for 25 years. Passionate about heart-opening Jewish contemplative practices, she has been an active participant, worship leader, yoga teacher, and consultant with the Institute for Jewish Spirituality since 2004. She received Cantorial ordination and earned a Master of Jewish Education from Hebrew College in Boston in 2017. She is a member of the New Community Chevra Kadisha of Pittsburgh. Raised in Southern California, Julie originally came to Pittsburgh for graduate school where she received her MBA from the Tepper School of Business in 1982 and met her husband of 37 years, Bill Klingensmith (a 3rd generation Chautauquan.) They raised their kids, Jake (31) and Ben (25) in Pittsburgh where Julie & Bill still live with their rescued greyhound, Yogi.

CHQ Dialogues
2026-07-14 12:30, 2026-07-15 12:30, 2026-07-21 12:30, 2026-07-22 12:30, 2026-07-28 12:30, 2026-07-29 12:30, 2026-08-04 12:30, 2026-08-05 12:30 | Presbyterian House, Presbyterian House

English Lawn Bowling Tips
2026-07-14 13:00, 2026-07-15 13:00, 2026-07-16 13:00, 2026-07-17 13:00, 2026-07-20 13:00, 2026-07-21 13:00, 2026-07-22 13:00, 2026-07-23 13:00 and 9 more dates | Sports Club, Lawn Bowling Green

Najeeba Syeed
2026-07-14 14:00 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy
El-Hibri Endowed Chair and executive director of the Interfaith Institute, Augsburg University
2:00 p.m. Tuesday, July 14, 2026 · Hall of Philosophy
Najeeba Syeed is the Inaugural El-Bibri endowed chair and executive director of the Interfaith Institute and is a tenured and full professor of religion at Augsburg University. She is also a senior fellow at the Oxford Interfaith Forum.
Syeed has served as a visiting professor at Yale and Mercer University. She is an expert on Muslim-Jewish relations and has worked extensively on Evangelical Christian and Muslim relations throughout the country. She served as associate professor of interreligious education and director of the Center for Global Peacebuilding at Claremont School of Theology from 2010-2020.
Syeed also brings significant executive experience with organizations as an executive director focused on conflict resolution in community, higher education and government settings, including the Western Justice Center Foundation and the Asian Pacific American Dispute Resolution Center. In 2021, she served as chief of staff to an elected member of the Los Angeles City Council. She holds a law degree from Indiana University.

School of Music: Open Recital
2026-07-14 14:00, 2026-07-17 15:30, 2026-07-21 14:00, 2026-08-04 14:00 | Fletcher Music Hall, Fletcher Music Hall

Islam 101 Khalid and Sabeeha Rehman
2026-07-14 15:30, 2026-07-21 15:30 | Hall of Christ: Sanctuary
“Family Life and Women in Islam”

CHQ Dialogues
2026-07-14 15:30, 2026-07-16 12:30, 2026-07-21 15:30, 2026-07-23 12:30, 2026-07-28 15:30, 2026-07-30 12:30, 2026-08-04 15:30 | Everett Jewish Life Center, Everett Jewish Life Center

Programming Blackout
2026-07-14 15:30, 2026-07-16 15:30, 2026-07-20 15:30, 2026-07-21 15:30, 2026-07-23 15:30, 2026-07-28 15:30, 2026-07-30 15:30, 2026-08-04 15:30 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy

School of Music Piano Faculty Recital: Ilya Itin
2026-07-14 16:00 | Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall, Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall
Audiences throughout the world revere Ilya Itin’s unique artistry. Playing to sold out houses in Japan and in the US, he is known for his extraordinary range, power, quality of sound, and command of the piano. His Princeton recital was singled out by the Philadelphia Inquirer as a “top ten musical moment of the year” and The New York Times critic described him as “…a brilliantly insightful pianist who offered a superb recital.” Since capturing the gold medal, BBC Audience Award, and Contemporary Music Prize at the 1996 Leeds International Piano Competition, Itin has performed throughout the world bringing his powerful musical imagination and mastery to wide ranging repertoire.

Play CHQ: Bird Feeders
2026-07-14 16:00, 2026-07-21 16:00, 2026-07-22 16:00, 2026-07-28 16:00, 2026-07-29 16:00, 2026-08-04 16:00, 2026-08-05 16:00 | Miller Park, Miller Park

Labyrinth History and Meditation
2026-07-14 18:30, 2026-07-21 18:30, 2026-07-28 18:30 | Turner (Outside of Building)
Bring gate pass. Adjacent to Turner Community Center

Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra: An Evening of Brahms
2026-07-14 20:00 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
Rossen Milanov, conductor
Sharon Roffman, violin
Jolyon Pegis, cello
An Evening of Brahms brings together two of the composer’s most expressive works, pairing the lyrical intimacy of the Double Concerto with the concentrated power of Symphony No. 3. Written late in Brahms’s career, the Double Concerto unfolds as a rich conversation between violin and cello, as CSO concertmaster Sharon Roffman and principal cellist Jolyon Pegis share the spotlight. The program concludes with Brahms’s Third Symphony, a work of striking emotional depth. Together, these works reveal Brahms at his most personal and compelling.
Program:
Brahms Concerto for Violin and Cello
Brahms Symphony No. 3

Sunrise Paddle - Kayak/SUP
2026-07-15 06:00, 2026-07-17 06:00, 2026-07-22 06:00, 2026-07-24 06:00, 2026-07-29 06:00, 2026-07-31 06:00, 2026-08-05 06:00 | Sports Club, Waterfront
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.

CHQ Mystic Heart- Cantor Julie Newman, Jewish Mindfulness Meditation
2026-07-15 07:45, 2026-07-16 07:45, 2026-07-17 07:45 | Presbyterian House, Presbyterian House

Movement and Meditation with Monte Thompson
2026-07-15 08:30, 2026-07-17 08:30, 2026-07-20 08:30, 2026-07-22 08:30, 2026-07-24 08:30, 2026-07-27 08:30, 2026-07-29 08:30, 2026-07-31 08:30 and 2 more dates | Hall of Philosophy Grove
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 and joy.

School of Music: Opera Conservatory Masterclass with Rachel Calloway
2026-07-15 10:00 | McKnight Hall, McKnight Hall

Ben Harris and James Pethokoukis
2026-07-15 10:45 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
The Chautauqua Lecture Series continues a weeklong exploration of “The 2026 Election: What’s at Stake?” with scholars Ben Harris and James Pethokoukis, sharing their expertise on the state of the economy and economic policy in the United States. The program is the third in a five-part weeklong series presented at Chautauqua in partnership with the American Enterprise Institute and Brookings Institution, each featuring experts from both organizations.
Ben Harris is the vice president and director of Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution, where he also holds the Bruce and Virginia MacLaury Chair. As a scholar, Harris focuses on public finance and macroeconomics, and is widely published in academic journals, policy outlets and the popular press — including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post — and is a regular guest on cable television. With Martin Baily, he is the author of the book The Retirement Challenge: What’s Wrong with America’s System and a Sensible Way to Fix It.
Harris has extensive experience in senior public sector roles. Most recently, he was assistant secretary for economic policy and chief economist at the Treasury Department, chief economist and economic adviser to the Vice President of the United States, and a senior economist with the Council of Economic Advisers during the Obama administration. Harris was also the senior economist with the U.S. House of Representatives Budget Committee.
In addition to his public service, Harris has worked extensively in think tanks, academia and the private sector. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from George Washington University, a Master’s degree in economics from Cornell University, a master’s degree in quantitative methods from Columbia University, and a bachelor’s degree from Tufts University. He was also a Fulbright Scholar to Namibia in 2000. For his Treasury Department service, Harris was awarded the prestigious Alexander Hamilton Award by Secretary Janet Yellen.
James Pethokoukis is a senior fellow and the DeWitt Wallace Chair at the American Enterprise Institute, where he analyzes U.S. economic policy, writes and edits the “AEIdeas” blog, and hosts AEI’s “Political Economy” podcast. He is also a contributor to CNBC and writes the “Faster, Please!” newsletter on Substack. Before joining AEI, Pethokoukis was the Washington columnist for “Breakingviews,” the opinion and commentary wing of Thomson Reuters. Earlier, he was the business editor and economics columnist for U.S. News & World Report.
Pethokoukis is the author of The Conservative Futurist: How to Create the Sci-Fi World We Were Promised. He has also written for many publications, including The Atlantic, Commentary, Financial Times, Investor’s Business Daily, National Review, the New York Post, The New York Times, USA Today and The Week. His numerous broadcast appearances include CNBC, CNN, Fox Business, Fox News, MSNBC, and PBS.
A graduate of Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism, Pethokoukis is a 2002 Jeopardy! champion.

Women In Ministry
2026-07-15 12:15, 2026-07-22 12:15, 2026-07-29 12:15, 2026-08-05 12:15 | Hall of Missions, Hall of Missions

Twelve Step Meeting
2026-07-15 12:15, 2026-07-17 12:15, 2026-07-19 12:15, 2026-07-22 12:15, 2026-07-24 12:15, 2026-07-26 12:15, 2026-07-29 12:15, 2026-07-31 12:15 and 2 more dates | Hurlbut Marion Lawrance

Imagining a Future Beyond Climate Change: Lessons from the Haitian Revolution, with Sony Ton-Aime
2026-07-15 12:30 | Smith Wilkes Hall, Smith Wilkes Hall
Poet, author and former director of literary arts at Chautauqua, Sony discusses and reads from his debut poetry collection Konbit, accompanied by vivid imagery and music.
The title of Ton-Aim’s book comes from Haitian Creole, where ‘konbit’ is a communal labor practice in which neighbors gather to plant, harvest, rebuild, or respond to sudden need. The poems braid the Haitian revolution with contemporary migration and ecological collapse linked to climate change, drawing parallels between a people who could only imagine a world beyond slavery but who nonetheless persevered until they achieved a better future, and people today who must imagine a better world beyond climate change.
In this program Ton-Aime will explore three questions: (1) What does a better world beyond climate change look like? (2) What will it take to get there? And (3) what can each individual do to advance toward that future?

All Denomination Chaplain of the Week with Rabbi Samuel Stahl
2026-07-15 12:30, 2026-07-22 12:30, 2026-07-29 12:30, 2026-08-05 12:30 | Everett Jewish Life Center, Everett Jewish Life Center

Guided Kayak Historic Tour
2026-07-15 12:45, 2026-07-22 12:45, 2026-07-29 12:45, 2026-08-05 12:45 | Sports Club, Waterfront
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 $12 per person for the tour guide. Limited spots so please reserve one day before the event. For more info, please contact sportsclub@chq.org.

Terrence Johnson
2026-07-15 14:00 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy
Terrence L. Johnson is Charles G. Adams Professor of African American Religious Studies, professor of African and African American studies, and director of religion and public life at Harvard Divinity School. He is also a faculty associate of the Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard and a member of the Corporation at Haverford College. His research interests include African American political thought, ethics, American religions and the role of religion in public life. Johnson’s interdisciplinary research agenda is historical, critical and constructive. He weaves together African American religions, political theory and American history to paint broad conceptual schemes for imagining religion, democracy, ethics, liberalism, justice and freedom.
In 2024-25, he was an inaugural Steven M. Polan Fellow in constitutional law and history at the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan law and policy institute. The Polan Fellows program provides a platform for debates on the meaning and promise of the U.S. constitution.
He is the co-author of Blacks and Jews in America: An Invitation to Dialogue, winner of the 2023 Outstanding Book award by the Association for Ethnic Studies; We Testify with Our Lives: How Religion Transformed Radical Thought from Black Power to Black Lives Matter; and Tragic Soul-Life: W.E.B. Du Bois and the Moral Crisis Facing American Democracy. He also serves as co-editor of the Duke University Press Series “Religious Cultures of African and African Diaspora People.” He is currently completing a manuscript entitled Torn Asunder: Race and Religion in the Shadow of Law and Justice, which is under contract with Columbia University Press. He is also co-writing a book on ethics and law with M. Cathleen Kaveny tentatively entitled Christian Ethics and the Trump Court.
A graduate of Morehouse College, Johnson received his M.Div. from Harvard Divinity School and Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Brown University.

UU Cultural Ethics Series: Dr. Elías Ortega, President and Professor of Religion, Ethics, and Leadership, Meadville Lombard Theological School
2026-07-15 15:30 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy

Islam 101 Khalid and Sabeeha Rehman
2026-07-15 15:30, 2026-07-22 15:30 | Hall of Christ: Sanctuary
“Shia-Sunni Sects and Religious Hierarchy”

CHQ Dialogues
2026-07-15 15:30, 2026-07-22 15:30, 2026-07-29 15:30, 2026-08-05 15:30 | Catholic House, Catholic House

Play CHQ: Parachute Challenge
2026-07-15 16:00 | Miller Park, Miller Park

CHQ Mystic Heart - Therapeutic Gong Meditation with Kim Hehr
2026-07-15 16:45, 2026-07-22 16:45, 2026-07-29 16:45, 2026-08-05 16:45 | Hall of Christ: Sanctuary
Kim Hehr is a lifelong Chautauquan and a certified level 2 teacher of Kundalini Yoga and Meditation. She has been a yoga and meditation practitioner for 30 years and has been teaching Kundalini Yoga and Meditation for 25 years. A retired hospice nurse, she is presently the coordinator of the CHQ Mystic Heart Meditation Program. Kim specializes in healing addictive patterns through yogic technology. Passionate about teaching meditation, performing Gong Baths, and pranayama (breath work), her objective is to help others with their anxiety and everyday stress. Her goal is to facilitate bringing more peace and self-acceptance into people’s lives.

CVA Lecture Series: Stephanie Pierce, School of Art Faculty
2026-07-15 18:30 | Hultquist 101, Hultquist 101
The Chautauqua School of Art proudly welcomes Stephanie Pierce as a member of our 2026 visiting faculty. Stephanie Pierce will participate in the School’s Summer Lecture Series, sharing insights and practices with our artistic community.
Stephanie Pierce’s paintings explore relationships between light, time, and perception as it is reconsidered over time. Her work has been exhibited at The Henry Art Gallery, Seattle; The Staten Island Museum, NY; and Asheville Art Museum, NC. Her work is represented by Jupiter Contemporary in New York City and Miami, Alpha Gallery in Boston, and Steven Harvey Fine Art Projects in NYC. Stephanie received a Peter S. Reed Foundation Grant in 2018 and a Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Grant in 2014. Her work has been published in the New Yorker Magazine, Harper’s Magazine, and is included in the collections of William Dreyfus, The Boston Public Library, and The Museum of Fine Arts Boston among others. Stephanie is an Associate Professor of Painting at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC. She lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.

Unity's Positive Path for Spiritual Living
2026-07-15 18:30, 2026-07-22 18:30, 2026-07-29 18:30, 2026-08-05 18:30 | Turner Conference Room, Turner Conference Room
Programmed by Unity of Chautauqua

CHQ Dialogues
2026-07-15 18:30, 2026-07-17 12:30, 2026-07-22 18:30, 2026-07-24 12:30, 2026-07-29 18:30, 2026-07-31 12:30, 2026-08-05 18:30 | Lutheran House, Lutheran House

School of Music: Vocal Chamber Concert
2026-07-15 18:30 | Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall, Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall

Alexander Gavrylyuk, piano
2026-07-15 20:00 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
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 Sinfónica de Castilla y León, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Tonkünstler Orchestra, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Opera North orchestra and i Solisti di Pavia. Alexander will also return to the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Auckland Philharmonia. Recent highlights also include Hamburger Symphoniker, Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liege, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Estonian National Symphony, Phil Zuid, Enescu Philharmonic and Taiwan National Symphony. This season also sees returns to Baerum Kulturhaus and the Piano Masters Series in Stoke-on-Trent as a recital artist along with his recital debut at Theater Heerlen.
Alexander collaborates regularly with conductors including Rafael Payer, Thomas Sondergard, Kirill Karabit, Edward Gardner, Sir Donald Runnicles, Juraj Valcuha and Gustavo Gimeno.
Born in Ukraine in 1984 and holding Australian citizenship, Alexander began his piano studies at the age of seven and gave his first concerto performance when he was nine years old. At the age of 13, Alexander moved to Sydney where he lived until 2006. He won First Prize and Gold Medal at the Horowitz International Piano Competition (1999), First Prize at the Hamamatsu International Piano Competition (2000), and Gold Medal at the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Masters Competition (2005).
As a recitalist Alexander has performed at the Musikverein in Vienna, Tonhalle Zurich, Victoria Hall Geneva, Southbank Centre’s International Piano Series, Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw Master Pianists Series, Suntory Hall, Tokyo Opera City Hall, Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory, Cologne Philharmonie, Tokyo City Concert Hall, San Francisco, City Recital Hall in Sydney and Melbourne Recital Centre. Gavrylyuk has appeared at many of the world’s foremost festivals, including the Hollywood Bowl, Bravo! Vail Colorado, Mostly Mozart, the Ruhr Festival and the Kissinger Sommer International Music Festival. Alexander is currently Artist in Residence at Chautauqua Institution.

Michael Chan
2026-07-16 09:15 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy

E.J. Dionne, Jr. and Christine Emba
2026-07-16 10:45 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
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 deeper look into the role of culture in American public and political life, particularly addressing the generational differences and divides that show up in these deeply intertwined components of our national dialogue. The program is presented at Chautauqua in partnership with the American Enterprise Institute and Brookings Institution, each featuring experts from both organizations.
Later in the day at 2:00 p.m., Dionne will be speaking at the Hall of Philosophy for the Interfaith Lecture Series.
E.J. Dionne, Jr. 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 Foundations of Democracy and Culture at Georgetown University, affiliated with the McCourt School of Public Policy, and a contributing columnist to The New York Times.
Dionne began his career with The New York Times, reporting on state and local government, national politics, and from around the world, including stints in Paris, Rome, and Beirut. In 1990, Dionne joined The Washington Post as a reporter covering national politics, and was a columnist for The Post from 1993 to 2025, when he became a Times contributor. He was an NPR commentator for two decades.
His 1991 best-selling book, Why Americans Hate Politics, won The Los Angeles Times book prize, and was a National Book Award nominee. He is the author and co-author of eight other books, editor and co-editor of six volumes published by the Brookings Institution Press and co-editor of a collection of the speeches made by Barack Obama.
Dionne has received numerous awards, including the American Political Science Association’s Carey McWilliams Award, Volunteers of America Empathy Award, the National Human Services Assembly’s Award for Excellence by a Member of the Media and the Sidney Hillman Foundation’s Hillman Award for Career Achievement. He has been named among the 25 most influential Washington journalists by the National Journal and among the capital city’s top 50 journalists by the Washingtonian magazine. He was elected as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Dionne grew up in Fall River, Mass. He graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. from Harvard University and received his doctorate from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar.
Christine Emba is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where her work focuses on gender and sexuality, feminism, masculinity, youth culture and social norms. She is concurrently a contributing writer at The New York Times and a senior fellow at the Georgetown University Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life.
Emba is a contributing editor at Comment Magazine, a board member at the American Institute for Boys and Men and an editor-at-large at Wisdom of Crowds. She is the author of Rethinking Sex: A Provocation.
Before joining AEI, Emba was a staff writer at The Atlantic, a columnist and editor at The Washington Post, a Hilton Kramer Fellow in Criticism at The New Criterion and a deputy editor at The Economist Intelligence Unit.
Emba has a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University. She was named one of the world’s top-50 thinkers by Prospect Magazine in 2022 and received the National Press Club’s Nell Minow Award for Cultural Criticism in 2024.

Play CHQ: News Paper Construction
2026-07-16 12:00 | Bestor Plaza, Bestor Plaza

CTC Theater Chats
2026-07-16 12:15 | Women’s Club
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 a look at our upcoming productions and discussions on the craft of theater-making. Free and open to the public.

E.J. Dionne, Jr.
2026-07-16 14:00 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy
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 Foundations of Democracy and Culture at Georgetown University, affiliated with the McCourt School of Public Policy, and a contributing columnist to The New York Times.
Dionne began his career with The New York Times, reporting on state and local government, national politics, and from around the world, including stints in Paris, Rome, and Beirut. In 1990, Dionne joined The Washington Post as a reporter covering national politics, and was a columnist for The Post from 1993 to 2025, when he became a Times contributor. He was an NPR commentator for two decades.
His 1991 best-selling book, Why Americans Hate Politics, won The Los Angeles Times book prize, and was a National Book Award nominee. He is the author and co-author of eight other books, editor and co-editor of six volumes published by the Brookings Institution Press and co-editor of a collection of the speeches made by Barack Obama.
Dionne has received numerous awards, including the American Political Science Association’s Carey McWilliams Award, Volunteers of America Empathy Award, the National Human Services Assembly’s Award for Excellence by a Member of the Media and the Sidney Hillman Foundation’s Hillman Award for Career Achievement. He has been named among the 25 most influential Washington journalists by the National Journal and among the capital city’s top 50 journalists by the Washingtonian magazine. He was elected as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Dionne grew up in Fall River, Mass. He graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. from Harvard University and received his doctorate from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar.
He will also be speaking at the 10:45 a.m. Chautauqua Lecture Series platform earlier the same day.

Chautauqua Opera Company Presents: An Afternoon of Song
2026-07-16 15:15, 2026-07-23 15:15 | Fletcher Music Hall, Fletcher Music Hall
Join us for an afternoon of song, featuring our 2026 Young Artists.

Islam 101 Khalid and Sabeeha Rehman
2026-07-16 15:30, 2026-07-23 15:30 | Hall of Christ: Sanctuary
“Shariah”

CHQ Dialogues
2026-07-16 15:30, 2026-07-23 15:30, 2026-07-30 15:30 | United Methodist House, United Methodist House

CHQ Dialogues
2026-07-16 15:30, 2026-07-23 15:30, 2026-07-30 15:30 | Baptist House, Baptist House

Piano Faculty Master Class: Alexander Kobrin
2026-07-16 16:00 | Sherwood-Marsh 101

Play CHQ: Paper Chain Challenge
2026-07-16 16:00 | Heinz Beach, Heinz Beach

CHQ Dialogues
2026-07-16 18:30, 2026-07-23 18:30, 2026-07-30 18:30 | Disciples of Christ House, Disciples of Christ House

Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra with Mak Grgic, guitar
2026-07-16 20:00 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
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 program with visceral motion, bringing to life the enchanting world of Hans Christian Anderson’s fairy tale. Grgic then takes the stage in a powerful work that explores the deepest personal struggles of an artist. The evening concludes with the charm of Poulenc’s “Les Biches” Suite, brimming with wit and Parisian flair.
Program:
Stravinsky: Song of the Nightingale
Abels: Borders
Poulence: Suite from “Les Biches”

Chautauqua County Day
2026-07-17 07:00 | Chautauqua Institution
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 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 free at Chautauqua!
Chautauqua County Day: Featured Events
9:15 a.m. (Hall of Philosophy) Morning Worship: Ecumenical Communion Service
10:45 a.m. (Amphitheater) Morning Lecture: Kevin R. Kosar and Kathryn Dunn Tenpas (Brookings Institution)
2 p.m. (Hall of Philosophy) CLSC Author Presentation: Maria Arana (2026 Chautauqua County Book Read Selection)
3:30 p.m. (Fletcher) School of Music Open Recital
3:30 p.m. (Hall of Christ) Department of Religion: Islam 101 Khalid and Sabeeha Rehman
8:00 p.m. (Amphitheater) Evening Program: Harry Connick Jr. **Admission to this event requires purchase of a separate ticket, available at tickets.chq.org
Tickets are available starting June 1, 2026 by calling the Chautauqua Institution Ticket Office at 716-357-6250.
Parking is complimentary for Chautauqua County Day when tickets are purchased in advance—online, by phone, or in person before July 17. On the day of the event, a credit card will be required for parking lot entry. Guests wishing to pay with cash should proceed to the Main Gate before entering the parking lot.

Ecumenical Communion Service
2026-07-17 09:15 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy

School of Music: Opera Conservatory Masterclass with Jonathan Beyer
2026-07-17 10:00, 2026-07-22 10:00, 2026-07-29 10:00 | McKnight Hall, McKnight Hall

Kevin R. Kosar and Kathryn Dunn Tenpas
2026-07-17 10:45 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
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 the state of the federal government, federalism and U.S. elections. The program concludes the Chautauqua Lecture Series weeklong exploration of “The 2026 Election: What’s at Stake?,” a five-part series at Chautauqua in partnership with the American Enterprise Institute and Brookings Institution, with each program featuring experts from both organizations.
Kathryn Dunn Tenpas is a visiting fellow in Governance Studies and director of the Initiative on Improving Interbranch Relations and Government. She also serves as a practitioner senior fellow at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center and on the Advisory Board of the White House Transition Project. Tenpas’ research addresses the intersection between the presidency and politics, focusing on presidential personnel, Senate-confirmed appointments, transitions, re-election campaigns and trends in presidential travel and polling. Her studies of White House staffing include an original database that tracks turnover rates among senior staffers. In addition, she has written or coauthored pieces on key units within the White House (Office of Political Affairs, Staff Secretary, Counsel’s Office, Faith-based and Community Initiatives and the Office of the First Lady).
Tenpas is author of Presidents as Candidates: Inside the White House for the Presidential Campaign, and has published articles, book chapters, blog posts, op-eds and papers on a variety of presidency-related topics. Her insights on the presidency have been quoted in major newspapers, and she has appeared on numerous television and radio outlets in the United States and abroad.
Tenpas’ academic positions have included the directorship of the University of Pennsylvania’s Washington Semester Program, senior fellow at the Weidenbaum Center at Washington University in St. Louis, and an associate professorship in the Department of Government and International Affairs at the University of South Florida. While there, she won an undergraduate teaching award, directed the Political Science Honors Program and the Washington, D.C. internship program. Tenpas earned her bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University in 1985, and her master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Virginia.
Kevin R. Kosar is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he studies the U.S. Congress, the administrative state, American politics, election reform, and the U.S. Postal Service. He edits UnderstandingCongress.org and hosts the “Understanding Congress” podcast. Before joining AEI, Kosar was at the R Street Institute, where he served as vice president of policy, vice president of research partnerships, and senior fellow and director of the Governance Project. He also cofounded the Legislative Branch Capacity Working Group, a transpartisan project to strengthen the legislative branch.
Earlier, Kosar spent more than a decade working for the Congressional Research Service, where he focused on a wide range of public administration issues. He has also taught public policy at New York University and lectured on public administration at Metropolitan College of New York. His books include Congress Overwhelmed: The Decline in Congressional Capacity and Prospects for Reform; Unleashing Opportunity: Policy Reforms for an Accountable Administrative State; Moonshine: A Global History; Ronald Reagan and Education Policy; Whiskey: A Global History; Failing Grades: The Federal Politics of Education Standards; and Bridging the Gap: Higher Education and Career-Centered Welfare Reform. He also wrote the prefaces to the recently republished The Unheavenly City Revisited and Government Project by Edward C. Banfield.
Kosar has testified before Congress and has been widely published in scholarly journals; his articles and opinion pieces have appeared in a number of popular press outlets and he has made a number of broadcast appearances. He earned a doctorate and a master’s in politics from New York University and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Ohio State University.

Introduction to Jumu'ah Muslim Prayer
2026-07-17 12:30, 2026-07-24 12:30, 2026-07-31 12:30 | Hall of Christ: Sanctuary
Jumu’ah introduction for visitors is at 12:30 PM. Jumu’ah Service is at 1:05 PM

Marie Arana
2026-07-17 14:00 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy
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 personal interviews, deep research, and Marie Arana’s life experience as a Latina. At present, Latinos comprise twenty percent of the US population, a number that is growing. By 2050, census reports project that one in every three Americans will claim Latino heritage.
But Latinos are not a monolith. They do not represent a single group. The largest groups are Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Salvadorans, and Cubans. Each has a different cultural and political background. As LatinoLand shows, Latinos were some of the earliest immigrants to what is now the US—some of them arriving in the 1500s. They are racially diverse—a random infusion of white, Black, indigenous, and Asian. Once overwhelmingly Catholic, they are becoming increasingly Protestant and Evangelical. They range from domestic workers and day laborers to successful artists, corporate CEOs, and US senators. Formerly solidly Democratic, they now vote Republican in growing numbers. They are as culturally varied as any immigrants from Europe or Asia.
Marie Arana draws on her own experience as the daughter of an American mother and Peruvian father who came to the US at age nine, straddling two worlds, as many Latinos do. “Thorough, accessible, and necessary” (Ms. magazine), LatinoLand unabashedly celebrates Latino resilience and character and shows us why we must understand the fastest-growing minority in America.
Marie Arana was born in Lima, Peru. She is the author of the memoir American Chica, a finalist for the National Book Award; two novels, Cellophane and Lima Nights; the prizewinning biography Bolivar; Silver, Sword, and Stone, a narrative history of Latin America; The Writing Life, a collection from her well-known column for The Washington Post; and LatinoLand, an exceptional, all-encompassing overview of Hispanic Americans. She is the inaugural Literary Director of the Library of Congress and lives in Washington, DC, and Lima, Peru.

Islam 101 Khalid and Sabeeha Rehman
2026-07-17 15:30, 2026-07-24 15:30 | Hall of Christ: Sanctuary
“Islam in America”

CHQ Dialogues
2026-07-17 15:30, 2026-07-24 15:30, 2026-07-31 15:30 | Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

CHQ Dialogues
2026-07-17 15:30, 2026-07-24 15:30, 2026-07-31 15:30 | Episcopal Cottage, Episcopal Cottage

CHQ Dialogues
2026-07-17 15:30, 2026-07-24 15:30, 2026-07-31 15:30 | Christian Science House

The Extraordinary Caterpillar documentary film
2026-07-17 16:30 | Chautauqua Cinema, Chautauqua Cinema
A peek into the dazzling world of nature’s tiniest and mightiest superheros, with post film discussion. Sponsored by the Chautauqua Bird, Tree and Garden Club.

Kabbalat Shabbat Service
2026-07-17 17:00, 2026-07-24 17:00, 2026-07-31 17:00 | Miller Park, Miller Park

Harry Connick Jr.
2026-07-17 20:00 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
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 Tony recognition, plus album sales in excess of 30 million and sold-out concerts around the world.
Backed by his stellar band, this special concert will showcase the full breadth of Connick’s artistry—from jazz standards and New Orleans classics to his masterful originals and career-defining hits.

CHQ Mystic Heart: Centering Prayer with Carol McKiernan
2026-07-18 07:15, 2026-07-25 07:15, 2026-08-01 07:15 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy
Carol McKiernan grew up at Chautauqua and says that her love of mystical practices began here on the grounds. She was formally introduced to meditation many years ago at an off-season yoga and meditation retreat led by Subagh Singh Khalsa and has been practicing Centering Prayer daily ever since. She has attended many seminars, workshops, and retreats offered by Contemplative Outreach, founded by the late Father Thomas Keating, a Trappist Monk who was instrumental in the creation of Centering Prayer. Carol practices Centering Prayer with weekly groups in Campus Ministry at Villanova University and at St. David’s Episcopal Church outside of Philadelphia. She has led and participated in many Centering Prayer workshops and groups in the areas surrounding her hometown of Philadelphia. She is a member of the Augustinian Affiliates, the lay order of the Augustinian Friars and volunteers for the Friars in the Villanova Province. Carol is a past board member and treasurer of the Chautauqua Catholic Community.

Piano Program Student Recital
2026-07-18 13:00 | Sherwood-Marsh 101

Chautauqua Opera Conservatory: Mozart's Die Zauberflöte
2026-07-18 14:00, 2026-07-21 17:00 | Norton Hall, Norton Hall
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Librettist: Original text by Emanuel Schickaneder, English dialogue translation by Nathan Troup
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 by elements both mystical and spiritual—and joined by the ever-hopeful, always-hungry, bird-catching Papageno as their trusty sidekick—Tamino and Pamina undergo trials of courage, integrity, and resilience. As the Queen of the Night spreads fear and misinformation, the wise Sarastro champions reason, compassion, and community. In a world that often feels divided by noise and uncertainty, The Magic Flute resonates as a timeless and timely tale of seeking truth, choosing empathy over fear, and finding harmony through connection.
Sung in German (with English supertitles) and spoken English dialogue.

Chautauqua Theater Company Presents Best for Baby (Pick-Your-Price)
2026-07-18 17:00 | Bratton Theater, Bratton Theater
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 you by a sensational comedic ensemble of professional guest artists — led by Broadway actors George Abud and Crystal Dickinson — alongside members of CTC’s beloved conservatory.
Best for Baby is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Catholic Mass
2026-07-18 17:00, 2026-07-25 17:00, 2026-08-01 17:00 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy

Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra: Holst's The Planets
2026-07-18 20:00 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
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 filled with energy, heroism, and familiar melodies. Holst follows with “The Planets”, a monumental suite exploring Roman gods and goddesses through sound. From Mars’ ferocious ostinato to Neptune’s mysterious beauty, the orchestra will explore a full range of characters. Together, these pieces bring exhilarating celestial energy to the amphitheater.
Program:
Williams: Star Wars, “Main Theme”
Holst: The Planets

Unscripted! An Evening of Musical Improv
2026-07-18 22:00, 2026-07-20 22:00 | Roe Green Theater Center
Unscripted! An Evening of Musical Improv features a collection of improv comedians and singers from Brooklyn, New York. By day, they are the Chautauqua Institution Young Playwrights Project’s Lead Teaching Artists, teaching in public schools throughout Chautauqua County. By night, they grace the stages of New York City’s premiere comedy venues.

Song, Prayer, Communion & Meditation
2026-07-19 08:30, 2026-07-26 08:30, 2026-08-02 08:30 | Hurlbut Church sanctuary, Hurlbut Church sanctuary

United Church of Christ Worship Service
2026-07-19 09:00, 2026-07-26 09:00, 2026-08-02 09:00 | Randell Chapel, UCC Headquarters

Unity Service
2026-07-19 09:30, 2026-07-26 09:30, 2026-08-02 09:30 | Hall of Missions, Hall of Missions

Catholic Mass
2026-07-19 09:30, 2026-07-26 09:30, 2026-08-02 09:30 | Hall of Christ: Sanctuary

Unitarian Universalist Service
2026-07-19 09:30, 2026-07-26 09:30, 2026-08-02 09:30 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy

Cantor Olivia Brodsky
2026-07-19 10:45, 2026-07-20 09:15, 2026-07-21 09:15, 2026-07-22 09:15 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
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 varying backgrounds and levels of religious and cultural observance, herself having been raised in the Conservative movement and now dually affiliated with both the Reform movement’s American Conference of Cantors and the Conservative movement’s Cantor’s Assembly.
Brodsky is deeply engaged in Jewish education, global Jewish travel, and interfaith
dialogue. In reaction to divisive politics plaguing both the US and the world at large, she founded an Adult Education series entitled “Complex Conversations with the Cantor,” where she facilitates respectful dialogue between people with a diverse array of views on controversial issues.
As an outspoken advocate for the Jewish community and a published writer, Brodsky contributes op-ed commentary to a variety of news outlets addressing Jewish identity, the Arab-Israeli Conflict, Zionism, and antisemitism. She brings a nuanced understanding of Jewish history, culture, Abrahamic faith traditions, Middle Eastern politics, social justice, and ethics to her ministry. Brodsky strives to create relevant, inclusive, intellectually engaging Jewish experiences for her community.
Brodsky attended a dual-degree program at Tufts University and the New England Conservatory of Music (NEC), earning a B.A. in Judaic Studies and studying Classical Vocal Performance. She received her Master of Sacred Music and Cantorial Ordination from the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music at Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion.

The Great American Picnic
2026-07-19 12:00 | Literary Arts Grove

School of Dance: Student Gala I
2026-07-19 15:00 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
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,
Bonnefoux McBride Artistic Director of Chautauqua School of Dance, the school continues its long tradition of excellence as a top-tier summer training program focused on bringing the next generation of dance stars from the studio to the stage.

Angela May and Mary Alice Monroe
2026-07-19 15:30 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy
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 New York Times bestselling series created with Mary Alice Monroe. All three books in their middle grade series are rooted in the magic of nature and set on a remote barrier island off the coast of South Carolina. The first book in the series, The Islanders, earned several honors, including the South Carolina Children’s Book Award nominee and the Triple Crown Award.
Angela is a South Carolina Lowcountry native and a graduate of the University of South Carolina with a degree in broadcast journalism. Prior to her career in the book publishing industry, she worked as an award-winning reporter, producer, and news anchor.
She lives in Mount Pleasant with her husband, who is an educator, and their two children. You can connect with her at www.angelamaybooks.com.
Based in Charleston, South Carolina, is the New York Times best-selling author of thirty books–and counting, Mary Alice Monroe. Richly layered and rooted to place her Lowcountry-set novels defy literary labels. More than feel-good escapism or traditional beach reads, her engrossing stories deftly explore the intersections and parallels between Mother Nature and human nature, hooking readers emotionally and introducing them to characters and causes that live in their hearts and minds. Her robust library of work–from the popular Beach House series to her compelling fiction, to her newer middle grade series, The Islanders–engages readers across generational lines, inspiring them to take a harder look at the environment–and our impact on it. To ask the important questions. To seek answers. To create connections–both with nature and in our personal lives.

Church of the Wild with Kriss Miller
2026-07-19 16:00, 2026-07-26 16:00, 2026-08-02 16:00 | Outdoor Classroom
Kriss Young Miller and her husband Gary manage the Quaker House. Kriss is a 2022 graduate of Earlham School of Religion with her Master of Arts in Peace and Social Transformation. Kriss is currently a student of Victoria Loorz in the Seminary of the Wild Earth at the Center for Wild Spirituality. She has completed Wild Church Leadership training and is deeply grateful for the opportunity to work to build connections with Chautauquans in the sacred wild.

Blessing of the Animals (weather permitting)
2026-07-19 17:15, 2026-07-26 17:15, 2026-08-02 17:15 | Hall of Philosophy Grove

Hebrew Congregation, Shirley Lazarus Sunday Evening Lecture Series
2026-07-19 19:00, 2026-07-26 19:00, 2026-08-02 19:00 | Smith Wilkes Hall, Smith Wilkes Hall

Palestine Park Tour
2026-07-19 19:00, 2026-07-26 19:00, 2026-08-02 19:00 | Palestine Park, Palestine Park

Chautauqua Theater Company Presents Best for Baby
2026-07-19 19:30, 2026-07-21 19:30, 2026-07-22 18:00, 2026-07-23 14:00, 2026-07-23 19:30, 2026-07-24 16:00, 2026-07-26 14:00, 2026-07-26 19:30 and 7 more dates | Bratton Theater, Bratton Theater

Sacred Song Service
2026-07-19 20:00, 2026-07-26 20:00, 2026-08-02 20:00 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater

CHQ Mystic Heart - Bhante Chipamong Chowdhury, Theravada Buddhism / Mindfulness Meditation
2026-07-20 07:45, 2026-07-21 07:45, 2026-07-22 07:45, 2026-07-23 07:45, 2026-07-24 07:45 | Presbyterian House, Presbyterian House
Originally from Chittagong Hill Tracts (Bangladesh), Bhante (Chipamong Chowdhury) is a contemplative teacher, researcher, storyteller and monastic activist. He became a monk at the age of 6 and received traditional Buddhist education, monastic training and meditation in Sri Lanka and Myanmar (1998-2006). He also studied at the University of Toronto Canada, Naropa University Colorado, Arizona State University, and was a Fellow at the Columbia University NY. He taught courses on Contemporary Buddhism Universities in Europe and US. He is a co-editor of the book: Human Dignity: Practices, Discourses, and Transformations. His essays and writings have appeared in the Harvard Divinity Bulletin, Journal of Contemporary Buddhism, Buddhist Studies Reviews, and Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, among other publications. Defining himself as a nomad monk or/ a global citizen, he travels extensively in North America, Europe and Asia, teaching nomad mindfulness, inner resources, active care, and human dignity. Bringing his experience as a Theravāda/nomad monk in South and Southeast Asia, besides daily mindfulness meditation, Bhante will be offering various aspects of Theravāda Dhamma reflecting on empathy, hopes, loves, forgiveness, healings, emotional intimacy, anger, and compassionate actions, among other topics.

School of Music: Opera Conservatory Masterclass with Dominic Armstrong
2026-07-20 10:00 | McKnight Hall, McKnight Hall

David Wallace-Wells
2026-07-20 10:45 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
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 and journalist who uses the power of storytelling to move the needle on climate action. He also writes a weekly newsletter on climate change, technology and the future of the planet, themes that will frame his lecture opening Chautauqua’s Week Four theme, “Wasted: Our Era of Disposability.”
Wallace-Wells is the author of The New York Times bestselling book about the consequences of global warming, The Uninhabitable Earth. His book looks beyond what needs to be done, to consider what the world will actually look like if we don’t move fast. It predicted much of the dizzying, disorienting situation we’re in now — not just the growth of pandemics, but the cascading way that multiple climate-fueled crises undermine our ability to respond effectively to any single one. He highlights that stabilizing the world’s climate is the underlying solution that also can achieve prosperity, justice and equality of all kinds.
He has also written widely on the Covid-19 pandemic, bringing vital reporting and analysis to science and policy coverage. Wallace-Wells was previously the deputy editor at New York magazine, where he wrote a column on climate change, and where his viral cover story “The Uninhabitable Earth” was met with widespread acclaim, paving the way for his book. Formerly the deputy editor of The Paris Review, and a National Fellow at the New America Foundation, he was the co-host of the podcast “2038,” which interrogated predictions about the next two decades.

Moving Beyond Our Era of Disposability: How a Reuse Economy Benefits People, Planet, and Profit.
2026-07-20 12:15 | Smith Wilkes Hall, Smith Wilkes Hall
Hear from three Western New York innovators about how we move beyond an economy based on waste to one based on reusing what we’ve already produced. Panel discussion with Dr. John Atkinson, chair in engineering sustainability at University at Buffalo; Diane Cohen, CEO of Finger Lakes Reuse; and Kenneth Omeruo, creator of UpcycleCHQ.
This program is presented in collaboration with the Western New York Sustainable Business Roundtable.

Guided Kayak Eco Tour
2026-07-20 12:45, 2026-07-27 12:45, 2026-08-03 12:45 | Sports Club, Waterfront
Enjoy paddling while learning about ecological info 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 $12 per person for the tour guide. Limited spots so please reserve one day before the event. For more info, please contact sportsclub@chq.org.

Bill McKibben
2026-07-20 14:00 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy
Bill McKibben is a contributing writer to The New Yorker and a founder of Third Act, which organizes people over the age of 60 to work on climate and racial justice. He founded the first global grassroots climate campaign, 350, and serves as the Schumann Distinguished Professor in Residence at Middlebury College in Vermont.
He has written more than twenty books about the environment including, The End of Nature and The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon: A Graying American Looks Back at his Suburban Boyhood and Wonders What the Hell Happened. His latest book is titled Here Comes the Sun.
In 2014, he was awarded the Right Livelihood Prize, sometimes called the “alternative Nobel,” in the Swedish Parliament. He also won the Gandhi Peace Award and honorary degrees from 19 colleges and universities.

Islam 101 Khalid and Sabeeha Rehman
2026-07-20 15:30 | Hall of Christ: Sanctuary
“The Quran and What is Says About Other Faiths”

"Courageous Conversation on Death and Dying" Shahid Aziz
2026-07-20 15:30, 2026-07-27 15:30, 2026-08-03 15:30 | Presbyterian Chapel

Chautauqua Chamber Music: Del Sol Quartet
2026-07-20 16:00 | Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall, Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall
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, Del Sol presents a brand-new quartet, Moananuiākea by composer Leilehua Lanzilotti, a work that honors the vast Pacific Ocean and the interconnectedness of all who cross it. The program highlights the quartet’s signature blend of innovation, beauty, and cultural storytelling. Join us for a performance that expands the boundaries of the string quartet tradition.

Concessions Community Listening Session
2026-07-20 16:00 | Smith Wilkes Hall, Smith Wilkes Hall
Join us for an opportunity to connect with the team working to bring concessions to Chautauqua and share your thoughts. Stop by to ask questions, offer feedback, and let us know how your experience has been so far this summer. We’d love to hear from you and continue shaping this effort together.

Play CHQ: Bird Feeders
2026-07-20 16:00, 2026-07-23 16:00, 2026-07-27 16:00, 2026-07-30 16:00, 2026-08-03 16:00 | Heinz Beach, Heinz Beach

CHQ Mystic Heart - Sound Meditation with Suzanne Watters
2026-07-20 16:45, 2026-08-03 16:45 | Hall of Christ: Sanctuary
Suzanne Watters is a Pratt Institute MFA graduate with a concentration in painting/drawing. Her art practice centers around woven pieces made with found textiles painted with pigments and/or dyed with food waste and other organic matter. She has attended training in New York City and received a certification in sound meditation from the Sound Healing Academy. She has also done additional sound healing training at a retreat and session with Wyatt Mylius at Rooted In Sound in Pittsburgh, PA (trained with Peter Hess) and with indigenous sound healing practitioner Moises Tort in Mandarina, Mexico. Watters sees her sound meditation sessions as being led by an artist and guided with the relaxation tools and techniques of poetry, breath, and sound

Taize and Tea Meditation Worship
2026-07-20 19:00, 2026-07-27 19:00, 2026-08-03 19:00 | Randell Chapel, UCC Headquarters

Music School Festival Orchestra
2026-07-20 20:00 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
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 orchestras and chamber ensembles and can be found on music faculties worldwide. The MSFO is led by Artistic Director Timothy Muffitt, who serves as Music Director of the Lansing Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Laureate of the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra.

Dr. John Atkinson: “Are Technical Improvements Actually Improving Recycling?”
2026-07-21 09:15 | Hurlbut Church sanctuary, Hurlbut Church sanctuary
Chautauqua Science Group Weekly Lecture
John D. Atkinson is an environmental engineering professor at the University at Buffalo, where he created the University’s most popular study abroad course and has been recognized as an Early Career Teacher of the Year, Outstanding Director, Experiential Learning Faculty Fellow, and Best Undergraduate Mentor.
His work is driven by an overarching desire to more sustainably produce and consume, resulting in a diverse portfolio of publications and seminars. With on-going funding from New York State and the U.S. National Science Foundation, as well as local industry, he is currently researching within the broad field of waste management, using life cycle analysis tools to investigate plastics and tire recycling, waste disposal options, and energy recovery. His work targets real-world problems that impact everyday life, aiming to make engineering more thoughtful and accessible.
Atkinson emboldens lifestyle changes that promote sustainability. He encourages his students to expand their comfort zones, holistically problem solve, and embrace their creativity through engineering design.​
He received a BS in Chemistry from the University of Illinois in 2007, a MS in Environmental Engineering in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois in 2009 and a Ph.D in Environmental Engineering in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois (UIUC) in 2013.

Aja Barber
2026-07-21 10:45 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
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, and social justice. The book reveals the endemic injustices in our consumer industries, the uncomfortable history of the textile industry, and how oppressive systems help create a lack of diversity and equality in the fashion industry. Independent booksellers across the UK and Ireland voted to include Consumed on the non-fiction shortlist for the Indie Book Awards 2023.
Barber has written for The Guardian, CNN, Selfridges, Eco-Age, and a host of other sites. She contributed to “No Offence But…” by Gina Martin. She is currently working on a novel acquired by Brazen Books. Originally from Reston, Virginia, Barber currently lives in South East London. In addition to her other work, Barber is a contributing editor for Elle UK. Her Patreon newsletter has been going since 2018 and was the first slow fashion newsletter of this type.

Rachael Zoe Miller, Rozalia Project to Save Our Seas: Decision-making in the Age of Plastics, Kitchens Edition
2026-07-21 12:30 | Smith Wilkes Hall, Smith Wilkes Hall
Bird, Tree & Garden Club lunchtime lecture series
Rachael Zoe Miller is a National Geographic Explorer, inventor, author and Explorers Club Fellow working to protect the ocean through expedition-based science, conservation and storytelling.
She is the founder of Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean, a nonprofit addressing marine debris; co-inventor of the Cora Ball, the world’s first microfiber-catching laundry ball; creator of CSI for the Ocean, a global citizen science microplastic mapping and monitoring program; and author of “Decision-Making in the Age of Plastics.”
Miller leads teams on expeditions whose scientific results are published in peer-reviewed journals and education programs that inspire thousands of all ages.
She is a Visiting Scientist with National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions, joining expeditions to investigate microplastic and microfiber in the Arctic and Southern Oceans.
She’s presented at myriad events, including TedX, MIT’s Water Summit, World Ocean Forum, at the Chautauqua Institution and in multiple countries as part of the U.S. State Department’s International Speaker Program.
Miller captained the 60’ sailing research vessel, American Promise; trained Navy SEALS to use underwater robots; mentors young scientists at the New York Harbor School and is an ambassador for the Scottish Seabird Centre.
She grew up in the lakes and rivers of upstate New York, lives in Vermont and loves human and wind-powered water sports.

CHQ Mystic Heart - Bhante Chipamong Chowdhury, Theravada Buddhism / Mindfulness Meditation
2026-07-21 12:30 | Hall of Missions, Hall of Missions

School of Music Piano Faculty Recital: José Ramón Méndez
2026-07-21 16:00 | Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall, Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall
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 Manuel de Falla’s Nights in the Gardens of Spain with the Nittany Valley Symphony, as well as numerous solo and chamber music performances in the United States, Europe, and Asia. His playing has been featured on WQXR’s “Performance Today” and on Classical KMFA. He has been a guest performer at many music festivals, including the Caramoor Festival, Barge Music Series, Festival Internacional de Piano de las Islas Canarias, Music at Penn’s Woods, Amalfi Coast International Music Festival, “Tocando el Cielo,” Musica en Compostela, the Stony Brook International Piano Festival, and the Santander International Music Festival, among many others. As a chamber musician, Méndez has collaborated with such distinguished artists as Karl Leister, Itzhak Perlman, Michael Tree, Pascual Martinez-Nieto, and Pinchas Zukerman.

Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra: Beethoven's "Eroica"
2026-07-21 20:00 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
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 and bold, the Eroica transforms personal struggle into heroic expression.
Program:
Christopher Theofanidis: Rainbow Body
Beethoven: Symphony #3 “Eroica”

Ron Gonen
2026-07-22 10:45 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
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 this work that will inform his presentation during Week Four of the Chautauqua Lecture Series, themed “Wasted: Our Era of Disposability,” with thoughts on how industry can embrace sustainability to chart a path for a healthier planet — and immense business opportunity.
Gonen is the author of the book, The Waste Free World: How the Circular Economy Will Take Less, Make More, and Save the Planet, in addition to several technology and environmental science patents. Prior to founding Closed Loop Partners, he served as the deputy commissioner for sanitation, recycling and sustainability in New York City during the Bloomberg administration. In this role, he oversaw the collection and processing of paper, metal, glass, plastic, textile waste, electronic waste, organics and hazardous waste, as well as public policy. During his tenure, he was recognized by the Natural Resources Defense Council/Earth Day NY as the Public Official of the Year.
Gonen founded his first recycling company in 2002. The companies he has led have been recognized as innovators in sustainable business practices. Awards include The Conference of Mayors Public/Private Partnership of the Year, Technology Pioneer from the World Economic Forum and The Wall Street Journal’s No. 1 Venture Backed Cleantech Company of The Year. He earned an MBA from Columbia Business School and later served as an adjunct professor.

Rita Nakashima Brock
2026-07-22 14:00 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy
Rita Nakashima Brock is a scholar, editor and writer. From 2017-2025, she was senior vice president and director of the Shay Moral Injury Center at Volunteers of America and the co-author of Soul Repair: Recovering from the Moral Injury after War with Gabriella Lettini.
In 2012 she co-founded, with Col. (Chaplain) Herman Keizer, Jr., and directed the Soul Repair Center at Brite Divinity School. She is the co-author, with Rebecca Ann Parker, of Proverbs of Ashes: Violence, Redemptive Suffering and the Search for What Saves Us and Saving Paradise: How Christianity Traded Love of This World for Crucifixion and Empire.
From 2005-2008, she was senior editor in religion at The New Press book publisher in New York. Her first book is Journeys By Heart: A Christology of Erotic Power and her second, with Susan Thistlethwaite, is Casting Stones: Prostitution and Liberation in Asia and the U.S. She is also author of many essays and blogs.

UU Cultural Ethics Series: J. D. Stillwater, President of Religious Naturalists Unitarian Universalists
2026-07-22 15:30 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy

Chautauqua Opera Company Operalogue: The Music Shop / A.E. Reverie / Ida by Lamplight
2026-07-22 17:00 | Smith Wilkes Hall, Smith Wilkes Hall

CVA Lecture Series: Elizabeth Mooney, School of Art Faculty
2026-07-22 18:30 | Hultquist 101, Hultquist 101
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 has received grants from the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, the Sustainable Arts Foundation, and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Elizabeth is currently an Associate Professor at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, where she teaches painting and printmaking.

Chautauqua Opera Company presents: The Music Shop / A.E. Reverie / Ida by Lamplight
2026-07-22 20:00 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
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 title of the song his wife must sing at a royal wedding, while visions of her haunt and strike fear in him. This four-character, 60-minute farce promises a lively romp in the Amphitheater! Two installments from The Summer Place round out the evening. A.E. Reverie, which received its world premiere at Chautauqua in 2024, reflects on Amelia Earhart’s 1929 lecture at the Amphitheater, and how it inspired another young woman’s dream of flight. To close out the evening, the world premiere of Ida by Lamplight takes us back to the Chautauqua Literary and Science Circle’s early years, celebrating Ida Tarbell and Kate Kimball, whose pioneering work galvanized Chautauqua Institution’s mission. Commissioned by Chautauqua Opera Company, Ida by Lamplight celebrates the 150th anniversary of The Chautauquan Daily in 2026. Stage Director Ned Canty (The Mikado, Don Giovanni, and Love and Longing by the Lake) brings everything to life in a celebration of Chautauqua which you will not want to miss.

Cantor Olivia Brodsky
2026-07-23 09:15 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy

Katharine K. Wilkinson
2026-07-23 10:45 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
Katharine K. Wilkinson is a human on Earth. As a bestselling writer, teacher and climate expert, she has inspired hundreds of thousands of climate journeys through transformational projects that shift our cultural narratives about what’s possible and nurture engagement in renewing our world. Her books include Climate Wayfinding — called “invaluable” by frequent Chautauqua lecturer Bill McKibben — the bestselling anthology All We Can Save and the New York Times bestseller Drawdown. Her remarks contributing to Chautauqua’s exploration of “Our Era of Disposability” will draw from Climate Wayfinding, which was released in May 2026.
Wilkinson co-founded and leads The All We Can Save Project, where she shaped the much-beloved programs All We Can Save Circles and Climate Wayfinding. She also co-hosts the podcast “A Matter of Degrees” and writes the newsletter “Human on Earth.” Previously, Wilkinson was the principal writer and editor-in-chief at Project Drawdown. With a singular blend of warmth and rigor, she facilitates and speaks widely — including a TED Talk with more than 2 million views — and periodically teaches as a visiting professor.
Wilkinson holds a Ph.D. in geography and environment from the University of Oxford, where she was a Rhodes Scholar, and a B.A. in religion from Sewanee: The University of the South. In 2019, Time Magazine named her one of fifteen “Women Who Will Save the World.”

CTC Theater Chats
2026-07-23 12:15, 2026-07-30 12:15 | Smith Wilkes Hall, Smith Wilkes Hall

What's In Our Waters?
2026-07-23 12:30 | Heinz Beach, Heinz Beach
Join Nat Geo Explorer Rachael Zoe Miller and leading microplastics researcher Dr. Sam Mason for a fun workshop about trash in our waters and what we can do about it.

CHQ Mystic Heart - Bhante Chipamong Chowdhury, Theravada Buddhism / Mindfulness Meditation
2026-07-23 12:30 | Hall of Missions, Hall of Missions

Leah Naomi Green
2026-07-23 14:00 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy
Leah Naomi Green is writer-in-residence at Washington and Lee University. She is the author of The More Extravagant Feast, selected by Li-Young Lee for the Walt Whitman Award of the Academy of American Poets and named “one of the best books of 2020” by The Boston Globe. Green teaches English and environmental studies at Washington and Lee University as well as online creative writing workshops for Orion Magazine.
Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Paris Review, The Nation, Tin House, The Kenyon Review, “Poem-a-Day,” VQR, The Southern Review, Orion, The Georgia Review and Ecotone, among other journals.
Green has been featured on NPR’s “All Things Considered” and supported by fellowships and awards from the Civitella Ranieri Foundation, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, the Guilford College Sherwood Anderson Visiting Writer Program and the Lucille Clifton Legacy Award for compassion, courage, truth-telling and commitment to justice.

Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra: Hovhaness and Shostakovich
2026-07-23 20:00 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
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 a sound world of serenity, chant-like melody, and rich expression. In contrast, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 12 is a work of momentum and scale, depicting history through bold orchestral force and intensity. Together, these symphonies highlight two distinct approaches to the symphonic form-one inward and contemplative, the other outward and declarative.
Program:
Hovhaness: Symphony No. 2 “Mysterious Mountain”
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 12, “The Year 1917”

Ecumenical Communion Service
2026-07-24 09:15, 2026-07-31 09:15 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy

Rainn Wilson
2026-07-24 10:45 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
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 a sense of moral urgency to discuss how disposability affects not only our environment but also erodes our sense of meaning, relationships and community.
Wilson is an Emmy-nominated and SAG Award-winning actor best known for playing Dwight Schrute on NBC’s “The Office.” A longtime environmental activist, Wilson co-founded Climate Basecamp in 2022. With the organization, he has been working on climate communications and serves as a member on the advisory board.
On his podcast, “Soul Boom,” Wilson hosts a series of intimate conversations with some of the most brilliant and heart-felt artists, thinkers and doers to bring the listener toward transformation on both a personal and spiritual level. In 2009, he founded the digital media company Soul Pancake. He is the author of four books including The Bassoon King, SoulPancake: Chew on Life’s Big Questions, Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution, and Soul Boom Workbook: Spiritual Tools for Modern Living.
Wilson is also known for “Lessons in Chemistry”; the unscripted travel series “Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss”; “Jerry & Marge Go Large”; “Utopia”; Roger Michell’s “Blackbird”; “The Meg”; “Star Trek: Discovery”; “Hesher”; “Super”; “Cooties”; “Juno”; “Galaxy Quest”; and “Almost Famous.” He has an MFA from New York University. On Broadway, Wilson was in The Tempest” and the Tony nominated “London Assurance.” He performed “Thom Pain (Based on Nothing)” at The Geffen and was the lead role in the political farce “The Doppelganger” at Steppenwolf Theater.
Later that afternoon, Wilson will host a Masters Series workshop engaging the Chautauqua community with his journal-style Soul Boom Workbook: Spiritual Tools for Modern Living — based on his New York Times bestselling book and hit podcast Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution.

Mary Alice Monroe
2026-07-24 14:00 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy
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 novels celebrating one intrepid woman’s life across multiple generations in the American South.
1908: The Lowcountry of South Carolina is at the cusp of change. Mayfield, the grand estate held for generations by the Rivers family, is the treasured home of young Eliza. A free spirit, she refuses to be confined by societal norms and spends her days exploring the vast property, observing wildlife, and riding horses. But the Great War, coastal storms, and family turmoil bring unexpected challenges to Eliza, putting her on a collision course with the patriarchal traditions of a bygone era.
1988: At 88, Eliza is the scion of the Rivers/DeLancey family. She’s fought a lifetime to save her beloved Mayfield and is too independent and committed to quietly retire and leave the fate of the estate to her greedy son. She must make decisions that will assure the future of the land and her family—or watch them both be split apart.
Set against the evocative landscape of the twentieth-century Lowcountry, Where the Rivers Merge is a dramatic and sweeping multigenerational family story of unyielding love, lessons learned, profound sacrifices, and the indomitable spirit of a woman determined to persevere in the face of change in order to protect her family legacy and the land she loves.
Based in Charleston, South Carolina, is the New York Times best-selling author of thirty books–and counting, Mary Alice Monroe. Richly layered and rooted to place her Lowcountry-set novels defy literary labels. More than feel-good escapism or traditional beach reads, her engrossing stories deftly explore the intersections and parallels between Mother Nature and human nature, hooking readers emotionally and introducing them to characters and causes that live in their hearts and minds. Her robust library of work–from the popular Beach House series to her compelling fiction, to her newer middle grade series, The Islanders–engages readers across generational lines, inspiring them to take a harder look at the environment–and our impact on it. To ask the important questions. To seek answers. To create connections–both with nature and in our personal lives.

Chautauqua Theater Company Presents FutureNow New Play Lab 2: ERASERS: A Bloodthirsty Comedy
2026-07-24 14:00, 2026-07-25 14:00, 2026-07-25 18:00, 2026-07-26 18:00, 2026-08-01 17:00 | Roe Green Theater Center
In a world that looks remarkably like ours, the National Agency of Literary Advisors gives writers “gentle advice” about what kinds of stories the world wants to see. And then, the advice gets less gentle. ERASERS is a bloodthirsty comedy about office supplies and fascism.

Masters Series Masterclass: A Dialogue with Rainn Wilson
2026-07-24 15:30 | Norton Hall, Norton Hall
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 co-founder and writer Shabnam Mogharabi. It is filled with hands-on prompts, inspired reflections, and ingenious creative activities. The session delves deeper into the indispensable companion book, based on his New York Times bestselling book—now a hit podcast—Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution. Wilson’s approach to spirituality is relatable and applies to people of all beliefs, even the skeptics. The journal enables readers to find more purpose, meaning, and spirituality in their hectic lives as they seek out practical and transformative answers to life’s biggest questions. Wilson posits that a “Soul Boom” is the potential for a spiritual revolution to instigate transformations, both individually and collectively. It’s the healing balm that our world needs in our contemporary mental health crisis.

School of Music: Violin Masterclass with Ilya Kaler
2026-07-24 15:30 | Fletcher Music Hall, Fletcher Music Hall

Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas with special guest Theo Lawrence
2026-07-24 19:30 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
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 immaculately crafted but endlessly surprising sound that transcends the boundaries of roots, country, rock & roll, and pop, Alison Krauss & Union Station released their highly anticipated new album, Arcadia, in 2025. This marked their first studio album since the 2011 masterpiece Paper Airplane—a critically lauded, multiple Grammy Award winning LP that debuted at #1 on the Billboard Country, Bluegrass, and Folk Album charts. Over the years, Alison Krauss & Union Station have brought their phenomenal live show to sold-out performances at famed venues like Red Rocks Amphitheatre, The Greek Theatre, Radio City Music Hall, and London’s Royal Festival Hall, in addition to supporting Paul Simon in Hyde Park for his 2012 Graceland reunion. They now continue the celebration of their new music with the Arcadia 2026 Tour.
The players – Alison Krauss (fiddle, lead vocal), Jerry Douglas (Dobro, lap steel, vocals), Ron Block (banjo, guitar, vocals), Barry Bales (bass, vocals), and highly acclaimed and celebrated tenor vocalist Russell Moore (guitar, mandolin, lead vocal) – are five distinct personalities, each of whom enjoys a flourishing solo career. But when they come together, they transform into a peerless group of musicians who share a singular focus.

Chautauqua Theater Company Presents For Colored Girls by Ntozake Shange
2026-07-24 22:00 | Roe Green Theater Center
CTC’s 2026 Acting Conservatory student Mengwe Wapimewah performs For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf by Ntozake Shange

Chautauqua Theater Company Presents Best for Baby (Live Audio Descriptions & Pick-Your-Price)
2026-07-25 16:00 | Bratton Theater, Bratton Theater

Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra: Carmina Burana
2026-07-25 20:00 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
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 fate, love, and the unpredictability of fortune. Best known for its electrifying opening, O Fortuna, the piece unfolds as a series of vivid scenes propelled by driving rhythms and striking orchestration. Immediate and powerful, Carmina Burana captures the raw intensity of human experience.
Program:
Orff: Carmina Burana

Quaker Worship Service
2026-07-26 09:30, 2026-08-02 09:30 | Quaker House

The Rev. Zina Jacque
2026-07-26 10:45, 2026-07-27 09:15, 2026-07-28 09:15, 2026-07-29 09:15 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
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 nonprofit boards and faith-based organizations nationwide.
For two decades, Jacque shaped the student experience at several leading universities. After transitioning to ministry, Jacque’s pastoral path has taken her from small urban parishes to historic pulpits, notably as the lead minister for the Villages of Alfred Street at the renowned Alfred Street Baptist Church.
Extending her service well beyond church walls, Jacque was the first executive director of the Boston Ten Point Coalition — a violence reduction initiative credited with nearly two homicide-free years among Boston’s youth under 21. Later, she founded the Pastoral Counseling Center at Trinity Church Boston. Jacque also co-founded Courageous Conversations, a national dialogue series fostering belonging and understanding in a polarized age.
Jacque’s impact has been recognized with numerous honors, including the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Boston University School of Theology, the 2022 Citizen of the Year Award from Barrington, Ill. and the Women of Distinction Award from the Barrington Chamber of Commerce. Jacque’s most recent work, “A Sacred Pause,” is a collection of meditations, journals, and reflections which has drawn a growing online following for its mix of stillness, wisdom, and grace.
Jacque holds a Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern University, Master of Arts from Columbia University, Master of Divinity and Ph.D. in Theology from Boston University.

"Cutwork" Exhibition: July 26–August 25
2026-07-26 13:00 | Strohl Art Center: Main Galleries
“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 explore the weight and gravity of their material and subject matter. Layered and lacy textures reveal what is built and what is left behind. This exhibition is generously sponsored by Brenda and Larry Thompson. Curated by Erika Diamond.
Artists: Elizabeth Alexander, Teresa Faris, Piper Shephard, Justin Stewart, Lydia C. Thompson, and Michael Velliquette.

"A Different Light: Landscapes by Gwen Norton" Exhibition: July 26–August 25
2026-07-26 13:00 | Strohl Art Center 2nd Floor
“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 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 Vineyard and is included in the collection of the Whitney Museum of Art Library. This exhibition is generously sponsored by the Friends of CVA. Curated by Judy Barie, the Susan & John Turben Director of CVA Galleries.

"Cutwork" Opening Reception
2026-07-26 15:00 | Strohl Art Center: Main Galleries
“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 behind. This exhibition is generously sponsored by Brenda and Larry thompson. Curated by Erika Diamond.
Artists: Elizabeth Alexander, Teresa Faris, Piper Shephard, Justin Stewart, Lydia C. Thompson, and Michael Velliquette.

"A Different Light: Landscapes by Gwen Norton" Exhibition Opening Reception
2026-07-26 15:00 | Strohl Art Center 2nd Floor
“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 Vineyard and is included in the collection of the Whitney Museum of Art Library. This exhibition is generously sponsored by the Friends of CVA. Curated by Judy Barie, the Susan & John Turben Director of CVA Galleries.

School of Music: Piano Program Showcase
2026-07-26 15:00 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
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 talent on the Amphitheater stage today!
The Chautauqua Piano Program is a highly selective and dynamic five-week program for 20 pianists, ages 18–28. Combining a world-class roster of resident and guest faculty with unmatched practice and performance facilities, the program is designed to inspire young pianists from all over the globe. Students have solo and chamber music performance opportunities, plentiful private lessons, faculty-led discussions and master classes focused on advanced pianistic growth and building a career path.

Jim Daniels and Kristin Kovacic
2026-07-26 15:30 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy
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. He has authored over thirty collections of poetry, seven collections of fiction, four produced screenplays, and one collection of essays, An Ignorance of Trees, published in 2025. He has also edited many anthologies, including RESPECT: The Poetry of Detroit Music. He is a recipient of two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships and two from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Other writing awards include the Brittingham Prize, the Blue Lynx Prize, the Tillie Olsen Creative Writing Award, the Milton Kessler Award, and three Gold Medals in the Independent Publisher Book Awards, and his films have won awards in film festivals around the world. His work has been published in The Best American Poetry and Pushcart Prize volumes. A native of Detroit, he lives in Pittsburgh, where he is the Thomas Stockham Baker University Professor Emeritus of English at Carnegie Mellon University. He currently teaches in the Alma College low-residency MFA Program.
Kristin Kovacic’s essays have won the Pushcart Prize, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Fellowship, and the Orison Books Prize for Best Spiritual Writing, among other awards. Her work has appeared recently in Slate, Belt, The Coachella Review, Chautauqua, Table Magazine, The Iowa Review, and other publications. She is the author of the essay collection History of My Breath, the poetry chapbook, House of Women, and co-editor (with Lynne Barrett) of Birth: A Literary Companion. She has taught nonfiction writing at every level, including at Winchester Thurston School, the Pittsburgh High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, and in the graduate programs of Carlow University and Chatham University. She lives and works in a deconsecrated Catholic Church on the South Side of Pittsburgh.

CHQ Mystic Heart - Mateo Mortellarto, Tibetan Meditation
2026-07-27 07:45, 2026-07-28 07:45, 2026-07-29 07:45, 2026-07-30 07:45, 2026-07-31 07:45 | Presbyterian House, Presbyterian House
Taking a general and non-sectarian approach to Buddhism, Mateo Mortellaro (Konchok Tsering Tengye) has years of experience leading meditation and teaching Buddhist philosophy. Mateo started his spiritual journey early in life practicing Zen Buddhism, eventually shifting focus to the Tibetan tradition, primarily within the Drikung ,Kagyu and Sakya schools.
Mateo’s main teacher is His Eminence Garchen Rinpoche, the world-renowned Buddhist master and Yogi. While his main practice and personal approach is of the Buddhist tradition, Mateo also follows the rich and eclectic teachings of Baba Ram Dass, giving instructions using language and methods that are accessible to Western students of all levels of experience.
Mateo has been fortunate to receive teachings and instructions directly from masters such as H.H the Sakya Gongma Trichen Rinpoche,H.E Garchen Rinpoche, H.E Bardor Tulku Rinpoche, and Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche. Other influential teachers include His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh, and Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.
Mateo is also the founder of KTT Dharma, which is aimed at making spiritual teachings available to those interested through media sharing, interviews, his writing, and teachings.

The Crossover Panel with Kwame Alexander, Candrice Jones, Christopher Jackson and Jade King Carroll
2026-07-27 10:45 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
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 gather on the Amphitheater stage for a conversation about the creative process, collaboration and what it means to be generative artists. The musical adaptation is being developed and workshopped both in Chautauqua and New York City, with Tony Award-winner Thomas Kail as creative consultant.
Kwame Alexander is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of 45 books, including Why Fathers Cry at Night; The Mighty Macy; Black Star, a Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book; J vs. K, an illustrated novel he penned with Jerry Craft; the motivational primer for graduates, creatives and professionals entitled Say Yes; and The Crossover, his Newbery Medal-winning novel turned Emmy Award-winning Disney+ TV series and forthcoming musical. Alexander is a 2026 Sine 250+ Fellow at American University and the founder of the literacy non-profit One Word at a Time.
He is also the co-creator and executive producer of the Emmy-nominated “Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band and Acoustic Rooster: Jazzy Jams,” a PBS KIDS special and series of shorts produced by GBH Kids based on his beloved children’s book of the same name.
Alexander regularly shares his passion for literacy, books and the craft of writing around the world, including Ghana, West Africa, where he opened the Barbara E. Alexander Memorial Library and Health Clinic. He is the recipient of the 2025 NAACP Image Award.
Candrice Jones is a playwright and educator from Dermott, Arkansas. As a rising voice in American theater, she brings her poetic sensibility and powerful storytelling to the adaptation of The Crossover. She serves as a board member and educational outreach specialist of The Weekend Theater as well as Ozark Living Newspaper.
Jones’ primary goal as a writer is to write love letters for and to women of the American South. She is best known for writing “FLEX,” a play developed while she was a resident at the Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation (VONA) Playwrights Festival, Ground Floor. FLEX premiered at Lincoln Center Theater in New York and Penumbra Theatre in St. Paul, Minnesota. Jones is also the author of the full-length play, “Crackbaby.” She has received virtual commissions from the People’s Light and Actors Theatre of Louisville.
Jones is a CalArts Critical Studies MFA recipient. She was a fellow at Callaloo for poetry at Brown University. She was also a former resident at MacDowell’s Colony of the Arts.
Christopher Jackson is a Tony Award- nominated actor, as well as a Grammy and Emmy Award-winning songwriter/composer best known for starring as George Washington in the critically acclaimed, award-winning musical “Hamilton” on Broadway and Disney+. As the creator of “The Crossover” musical score, he incorporates high-energy jazz and hip-hop to reflect the world full of dreams, melodies and rhythms.
In 2021, Jackson starred in Freestyle Love Supreme on Broadway alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda. His other Broadway credits include Holler if Ya Hear Me, After Midnight, The Bronx Bombers, In the Heights, Memphis and The Lion King. Off Broadway credits include Bronx Bombers, The Jammer, In the Heights, Cotton Club Parade, and Lonely, I’m Not.
Jackson’s TV and film credits include “And Just Like That,” “Bull,” “Freestyle Love Supreme,” “Person of Interest,” “A Gifted Man,” “Fringe,” “Gossip Girl,” “Tracers,” “Afterlife” and the 2021 film adaptation of “In the Heights.” Jackson voiced “Where You Are” for the Disney film “Moana,” and served as composer/songwriter for “Sesame Street,” garnering seven Emmy nominations and one win. He was also the co-music supervisor and writer for “The Electric Company” on PBS.
In 2018, “One Last Time (44 Remix)” was released which featured Jackson alongside President Barack Obama and BeBe Winans. Jackson won an Emmy Award for his song with Will.I.Am, “What I Am.”
Jackson has performed sold-out concerts all over the United States, including Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center, and a command performance at the White House in 2023.
Jade King Carroll is a distinguished director specializing in new play development, and the Producing Artistic Director of Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC).
She has directed over 60 classical and contemporary productions nationwide at renowned venues. Most recently, she directed Chisa Hutchinson’s “Amerikin” at Primary Stages. Notable credits include “Proof of Love,” “Detroit ’67,” “Having Our Say,” “Red Velvet,” and multiple productions of August Wilson’s work—she is one of the few directors to have worked on every play in Wilson’s Century Cycle.
At CTC, Carroll is programming innovative new works, including the world premieres of “tiny father” by Mike Lew (a co-production with Barrington Stage Company) and commissioned pieces, “The Light and The Dark (the Life and Times of Artemisia Gentileschi)” by Kate Hamill (co-produced with off-Broadway’s Primary Stages in NYC) and the world premiere of “The Witnesses” by C.A. Johnson. Under her leadership, CTC has secured three NYSCA grants and partnered with the Telsey Office for casting and the Drama League to expand its directing fellows’ program, with the new addition of playwrighting fellows in 2026.
As a director of audio plays, Carroll’s work can be found with Audible, Marvel, and Broadway Podcast Network. She is also an educator that has guest lectured and directed at Juilliard, Rutgers, NYU, Princeton, and many more schools. She has an award from the August Wilson Estate as well as from her alma mater, SUNY New Paltz.

Conversations with Kyle
2026-07-27 13:00 | Smith Wilkes Hall, Smith Wilkes Hall
Join us for “Conversations with Kyle”, an open, drop in conversation for members of the entire community. These informal gatherings offer the opportunity to ask questions and engage directly with Interim President Kyle Keogh. All are welcome.

Peter Lawson Jones
2026-07-27 14:00 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy
Peter Lawson Jones is a professional actor, former elected official, acting instructor, master of ceremonies and dramatist.
Jones, a member of SAG-AFTRA and Actor’s Equity, can be seen later this year playing the lead in the feature-length indie, “The Last Shop on Walnut.” Jones has appeared in well over twenty films including “A Man Called Otto,” “White Boy Rick,” “Alex Cross,” “The Assassin’s Code” and “Starve.” On network television he can be seen on NBC’s “Chicago Fire” and ABC’s “Detroit 1-8-7.” He received the 2025 Hard Faith Fest NYC Best Actor Award for his performance in the short film, “Unexpected,” and the 2016 Indie Gathering International Film Festival Best Ohio Supporting Actor Award for his work in the feature-length film, “How to Change the World.” He has also been inducted into the Karamu House Hall of Fame, the oldest multicultural theatre in the country.
From February 2002, through December 2010, Jones was a member of the Board of Cuyahoga County Commissioners, and its president for three of those years. He previously served two and one-half terms in the Ohio House of Representatives, where he was the ranking member of the House Finance and Appropriations Committee and second vice president of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus. Jones was formerly the vice mayor and a councilman in the City of Shaker Heights, Ohio.
Jones’s play, The Bloodless Jungle, enjoyed a regional premiere last year at the Black Repertory Group Theater in Berkeley, California and two full productions at The Ensemble Theatre in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. The drama has enjoyed staged readings at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Dallas Convention Center, the National Black Theatre Festival, Duquesne University and in Harlem. Jones’s most recent play, The Phoenix Society, enjoyed its world premiere in 2022 at Playwrights Local in Cleveland, Ohio. Jones is a graduate of Harvard College with a degree in government, and Harvard Law School.

The 22nd Annual Robert H. Jackson Lecture on the Supreme Court of the United States — Michael R. Dreeben
2026-07-27 15:30 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy

Chautauqua Chamber Music: Verona Quartet
2026-07-27 16:00 | Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall, Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall
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. Experience the emotional power and refined elegance of one of today’s leading string quartets.

Film & Filmmaker Talk: Emmy Award-Winning "Troubled Waters" with Rory Fielding and panel of experts.
2026-07-27 16:30 | Chautauqua Cinema, Chautauqua Cinema
Exploring the impact of human behavior on our environment from the perspective of one of South Florida’s most beloved and fragile underwater creatures: the sea turtle. A critical look at the effects of global warming, water pollution, and our “throw-away” plastic lifestyle on this keystone species…and inevitably ourselves.
Post film discussion led by Rory and Courtney Fielding featuring a panel of experts featured in the film, joining by Zoom: Whitney Crowder, Turtle Rehab Manager; John Hocevar, Ocean Director Greenpeace USA; Maria Chatham, veterinarian (sea turtles); and Dave Anderson, Sea Turtle Director Gumbo Limbo Nature Center.
Rory Fielding is an Emmy Award–winning director and producer and the Executive Producer of Rory Fielding Films. His environmental documentaries have earned nine Emmy nominations and four wins. Rory Fielding Films creates films to the highest production and journalistic standards that inform and inspire. Their mission is to tell stories that matter, crafted with excellence and purpose to help shape a better world.

Chautauqua Opera Conservatory with the Music School Festival Orchestra "L’Enfant Prodigue & Les Mamelles de Tiresias"
2026-07-27 20:00 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
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 and mischief. It’s paired with Claude Debussy’s luminous early masterpiece L’enfant prodigue (1884), a one-act cantata suffused with longing, redemption, and sumptuous lyricism. Together, these works deliver an evening of operatic drama and delight.
The Chautauqua Opera Conservatory is a premier, immersive summer program offering the highest caliber of training for young singers ages 18 and older. Under the leadership of Director Jonathan Beyer, participants join a select community of singers who study, coach, and perform in the inspiring and idyllic setting of the Chautauqua Institution in western New York State.
Our program combines rigorous artistic preparation with a warm, encouraging environment that puts each singer’s growth and well-being first. Voice lessons, role study, vocal coachings, and masterclasses are led by a distinguished full-time faculty of voice teachers, coaches, and stage directors, alongside renowned guest artists from the world’s leading opera houses and conservatories. Students explore and perform repertoire spanning Opera, Art Song, Oratorio, Chamber Music, and Crossover styles.
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 orchestras and chamber ensembles and can be found on music faculties worldwide. The MSFO is led by Artistic Director Timothy Muffitt, who serves as Music Director of the Lansing Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Laureate of the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra.

Mike Thornton & The Midnight Quartet
2026-07-27 22:00 | Roe Green Theater Center
Mike Thornton, jazz vocalist of grit and sophistication, takes center stage with The Midnight Quartet in a performance charged with high-octane energy and deep blues soul. Blending hard-swinging standards with electrifying improvisation, Thornton’s commanding voice rides effortlessly over the band’s tight, driving rhythms. Each tune ignites with hot, explosive solos, delivering a night where smoky storytelling meets virtuosic fire—classic jazz reborn with urgency, swagger, and unmistakable style.

Masters Series Masterclass: The Picture Book with Kao Kalia Yang
2026-07-28 09:00 | Alumni Hall Ballroom, Alumni Hall Ballroom
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 sharing stories that a child can grow up with and an adult can grow old with.
Kao Kalia Yang is an award-winning Hmong American teacher, speaker, and writer. Her work crosses genres and audiences and centers Hmong children and families who live in our world, who dream, hurt, and hope in it. Yang’s writing and speaking are concerned with the plight of refugees from around our world, ideas of belonging, and the depths of the human experience. She holds an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Carleton College, was the 2024 Star Tribune Artist of the Year, and is a Guggenheim Fellow. Kao Kalia Yang lives in St. Paul, Minnesota with her family.

David Michaels, PhD, MPH, Protecting the integrity of science underpinning public health and environmental protections
2026-07-28 09:15 | Hurlbut Church sanctuary, Hurlbut Church sanctuary
Chautauqua Science Group Weekly Lecture
David Michaels PhD, MPH, is an epidemiologist and professor at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. He has held high-level, Senate-confirmed public health positions in the administrations of Presidents Barack Obama and President Bill Clinton.
Dr. Michaels is a leader in efforts to protect the integrity of the science underpinning public health and environmental protections. His book The Triumph of Doubt: Dark Money and the Science of Deception (Oxford University Press, 2020) was called “a tour de force” by the reviewer in Science Magazine and “a brave and important book,” by the reviewer in Nature. He is also the author of Doubt is Their Product, which was published by Oxford University Press in 2008 and reissued in 2023.

Stephanie Elizondo Griest
2026-07-28 10:45 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
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 in Moscow, Beijing, and Havana; Mexican Enough; All the Agents and Saints; and Art Above Everything: One Woman’s Global Exploration of the Joys and Torments of a Creative Life. Widely anthologized, Elizondo Griest has written for The New York Times, Washington Post, The Believer, BBC, Orion, VQR, and Oxford American, among others.
Griest’s work has won a Margolis Award for Social Justice Reporting, an International Latino Book Award, a PEN Southwest Book Award and two Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism prizes. She has been supported by the Henry Luce Foundation, Lannan Foundation, and the Hodder Fellowship at Princeton University.

Todd Paglia, CEO Stand.Earth: Delivering large-scale solutions to climate and environmental problems worldwide
2026-07-28 12:30 | Smith Wilkes Hall, Smith Wilkes Hall
Bird, Tree & Garden Club lunchtime lecture series
When Todd Paglia joined Stand.earth in 1999, he had a vision of transforming the environmental impact of something so ubiquitous that it’s often forgotten – paper. He saw that major corporations in the office supply and catalog industries were purchasing and selling millions of tons of paper with no accountability for, or even knowledge of, the environmental devastation that paper caused. As Executive Director of Stand.earth, Todd can be credited with transforming the paper policies of multi-billion-dollar Fortune 500 companies, including Staples, Office Depot, Williams-Sonoma, Dell, Victoria’s Secret, 3M and many more. Under Todd’s leadership, Stand.earth has saved more than 65 million acres of endangered forests. In addition, recycled pulp mills have seen major companies requesting more sustainable fiber as a result of Stand’s campaigns.
In 2023 under Todd’s leadership Stand was named one of the world’s most innovative companies by Fast Company Magazine and Stand won the 2023 Keeling Curve Prize for innovation in climate advocacy.

CHQ Mystic Heart - Mateo Mortellarto, Tibetan Meditation
2026-07-28 12:30, 2026-07-30 12:30 | Hall of Missions, Hall of Missions

Chautauqua Theater Company Presents Best for Baby (Live Audio Descriptions)
2026-07-28 16:00 | Bratton Theater, Bratton Theater

School of Music Piano Faculty Recital: Sara Davis Buechner
2026-07-28 16:00 | Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall, 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 service of music” (Washington Post), and “astounding virtuosity” (Philippine Star), Japan’s InTune magazine sums it up: “Buechner has no superior.”
Ms. Buechner has performed in every state and province of North America — as recitalist, chamber musician and soloist with top orchestras like the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony and Philadelphia Orchestra; and in venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center and the Hollywood Bowl. She is also a much sought after professor at Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance.

CVA Lecture Series: Glenn Goldberg, School of Art Faculty
2026-07-28 18:30 | CVA: Large Drawing Room
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 his undergraduate education. He later continued his graduate studies at Queens College to receive his MFA. In 1996 he was named the Heilman Artist and since has received grants from The Guggenheim Foundation, The Edward Albee Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, and The Joan Mitchell Foundation. Goldberg’s work has been shown extensively throughout the US and internationally, and is held in numerous collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Academy of Arts and Letters, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, among others. Goldberg has taught at various institutions including The Cooper Union, NY Studio School, Brandeis University, Queens College, Parsons School of Design, and Lodestar School of Art in Ireland. He has also been a panelist and visiting artist for MFA painting programs at Yale, Columbia, Boston University, American University, Hunter College, and others. In 2023, Goldberg was commissioned to create a public arts project at the E. 149th St subway station in the Bronx by the New York MTA Arts and Design Commission. Goldberg lives and works in New York City.

Opera & Pops Concert with CSO
2026-07-28 20:00 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
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.

Meshelle: Funny on Purpose
2026-07-28 22:00 | Roe Green Theater Center
In partnership with the African American Heritage House
MESHELLE The Indie-Mom of Comedy, is an award-winning comedian, writer, and solo performer whose work sits at the intersection of arts, culture, and impact, shaped by the lens of a Black woman honoring mothering, family, personal growth, and the undeniable cultural influence of our people. Her stand-up has been featured on Nickelodeon, TruTV, BET, and STARZ, bringing her sharp, insightful voice to audiences nationwide. A TEDx speaker, Open Society Foundations Community Fellow Alumna, and Baker Artist Award winner, she uses comedy as a tool for connection, reflection, and change. Through storytelling rooted in lived experience, MESHELLE creates work that is as thought-provoking as it is hilarious.

Natalie Merchant
2026-07-29 10:45 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
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 on “Art and Artists Against the Odds” to speak on her passion for arts education for young people.
Her latest record, “Keep Your Courage” (released in 2023 on Nonesuch Records), finds Merchant in peak form. The album dives into love and human connection in its many forms—with Merchant’s voice to keep you hanging on every word.
Merchant has also distinguished herself as a social justice and environmental activist through her work with a wide variety of non-profit organizations, and by creating documentary films and large-scale community arts projects.
Merchant began her musical career as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the pop music band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and released two platinum and four gold records with the group. She left the band in 1993 and has subsequently released nine albums as a solo artist with combined sales of seven million copies.
In 2007, Merchant was appointed by Governor Elliot Spitzer to serve on the New York State Council on the Arts, and in 2022 Senator Chuck Schumer appointed her to the board of trustees of The American Folklife Center at The Library of Congress. Merchant’s awards for artistic excellence and philanthropic work include: the ASCAP Champion Award, The Library Lion Award from the New York Public Library and The John Lennon Real Love Award. In 2025 the National Head Start Association made Merchant their national artist-in-residence.
A few days following her lecture, at 3 p.m. on Sunday, August 2, 2026, Merchant will be joined by the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra for a free family concert, “Cabinet of Wonder Live!” Under the baton of Principal Pops Conductor Stuart Chafetz, the concert will be a joyful reimagining of Mother Goose developed in collaboration with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and will also include classic children’s poetry that she adapted to music for her highly praised double-album release, Leave Your Sleep.

Organ Recitals Owen Reyda
2026-07-29 12:15 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
Owen Reyda is an organ performance major at Oberlin Conservatory of Music, studying with Jonathan Moyer. At Oberlin, he has also studied piano with Yulia Fedoseeva, choral conducting with Gregory Ristow, and improvisation with Christa Rakich. He has played for local churches in his hometown Westfield, NY and participated in summer organ events and academies, including at Trinity College and Yale University. He has served as Organ Scholar in the Sacred Music program at Chautauqua since 2024.
His program for Chautauqua will include works by August Gottfried Ritter, Robert Schumann, and Louis Vierne

School of Music: Chamber Music Concert #1
2026-07-29 13:00 | Fletcher Music Hall, Fletcher Music Hall

Natalie Wigg-Stevenson
2026-07-29 14:00 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy
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 Theological Knowledge and Transgressive Devotion: Theology as Performance Art, as well as numerous scholarly articles. A creative non-fiction writer, she is a frequent contributor to Sojourners Magazine and has created the open-access, interactive devotional website, Transgressive Devotional.

Chautauqua Arts Education 101: Panel Discussion
2026-07-29 15:30 | Smith Wilkes Hall, Smith Wilkes Hall
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 local educators in a panel discussion to share how Chautauqua Institution is working in collaboration with our community to support student growth through increased engagement with arts experiences.

School of Music: Chamber Music Concert #2
2026-07-29 16:00 | Fletcher Music Hall, Fletcher Music Hall

Film and Filmmaker Talk: Emmy Award-Winning "We Are All Plastic People Now" with Rory Fielding and panel of experts.
2026-07-29 16:30 | Chautauqua Cinema, Chautauqua Cinema
According to Ted Danson, “‘We’re All Plastic People Now’ is alarming, but it shows us that change is possible and should spark the kind of real conversation necessary for us to turn the tide on the plastic pollution crisis.”
Post-film discussion led by Rory and Courtney Fielding with panel of experts featured in the film, joining by Zoom: Dr. Shanna Swan, Dr. David Davis, and Dr. Rolf Halden.
With a gift for making difficult science concepts graspable for average people, JD continues his decades-long career as a science educator, sharing insights from mainstream conventional science as a source of unifying inspiration, from stages, webinars, pulpits, and workshops. He offers insights from how nature works that help us discern who we are and our place in the world.
Rory Fielding is an Emmy Award–winning director and producer and the Executive Producer of Rory Fielding Films. His environmental documentaries have earned nine Emmy nominations and four wins. Rory Fielding Films creates films to the highest production and journalistic standards that inform and inspire. Their mission is to tell stories that matter, crafted with excellence and purpose to help shape a better world.

Party on the Art Quad
2026-07-29 17:30 | CVA: Arts Quad
The Friends of CVA and Chautauqaua Visual Arts will once again host our annual ticketed fundraising event in the heart of the CVA Arts Quad. The proceeds benefit CVA School of Art residency program scholarships. This event provides an opportunity to connect with fellow art lovers and to bid on original pieces of art as well as experiences, Amphitheater performance tickets and more!

School of Music: Art Song Recital
2026-07-29 18:30 | Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall, Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall

Chautauqua School of Dance presents: "Wuthering Heights"
2026-07-29 20:00 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
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 movement and evocative music, passion turns to obsession and betrayal ignites a ruthless quest for revenge, leaving a legacy of heartbreak and longing. Dark, powerful, and unforgettable, this ballet captures the raw intensity of Emily Brontë’s timeless tale of love at its most destructive.
This ballet will showcase both former and current students of the Chautauqua School of Dance.
Contains suggestive content; not recommended for children under 13.

Rev. Zina Jacque
2026-07-30 09:15 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy

Micah Hendler
2026-07-30 10:45 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
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 of TED and “America’s Got Talent” to The New York Times and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” JYC’s work and mission will frame Hendler’s contributions to the Chautauqua Lecture Series weeklong celebration of “Art and Artists Against the Odds.”
Through the co-creation of music and the sharing of stories, JYC empowers young singers from East and West Jerusalem to speak and sing their truths as they become leaders in their communities and inspire singers and listeners around the world to join them in their work for peace, justice, inclusion and equality. Even in times of war, JYC continues to meet, and its singers’ commitment to each other, and the power of their voices raised in harmony, has only grown. In addition to his ongoing bridge-building work in Jerusalem, Hendler has brought his JYC experience to the U.S. and around the world, collaborating with several organizations working to depolarize America (including Braver Angels, the One America Movement, Convergence, New Pluralists, and Constructive Dialogue Institute), and global organizations including the United Nations, Abu Dhabi Festival, El Sistema Greece, and the first World Congress of Music and Social Change.
Hendler has a degree in music and international studies from Yale and has decades of musical experience from different global traditions. He has also been involved in dialogue work for 20 years and has written and presented in many local and global fora about his work with JYC. Selected for the Forbes “30 Under 30” list for Music in 2017, Hendler has written extensively for Forbes.com on music, society and social change in a global context, using this platform to uplift marginalized voices that are not often heard in mainstream media. He currently lives in Washington, D.C., where he leads regular community sings.

School of Music: Chamber Music Concert #3
2026-07-30 13:00 | Fletcher Music Hall, Fletcher Music Hall

Chautauqua Theater Company Presents New Play Workshop 2: The Motions by Zora Howard
2026-07-30 14:00, 2026-07-31 14:00, 2026-08-01 14:00 | Bratton Theater, Bratton Theater
In the wake of an untimely prognosis, a father and son must relearn how to share space after years of estrangement. They pass the time with quiet rituals – making coffee, playing chess – navigating what is left to say and what is better left unsaid. Funny, tender, and deeply human, The Motions is an ode to the small movements that make a life, and the possibility of beginning again even at our very ends.

Micah Hendler
2026-07-30 14:00 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy

School of Music: Chamber Music Concert #4
2026-07-30 16:00 | Fletcher Music Hall, Fletcher Music Hall

School of Music: Chamber Music Concert #5
2026-07-30 18:30 | Fletcher Music Hall, Fletcher Music Hall

Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra: Sounds of Strauss
2026-07-30 20:00 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
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 and Transfiguration offers a contrasting perspective, portraying the final moments of an artist’s life and the transformation that follows. Together, these works showcase Strauss’s extraordinary command of orchestral color and dramatic form.
Program:
Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra, op. 30
Strauss: Death and Transfiguration, op. 24

Sally Love & Friends: Sleep is the New Sex
2026-07-30 22:00 | Roe Green Theater Center
Usually in bed by 10, but willing to stay up and entertain us with her hilarious takes on sleep, sex and the indignities of our aging bodies,
Sally Love and friends will perform their stand up routines alongside improv artists in a brand new and exciting collaboration.
Ticket sales for this performance benefit Friends of Chautauqua Theater.

Fredrik Backman
2026-07-31 10:45 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
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 Against You, Anxious People, and The Winners. In 2025, he released his latest book, My Friends, which features an unforgettably funny, deeply moving tale of four teenagers whose friendship creates a bond so powerful that it changes a complete stranger’s life 25 years later. It is this tale of the transformative, timeless power of friendship and art that frames this capstone presentation of the Chautauqua Lecture Series week on “Art and Artists Against the Odds.” This program is presented in collaboration with the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle, and My Friends is a 2026 CLSC selection.
Backman has also written two novellas and one work of nonfiction. His books are published in more than 40 countries. In 2021, he engaged with the Chautauqua audience through its online platform to speak about his novel, Anxious People. That Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle book selection explores the nature of humanity through the lens of comedy and failed bank robbers.

Tessa Hulls
2026-07-31 14:00 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy
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, and identity.
In her acclaimed graphic memoir debut, Tessa Hulls traces the reverberations of Chinese history across three generations of women in her family. Tessa’s grandmother, Sun Yi, was a Shanghai journalist swept up by the turmoil of the 1949 Communist victory. After fleeing to Hong Kong, she wrote a bestselling memoir about her persecution and survival—then promptly had a mental breakdown from which she never recovered.
Growing up with Sun Yi, Tessa watches both her mother and grandmother struggle beneath the weight of unexamined trauma and mental illness, and bolts to the most remote corners of the globe. But once she turns thirty, roaming begins to feel less like freedom and more like running away. Feeding Ghosts is Tessa’s homecoming, a vivid, heartbreaking journey into history that exposes the fear and trauma that haunt generations, and the love that holds them together.
Tessa Hulls is an artist/writer/adventurer illuminating the connections between the present and the past. Her graphic memoir Feeding Ghosts explores the reverberations of her Chinese grandmother’s escape from the Communist regime and her subsequent mental illness. Her work addresses racial justice, the immigrant experience, generational trauma, mental health, the creative process, and the surprising feminist history of the bicycle. Her graphic memoir Feeding Ghosts has earned the Pulitzer Prize, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize for First Book, 2024 Libby Award and was named a Best Book of 2024 by Time, Forbes, NPR, the Minnesota Star Tribune, LitHub, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Chicago Public Library and others.

School of Music: Opera Conservatory Sing-Out
2026-07-31 14:00 | Fletcher Music Hall, Fletcher Music Hall

School of Music: Piano Program Play-Out
2026-07-31 16:00 | Sherwood-Marsh 101

Film & Filmmaker Talk: Emmy Award-Winning "Descent: Into the Blue" with Rory Fielding and panel of experts.
2026-07-31 16:30 | Chautauqua Cinema, Chautauqua Cinema
A powerful documentary narrated by Peter Coyote, showcasing the best of the human spirit – the fight to save our ocean’s ecosystem and critically endangered coral reefs.
Post film discussion led by Rory and Courtney Fielding with a panel of experts featured in the film joining by Zoom: Film participants Mike Goldberg, Eric Wehemeyer, John Hocevar, and Ken Nedimeyer (“Father of Coral Restoration”); Renee Sunbird and Christophe Chagnard, Emmy winners for Original Musical Composition.
Rory Fielding is an Emmy Award–winning director and producer and the Executive Producer of Rory Fielding Films. His environmental documentaries have earned nine Emmy nominations and four wins. Rory Fielding Films creates films to the highest production and journalistic standards that inform and inspire. Their mission is to tell stories that matter, crafted with excellence and purpose to help shape a better world.

School of Music: Chamber Music Concert #6
2026-07-31 18:30 | Fletcher Music Hall, Fletcher Music Hall
No piano

An Evening with Amy Grant
2026-07-31 20:00 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
Amy Grant’s career spans more than 40 years and stretches from her roots in gospel into becoming an iconic pop star, songwriter, television personality and philanthropist. With three multi-platinum albums, six platinum albums and four gold albums, her total career album sales have exceeded 30 million and over 1 billion global streams. Grant’s chart success has been consistent throughout her career with six No. 1 hits, 10 Top 40 pop singles, 17 Top 40 Adult Contemporary tracks and multiple Contemporary Christian chart-toppers. In addition to her six GRAMMY® Awards, Grant has earned 26 GMA Dove Awards (including four Artist of the Year Awards) and has been awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as well as the Music City Walk of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Conventional wisdom has it that Grant put Contemporary Christian Music on the map becoming the first Contemporary Christian artist to have a platinum record, the first to hit No. 1 on the Pop charts and the first to perform at the GRAMMY® Awards. With that, her legacy as one of the most influential artists of the past four decades is assured. In 2022, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts included Grant as one of their five distinguished Honorees to receive the 45th Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime artistic achievements. Grant continues to actively tour each year playing 70+ solo shows in addition to the annual Christmas At The Ryman residency with Vince Gill which celebrated over 100 headline shows at the Ryman, the first co-headliners to mark this incredible milestone. In the spring of 2026, Grant will release her first new album of new music in over a decade entitled “The Me That Remains” dropping May 8, 2026. Produced by legendary Mac McAnally, this very personal album is a journey through themes of healing, human & spiritual connection, unity, & hope. The album features collaborations with guest artists Ruby Amanfu & Vince Gill along with co-writing partners Jon Foreman (Switchfoot), Tom Douglas, Mike Reid, Mac McAnally and more. The title song reflects Amy’s journey over the last few years overcoming heart surgery and a bike accident that nearly took her life. Amy’s music always looks through a lens of hope & faith while probing the human condition with honest commentary inviting a conversation. “The Me That Remains” album sounds and reads somewhat like a ‘life manual’ written from the perspective of an artist that has lived through it all, knows who she is as an artist and human, and as Amy has said,‘I want to be present for whatever emerges in my time’. The story is not over; it is just the beginning of new chapters to come.
We will also host a Masters Series Masterclass with Amy Grant at 12:30 pm on 7/31 in Norton Hall (separate ticket required).

Old First Night Race and Kids Races
2026-08-01 08:00 | Sports Club, Sports Club
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 grounds. This year we will also host two kids races – a 1 mile non-chip timed race and little kids short fun run. Kids hats included with race registration. If you are not on the grounds August 1, you can participate in the virtual Around the World race. Race registration includes t-shirt. Sign up at oldfirstnight.com. Questions? Contact sportsclub@chq.org

Chautauqua Theater Company Presents FutureNow New Play Lab 1: The Bone Wars
2026-08-01 11:00 | Roe Green Theater Center
Paleontologists O.C. Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope race against each other to uncover the secrets of the prehistoric world. Between them, they discover and named 136 new species of dinosaurs, including Stegosaurus, Triceratops, Coelophysis, and Allosaurus. Their rivalry also led to their professional and personal ruin. The Bone Wars brings to life the explosive true story of the legendary rivalry between two American paleontologists in the late 1800s.

Dolly Parton's Threads: My Songs in Symphony with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra
2026-08-01 20:00 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
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 journey of her songs, her life, and her stories. Guest vocalists and musicians bring new and innovative orchestrations of Dolly’s hit songs together into a full-evening multimedia symphonic story-telling experience. Dolly Parton says, “The threads of my life are woven together through my songs. That’s why this project, Threads: My Songs in Symphony, is so special to me. It’s all about sharing my music and my musical journey with audiences in a new way.”
Co-produced by Dolly Parton together with Schirmer Theatrical and Sony Music Publishing.
Please Note: Dolly Parton is not performing or attending this event.

Rev. Anna Carter Florence
2026-08-02 10:45, 2026-08-03 09:15, 2026-08-04 09:15, 2026-08-05 09:15 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
The Rev. Anna Carter Florence is the Peter Marshall Professor of Preaching at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Ga and an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church. She is also currently serving as Co-Director of the Columbia Preachers Studio for Renewal, a Lilly-funded Compelling Preaching grant.
Before joining the Columbia faculty in 1998, Florence served as an associate pastor for youth and young adults at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis. Based on her 2012 Lyman Beecher Lectures on Preaching at Yale Divinity School is her first book, Preaching as Testimony, Inscribing the Word, Rehearsing Scripture: Discovering God’s Word in Community. Florence’s most recent title, A Is for Alabaster: 52 Reflections on the Stories of Scripture, has a forthcoming sequel titled, B Is for Banquet: 52 More Reflections on the Stories of Scripture. She has published articles and chapters in numerous books and journals, including a year’s worth of lectionary text commentaries for WorkingPreacher.org.
Florence is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and holds a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University as well as a Master in Divinity and Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary.

Art in the Park
2026-08-02 11:00 | Miller Park, Miller Park
Hosted by the Friends of CVA, Art in the Park is an open art fair with 70+ vendors held in Miller Park, showcasing art by members of the Chautauqua community, artists-in-residence from the School of Art, and artisans from the region around Chautauqua Institution. Items for sale include ceramics, paintings, prints, Chautauqua-themed trinkets, pieces made of up-cycled materials, homemade soaps, hand-dyed silk clothing, organic cosmetics, embellished handbags and fine jewelry. Art in the Park markets are always planned for Sundays, when admission to the grounds is free, so the markets can be accessible for Institution residents and members of the surrounding community alike.
For artist registration information, visit: https://art.chq.org/friends-of-cva/art-in-the-park/

Kosher BBQ & Klezmer Band
2026-08-02 11:30 | Miller Park, Miller Park

6-Week Residency Open Studios
2026-08-02 14:00 | CVA: Arts Quad
Join us at the Arts Quad where visitors are invited to step inside our 6-week resident artists’ studios, learn more about their processes, and engage with the residents before gathering for a reception celebrating the exhibition next door at the School of Art Gallery. This event provides a glimpse into the ideas, experiments, and conversations that have shaped the School of Art 6-week residency experience.

Cabinet of Wonder Live! A Free Family Concert with Natalie Merchant & The Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra
2026-08-02 15:00 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
Stuart Chafetz, Conductor
Natalie Merchant, Composer and Vocals
American singer-songwriter, recording artist, and activist Natalie Merchant will be in residence at Chautauqua Institution this summer (July 25-August 2, 2026) for Week Five’s programmatic theme, “Art & Artists Against the Odds.”
Merchant will give a matinee family-friendly concert performance with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Principal Pops Conductor Stuart Chafetz, which will be free to the public. The concert will center on the music of Merchants’ Cabinet of Wonder, a joyful reimagining of Mother Goose developed in collaboration with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and will also include classic children’s poetry that she adapted to music for her highly praised double-album release, Leave Your Sleep (2010 Nonesuch Records).
A Chautauqua County native, Merchant was strongly influenced by local artists and her summer encounters with arts at the Institution during her formative years. At the age of fifteen, she spent a summer volunteering in a therapeutic arts camp for developmentally and physically challenged children in Ashville. It was there that she first witnessed the transformative power of art education and was inspired to become an art therapist. Although her life path led her to a career as professional musician, she has continued to honor her commitment to the healing power of music. Merchant will combine her performances on the grounds of Chautauqua site visits to locally sponsored children’s programs for workshops and sing-a-longs. Since leaving the area in 1988, she has returned several times over the years to perform solo and with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra.
Merchant will also appear in the Chautauqua Lecture Series on July 29th at 10:45am; her talk will focus on her life-long commitment to using music as powerful means of communication, community building, and a tool for social justice.

6-Week Residency Exhibition Opening
2026-08-02 15:00 | CVA: Arts Quad
We are excited to announce the culmination of the Chautauqua School of Art’s 6-Week Residency Program with an opening reception, following our open studios event.
Over the course of six weeks, resident artists have immersed themselves in focused studio practice, meaningful dialogue, and creative exploration. This special evening offers an opportunity to experience the work that emerged during their time at Chautauqua through both an open studio event and this group exhibition.
We hope you’ll join us in celebrating this talented cohort of artists and the work they have developed during their summer at Chautauqua.

John Hoppenthaler and Roy Hoffman
2026-08-02 15:30 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy
Chautauqua Writers’ Center Faculty Reading — Featuring John Hoppenthaler (Poetry) and Roy Hoffman (Prose)
John Hoppenthaler’s books of poetry are Night Wing Over Metropolitan Area, Domestic Garden, Anticipate the Coming Reservoir, and Lives of Water, all with Carnegie Mellon UP. He has co-edited a volume of essays on the poetry of Jean Valentine, This-World Company (U of Michigan P). A Professor of English at East Carolina University, his poetry appears in Ploughshares, Virginia Quarterly Review, TriQuarterly, Southern Review, Poetry Northwest, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, and many other journals and anthologies.
Roy Hoffman is a novelist and journalist with an interest in family, history, and characters of diverse backgrounds struggling to connect. He is the author of four novels: “The Promise of the Pelican,” about an 82-year-old lawyer defending an undocumented worker accused of a crime; “Come Landfall,” about love, war, and hurricanes; “Chicken Dreaming Corn,” inspired by his Jewish immigrant grandparents to Alabama, praised by Harper Lee; and “Almost Family,” set in the Civil Rights era South. He’s written two nonfiction books, “Back Home,” and “Alabama Afternoons.” Roy worked for many years in New York as a journalist and speechwriter, covered features and religion for his hometown newspaper in Mobile, AL., and has written essays for the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall St. Journal. He resides in Fairhope, AL., and is on the faculty of the Naslund-Mann Graduate School of Writing in Louisville, KY. On the web: www.royhoffmanwriter.com

CHQ Mystic Heart - Dhara Kowal, Zen Buddhism Meditation Practice
2026-08-03 07:45, 2026-08-04 07:45, 2026-08-05 07:45 | Presbyterian House, Presbyterian House
Sensei Dhara Kowal- Kowal is Dharma Successor to Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede, who sanctioned her as a Zen teacher in 2022 and gave her Dharma Transmission in 2025. As a resident teacher and priest (ordained in 2023), she serves as Co-Director of the Rochester Zen Center, in partnership with Sensei John Pulleyn.
In the preceding years, she joined the Center’s staff in 2019. She served as both Head of Zendo at Chapin Mill, the Center’s country retreat facility, and Manager of the Sangha Programs Office, which coordinates educational and social programming.
Born and raised in Staten Island, New York, Dhara-sensei first learned about Zen practice while training in martial arts. She joined the Center in 1998 and was a local Sangha member for some 20 years prior to joining staff. During that time, she committed herself to attending as many sesshins as possible and serving the Center as a volunteer, including Editor of Zen Bow for 14 years. She also had a successful career in academia as an award-winning professor and author (Ph.D. in Rhetoric & Communication, University of Pittsburgh).

Ken Burns and Jeffrey Rosen
2026-08-03 10:45, 2026-08-04 10:45 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
Celebrating the United States semiquincentennial, Chautauqua presents Week Six, “America at 250: In Partnership with The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.” The milestone anniversary offers an opportunity to survey the previous quarter millennium – how a collection of British colonies became the world’s pre-eminent constitutional democracy, with major successes, failures and continued struggles along the way – alongside world-renowned leaders in historical education. To begin this weeklong commemoration, Chautauqua welcomes Ken Burns and Jeffrey Rosen back to the Amphitheater stage for a two-day conversation on themes and threads from the pair’s latest projects: for Burns, the November 2025 PBS documentary “The American Revolution,” and for Rosen, his October 2025 book The Pursuit of Liberty: How Hamilton and Jefferson Ignited the Lasting Battle Over Power in America.
Ken Burns has been making documentary films for almost fifty years. Since the Academy Award nominated “Brooklyn Bridge” in 1981, Burns has gone on to direct and produce some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made, including “The Civil War”; “Baseball”; “Jazz”; “The War”; “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea”; “Prohibition”; “The Roosevelts: An Intimate History”; “The Vietnam War”; “Country Music”; “The U.S. and the Holocaust”; “The American Buffalo”; “Leonardo da Vinci”; and, most recently, “The American Revolution.”
Future film projects include “Emancipation to Exodus” and “LBJ & the Great Society,” among others.
His films have been honored with dozens of major awards, including seventeen Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards and two Oscar nominations. In September of 2008, at the News & Documentary Emmy Awards, Burns was honored by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences with a Lifetime Achievement Award. In November of 2022, he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.
Jeffrey Rosen is chief executive officer emeritus of the National Constitution Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization whose mission is to educate the public about the U.S. Constitution. His latest book, The Pursuit of Liberty: How Hamilton and Jefferson Ignited the Lasting Battle Over Power in America, was released in October 2025. It highlights how the opposing constitutional visionaries continue to drive the debate over the power of government today. Rosen appeared as part of the 2025 Chautauqua Forum on Democracy, where he was publicly announced and recognized for the first time as the newly appointed 2025–26 Chautauqua Perry Fellow in Democracy.
Rosen is currently a professor of law at the George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic. He was previously the legal affairs editor of The New Republic and a staff writer for The New Yorker. In his former role at the National Constitution Center, he was the host of “We the People,” a weekly podcast of constitutional debate.
Rosen is the author of seven other books, including the New York Times bestseller Conversations with RBG: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Life, Love, Liberty, and Law, as well as biographies of Louis Brandeis and William Howard Taft. He is a graduate of Harvard College; Oxford University, where he was a Marshall Scholar; and Yale Law School.

Rosemarie Zagarri
2026-08-03 14:00 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy
Rosemarie Zagarri is Distinguished University Professor and professor of history at George Mason University. A specialist in Early American political and women’s history, she is the author of a numerous articles and several books, including The Politics of Size: Representation in the United States, 1776-1850, A Woman’s Dilemma: Mercy Otis Warren and the American Revolution, and Revolutionary Backlash: Women and Politics in the Early American Republic.
She has contributed several amicus briefs to the Supreme Court and is a member of the Brennan’s Center’s Historians Council on the Constitution. She has been a historical consultant for the Statue of Liberty Museum as well as on various digital projects, such the Mapping Early American Elections project and When Women Lost the Vote. A former president of the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic (SHEAR), she is also an elected member of the American Antiquarian Society and the Society of American Historians.
Zagarri has received numerous scholarly awards, including fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Philosophical Society, and the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon. She received her Ph.D. from Yale University.

Masters Series Masterclass: A Conversation with Ken Burns
2026-08-03 15:30 | Norton Hall, Norton Hall
Join Ken Burns for an in-depth conversation about his latest work, “The American Revolution.” A filmmaker for almost 50 years, Burns will expand upon his morning lecture on the Amphitheater stage. An opportunity for Q & A, patrons can ask about Burns’ awards, career, research and future plans.

Chautauqua Chamber Music: Ruckus with Keir GoGwilt, violin
2026-08-03 16:00 | Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall, Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall
Experience the electrifying energy of Ruckus, a boundary-pushing baroque ensemble redefining early music performance. With virtuosic flair and a fresh, improvisatory spirit, Ruckus brings 17th- and 18th-century works vividly to life. Their performances blend historical authenticity with modern vitality, creating concerts that feel both timeless and daringly new. Don’t miss this exuberant celebration of baroque music at its most alive and joyful.

Chautauqua School of Dance with the Music School Festival Orchestra
2026-08-03 20:00 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
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 focused on bringing the next generation of dance stars from the studio to the stage.
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 orchestras and chamber ensembles and can be found on music faculties worldwide. The MSFO is led by Artistic Director Timothy Muffitt, who serves as Music Director of the Lansing Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Laureate of the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra.

Judi Greewald, CEO of the Nuclear Innovation Alliance
2026-08-04 09:15 | Hurlbut Church sanctuary, Hurlbut Church sanctuary
Chautauqua Science Group Weekly Lecture
Judi Greenwald is the President and CEO of the Nuclear Innovation Alliance.
Ms. Greenwald has over 35 years of energy and environmental policy leadership experience in the public and nonprofit sectors, including the U.S. Congress, the White House, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES, formerly the Pew Center on Global Climate Change). Highlights of her distinguished career include working on the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments as congressional committee staff; overseeing energy and environmental programs at C2ES and DOE; co-founding the Carbon Capture Coalition; advising U.S. state and regional greenhouse gas initiatives; and collaborating with stakeholders to advance both economic and environmental goals.
She has focused extensively on deep decarbonization through the interplay of public policy, technology innovation, human behavior, and markets. She served as Deputy Director for Climate, Environment, and Energy Efficiency at US DOE’s Energy Policy and Systems Analysis Office, and the Senior Climate Advisor to the Energy Secretary. She was a fellow at Princeton University’s Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment. Ms. Greenwald received a B.S. in Engineering, cum laude, from Princeton University, and an M.A. in Science, Technology, and Public Policy from George Washington University.

Sigrid Jakob: "Fruiting Bodies and Big Ideas: a Citizen Science Adventure"
2026-08-04 12:30 | Smith Wilkes Hall, Smith Wilkes Hall
Bird, Tree & Garden Club lunchtime lecture series
Sigrid Jakob is a freelance marketing strategist during the day and mycophile in her spare time. She’s an avid member and president of the New York Mycological Society, a mushroom club that goes out and observes fungi in New York City’s parks 52 weeks a year. She extracts fungal DNA in her home lab, incubates dung fungi, writes and lectures.

CHQ Mystic Heart - Dhara Kowal, Zen Buddhism Meditation Practice
2026-08-04 12:30 | Hall of Missions, Hall of Missions

Manisha Sinha
2026-08-04 14:00 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy
Manisha Sinha is the Draper Chair in American History at the University of Connecticut and immediate Past President of the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic. She received her Ph.D from Columbia University where her dissertation was nominated for the Bancroft Prize. She was nominated to the OAH Distinguished Lecture Series in 2003. A Guggenheim fellow for 2022-2023, she has received several other fellowships from the NEH and the Mellon foundation. She is the author of The Counterrevolution of Slavery: Politics and Ideology in Antebellum South Carolina which was cited in the New York Times’ 1619 project and named one of the ten best books on slavery in Politico. She is also the author of the multi award winning The Slave’s Cause: A History of Abolition, which was long listed for the National Book Award for Non-Fiction and translated into Chinese in 2025. She taught at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst for over twenty years where she received the Chancellor’s Medal, the highest honor bestowed on faculty. She was a visiting Professor at the University of Paris, Diderot in 2018 and at the University of Heidelberg in 2022, where she received the 2021 Pennington award. She has published widely in the mainstream press, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New York Review of Books, The Times Literary Supplement, The Boston Globe, and The Nation, to name a few and has been interviewed in the national and international press. Her recent book The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic: Reconstruction, 1860-1920 won the President’s Book Prize from the Society for Historians of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era in 2026.

Time and Water film and filmmaker talk
2026-08-04 16:00 | Chautauqua Cinema, Chautauqua Cinema
Time and Water
A National Geographic documentary film inspired by Andri Snær Magnason’s 2019 non-fiction On Time and Water, directed by Sara Dosa, premiered at the Sundance Festival on 27th January 2026.
Facing the death of his country’s glaciers and the loss of his beloved grandparents, Icelandic writer Andri Snær Magnason turns his archives into a time capsule to hold what is slipping away — family, memory, time, and water.
Writer, filmmaker, and poet Andri Magason is one of Iceland’s leading creative forces who has twice met with Chautauqua Travels groups in Reykjavik, and visited Chautauqua Institution in 2023.

Old First Night
2026-08-04 18:00 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
Old First Night is Chautauqua’s birthday party, and all are invited!
In the early years of Chautauqua, the season’s first night was not in late June but early August. Therefore, Old First Night (OFN) is a celebration of the original first night of the season at Chautauqua.
This event begins with music from Thursday Morning Brass at 6 p.m., followed by vespers and a traditional Chautauqua salute called the Drooping of the Lilies, which honors Chautauquans who are no longer with us. The program continues with music and audience participation events, and all generations are involved, including Children’s School and Boys’ and Girls’ Club. The program concludes with a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday” accompanied by the Massey Memorial Organ.

Puppy Pals Live - The Action-Packed Comedic Stunt Dog Show
2026-08-04 19:30 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
As Seen on America’s Got Talent, Puppy Pals Live is a family fun action-packed show where adopted and rescued dogs perform spectacular stunts and breathtaking feats. Watch as Puppy Pals Live leads the puppies and audience through challenging and comical tricks as the pooches show everyone who is really boss! Full of canine stunts and laugh-out-loud canine comedy, it is no surprise this show has been a hit all over the USA!

David W. Blight and Tiya Miles
2026-08-05 10:45 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
Continuing Chautauqua’s weeklong commemoration of “America at 250,” two of the country’s pre-eminent historians present a mainstage conversation about the moral foundations of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and how they have been interpreted and reinterpreted throughout American history.
David W. Blight is Sterling Professor of History and Director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale University. In 2020, Yale President Peter Salovey appointed him as chair of the Yale and Slavery Working Group. With his Working Group colleagues, Blight authored the book Yale and Slavery: A History, a narrative study of Yale’s historic involvement and associations with slavery and its aftermaths, published by Yale University Press in February of 2024.
Blight is the immediate past president of the Organization of American Historians. He previously taught at North Central College in Illinois, Harvard University and Amherst College. He is the author or editor of a dozen books, including Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom; American Oracle: The Civil War in the Civil Rights Era; Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory; and annotated editions of Douglass’s first two autobiographies. Blight has worked on Douglass much of his professional life, and been awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Bancroft Prize, the Abraham Lincoln Prize, and the Frederick Douglass Prize, among others. He writes frequently for the popular press, including The Atlantic, The New York Times, and many other journals.
In 2020, Blight was elected to the American Philosophical Society and awarded the Gold Medal for History by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. At the beginning of his career, he spent seven years as a high school history teacher in his hometown of Flint, Michigan.
Tiya Miles is a public historian and the author of eight books that explore Black, Indigenous and women’s history; place and environment; and contemporary uses of the past. These works include four prize-winning histories and one prize-winning novel about slavery and its legacies. Her 2021 National Book Award winner, All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake, was a New York Times bestseller that won eleven historical and literary prizes.
Miles’ latest work is Night Flyer: Harriet Tubman and the Faith Dreams of a Free People, which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography. Her other books include Wild Girls: How the Outdoors Shaped the Women Who Challenged a Nation; The Dawn of Detroit: A Chronicle of Slavery and Freedom in the City of the Straits; The House on Diamond Hill: A Cherokee Plantation Story; Ties That Bind: The Story of an Afro-Cherokee Family in Slavery and Freedom; Tales from the Haunted South: Dark Tourism and Memories of Slavery from the Civil War Era; and the novel The Cherokee Rose.
Miles publishes frequently in national periodicals, and her work has been supported by the MacArthur Foundation (“genius award”), the Guggenheim Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and she currently serves as the Michael Garvey Professor of History at Harvard University.

School of Music: Brass Chamber Concert
2026-08-05 14:00 | Fletcher Music Hall, Fletcher Music Hall

Dance Preview: Alonzo King "LINES"
2026-08-05 18:15 | Smith Wilkes Hall, Smith Wilkes Hall
Chautauqua Dance Circle-Anita Lin
alin@chqdancecircle.org

CVA Lecture Series: Susan Lichtman, School of Art Faculty
2026-08-05 18:30 | Hultquist 101, Hultquist 101
The Chautauqua School of Art proudly welcomes Susan Lichtman as a member of our 2026 visiting faculty. Susan Lichtman will participate in the School’s Summer Lecture Series, sharing insights and practices with our artistic community.
Susan Lichtman is a figurative painter of domestic spaces, working out of her home studio in southeastern Massachusetts. She graduated from Brown University and received an MFA in Painting from Yale University School of Art.
Lichtman has had solo exhibitions at Steven Harvey Fine Arts Projects, (NY, NY); Fahrenheit Gallery (Madrid, Spain); Gross McCleaf Gallery, (Philadelphia, PA); and Wilson Museum at Hollins University, (Roanoke, VA.) Recent group exhibitions have been at Steven Harvey Fine Arts Project and Nathalie Karg Gallery, (NY, NY); Wege Center for the Arts, (Fairfield, IA); Chazen Gallery, (Providence, RI); Page Gallery, (Camden, ME); and Crosstown Arts, (Memphis, TN). A recipient of a fellowship from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, she also holds awards from the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation and the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Susan Lichtman is Professor and Charles Bloom Chair, Emerita, of the Department of Fine Arts at Brandeis University. She has been a visiting artist at universities and art schools throughout the US. She was the Frances Niederer Artist-in-Residence at Hollins University, the Guest of Honor at JSS Civita, IT and has taught in summer programs at Yale Norfolk, Pont-Aven School of Art and MassArt New England.
