Chautauqua Institution

FLOW
2025-08-03 15:00, 2025-08-02 20:00, 2025-08-01 18:00 (America/New_York) | Chautauqua Cinema, Chautauqua Cinema
This Latvian Oscar Winner for Best Animated Feature follows a courageous cat after his home is devastated by a great flood. Teaming up with a capybara, a lemur, a bird, and a dog they must rely on trust, courage, and wits to survive the perils of a newly aquatic planet. “A film full of wonders but not a single word of dialogue.” -Cath Clarke, Guardian
“Dreamy, epic, perilous and very beautiful.” -Ty Burr, Washington Post “Poignant, unique, absolutely gorgeous, and a must-see.” -Kristy Puchko, Mashable (PG, 84m)

Austin Walkin' Cane
2025-08-03 15:00 | Smith Wilkes Hall, Smith Wilkes Hall
Austin Walkin’ Cane is not your typical bluesman-he’s a storytelling troubadour with a guitar in one hand and a slide in the other, roaming the backroads of the blues with a style that’s as gritty as it is soulful. Hailing from Cleveland, Ohio, Austin’s music is steeped in the traditions of Delta blues, but it’s his life experiences that really give his sound its unique edge. Whether he’s playing a resonator guitar that echoes the ghosts of blues legends or belting out lyrics that cut straight to the bone, Austin brings an authenticity to his performances that can only come from living the blues.
With a voice like gravel dipped in honey, Austin has toured the world, sharing stages with icons like Buddy Guy and Robert Lockwood Jr. But it’s his solo shows, where the intimacy of his performance pulls the audience into the heart of the blues, that truly showcase his artistry. Austin Walkin’ Cane is more than a musician; he’s a bluesman in the truest sense of the word with a sound and style that are all his own.

CLSC Vigil Ceremony Rehearsal
2025-08-03 14:00 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy

Chautauqua Theater Company presents All the Little Boxes
2025-08-03 14:00, 2025-08-02 19:30, 2025-08-01 18:00 | Bratton Theater, Bratton Theater
by Vichet Chum, Directed by Mei Ann Teo, Bratton Theater
Chan finds an unexpected way to care for the strangers around him: He organizes their closets and unpacks their skeletons, but all the decluttering in the world won’t relieve Chan of his own baggage. All the Little Boxes is a moving and surprisingly hilarious new play for the Marie Kondo inside us all.

Twelve Step Meeting
2025-08-03 12:15, 2025-08-01 12:15, 2025-07-30 12:15, 2025-07-27 12:15, 2025-07-25 12:15 | Hurlbut Marion Lawrance

Sister Teresa Maya
2025-08-03 10:45 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
Sister Teresa Maya is a member of the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio. She has served as teacher, history professor, administrator, leader, facilitator and speaker. She is passionate about forming ministers committed to transforming Church and society . She believes in life-long learning and has a strong conviction in the future of consecrated life.
Sister Teresa got her B.A. at Yale University, her M.A. at the Graduate Theological Union at Berkeley and the Ph.D. in El Colegio de Mexico in Mexico City. She served fourteen years in the leadership of her religious institute and on the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) presidency from 2016-19. She accompanies other religious congregations as facilitator and consultant.
She is currently serving as Senior Director for Theology and Sponsorship in the Catholic Health Association (USA).

Unitarian Universalist Service
2025-08-03 09:30, 2025-07-27 09:30 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy

Quaker Worship Service
2025-08-03 09:30, 2025-07-27 09:30 | Quaker House
Quaker Worship Sevice

Unity Service
2025-08-03 09:30, 2025-07-27 09:30 | Hall of Missions, Hall of Missions

Catholic Mass
2025-08-03 09:15, 2025-07-27 09:15 | Hall of Christ: Sanctuary

Episcopal Holy Eucharist
2025-08-03 09:00, 2025-08-01 07:45, 2025-07-31 07:45, 2025-07-30 07:45, 2025-07-29 07:45, 2025-07-28 07:45, 2025-07-27 09:00, 2025-07-25 07:45 | Chapel of the Good Shepherd, Chapel of the Good Shepherd

United Church of Christ Worship Service
2025-08-03 09:00, 2025-07-27 09:00 | Randell Chapel, UCC Headquarters

Song, Prayer, Communion & Meditation
2025-08-03 08:30, 2025-07-27 08:30 | Hurlbut Church sanctuary, Hurlbut Church sanctuary

Episcopal Holy Eucharist
2025-08-03 07:45, 2025-07-27 07:45 | Chapel of the Good Shepherd, Chapel of the Good Shepherd

Laufey: A Night at the Symphony with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra
2025-08-02 20:15 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
“As a musician, my goal is to bring jazz and classical music to my generation through a more accessible road,” declares the composer, singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Laufey (pronounced lay-vay). The LA-based, Icelandic-Chinese artist’s trailblazing approach paid off, as she is now the top streaming jazz artist in the world with an audience of over 15M across all socials.
Inspired by jazz greats and classical masters while possessing a point of view that could only be conveyed by a 21st century twenty-something, Laufey’s GRAMMY-winning second album Bewitched is a reflection on “the magic and luster unique to youthful love.” Her self-assured musicianship and deeply felt lyrics takes the idea of “classic” music and humanize it, giving her music a relatability to the next generation. “There are very few examples of artists who are on stage with an orchestra one day and making TikToks the next,” she notes dryly. Laufey’s straddling of those two worlds has put her in a singular place across music.

Catholic Mass
2025-08-02 17:00, 2025-07-26 17:00 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy

SOUNDTRACK TO A COUP D'ETAT
2025-08-02 16:30, 2025-08-01 20:30 | Chautauqua Cinema, Chautauqua Cinema
United Nations, 1960: the Global South ignites a political earthquake, jazz musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach crash the Security Council, Nikita Khrushchev bangs his shoe, and the U.S. State Department sends Louis Armstrong to Congo to deflect attention from a CIA-backed coup. Director Johan Grimonprez’s magnificent essay film captures the moment when African politics and American jazz collided. “A mind-blowingly rich tapestry of research, music, and the jazziest history lesson imaginable, with freewheeling beats and riffs echoing into today with urgent purpose.” -Tomris Laffly, Harper’s Bazaar “Riveting and propulsive!” -Lovia Gyarkye,Hollywood Reporter (NR, 150m)

Contemporary Issues Forum: Arthur S. Levine, M.D.
2025-08-02 15:00 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy
Arthur S. Levine is a Distinguished University Professor; a professor of medicine, molecular genetics, and neurobiology; senior vice chancellor emeritus of health sciences; and dean emeritus of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The executive director of Pitt’s Brain Institute, in 2020, he stepped down from his role as Pitt’s dean of medicine and senior vice chancellor for the health sciences to establish and lead the Assault on Alzheimer initiative. The topic of his Contemporary Issues Forum lecture for the Chautauqua Women’s Club is “The Biology of Alzheimer’s Disease and the Challenge of Treatment.”
Before his tenure at the University of Pittsburgh, Levine served at the National Institutes of Health for more than three decades. Throughout his career, Levine has also been engaged in molecular biologic research and continues to direct his own laboratory, which is focused on the molecular mechanisms that maintain the fidelity of the genome. Recently the lab has begun to explore this same theme in the brain.
The recipient of numerous honors, including the Meritorious Service and the Distinguished Service Medals of the United States Public Health Service, Levine is a graduate of Columbia College. He received his M.D. from the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science and completed his internship and residency in pediatrics at the University of Minnesota Hospitals.

Kiddish Luncheon
2025-08-02 11:30, 2025-07-26 11:30 | Hurlbut Truesdale

Sabbath Morning Worship, Hebrew Congregation
2025-08-02 10:30, 2025-07-26 10:30 | Hurlbut Church sanctuary, Hurlbut Church sanctuary

Chabad Jewish House, Community Shabbat Service, Rabbi Zalman Vilenken
2025-08-02 09:30, 2025-07-26 09:30 | Chabad Jewish House

Old First Night Race
2025-08-02 07:30 | Sports Club, Sports Club
The Sports Club is hosting the popular 49th 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 2, 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

CHQ Mystic Heart Meditation: Carol McKiernan
2025-08-02 07:15, 2025-07-26 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.

The Avett Brothers
2025-08-01 20:15 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
Four-time GRAMMY Award nominees The Avett Brothers made mainstream waves with their critically acclaimed 2009 major label debut, I and Love and You. In 2012, The Carpenter hit #4 on the Billboard 200, followed by Magpie and the Dandelion in 2013, which debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200. The 2017 documentary May It Last: A Portrait of The Avett Brothers (co-directed by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio) chronicles the process of writing 2016’s True Sadness, which debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top Albums, #1 on Rock Albums, #3 on the Billboard 200, and scored two Grammy nominations. The film was released theatrically and on HBO to rave reviews and is available on DVD/BluRay/VOD. In 2019, the band released their tenth studio album Closer Than Together featuring the single “High Steppin’” which reached #1 on the Americana Radio Singles Chart. The Third Gleam came out amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Americana/Folk Albums, #1 Rock Albums, #1 Vinyl Albums, and the single “Victory” hit #1 on the Americana Radio Singles Chart. This year saw the release of The Avett Brothers, an album that is as much untitled as it is self-titled: a collection of songs that revealed themselves naturally over time. Swept Away – a musical inspired by and featuring the music of The Avett Brothers – recently debuted on Broadway. The Avett Brothers have been inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame and have earned a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Americana Music Association. They are currently on tour throughout the U.S.

A Service of Compline
2025-08-01 19:30, 2025-07-25 19:30 | Episcopal Chapel

Men's Softball League
2025-08-01 17:00, 2025-07-30 17:00, 2025-07-28 17:00, 2025-07-25 17:00 | Sharpe Field, Sharpe Field
Interested in playing slow pitch softball? Contact co-commissioner Wes Delancey
at markernalt21@gmail.com to be added to a team roster. Fee per team for league play.

Hebrew Congregation Evening Kabbalat Shabbat Service
2025-08-01 17:00, 2025-07-25 17:00 | Miller Park, Miller Park

Piano Program Play-Out
2025-08-01 16:00 | Sherwood-Marsh 101

CHQ Dialogues
2025-08-01 15:30 | Alumni Hall Ballroom, Alumni Hall Ballroom

CHQ Dialogues
2025-08-01 15:30, 2025-07-25 15:30 | Episcopal Cottage, Episcopal Cottage

CHQ Dialogues
2025-08-01 15:30, 2025-07-25 15:30 | Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

Matthew D. Taylor
2025-08-01 14:00 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy
Matthew D. Taylor is senior scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies in Baltimore, where he specializes in American Christianity, American Islam, Christian extremism, and religious politics. His new book, The Violent Take It by Force: The Christian Movement that is Threatening Our Democracy (Broadleaf, 2024), tracks how a loose network of charismatic Christian leaders called the New Apostolic Reformation was a major instigating force for the January 6th Insurrection and is currently reshaping the culture of the religious right in the U.S. He is the creator, writer, and narrator of the Charismatic Revival Fury audio-documentary series on the Straight White American Jesus podcast. He is also the author of Scripture People: Salafi Muslims in Evangelical Christians’ America (Cambridge, 2023). Taylor holds a PhD in religious studies and Muslim-Christian relations from Georgetown University and an MA in theology from Fuller Theological Seminary. He also serves as an associate fellow at the Center for Peace Diplomacy in New Orleans, where he works on preventing religion-related violence surrounding U.S. elections. Previously he served on the faculty of Georgetown University and of George Washington University.

Opera Conservatory: Sing-Out
2025-08-01 13:00 | Fletcher Music Hall, Fletcher Music Hall

CHQ Dialogues
2025-08-01 12:30, 2025-07-30 18:30, 2025-07-25 12:30 | Lutheran House, Lutheran House

Introduction to Jumu'ah Muslim Prayer
2025-08-01 12:30, 2025-07-25 12:30 | Hall of Christ: Sanctuary
Jumu’ah introduction for visitors is at 12:30 PM. Jumu’ah Service is at 1:05 PM

Summer on the Steps with Chautauqua Literary Arts
2025-08-01 12:15 | Alumni Hall Porch, Alumni Hall Porch
Summer on the Steps with Chautauqua Literary Arts: A Reading and Open Mic featuring Chautauqua Literary Arts Staff

Alsu Kurmasheva, Roger Carstens & Almar Latour
2025-08-01 10:45 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
Press freedom advocate and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty editor Alsu Kurmasheva and U.S. hostage negotiator Roger D. Carstens join Almar Latour, the CEO of Dow Jones and publisher of The Wall Street Journal, in conversation for the Chautauqua Lecture Series to close a week on “The Global Rise of Authoritarianism.”
Alsu Kurmasheva is a journalist and editor at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), where she has reported extensively on cultural and human rights issues in Russia’s Volga-Ural region. She first joined RFE/RL in 1998 as a radio program moderator and has since built a career covering the experiences of ethnic minorities in Russia. Her reporting has also focused on gender issues, with in-depth investigations into domestic violence and women’s rights.
In October 2023, Kurmasheva was detained in Russia and charged with failing to register as a foreign agent. Two months later, she was accused of spreading “false” information about the Russian military, a charge linked to her alleged role in distributing a book featuring accounts from Russians opposed to the invasion of Ukraine. Held for more than nine months, in July 2024, Kurmasheva was sentenced to six and a half years in prison. In August 2024, she was released as part of a prisoner exchange that also saw the return of fellow American journalist, The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.
Following her release from detention in Russia, she has emerged as a vocal advocate for press freedom, drawing on her own experience of imprisonment to highlight the risks journalists face in authoritarian regimes.
Ambassador Roger D. Carstens is the inaugural John McCain Freedom for Political Prisoners distinguished senior fellow at the McCain Institute in Washington. Prior to assuming this role, Carstens was the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs at the U.S. Department of State. He previously served in Amman, Jordan, as the country director for a U.S.-based international NGO that provided humanitarian assistance to Syrian refugees and internally displaced persons. Prior positions include senior civilian advisor on the Commander’s Advisory and Assistance Team (CAAT) in Afghanistan; project director for an NGO based in Somalia; senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security; and special assistant for legislative affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
Carstens is a retired Army lieutenant colonel who served in Special Forces and the 1st Ranger Battalion. He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and holds master’s degrees from the U.S. Naval War College and St. John’s College. Carstens is the recipient of the 2023 Robert A. Levinson Excellence in Government Service Award, the St. John’s College Alumni Association’s Award of Merit, and was selected as a Distinguished Member of the Special Forces Regiment.
Almar Latour is publisher of The Wall Street Journal and CEO of Dow Jones, a world-leading news and business information services company. He was named CEO in 2020 and, under his leadership, Dow Jones has delivered record financial results, more than doubling profitability in four years, with significant growth in subscriptions and business information services. The company has doubled digital subscriptions, while safeguarding The Wall Street Journal’s reputation as one of the world’s most-trusted news organizations. Dow Jones’ portfolio of business information offerings including Factiva, OPIS and Risk & Compliance provide businesses with key data and insights to make better decisions.
Latour has an extensive track record of building successful news media businesses in the digital age. He oversaw the creation of the Barron’s Group, quadrupling the group’s digital audience at Barron’s and MarketWatch, and led the modernization of The Wall Street Journal’s website. He also led the development of The Wall Street Journal in Japan, Korea and China.
Latour has been stationed as a journalist in Brussels, London, Stockholm, New York and Hong Kong. He has also served as a bureau chief in New York, the managing editor of The Wall Street Journal online, and the editor-in-chief of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones in Asia-Pacific before being appointed its executive editor.

Service of Blessing and Healing
2025-08-01 10:15, 2025-07-31 10:15, 2025-07-30 10:15, 2025-07-29 10:15, 2025-07-28 10:15, 2025-07-25 10:15 | Randell Chapel, UCC Headquarters

Rabbi Peter Berg
2025-08-01 09:15, 2025-07-31 09:15, 2025-07-30 09:15, 2025-07-29 09:15, 2025-07-28 09:15, 2025-07-27 10:45 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
Peter Berg became the fifth senior rabbi of The Temple since 1895 in July of 2008. Rabbi Berg is passionate about Jewish learning and meaningful worship, and he is an advocate for social change. Prior to coming to The Temple, he served as rabbi of Temple Beth Or in Washington Township, New Jersey and as the Associate Rabbi of Temple Emanuel-El in Dallas, Texas.
Over the years, Rabbi Berg has spent a great deal of time working with advocacy groups on issues including but not limited to: poverty & homelessness, criminal justice reform, preventing the human trafficking of minors, civil rights, religious freedom, ending mass incarceration, gun safety, hate crimes, the environment, combatting antisemitism, and strengthening the U.S.- Israel relationship. Rabbi Berg has served extensively in community and national board service. He currently serves on the Board of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, the Anti-Defamation League, Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students (GEEARS), Faith In Public Life, OUTCRY: Faith Voices Against Gun Violence, Three Star, Home First, Georgia Interfaith Public Policy Center, The Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta, and the Commission On Social Action for Reform Judaism. He is Past President of the Atlanta Rabbinical Association. Rabbi Berg serves on the advisory Boards of: The American Jewish Archives (Vice-Chair), The Jewish Fertility Foundation, JumpSpark Teen Initiative, The Islamic Speakers Bureau, and the Grady Hospital Foundation.
A native of Ocean Township, New Jersey, Rabbi Berg holds a degree in Education and Human Development, with a focus in human services, counseling, and Judaic Studies, from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He earned his M.A. in Hebrew Literature and his rabbinic ordination from Hebrew Union College- Jewish Institute of Religion in New York and Jerusalem, where he was a Steinhardt Fellow. Rabbi Berg also holds a certificate in Chemical Dependency and Spiritual Counseling and is a trained Disaster, Fire, and Police Chaplain. He serves as a Chaplain for The Georgia State Patrol.
In 2009, Rabbi Berg was inducted into the College of Preachers at Morehouse College. Rabbi Berg was a member of the 2012 Leadership Atlanta class and is an active member of the Downtown Atlanta Rotary Club. He was recently re-appointed to the Georgia Holocaust Commission by the Lt. Governor. In 2013, Rabbi Berg was named by Newsweek and The Daily Beast as one of the top 50 most influential rabbis in the United States of America. From 2016-2022, he was named annually by Georgia Trend as one of the Most Influential Georgians and from 2019-2023 as one of Atlanta’s Most Powerful Leaders. In 2023 he received Atlanta’s highest honor from Mayor Dickens, the Phoenix Award, as well as the Distinguished Advocate Award from The American Jewish Committee.
Rabbi Berg lives in Atlanta with his wife Karen, a teacher and tutor, and their three children.

Chautauqua Prays for Peace though Compassion
2025-08-01 08:55, 2025-07-31 08:55, 2025-07-30 08:55, 2025-07-29 08:55, 2025-07-28 08:55, 2025-07-25 08:55 | Hall of Philosophy Grove

Catholic Mass
2025-08-01 08:45, 2025-07-31 08:45, 2025-07-30 08:45, 2025-07-29 08:45, 2025-07-28 08:45, 2025-07-25 08:45 | Chapel of the Good Shepherd, Chapel of the Good Shepherd

Movement and Meditation with Monte Thompson
2025-08-01 08:30, 2025-07-30 08:30, 2025-07-28 08:30, 2025-07-25 08:30 | 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.

Daily Word Meditation
2025-08-01 08:00, 2025-07-31 08:00, 2025-07-30 08:00, 2025-07-29 08:00, 2025-07-28 08:00, 2025-07-25 08:00 | Hall of Missions, Hall of Missions
(Programmed by Unity of Chautauqua)

CHQ Mystic Heart: David Gluck
2025-08-01 07:45, 2025-07-31 07:45, 2025-07-30 07:45, 2025-07-29 07:45, 2025-07-28 00:00 | Presbyterian Chapel
David Gluck began his study of meditation and yoga in 2001, with Jivamukti Yoga. He received accreditation as a certified yoga teacher in 2003, directly from Jivamukti founders, Sharon Gannon and David Life. Shortly thereafter, he began formal studies in the Gelug lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, primarily under the tutelage of Douglas Veenhof, current Resident Teacher at B. Alan Wallace’s Center for Contemplative Research, Miyo Samten Ling, in Crestone, Colorado. In 2022, he became an-accredited mindfulness teacher, studying with David Nichternand the Dharma Moon community. David has taught classes, workshops, and teacher training’s both nationally and abroad. In 2013, David developed and led the Yoga Philosophy, Training and Certification course at George Brown College, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In addition, he served as faculty for the Yoga Sanctuary Teacher Training program as Director of Philosophy, from 2013 until 2017. In 2017, David transitioned to working with children. Currently, his dharma teaching consists of private sessions wherein he helps practitioners develop and deepen their practice, and his annual participation in Chautauqua’s Mystic Heart program

Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra: Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto
2025-07-31 20:15 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
Rossen Milanov, conductor
Sharon Roffman, violin
Experience an evening of passion and virtuosity as the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra’s new concertmaster Sharon Roffman takes the stage for Tchaikovsky’s breathtaking Violin Concerto, a dazzling showcase of lyricism and fire. The journey continues with Rachmaninoff’s sweeping Symphony No. 3, a masterpiece of rich harmonies and soaring melodies. Don’t miss this unforgettable night of Russian Romanticism, filled with heart-stirring emotion and exhilarating brilliance!
Program:
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 44

I'M STILL HERE
2025-07-31 20:00, 2025-07-30 20:30, 2025-07-29 17:30 | Chautauqua Cinema, Chautauqua Cinema
As Brazil faces the tightening grip of a military dictatorship, Eunice Paiva (Fernanda Torres), a mother of five, must reinvent herself and her family when authorities abduct her husband. “Director Walter Salles returns to the political filmmaking he employed in The Motorcycle Diaries. Like that film, this one follows a protagonist who becomes an activist after being jarred by political events.” -Odie Henderson, Boston Globe “In the face of inhumanity, Salles’s film simply radiates love.” -Nick Howells, London Evening Standard (PG-13, 137m, In Portuguese with subtitles)

A Showcase of One Acts - Drama League Directing Fellow’s Presentation
2025-07-31 19:30, 2025-07-31 14:00 | Bratton Theater, Bratton Theater
The Drama League’s FutureNow Stage Directing Fellows take over Bratton Stage for an evening of one-act plays featuring the talents of our 2025 design fellows and acting conservatory.

CHQ Dialogues
2025-07-31 18:30, 2025-07-24 18:30 | Disciples of Christ House, Disciples of Christ House

TIANANMEN TONIGHT
2025-07-31 17:00 | Chautauqua Cinema, Chautauqua Cinema
Meet the Filmmakers! Free Admission! In these perilous times for American journalism comes a story of truth telling in service to democracy. Tiananmen Tonight reveals the powerful human drama of Dan Rather and the CBS Evening News team battling for life and reputation while courageously reporting the extraordinary student uprising in 1989 that brought China to the brink of democratic reform. The film is produced and directed by Bestor Cram and Michael Streissguth. (NR, 84m)

Air Band
2025-07-31 16:30 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
Boys’ and Girls’ Club Groupers return to the Amphitheater for our annual Air Band competition!

School of Music: Chamber Concert #6
2025-07-31 16:00 | Fletcher Music Hall, Fletcher Music Hall

Play CHQ: Get your Game On!
2025-07-31 16:00, 2025-07-24 16:00 | Miller Park, Miller Park
Play CHQ invites families to discover, create, and play together all season long! Enjoy a variety of engaging activities including games, crafts, STEM experiments, and more at pop-up locations throughout the Chautauqua grounds.
In case of inclement weather, all Play CHQ events will be relocated to Sheldon Hall of Education, Room 202.

CHQ Dialogues
2025-07-31 16:00 | AAHH African American Heritage House
The Dialogue is devoted to the AAHH Lecture on Wednesday at 3:30pm

CHQ Dialogues
2025-07-31 15:30, 2025-07-24 15:30 | Baptist House, Baptist House

CHQ Dialogues
2025-07-31 15:30, 2025-07-24 15:30 | United Methodist House, United Methodist House

Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
2025-07-31 15:30 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy
Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle Presentation — Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Loretta Thurwar and Hamara “Hurricane Staxxx” Stacker are the stars of the Chain-Gang All-Stars, the cornerstone of CAPE, or Criminal Action Penal Entertainment, a highly popular, highly controversial profit-raising program in America’s increasingly dominant private prison industry. It’s the return of the gladiators, and prisoners are competing for the ultimate prize: their freedom.
In CAPE, prisoners travel as Links in Chain-Gangs, competing in death matches before packed arenas with righteous protestors at the gates. As fan favorites, teammates, and lovers, Thurwar and Staxxx fight for their lives and consider how they might help preserve their humanity, in defiance of these so-called games. But CAPE’s corporate owners will stop at nothing to protect their status quo, and the obstacles they devise have devastating consequences.
In his debut novel, Chain-Gang All-Stars, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah examines an America in which systemic racism, wanton capitalism, and mass incarceration combine to create a new privatized and monetized gladiator production in the United States, on which the kaleidoscopic lives of his main characters take center stage as they fight to survive and pursue their freedom — by any means necessary. A work longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal of Excellence and named a finalist for the 2024 Chautauqua Prize, among other accolades, Chain-Gang All-Stars combines prose that is both provocative and forthright in its critique of the American incarceration system.
Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah was raised in Spring Valley, New York, and now lives in the Bronx. His debut collection, Friday Black, was a New York Times bestseller, won the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award and the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing, and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle’s John Leonard Award and the Dylan Thomas Prize. His first novel Chain-Gang All-Stars was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction, shortlisted for the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize and the Books Are My Bag Awards, and selected as a New York Times Top Ten Books of the Year. Adjei-Brenyah is a National Book Foundation’s ‘5 Under 35’ honoree.

EVERY LITTLE THING
2025-07-31 14:30, 2025-07-30 18:00, 2025-07-29 20:30 | Chautauqua Cinema, Chautauqua Cinema
Author and rehabber Terry Masear wants to save every injured hummingbird in Los Angeles. Over the course of Sally Aitken’s intimate and moving documentary, we become invested in Terry’s hummingbird patients — including Cactus, Jimmy, Wasabi, Raisin, and Mikhail. “These are small, scary steps for hummingbirds, seeding faith in giant leaps for humankind.” -Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times “Every Little Thing comes to embody the fragile yet uncontainable mystery of all life.” -Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine (NR, 93m)

Brendan Murphy
2025-07-31 14:00 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy
Brendan Murphy is the founding director of the Bearing Witness Institute for Interreligious and Ecumenical Dialogue at Marist School.
He has taught history at Marist since 1994 and is actively involved in developing educational initiatives and created a compelling “History and the Holocaust” seminar at Marist that is complemented by cocurricular international field trips to sites in Europe that were significant during the Holocaust. Over the years, high demand for Murphy’s thought-provoking antisemitism presentations at churches and synagogues in Atlanta, Georgia and across the country spurred the creation of the Bearing Witness Institute.
Murphy has received numerous awards, including the Outstanding Educator Award from the Anne Frank Center in New York, the ADL’s Abe Goldstein Human Relations and Unsung Hero Awards. His dedication to excellence in teaching has been acknowledged at Marist School and on the state level, with the Distinguished Service Award from the Georgia Independent School Association and twice with the Georgia Outstanding Educator of the Year Award from the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust. He also has been recognized as Teacher of the Year by the University of Notre Dame. Additionally, Murphy has participated in prestigious programs such as the Museum Teacher Fellowship at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. and the Lerner Fellowship at the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous in New York City. Recently, he was selected to participate in Leadership Atlanta’s Class of 2025.
In addition to serving as director of the Bearing Witness Institute and teaching his Holocaust seminar, Murphy moderates a Peace by Piece group, which brings students from Christian, Jewish, and Muslim communities together to foster friendship and understanding. In the coming years, he will replicate this Peace by Piece model in communities and schools across the nation.
A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Murphy earned a bachelor’s degree in education and history from the University of Notre Dame and holds a master’s degree in theology from Spring Hill College.

School of Music: Chamber Concert #5
2025-07-31 13:00 | Fletcher Music Hall, Fletcher Music Hall

Duplicate Bridge
2025-07-31 12:45, 2025-07-24 12:45 | Sports Club, Sports Club
Don’t have a partner? One will be provided. Game managed by Shelley Dahlie. $10/person.

CHQ Dialogue
2025-07-31 12:30, 2025-07-24 12:30 | Everett Jewish Life Center, Everett Jewish Life Center

CHQ Mystic Heart: David Gluck
2025-07-31 12:30, 2025-07-29 12:30 | Hall of Missions, Hall of Missions

CTC Theater Chats
2025-07-31 12:15 | Smith Wilkes Hall, Smith Wilkes Hall
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.

Paige Alexander
2025-07-31 10:45 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
Paige Alexander serves as chief executive officer of The Carter Center, a nonprofit organization founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter to advance peace and health worldwide. She joins the Chautauqua Lecture Series in a week exploring “The Global Rise of Authoritarianism” to discuss evolving threats to democracy worldwide, and how The Carter Center works to address those threats.
Alexander joined the Center in 2020 at a pivotal time for the organization and the country. In her first year, Alexander led the organization through the COVID-19 pandemic and a period of national social upheaval, while envisioning a path forward for The Carter Center as it transitioned from an organization that was founder-led to one that is guided by its founders’ principles. Since that time, Alexander has strengthened the Center’s core peace and health programs and led the organization in new directions, including adding programs to address: the global mental health crisis; political polarization in the United States; and the impact of climate change on global peace and public health.
Before joining The Carter Center, Alexander had a distinguished global development career, with more than two decades of experience in the government and nonprofit sectors. She held Senate-confirmed senior leadership positions at two regional bureaus of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), covering missions and development programs in 25 countries.
Alexander currently serves on the boards of the Romanian American Foundation, the World Affairs Council of Atlanta, and the Free Russia Foundation, and as an advisory board member of several human rights organizations.
This Chautauqua Lecture Series program is presented in collaboration with the African American Heritage House at Chautauqua.

School of Music: Chamber Concert #4
2025-07-31 10:00 | Fletcher Music Hall, Fletcher Music Hall

Miko Marks
2025-07-30 20:15 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
Finding freedom through music is something that Miko Marks knows all too well. But it’s more than just freedom. It’s liberation. Deliverance. After living what seems to be multiple lives over, Miko has finally come into the life she was born to live. And she’s more than ready to live it to the fullest – one of truth, authenticity, vulnerability, joy and honesty. There’s a clip on YouTube that is quite striking. It’s an interview from a local Bay Area news channel featuring Miko Marks talking about her journey as a Black woman in country music. “For me, being a country music singer-songwriter, I’m truly dedicated to the work, so it’s an uphill battle, but it’s one I’m willing to climb.” That clip is from 2007. The conversations and the questions 15 years later, in 2022, are the same. Miko has answered them time and time again, but there’s more to her story than the barriers she bridles. She has more to give than the small confines of that one line of questioning. Miko’s life as a Black woman in country and roots music is only a small part of the story. As she readies her latest album, Feel like Going Home, for release (October 14, 2022 via Redtone Records), it’s beyond time to dig deeper.
Miko was born in Flint, Michigan, by a single mother, a free spirit; undoubtedly where Miko gets her fire for life. Along with being passionate about being a mother and instilling strength and independence in Miko, her mother also had a calling for fighting for equal rights for all. She would spend free time protesting on a local level in their town and would travel to Detroit for larger demonstrations, always looking to make a genuine connection with everyone she met, leaving the world better than she found it. This impacted Miko greatly as she grew and was pivotal in Miko finding her own voice. To provide for Miko, her mother would spend nights working 3rd shift at the automotive factory, while Miko’s grandmother would watch over her, helping raise her for most of her young life. For Miko, the women in her life were of utmost importance to her and their hopes and dreams for her were cautiously optimistic while being pragmatic due to the barriers they faced in their own lifetime. The path that Miko is on now would be almost unimaginable for women like her grandmother. Even still she was raised to rise. Miko reflects on the contributions of these women in “Good Life.” “My grandmother’s family came out of the south, working in cotton fields, struggling, looking for hope up north as so many did during the great migration. I wanted to describe that in song and praise her and my mother and my ancestors for their power, and to thank them for persevering so that I could have a good life.”

Chautauqua Opera Conservatory 2025 Scenes Program with Kensho Watanabe
2025-07-30 18:30 | Fletcher Music Hall, Fletcher Music Hall
Join celebrated conductor Kensho Watanabe as he leads us on a captivating journey through some of opera’s most cherished moments.
The program features eleven unforgettable scenes from classics including La Traviata, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Street Scene, Die Zauberflöte, and more—showcasing the drama, beauty, and emotional depth that define the operatic art form.
Don’t miss this spectacular evening of music and storytelling at its finest.
Japanese-American conductor Kensho Watanabe is internationally acclaimed for his dynamic musicality, thoughtful interpretations, and engaging presence on the podium. Following a successful run at the Metropolitan Opera of Kevin Puts’ The Hours last season, Watanabe returns to the Met this season for eight performances of Puccini’s La bohéme.
In addition to Watanabe’s return to the Met, highlights of the 2024-25 season include a Suntory Hall debut with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, and debuts with the Calgary Philharmonic and Opera Theatre St. Louis. The 2023-24 season saw Watanabe make his Detroit Opera debut with Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, as well as returns to l’Orchestre Métropolitain in Montréal, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the RTE Concert Orchestra in Dublin. Recent highlights include work with the Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival, Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, and the Philadelphia Orchestra, with whom he maintains a close relationship following his tenure as Assistant Conductor from 2016-19.
Based in Paris, France, Watanabe is an accomplished violinist, receiving his MM from the Yale School of Music, and serving as a substitute violinist of the Philadelphia Orchestra from 2012-16. A protégé of Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Watanabe was the inaugural conducting fellow of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with both Nézet-Séguin and Otto-Werner Mueller. Additionally, he holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Yale, where he studied molecular, cellular, and developmental biology.

Party on the Art Quad
2025-07-30 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!

CHQ Mystic Heart: Therapeutic Gong Meditation with Kim Hehr
2025-07-30 16:45 | Hurlbut Church sanctuary, Hurlbut Church 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.

School of Music: Chamber Concert #3
2025-07-30 16:00 | Fletcher Music Hall, Fletcher Music Hall

Play CHQ: STEM by the Water
2025-07-30 16:00 | Miller Park, Miller Park

Piano Faculty Masterclass: Alexander Kobrin
2025-07-30 16:00 | Sherwood-Marsh 101

CHQ Dialogues
2025-07-30 15:30 | Catholic House, Catholic House

African American Heritage House Lecture: Paige Alexander
2025-07-30 15:30 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy
Paige Alexander serves as chief executive officer of The Carter Center, a nonprofit organization founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter to advance peace and health worldwide. Alexander joined the Center in 2020 at a pivotal time for the organization and the country. In her first year, Alexander led the organization through the COVID-19 pandemic and a period of national social upheaval, while envisioning a path forward for The Carter Center as it transitioned from an organization that was founder-led to one that is guided by its founders’ principles.
Since that time, Alexander has strengthened the Center’s core peace and health programs and led the organization in new directions, including adding programs to address: the global mental health crisis; political polarization in the United States; and the impact of climate change on global peace and public health.
Before joining The Carter Center, Alexander had a distinguished global development career, with more than two decades of experience in the government and nonprofit sectors. She held Senate-confirmed senior leadership positions at two regional bureaus of the United States Agency for International Development, covering missions and development programs in 25 countries.

Anantanand Rambachan
2025-07-30 14:00 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy
Anantanand Rambachan is of Professor Emeritus of Religion at Saint Olaf College, Minnesota, USA (1985-2021). He was also Forum Humanum Visiting Professor at the Academy for the Study of World Religions at the University of Hamburg in Germany (2013-2017).
Prof. Rambachan has been involved in interreligious relations and dialogue for over 40 years, as a Hindu contributor and analyst. He is a Co-President of Religions for Peace, the largest global interfaith network. and serves as President of the Board of Arigatou International NY, a global organization advocating for the rights of children and mobilizing the resources of religions to overcome violence against children. He also Chairs the Board of Directors of the Minnesota Multifaith Network. He is active in the dialogue programs of the World Council of Churches and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue at the Vatican, and currently participates in the Ethics in Action dialogues at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. In 2008, at the invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Professor Rambachan delivered the distinguished Lambeth Interfaith Lecture at the Lambeth Palace in London. Professor Rambachan led the first two White House Celebrations of the Hindu Festival of Diwali in 2003 and 2004.
His books include Accomplishing the Accomplished: The Vedas as a Source of Valid Knowledge in Ṡaṅkara; The Limits of Scripture: Vivekananda’s Reinterpretation of the Authority of the Vedas, The Advaita Worldview: God, World and Humanity, A Hindu Theology of Liberation: Not-Two is Not-One; Essays in Hindu Theology and Pathways to Hindu-Christian Dialogue. In addition, Professor Rambachan has authored numerous book-chapters and journal essays. The British Broadcasting Corporation transmitted a series of 25 lectures on Hinduism by Prof. Rambachan around the world.

CHQ Dialogue
2025-07-30 12:30 | Catholic House, Catholic House

CHQ Dialogues
2025-07-30 12:30, 2025-07-29 12:30 | Presbyterian House, Presbyterian House

CLSC Young Readers Book Discussion
2025-07-30 12:15 | Alumni Hall Porch, Alumni Hall Porch
Presenters Stephaine Dawson and Mary Pat McFarland will lead a community discussion on our Week Six CLSC Young Readers selection Squire: A Graphic Novel by Nadia Shamas and Sara Alfageeh

Women in Ministry
2025-07-30 12:15 | Hall of Missions, Hall of Missions

Organ Recitals
2025-07-30 12:15 | Hall of Christ: Sanctuary

Joan Donovan
2025-07-30 10:45 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
Joan Donovan is an assistant professor of journalism and emerging media studies in the College of Communications at Boston University. She is also the founder of The Critical Internet Studies Institute, a nonprofit that develops cutting-edge research and educational programs advancing public knowledge of emerging technologies and the paradoxes of innovation. After first speaking for the Chautauqua Lecture Series remotely in 2020, Donovan will now make her in-person Amphitheater debut during the Week Six study of “The Global Rise of Authoritarianism,” sharing how alternative political media has evolved in recent years, particularly with regard to the swift advancements in AI, and how social media can be abused to enable and empower authoritarian regimes.
Donovan is co-author of the book Meme Wars: The Untold Story of the Online Battles Upending Democracy in America, which analyzes how meme culture became an important political communication strategy bridging social movements with contemporary political parties from Occupy to the Jan. 6 insurrection. Formerly, she was the research director of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center on Media Politics and Public Policy, where she oversaw the Technology and Social Change Research Project, which studied media manipulation, disinformation, and adversarial media movements. In 2023, she blew the whistle on corporate influence over that research program.
Previously, Donovan was the research lead for Data & Society’s Media Manipulation Initiative, which mapped how interest groups, governments, political operatives, corporations, and others use the internet and media to disrupt social institutions. She completed her Ph.D. in sociology and science studies at the University of California San Diego, and subsequently was a postdoctoral fellow at the UCLA Institute for Society and Genetics, where she studied white supremacists’ use of DNA ancestry tests, social movements, and technology.

School of Music: Chamber Concert #1
2025-07-30 10:00 | Fletcher Music Hall, Fletcher Music Hall

Cultural Ethics Series - Larry Rizzolo
2025-07-30 09:30 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy
“Science and Ethics at the Beginning and End of Life”

Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra: A Beethoven Evening
2025-07-29 20:15 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
Teddy Abrams, conductor
Alexander Kobrin, piano
Musical America’s 2022 Conductor of the Year and Louisville Orchestra music director Teddy Abrams returns to the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra for an all-Beethoven evening featuring his bold and exuberant Symphony No. 7. The concert opens with Alexander Kobrin in Beethoven’s elegant and lyrical Piano Concerto No. 3. Praised for his brilliant technique, musicality and emotional engagement with the audience, Kobrin currently serves as the Chautauqua Piano Program Heintzelman Family Artistic Advisor.
Program:
Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37
Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92

Labyrinth History and Meditation
2025-07-29 18:30 | Turner (Outside of Building)
Bring gate pass. Adjacent to Turner Community Center

BTG: Masterclass
2025-07-29 16:15 | Smith Wilkes Hall, Smith Wilkes Hall
Biophelia

Play CHQ: Crafting by the Water
2025-07-29 16:00 | Miller Park, Miller Park

Piano Program Faculty Recital: HaeSun Paik. Music of Beethoven, Schumann, and Bartok.
2025-07-29 16:00 | Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall, Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall
Pianist HaeSun Paik has been hailed as a “sensitive and thinking musician first and an awesome technician second” (Los Angeles Times) with a “big and individual personality” (New York Times), whose performances are “a wonder — elastic, mercurial, charged with meaning, surprising” (Boston Globe) and “a rare example of technique actually serving both idea and feeling, head and heart” (Musical America). She performed with numerous orchestras including the Boston, National, London, City of Birmingham, Belgium National, Osaka, NHK, and KBS Symphony Orchestras, the Munich, Radio France, Tokyo, Warsaw, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestras, and the Russian National Orchestra among others.
One of the most sought-after pedagogical influences in Korea, Ms. Paik was the youngest pianist of her generation to be appointed as a music professor at Seoul National University, where she taught for ten years. She was on the piano faculty at the Cleveland Institute of Music and currently is a member of the piano faculty at New England Conservatory.

Heritage Lecture Series: Jonathan D. Schmitz
2025-07-29 15:30 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy
As part of the Oliver Archives Center’s Heritage Lecture Series, Chautauqua Institution Archives and Historian, Jonathan D. Schmitz will present “Science and Religion (and Art) at Chautauqua”.

Social Hour at Denominational Houses
2025-07-29 15:15 | Denominational Houses (Selected)
Social hour at the Baptist House, Catholic House, Christian Church, Everett Jewish Life Center, Episcopal Cottage, Lutheran House, Unitarian House and United Methodist House

Chautauqua Opera Company presents An Afternoon of Song
2025-07-29 15:15 | Athenaeum Parlor, Athenaeum Parlor
Join us for an afternoon of song, featuring our 2025 Young Artists.

Justus Baird
2025-07-29 14:00 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy
Rabbi Justus Baird is Senior Vice President at the Shalom Hartman Institute, a pluralistic Jewish think tank and educational institute. He directs the North American Kogod Research Center, oversees the Institute’s interfaith and intergroup work, and is publisher of Sources: a Journal of Jewish Ideas. Prior to joining Hartman in 2019, he was Dean of Auburn Seminary.
Rabbi Baird has led and studied interfaith initiatives since 2002, including extensive work in Israel/Palestine, faith-rooted social movement work, an international multifaith teen leadership camp, interfaith learning for religion scholars, and most recently, Black/Jewish initiatives.
Raised in Texas, he lives in Montclair, NJ, with his rabbi-wife and their three children.

BTG Brownbag. Richard Piacentini: Green Innovation by Botanical Gardens
2025-07-29 12:15 | Smith Wilkes Hall, Smith Wilkes Hall
Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens is a world leader in sustainable practices among gardens, zoos and aquariums. Its Center for Sustainable Landscapes (CSL) hosts one of the world’s greenest buildings, which generates all of its own energy and treats all storm and sanitary water captured on-site. It is the first and only building to meet seven of the highest green certifications. Phipps’ green evolution has taken it from its first LEED-certified campus structure to the pursuit of worldwide regenerative collaboration through The Climate Toolkit, a collaborative opportunity for museums, gardens, zoos, science centers, nature centers, field stations and related institutions who want to learn how to aggressively address climate change within their own organizations and inspire the communities they serve to follow their lead.

Javier Corrales
2025-07-29 10:45 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
The Dwight W. Morrow 1895 Professor of Political Science at Amherst College, Javier Corrales’ research focuses on democratization, presidential powers, ruling parties, democratic backsliding, populism, political economy of development, oil and energy, the incumbent’s advantage, foreign policies, and sexuality. He has published extensively on Latin America and the Caribbean, and his latest book — Autocracy Rising: How Venezuela Transitioned to Authoritarianism — argues that deep democratic backsliding is determined by party system features, variations in autocratic legalism, institutional capture, and innovations in the use of coercion. It is this scholarship that will frame his presentation for the Chautauqua Lecture Series in a week focused on “The Global Rise of Authoritarianism.”
Corrales’ other books include Fixing Democracy: Why Constitutional Change Often Fails to Enhance Democracy in Latin America — which develops the concept of power asymmetry between government and opposition forces to explain whether new constitutions will expand presidential powers, and in the process, hurt democracy — and The Politics of LGBTQ Rights Expansion in Latin America and Caribbean.
Corrales has taught at the Center for Latin American Research at the University of Amsterdam and at the Center for Latin American Studies at Georgetown University, and has offered short courses at the Institute of Higher Studies in Administration in Caracas, the School of Government at the University of the Andes in Bogotá, and at the Universidad de Salamanca.
In 2000, he became one of the youngest scholars ever to be selected as a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. Twice a Fulbright scholar, in 2005 in Caracas and 2016 in Bogotá, Corrales obtained his Ph.D. in political science from Harvard University.

BECOMING LED ZEPPELIN
2025-07-28 20:50, 2025-07-27 20:15, 2025-07-26 17:00, 2025-07-25 20:15 | Chautauqua Cinema, Chautauqua Cinema
Interviews, performances and never-before-seen footage provide insight into the origins of Led Zeppelin and their meteoric rise to musical stardom. “The master-musicianship that the press initially overlooked, and which the tales of bad behaviour obscure, is front and centre here.” -Ludovic Hunter-Tilney, Financial Times “A hagiographic look at the group’s beginnings, the movie is as straightforward as it is headbangingly diverting.”-Manohla Dargis, New York Times “It”s like being at a concert. That sound is incredible.” -Christy Lemire, FilmWeek (PG-13, 122m)

Chautauqua Opera Conservatory with the Music School Festival Orchestra: La Vida Breve
2025-07-28 20:15 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
La Vida Breve, with music by Manuel de Falla and a libretto by Carlos Fernández Shaw, is considered one of the greatest operas written in Spanish. Written in 1905, it’s a kind of “tragic zarzuela”, a hothouse verismo opera that mixes Andalusian folk songs into a score shimmering with French Impressionism. This vivid and engrossing opera centers on Salud, the working-class heroine, a victim of passion and betrayal. Salud loves Paco, a sophisticated cad, who offers her pledges of love but marries another, wealthier, girl, leaving Salud desolate with heartbreak. Only one hour long, La Vida Breve is sonically thrilling, with richly sung emotion and vivacious rhythms — a gripping story of the human condition.
The Chautauqua Opera Conservatory is designed to guide and empower young artists through training and vast performance opportunities in a wide array of repertoire with excellent faculty. Under the leadership of Denyce Graves-Montgomery, Artistic Advisor, and Jonathan Beyer, Director, a dynamic group of singers study, coach, and perform in an idyllic setting on the grounds of the Chautauqua Institution.
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.

Taize' and Tea Meditation Worship
2025-07-28 19:00 | Randell Chapel, UCC Headquarters

CVA Lecture Series: Matt Bollinger
2025-07-28 18:30 | Hultquist 101, Hultquist 101
CVA Lecture Series: School of Art faculty
Matt Bollinger
Matt Bollinger received his BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute and his MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. His work has been exhibited in solo shows in New York, Los Angeles, Dublin, London, and elsewhere. Recent museum exhibitions have been at the Akron Art Museum (2022), Westmoreland Museum of American Art (2022), South Bend Museum of Art (2020), the Schneider Museum (2018) and Musée d’art moderne et contemporain, Saint-Étienne Métropole (2016). Residencies include the Seven Below Arts Initiative in Burlington, VT, the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, MA, and the Sharpe-Walentas Studio Program in Brooklyn, NY. In 2016 and 2021, he received NYFA fellowships in Painting. He is represented by mother’s tankstation and François Ghebaly Gallery. He lives and works in New York state.

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
2025-07-28 17:50, 2025-07-27 17:15, 2025-07-27 14:10, 2025-07-26 20:00, 2025-07-25 17:15 | Chautauqua Cinema, Chautauqua Cinema
Crafted with loving fidelity to the 2010 animated classic by original co-director Dean DeBlois, this live-action adaptation starring Mason Thames and Nico Parker reaches enchanting heights of its own. “Those who adored it the first time around will be satisfied with the care with which it’s handled, those unfamiliar with its magic will be charmed as if the story is brand-new.” -Adam Graham, Detroit News “Toothless is as charismatic as ever; the flying sequences and natural landscapes are appropriately breathtaking.” -Bob Mondello, NPR (PG, 125m)

CHQ Mystic Heart: Suzanne Watters
2025-07-28 16:45 | Hurlbut Church sanctuary, Hurlbut Church 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

Play CHQ: Art and Nature Meet
2025-07-28 16:00 | Miller Park, Miller Park

CHQ @ 150 - ALL RISE
2025-07-28 16:00 | Chautauqua Cinema, Chautauqua Cinema
Celebrate the sesquicentennial of our iconic institution, while exploring the ever-evolving definition of democracy through powerful stories and performances that have unfolded here, with a stirring performance of Wynton Marsalis’ All Rise and appearances by Kathryn Hahn, Kwame Alexander, Misty Copeland and more. (NR, 55m)

Chautauqua Chamber Music: Time For Three
2025-07-28 16:00 | Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall, Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall
Grammy and Emmy-winning ensemble Time For Three (TF3) defies convention and boundaries by showcasing excellence across different genres, including classical music, Americana, and singer-songwriter. Their unique sound captivates audiences, immersing them in a musical experience that merges various eras, styles, and traditions of Western music. TF3, consisting of Charles Yang (violin, vocals), Nicolas “Nick” Kendall (violin, vocals), and Ranaan Meyer (double bass, vocals), combines their instruments and voices in a remarkable sound, establishing a distinct voice of expression that resonates with listeners worldwide.
Time for Three also joins the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, July 26, with Rossen Milanov conducting.
Program to be announced.

Jeremy Ben-Ami & Eugene Taylor Sutton
2025-07-28 15:30 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy
With Geoffrey Kemp unable to join us, Chautauqua in 2025 pivots from its celebrated annual Middle East Update to an interfaith conversation between two esteemed leaders in that space.
Jeremy Ben-Ami is the president of J Street, bringing to the role both deep experience in American politics and government and a passionate commitment to the state of Israel. Ben-Ami’s family connection to Israel goes back 140 years to the first aliyah when his great-grandparents were among the first settlers in Petah Tikva. His grandparents were one of the founding families of Tel Aviv, and his father was an activist and leader in the Irgun, working for Israel’s independence and on the rescue of European Jews before and during World War II.
His political resume includes serving in the mid-1990s as the Deputy Domestic Policy Advisor in the White House to President Bill Clinton and working on seven presidential and numerous state and local campaigns including helping to manage a mayoral campaign in New York City in 2001. For nearly three years in the late 90s, Jeremy lived in Israel, where he started a consulting firm working with Israeli non-profit organizations and politicians. Ben-Ami received a law degree from New York University and is a graduate of the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.
The Rt. Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton is the senior pastor of Chautauqua Institution. Formerly the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland and Canon Pastor of Washington National Cathedral, he has also served as a college chaplain, parish priest, and a professor of homiletics and liturgy at Vanderbilt University Divinity School. Sutton is a frequent leader at conferences focused on spirituality, nonviolence, racial and social justice, and he has led multiple missions focused on peace and reconciliation to South Africa, Israel, and the Holy Land. He co-founded Contemplative Outreach of Maryland and Washington (COMW), an ecumenical network of those committed to the daily practice of centering prayer, and is a contributor to the books The Diversity of Centering Prayer, and Reclaiming the Gospel of Peace: Challenging the Epidemic of Gun Violence.
His board memberships have included the Institute for Christian, Jewish and Islamic Studies, the Institute for Sustainable Communities, the Ecumenical Leaders Group of Central Maryland, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and Bishops United Against Gun Violence. Bishop Sutton has been named by the Center for American Progress as one of “Fourteen Faith Leaders to Watch” for his faith-led efforts to promote nonviolent solutions to conflicts.

Susan Hayward
2025-07-28 14:00 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy
Susan Hayward is a specialist on religion, peace, and human rights and a senior research fellow at the Georgetown University Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs. From 2007 to 2021, she worked with the Religion and Inclusive Societies team at the U.S. Institute of Peace, partnering with religious actors worldwide to transform violence and advance just peace with a particular focus on Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Colombia. In this role, she strengthened religious literacy in U.S. foreign policy and global diplomacy, partnering with the State Department, USAID, and the European Union, among others.
From 2020 to 2023, Hayward supported the establishment of the Religion and Public Life program at Harvard Divinity School, building a graduate level certificate program for students seeking careers advancing religious literacy for just peace in vocations such as policymaking, humanitarian action, and organizing.
Hayward’s co-edited book Women, Religion and Peacebuilding: Illuminating the Unseen (2015), highlights the role of women religious peacebuilders worldwide.
She has served or currently serves on the selection committee for international awards recognizing religious peacebuilders, and as an advisor to Templeton Religion Trust and Churches for Middle East Peace.
Hayward studied Buddhism in Nepal and is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, currently serving as Minister of Justice and Formation at Creekside UCC in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
She holds degrees from Tufts University, Harvard University, and is pursuing her doctorate from Georgetown University. Hayward is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Piano Faculty Masterclass: HaeSun Paik
2025-07-28 14:00 | Sherwood-Marsh 101

CLSC Book Discussion
2025-07-28 12:15 | Alumni Hall Porch, Alumni Hall Porch
Presenters Vanessa Weinert and Susan Allen will lead a community discussion on our Week Six CLSC selection Chain-Gang All-Stars: A Novel by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Climate Change & Authoritarianism, with Micah Loewinger, co-host NPR On the Media
2025-07-28 12:15 | Smith Wilkes Hall, Smith Wilkes Hall
Micah Loewinger is co-host of WNYC’s On the Media, a nationally-syndicated public radio show that can be heard on over 400 stations across the country. His investigation into Zello, a walkie-talkie app used for recruitment and organizing by far-right militia groups in the lead up to January 6th, won the John M. Higgins Award for Best In-Depth/Enterprise Reporting and was featured on 60 Minutes. In Chautauqua’s weeklong exploration of the Global Rise of Authoritarianism, Loewinger will explore the link between the growing number and severity of climate-fueled natural disasters and rising support for authoritarian leaders. Researchers have documented how the rise in climate-driven migration drives countries at the receiving end toward anti-immigration populist authoritarianism. Loewinger’s groundbreaking investigative reporting has demonstrated how in the United States, right wing militia groups have capitalized on natural disasters as a powerful recruiting tool, preying on people’s distrust of the government to raise both funds and new supporters. Loewinger’s lecture will take you deep inside these militia movement strategies to leverage climate-fueled natural disasters in the service of authoritarian populism.

Celina Stewart
2025-07-28 10:45 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
Celina Stewart is the chief executive officer of the League of Women Voters of the United States. In this role, she is charged with executing the mission to empower voters and defend democracy and managing the century-strong voting rights organization’s operations and resources. She joins the Chautauqua Lecture Series to discuss the League’s work to combat democratic backsliding and protect voters’ rights, opening a week exploring “The Global Rise of Authoritarianism.”
Stewart first joined the League in 2018 as director of advocacy and litigation and was promoted to senior director in April 2019 and to chief counsel in July 2020. In these roles, she worked to incorporate broader strategic vision and implementation by building stronger relationships with legal partners, strengthening relationships and visibility of the League on the Hill; executing the League’s redistricting initiative, People Powered Fair Maps; and launching the League’s multi-decade One Person One Vote campaign to end the Electoral College.
Prior to joining the League, she was acting chief operating officer and director of philanthropy at an electoral reform nonprofit. Other previous positions include litigation consultant to several Am 100 law firms handling complex merger and acquisition transactions; legislative aide at the Michigan legislature handling the public interest portfolio for the House Tax Chair; legal counsel to the Minority Leader Stacey Abrams at the Georgia House of Representatives; and executive director for the Congressional Black Caucus Institute’s 21st Century program. She earned her J.D. from Western Michigan University Law School and her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Spelman College.

Sacred Song Service - Ecumenical Communion
2025-07-27 20:00 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater

Hebrew Congregation, Shirley Lazarus Sunday Evening Lecture Series
2025-07-27 19:00 | Smith Wilkes Hall, Smith Wilkes Hall

Palestine Park Tour
2025-07-27 17:00 | Palestine Park, Palestine Park
“A Journey Through the Holy Land in the times of Jesus”

Children's Organ Tour
2025-07-27 17:00 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater

Orientation for New Chautauquans
2025-07-27 16:30 | Hultquist 101, Hultquist 101
Join us for lemonade and cookies at the Orientation for New Chautauquans, where we warmly welcome you to our vibrant community. This event is designed to acquaint you with the rich history, diverse programs, and unique experiences that Chautauqua has to offer. Meet fellow newcomers, engage with staff, and learn about the array of cultural, educational, and recreational opportunities available. Whether you’re here for a day, a week, or the entire season, this orientation will help you make the most of your visit and feel right at home.

Church of the Wild
2025-07-27 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.

Sharon G. Flake and Caroline Starr Rose
2025-07-27 15:30 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy
Chautauqua Writers’ Center Faculty Reading — Week Six — Featuring Sharon G. Flake (Young Adult Fiction) and Caroline Starr Rose (Middle Grade Fiction)
Sharon G. Flake is the author of the groundbreaking novel, The Skin I’m In, which brought a bold dimension to literature for young readers. Now considered a modern classic, the book is used in classrooms worldwide and studied by experts in education and literature. Flake has authored over a dozen books, with more than 1.5 million in print globally. Her work has been translated into multiple languages including Korean, Italian, French and Portuguese. Her work has been recognized with several Coretta Scott King Author Honors; an NAACP Award Nomination; the YWCA Racial Justice Award, and numerous top ten best books for teens citations by libraries and industry organizations. Flake is a Kirkus Prize Award finalist. She has mentored aspiring authors for years virtually with the Virginia C. Piper Center for Creative Writing at Arizona State University. The Family I’m In, her much anticipated YA novel, is due out April 1, 2025.
Caroline Starr Rose is a middle grade and picture book author whose books have been ALA-ALSC Notable, Junior Library Guild, ABA New Voices, Kids’ Indie Next, Amazon’s Best Books of the Month for Kids, and Bank Street College of Education Best Books selections. In addition, her books have been nominated for almost two dozen state award lists. Caroline was named a Publisher’s Weekly Flying Start Author for her debut novel, May B. She spent her childhood in the deserts of Saudi Arabia and New Mexico and taught social studies and English in four different states. Caroline now lives with her family in her hometown, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

CVA Six Week Residency exhibition reception
2025-07-27 15:00 | CVA: Arts Quad
CVA is honored to share our annual Resident Group Exhibition. Please join us to celebrate our 6-week resident artists at the CVA School of Art Gallery on the Art Quad. Join us to see the work our residents have created during their time at Chautauqua Visual Arts. This event is free and open to the public.

Family Entertainment: 123 Andrés
2025-07-27 15:00 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
Christina and Andrés are 123 Andrés, the Grammy and Latin Grammy-winning duo for kids and families known for their interactive, high energy shows. They bring fresh original songs that blend Spanish and English, with an eclectic mix of sounds from all corners of Latin America. 123 Andrés pack their show with positive vibes and energetic songs that get the whole family dancing and learning.
Christina y Andrés son 123 Andrés, ganadores de Grammy y Latin Grammy, que hacen música para niños y sus familias. Presentan un show infantil, en inglés y en español, lleno de energía y que pone a bailar a todos, chicos y grandes. Ven a disfrutar canciones con valores positivos, letras pegajosas y movimientos graciosos, al son de la Cumbia, la Bachata y más ritmos que los pondrán a bailar.

CVA Open Studios
2025-07-27 14:00 | CVA: Arts Quad
We are excited to invite you to CVA Open Studios, occurring prior to the annual 6-week Resident Group Exhibition. Celebrate the work our resident artists have created during their time at Chautauqua Visual Arts. This event is free and open to the public.

Community Building and It's Importance, a panel discussion
2025-07-27 13:00 | Smith Wilkes Hall, Smith Wilkes Hall

Sunday School
2025-07-27 10:15 | Children’s School, Children's School
Weekly Sunday School Program for Ages 3-11. Children of all faiths and no faith are welcome.

Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra with Time For Three
2025-07-26 20:15 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
Rossen Milanov, conductor
Time For Three
Grammy and Emmy-winning ensemble Time For Three returns to the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra for an electrifying evening of genre-defying music. Known for their unique blend of classical, jazz, and pop, this trio pushes the boundaries of traditional performance. Their high-energy style and incredible musicianship create an exhilarating experience that captivates audiences. Consisting of Charles Yang (violin, vocals), Nicolas “Nick” Kendall (violin, vocals), and Ranaan Meyer (double bass, vocals), their instruments and voices combine in a remarkable sound, establishing a distinct voice of expression that resonates with listeners worldwide.
Time For Three also performs on Monday, July 28, as part of the Chautauqua Chamber Music series.
Program:
Zoltán Kodály: Dances of Galánta
Kevin Puts: Contact
Antonin Dvorak: Selections from Slavonic Dances, Op. 46

School of Music Faculty Spotlight Series: Dominic Armstrong, tenor, and Joel Harder, piano
2025-07-26 16:15 | Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall, Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall
Join us for an afternoon of beautiful song, featuring two of our esteemed Opera Conservatory faculty members. This program will include Vaughan Williams’ Songs of Travel and Finzi’s A Young Man’s Exhortations, two poignant and expressive works that highlight the depth and emotion of the human experience. Don’t miss this captivating musical journey.

Contemporary Issues Forum: Jim Laurie
2025-07-26 15:00 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy
Jim Laurie has been a journalist, broadcaster, producer and media consultant for more than 50 years. For nearly three decades, Laurie was an international correspondent for NBC News and ABC News, reporting from all continents and covering some of the major stories of the late 20th century.
His first assignments in Asia landed him in Vietnam and Cambodia in 1970 to cover the Indochina War. After flying out of Phnom Penh on the American helicopter evacuation of April 12, 1975, he returned to Vietnam and became the only American network correspondent to witness the communist takeover of Saigon at month’s end. In 2020, Laurie published his memoir The Last Helicopter: Two Lives in Indochina, which forms the basis of his Contemporary Issues Forum lecture for the Chautauqua Women’s Club.
Laurie has been at the helm of numerous documentaries and longform TV programs; director of broadcasting at the Journalism and Studies Centre of the University of Hong Kong; head of news and current affairs in Asia for News Corp’s STAR-TV as it built TV channels in India; and founder of his consulting and production company, FocusAsia Productions.
His reporting for NBC News in 1975 earned Laurie a George Foster Peabody Award. Other honors over the decades include multiple Emmies, the Overseas Press Club Award, New York Festival prizes, and Amnesty International Awards for human rights reporting.

Piano Faculty Master Class: Sara Davis Buechner
2025-07-26 13:00 | Sherwood-Marsh 101

Torah Study
2025-07-26 09:30 | Hurlbut Marion Lawrance

Guster & The Mountain Goats
2025-07-25 19:30 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
GUSTER
Not long before the making of their new album Ooh La La, Guster celebrated three decades together as a band—a journey that’s included landing a series of hits on the Billboard charts, working with luminaries like Steve Lillywhite and Richard Swift, launching their own music festival, and amassing an ardent fanbase partly on the strength of their relentless touring and deeply communal live show. But despite reaching a milestone few musical acts ever come close to attaining, Guster’s ninth studio LP reveals a band fully in touch with the voracious creative energy that first inspired their formation. A major leap forward for lead vocalist Ryan Miller, guitarist Adam Gardner, drummer Brian Rosenworcel, and multi-instrumentalist Luke Reynolds, Ooh La La ultimately matches that wide-eyed spirit with a newly heightened sense of confidence, conviction, and commitment to the raw sincerity that’s made them so beloved.
“In all the time we’ve been together, we’ve never really felt our age as a band—we’re still so hungry, still excited to create,” says Gardner. “A lot of people have told us they’re amazed at how democratic our process is, but I think that’s a big part of why we’re still able to open up this space where the ideas just flow. It also helps that we’ve built a relationship with our fans where there’s a real sense of trust and a desire for us to keep growing and keep pushing ourselves. It’s such a gift that allows us to be truly free, and to make whatever music we want to make.”
The Mountain Goats
Jenny from Thebes began its life as many albums by the Mountain Goats do, with John Darnielle playing the piano until a lyric emerged. That lyric, “Jenny was a warrior / Jenny was a thief / Jenny hit the corner clinic begging for relief,” became “Jenny III,” a song that laid down a challenge he’d never taken up before: writing a sequel to one of his most beloved albums. The Mountain Goats catalog is thick with recurring characters—Jenny, who originally appears in the All Hail West Texas track bearing her name, as well as in “Straight Six” from Jam Eater Blues and Transcendental Youth side two jam “Night Light,” is one of these, someone who enters a song unexpectedly, pricking up the ears of fans who are keen on continuing the various narrative threads running through the Mountain Goats’ discography before vanishing into the mist. In these songs, Jenny is largely defined by her absence, and she is given that definition by other characters. She is running from something. These features are beguiling, both to the characters who’ve told her story so far and to the listener. They invite certain questions: Who is Jenny, really? What is she running from? Well, she’s a warrior and a thief, and, this being an album by the Mountain Goats, it’s a safe bet whatever she’s fleeing is something bad. Something catastrophically bad.
Jenny from Thebes is the story of Jenny, her southwestern ranch style house, the people for whom that house is a place of safety, and the west Texas town that is uncomfortable with its existence. It is a story about the individual and society, about safety and shelter and those who choose to provide care when nobody else will.

School of Music: Masterclass with Ilya Kaler, violin
2025-07-25 16:00 | Fletcher Music Hall, Fletcher Music Hall

Piano Program Faculty Recital: Sara Davis Buechner "Cocktails in New York and Paris"
2025-07-25 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.

Chautauqua Theater Company presents Execution of Justice
2025-07-25 14:00, 2025-07-24 19:30, 2025-07-24 14:00 | Bratton Theater, Bratton Theater
Written and Directed by Emily Mann
It’s 1978, and San Francisco is a divided city. The brutal murders of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk—the nation’s first openly gay elected official—shocked a nation. This gripping documentary play examines the trial of Dan White, the disgruntled former city supervisor whose reduced voluntary manslaughter conviction, rather than murder in the first degree, sparked outrage and introduced the infamous “Twinkie defense.” Ripped from the headlines, personal interviews, and court documents of the past but still resonating powerfully today, this play confronts themes of justice, prejudice, and privilege and grapples with the issues of gun violence and systemic homophobia. This contemporary classic challenges us to reflect on our identity as a nation.
Recommended for audiences ages 13 and older.

Elizabeth Anderson
2025-07-25 14:00 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy
Elizabeth Anderson is Max Shaye Professor of Public Philosophy at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where she has taught since 1987. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and was awarded a MacArthur “genius” grant in 2019. She has written extensively on egalitarianism, the interaction of facts and values in social science research, the intersection of democratic theory and social epistemology, pragmatism, and the philosophy of work. Her two most recent books are Private Government (How Employers Rule our Lives, and Why We Don’t Talk About It) (Princeton UP, 2017) and Hijacked: How Neoliberalism Turned the Work Ethic Against Workers, and How Workers Can Take It Back (Cambridge UP, 2023).

Oren Cass
2025-07-25 10:45 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
Oren Cass is the chief economist at American Compass, the conservative think tank that he founded at the start of 2020 to restore an economic consensus emphasizing the importance of family, community, and industry to the nation’s liberty and prosperity. A contributing opinion writer for the Financial Times and The New York Times, Cass writes the “Understanding America” newsletter and is considered a leading economic policy adviser shaping modern conservative thought and the future of capitalism. He joins the Chautauqua Lecture Series to close a week on “Innovation in Capitalism: How to Meet 21st-Century Challenges?”
From 2015 to 2019, Cass was a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, where he published The Once and Future Worker: A Vision for the Renewal of Work in America, which has become required reading for young conservatives and is taught at universities across the country; Vice President J.D. Vance has called it “a brilliant book, and among the most important I’ve ever read.”
From 2005 to 2015, Cass worked as a management consultant in Bain & Company’s Boston and Delhi offices. During this period, he also earned his J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was elected vice president and treasurer of the Harvard Law Review. While still in law school, he also became domestic policy director for Governor Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, editing and producing the campaign’s “jobs book” and developing its domestic policy strategy, proposals and research.

The Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers
2025-07-25 09:15 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
The Rev. Canon Dr. Stephanie Spellers is one of the Episcopal Church’s leading thinkers around 21st-century ministry and mission. The author of The Church Cracked Open: Disruption, Decline and New Hope for Beloved Community and Radical Welcome: Embracing God, The Other and the Spirit of Transformation, she recently wrapped up nearly a decade as canon to the Episcopal Church’s Presiding Bishop Michael Curry. She currently assists at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church in New York and is at work on a new book exploring what nonreligious Americans (the “Nones” and “Dones”) can teach us about the future of faith.
Prior to her service with Bishop Curry, she directed mission and evangelism work at General Theological Seminary and as a canon in the Diocese of Long Island; founded The Crossing, a ground-breaking emerging church within St. Paul’s Cathedral in Boston; and led numerous church-wide renewal efforts.
A native of Frankfort, Kentucky, and a graduate of both Episcopal Divinity School and Harvard Divinity School, she received an honorary doctorate from the General Theological Seminary in New York City in 2018.
Spellers makes her home today in New York’s Harlem neighborhood with her husband Albert and their two chaotic cats.

Young Writers' Institute Final Performance and Reading
2025-07-25 09:00 | Smith Wilkes Hall, Smith Wilkes Hall
Join Chautauqua Literary Arts to celebrate the work completed by our young writers at Chautauqua this Friday. Participants will have the chance to perform a reading of their works in their forthcoming book!
Book-in-a-Day (BID) is a new fun-filled, hands-on literacy project that teaches kids the fundamentals of creative writing, through poetry and book publication. This innovative educational program fosters literacy skills through a groundbreaking writing and publishing workshop, which focuses on student-run publication—in one day. In this one-week program, students learn how to write a well-crafted poem, or piece of prose, and how to publish their own work for public consumption. The full BID program is comprised of two days of writing workshops, two days of publishing workshops, and a performance party to celebrate and share the work of all participants. Kwame Alexander will kick off each day with motivational thoughts and poetic inspiration. His superstar friends, Nikki Shannon Smith and Ann Marie Stephens, both published authors and retired teachers, will be the writing coaches for the workshops. They will receive a physical copy of the book of their shared work by the end of the summer (following Week Nine of Chautauqua’s summer assembly season).

CHQ Mystic Heart: Mateo Mortellaro
2025-07-25 07:45 | Presbyterian Chapel
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 LIFE OF CHUCK
2025-07-24 20:35 | Chautauqua Cinema, Chautauqua Cinema
From childhood to adulthood, Charles “Chuck” Krantz (Tom Hiddleston) experiences the wonder of love, the heartbreak of loss, and the multitudes contained within all of us in director Mike Flanagan’s life-affirming, genre-bending film. “Feels like the coziest of blankets enveloping you in the theater. However, you should expect a few jolts of static…this touching, beautiful film is based on a novella by Stephen King.” -Odie Henderson, Boston Globe “A story of profound humanity, ultimately spirit-expanding.” -Nell Minow, Movie Mom (R, 110m)

Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra: Shostakovich 11
2025-07-24 20:15 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
Rossen Milanov, conductor
Join conductor Rossen Milanov and the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra for a gripping performance of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 11, a powerful work of cinematic intensity and raw emotion. Subtitled The Year 1905, this symphony sweeps listeners through a dramatic soundscape of revolution, sorrow, and triumph. Experience the full force of Shostakovich’s orchestral mastery in a night of music that is as haunting as it is unforgettable.
Program:
Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 11

Drop-in Softball
2025-07-24 17:30 | Sharpe Field, Sharpe Field
Interested in playing slow pitch softball? Contact co-commissioner Carrie Zachry at carriezachry@gmail.com

Double Feature: Purple Mountains and The Hypocrite, with Erin Sprague and Auden Schendler
2025-07-24 17:00 | Chautauqua Cinema, Chautauqua Cinema
A double feature of short films by Teton Gravity Research and Protect Our Winters: (1) Purple Mountains: Live Free or Die, a film about finding common ground on climate change, and (2) The Hypocrite: a film that squarely addresses imperfect advocacy in the world of snow sports.

Cat Bohannon
2025-07-24 15:30 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy
Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle Presentation — Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon
How did the female body drive 200 million years of human evolution? Why do women live longer than men? Why are women more likely to get Alzheimer’s? Why do girls score better at every academic subject than boys until puberty, when suddenly their scores plummet? Is sexism useful for evolution? And why, seriously why, do women have to sweat through our sheets every night when we hit menopause?
These questions are producing some truly exciting science – and in Eve, with boundless curiosity and sharp wit, Cat Bohannon covers the past 200 million years to explain the specific science behind the development of the female sex: “We need a kind of user’s manual for the female mammal. A no-nonsense, hard-hitting, seriously researched (but readable) account of what we are. How female bodies evolved, how they work, what it really means to biologically be a woman. Something that would rewrite the story of womanhood. This book is that story. We must put the female body in the picture. If we don’t, it’s not just feminism that’s compromised. Modern medicine, neurobiology, paleoanthropology, even evolutionary biology all takes a hit when we ignore the fact that half of us have breasts. So, it’s time we talk about breasts. Breasts, and blood, and fat, and vaginas, and wombs—all of it. How they came to be and how we live with them now, no matter how weird or hilarious the truth is.”
Eve is not only a sweeping revision of human history, it’s an urgent and necessary corrective for a world that has focused primarily on the male body for far too long. Picking up where Sapiens left off, Eve will completely change what you think you know about evolution and why Homo sapiens has become such a successful and dominant species.
Cat Bohannon is a researcher and author with a Ph.D. from Columbia University in the evolution of narrative and cognition. Her essays and poems have appeared in Scientific American, Mind, Science Magazine, The Best American Nonrequired Reading, The Georgia Review, The Story Collider, and Poets Against the War. She lives with her family in Seattle.

Christian Science House: Our from the Shadows: Women of the Bible
2025-07-24 15:00 | Hurlbut Church sanctuary, Hurlbut Church sanctuary

OCEAN WITH DAVID ATTENBOROUGH
2025-07-24 14:30 | Chautauqua Cinema, Chautauqua Cinema
David Attenborough takes viewers on a breathtaking journey showing there is nowhere more vital for our survival, more full of life, wonder, or surprise, than the ocean. The celebrated broadcaster and filmmaker reveals how his lifetime has coincided with the great age of ocean discovery. Stunning, immersive cinematography showcases the wonder of life under the seas and exposes the realities and challenges facing our ocean as never before. “Environmental film-making at its most powerful .” -James Jackson, The Times UK (PG, 95m)

Claudia Strauss
2025-07-24 14:00 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy
Claudia Strauss is the Jean M. Pitzer Professor of Anthropology at Pitzer College in the Claremont Consortium. In 2025 she was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for Psychological Anthropology. She received her Ph.D. from Harvard University, where she analyzed US workingmen’s beliefs about economic mobility.
As a cultural anthropologist of the contemporary United States, she studies personal and cultural meanings of work, immigration policies, government social welfare programs, and other social issues. She is widely cited as a theorist of the way people mentally represent and express conflicting cultural messages. Her books include What Work Means: Beyond the Puritan Work Ethic (Cornell UP, 2024), Making Sense of Public Opinion: American Discourses about Immigration and Social Programs (Cambridge UP, 2012), and A Cognitive Theory of Cultural Meaning (with Naomi Quinn, Cambridge UP 1997).

CHQ Mystic Heart: Mateo Mortellaro
2025-07-24 12:30 | Hall of Missions, Hall of Missions
